'Extreme Weight Loss': Husband and Wife Lose Combined 310 Pounds

Jason and Rachel were extremely overweight.

Parents of 5-year-old twins, the couple from South Lyon, Mich., used food to bury problems in their marriage, including a separation during which Rachel, 34, reconnected with an old boyfriend.

They needed help. Chris Powell, fitness trainer and host of ABC’s “Extreme Weight Loss,” showed up and pledged to help them lose the weight. They became the first married couple Powell would train together.

RELATED: ‘Extreme Weight Loss’: Teacher Meredith Prince Loses 159 Pounds

Rachel’s starting weight was 290 pounds. Her 35-year-old husband tipped the scale at 362 pounds.

They worked out, ran, modified their diet and saw results. At their 90-day weigh-in, Rachel had lost 75 pounds, and her husband had lost 86 pounds.

Their results weren’t as dramatic at their next weigh-in, so Powell increased the intensity of their program.

RELATED: Chris Powell’s Summer Slimdown Tips

At the nine-month mark, their weight loss was back on track.

WATCH: ‘Extreme Weight Loss’: Chris Powell Helps Obese Twins Get Fitter

Over the course of the program, Rachel and Jason were transformed. They were no longer overweight, and even had surgery to remove the excess skin they carried.

At their final weigh-in, Rachel weighed 145 pounds, and Jason weighed 197 pounds.

Jason was emotional.

“I’m the luckiest guy. I have two perfect kids, a gorgeous wife, everything is perfect right now,” he said.

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Can Probiotics Help You Lose Weight?

 

Probiotics are so hot right now. Every week bring news of another benefit tied to these tiny bacteria (did you know they can affect the way you think?) which naturally congregate by the millions in your gut and intestines. Recent research has shown probiotics can aid digestion and ward off illness. And a new study, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, links one probiotic strain to fat loss. But can you trust the weight-reduction claims?

First, the science: A team of Japanese researchers split 210 overweight people into three groups. While everyone consumed a daily 7-ounce serving of fermented milk, two of the groups drank milk spiked with varying amounts of a probiotic called Lactobacillus gasseri SBT2055which past research has tied to fat loss. After 12 weeks, people slugging the probiotic milk formulas dropped roughly 8 to 9 percent of their visceral fat—a particularly unhealthy type that builds up around your heart and organs. Both probiotic groups also lost 1 to 3 percent of their belly fat, the study shows. (Check out the 10 best belly fat–blasting foods here!)

Your intestines manage the digestion and absorption of the foods you eat, explains study co-author Yukio Kadooka, a researcher with the Snow Brand Company in Japan. And it's possible the probiotic featured in the study lowers intestinal inflammation and aids digestion, both of which could prevent the buildup of body fat, Kadooka says.

But here's the first problem: The probiotic strain highlighted in this research isn't commercially available in the U.S., Kadooka says. The second problem: Like Kadooka's study, most of the research linking probiotics to weight loss have been conducted (or funded) by companies who sell products containing those same probiotics (including beauty products). Now, that doesn't mean the research isn't valid, says Jeremy Burton, PhD, deputy director of the Canadian Research and Development Centre for Probiotics. "There's nothing wrong with companies investing in studies, but it's better when the study is backed up by independent research," Burton adds.

So far, that independent research is either inconclusive or contradictory. A study published in the International Journal of Obesity found that while some strains of probiotics aid weight loss, others contribute to obesity. (There's even a thing called prebiotics. Here's what those are—and what they mean for your health!) "The research now is premature, and requires more analysis," says that study's co-author, Didier Raoult, MD, PhD, a Marseille, France-based microbiologist.

Your takeaway? Probiotics offer benefits "to be sure," Burton says, and research has supported the digestive-health claims of products like Dannon's Activia yogurt. But the jury's still out on probiotics when it comes to weight loss. "There's definitely a role for probiotics in dieting," Burton adds. "But were still teasing apart all the mechanisms involved." So for now, don't count on a probiotic to replace your treadmill or diet plan. Instead, check out the 25 Best Diet Tips…Ever!

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Gluten-Free Help With Weight Loss?

Stroll down the aisles of any supermarket or deli these days and you'll come across entire sections devoted to gluten-free foods. It's a food category that's selling well, like gluten-free hotcakes. Nearly 30 percent of Americans say they're trying to cut back on gluten, the consumer survey firm NPD Group recently reported.

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There are legitimate reasons people avoid the gluten protein found in wheat, barley and rye.

According to National Institutes of Health statistics, about 1 percent of the population has celiac disease, a condition for which eating gluten brings on major gastrointestinal distress and myriad other symptoms. Another small but undetermined percentage of people experience milder gastro symptoms, brought on by some level of gluten sensitivity or intolerance. Limiting bread, pasta and other gluten-containing foods helps people in both of these groups feel better.

Celebs Who Go Gluten-Free

But why are so many other consumers snapping gluten-free goods to the tune of $4.4 billion a year, according to a report by Packaged Stats?

Weight loss, of course. With Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham and other whip- thin stars leading the charge, gluten-free has become the latest get-thin-quick diet fad.

But if consumers believe banishing gluten from their diets will work some kind of weight-loss magic, Margaret Weiss, the clinical manager of the Kogan Celiac Center at Barnabas Health in Livingston, N.J., said they may be sorely disappointed.

How to Eat Gluten-Free at Hotel Breakfast Buffets

"You have to replace the gluten with something so the majority of processed gluten-free products are held together with oil, butter and eggs," Weiss pointed out. "They tend to be higher in fat, calories and sugar, and lower in fiber, vitamins and minerals."

For example, a slice of regular whole wheat bread contains about 69 calories, 2 grams of fiber and less than 1 gram of fat, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture nutritional database. Depending on the brand, a slice of gluten-free whole wheat bread may have 20 to 30 more calories, double the fat and half the fiber.

Alissa Lupu, a registered dietitian and nutritionist at the Center of Advanced Digestive Care at New York Presbyterian at Weill Cornell Medical Center said that a gluten-free diet was never intended to help people slim down. In fact, many people with celiac disease who go on a gluten-free eating plan find that without the grain protein in their system, they can properly absorb the calories and nutrients from their food for the first time and they wind up gaining weight.

For dieters who focus their gluten-free efforts on eating more lean protein, fruits and vegetables, the diet can produce some initial weight loss, registered dietitian and nutritionist Jennifer Neily said.

"You clean up your eating habits by taking away white flour, sugar, junk food and other things you should be limiting anyway," she said.

But dieters shouldn't be fooled. Weight loss comes from reducing calories, not the absence of gluten. When you cut out whole food groups, Neily said, you have fewer choices and tend not to eat as much.

Problems arise when taste buds get bored and dieters go in search of junk food.

Elizabeth Putsche, a celiac sufferer from Baltimore, said she is baffled as to why someone who does not have celiac or gluten sensitivity would think that eating a lot of processed gluten-free products would help them drop a few pounds.

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Midlife Weight Gain Increases Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk

Women who gain weight in midlife may have an increased risk of developing postmenopausal breast cancer, according to research findings presented at the 2010 Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Research into lifestyle factors that influence breast cancer risk or prognosis allows us to make more informed decisions about how to manage our own health. Body weight is a factor that appears to influence not only the risk of developing several types of cancer but also cancer survival.

To further understand how weight gain in midlife affects risk of postmenopausal breast cancer, researchers studied the effects of weight gain during two periods: 1) from age 20 to age 50 and 2) after age 50. The study consisted of approximately 72,000 women, age 55 to 74 at the beginning of the study. Results were presented for participants who had never used menopausal hormone therapy, as this group showed the strongest association between midlife weight gain and postmenopausal breast cancer risk.

Between age 20 and the start of the study, 57% of study participants had an increase in body mass index (BMI) of 5 kg/m2 or more. For a woman with a height of 5’4”, this equates to a weight gain of approximately 30 pounds.

Regardless of weight at age 20, weight gain during midlife increased the risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Women with a BMI increase of 5 kg/m2 between age 20 and study entry (at age 55-74) were almost twice as likely to develop postmenopausal breast cancer as women who maintained a stable BMI. Weight gain during either of the two age periods (20-50 and 50+) increased risk.

The researchers concluded that maintaining weight throughout adulthood may help women decrease their risk of postmenopausal breast cancer.

Reference: Sue LY, Genkinger JM, Schairer C, et al. Body mass index gain throughout adulthood may increase risk of postmenopausal breast cancer. Paper presented at: Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; April 20, 2010; Washington, D.C. Abstract 4823.

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Weight Lifting May Not Increase Lymphedema Risk Among Breast Cancer Survivors

It may be safe for breast cancer survivors to lift weights, including upper-body exercises, without increasing risk for lymphedema. These results were reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Lymphedema refers to swelling of the arm due to an accumulation of lymph fluid. It commonly affects women who have had axillary (underarm) lymph nodes removed for the staging of early breast cancer. The extensive removal of lymph nodes (known as axillary lymph node dissection) is more apt to cause lymphedema than the removal of only a small number of nodes (known as a sentinel lymph node biopsy), but lymphedema can occur following either procedure.

Because of concern that upper-body exercise may increase the risk of developing lymphedema or worsen existing lymphedema, breast cancer survivors are sometimes advised to avoid heavy lifting and other upper-body exercises. These recommendations, however, are based on little evidence.

Determining whether weight lifting is safe for breast cancer survivors is important because this type of exercise can provide important benefits, including an increase in bone density.

To determine whether breast cancer survivors may perform upper-body weight-lifting exercises without increasing risk for lymphedema, researchers compared lymphedema incidence between women who lifted weights and women who did not. Participants had completed treatment one to five years prior to the study and had at least two lymph nodes removed. None had clinical signs of lymphedema when the study began.

Those in the weight-lifting group were given gym memberships and 13 weeks of weight-training instruction. Instruction was provided twice a week and involved very gradual increases in the amount of weight used. After 13 weeks, women in the weight-lifting group continued their exercise programs for nine months without instruction. The remainder of study participants performed no exercise. When the study was completed, women in the no-exercise group were offered a one-year gym membership with 13 weeks of instruction.

At one year the following results were available for 134 participants:

11% of participants in the weight-lifting group experienced incident breast cancer-related lymphedema (determined by an increase in arm swelling of 5% or greater during 12 months) compared with 17% in the no-exercise group.In the weight-lifting group, among women who had five or more lymph nodes removed, 7% experienced incident breast cancer-related lymphedema versus 22% in the no-exercise group.

The researchers concluded that slowly progressive weight lifting does not increase the incidence of lymphedema among women who have been treated for breast cancer. Weight lifting is known to have many health benefits, and it may be safe for many breast cancer survivors to perform this type of exercise. It remains important, however, that all exercise programs are first discussed with a doctor.

Reference: Schmitz KH, Ahmed RL, Troxel AB, et al. Weight lifting for women at risk for breast cancer-related lymphedema. JAMA [early online publication]. December 8, 2010.

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