1. Should I Try The Atkins Diet Again?
2. Does Wu-Long Tea Speed Weight Loss?
3. Is Calcium Making Me Constipated?

Should I Try The Atkins Diet Again?   I groaned when I read about the recent study showing that Atkins is tops at slimming.  When I attempted low-carb dieting years ago, I got sick of meat.  And I still don’t see how fruit can be bad!  But to lose 50 pounds, I’ll commit to it…is Atkins worth another try?

There’s no need to ditch carbs.  It’s true that in a 2007 study, women on Atkins lost more weight than women than women on the Zone (a balance of protein and carbs), Ornish (low-carb) or Learn (higher-carb) diets.  Still, Atkins dieters were only 10 pounds lighter after a year.  Turns out, the weight they lost in the first six months was regained because the diet was though to maintain.  My advice: When eating carbs, choose fiber-rich whole grains and produce, and enjoy “bad” carbs on occasion.  My clients who do so lose 80-plus pounds in a year and keep it off.
For more on healthy-carb dieting, read The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Glycemic Index Weight Loss (Alpha, 2005) by Lucy Beale and Joan Clarke, R.D. And don’t be fooled by the title---even I learned some new things thanks to this book!  

Does Wu-Long Tea Speed Weight Loss?  At my last book-club meeting, a friend revealed that she lost 8 pounds in two weeks by drinking Wu-Long tea.  My online search found tons of testimonials from women raving about it.  I want to lose 15 pounds.  Would the tea help? 

The tea can help you slim down.  But, although it’s marketed as a unique type of tea, Wu-Long is just a brand of oolong tea, which you can buy for less at grocery stores.  Oolong has unique polyphenols that balance blood sugar by helping cells us glucose more efficiently.  And that’s the key since elevated blood sugar is the main cause of body fat.  The proof: Women in a Chinese study who drank 32 oz. of oolong tea daily (four large mugs) lost three pounds a week.  For even faster fat loss, place one bag of oolong tea and one bag of green tea in a mug of hot water.  The epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) in green tea revs metabolism, so the body burns two-and-a-half time more calories per day.  This combo will have you divulging your fat-melting secret to the ladies! 

Is Calcium Making Me Constipated?  I’m trying to ensure I get enough calcium to prevent osteoporosis.  But since I started taking a supplement with the recommended 1,200 mg a day, I’m always constipated.  Is it the calcium? 

Calcium may indeed be to blame for your constipation.  Supplementing with over 800 mg a day or using a carbonate based supplement seems to have a drying, muscle-contracting effect on the intestines.  If you’re taking calcium carbonate, switch to calcium citrate.  It’s easier on the gut and better absorbed by the body.  Or pair calcium with magnesium.  In addition to boosting calcium absorption by 72 percent, magnesium has muscle-relaxing properties that cancel out calcium’s intestine-contracting effect.  A citrate-based supplement like Now Calcium & Magnesium ($7 for 8 oz, of powder, at drugstores) provides the bone-building nutrients without the tummy woes.