Well, the FDA has decided not to approve the new diet drug Qnexa.  This is the second such decision in a week.  While many pharmaceutical companies might be frustrated, safety of such drugs is questionable and needs to be examined.

In the mean time, good old fashioned common sense seems to be the best medicine.  There is a mountain of evidence that decreasing calories and increasing physical activity are the best ways to lose weight.  Not only does it work to work out and eat less, it is safe and effective for the long term.

Gradual changes are often the most effective.  For example, cutting 500 calories per day (the equivalent of a large bagel with cream cheese and a small coke), can result in losing 1 pound per week.  So knowing this, we simply need to take in 500 calories less per day (3,500 per week) and/or exercise to burn that much more per day. 

Be careful not to be fooled into believing that a lower heart rate or lower intensity will burn a lot of fat.  Many treadmills will have a “fat burning zone” as one of the programs you can choose.  This generally means working at 65% or less of your maximum heart rate (220 beats per minute minus your age).  The problem with this is that you will burn a higher percentage of your calories from fat, but the number of calories may be so low that your total fat burning is far from optimal. 

Consider this example:  you have a friend who wants to work in the “fat burning zone”.  She may burn 80% of her calories from fat at low intensity, but total calories will only be 150 calories (for a grand total of 120 calories from fat).  If, however, you work at a higher intensity and higher heart rate, you may only be burning 60% of your calories from fat but at the same time use over 350 calories.  This would net you 210 calories burned from fat in the same amount of time that your low intensity friend only burned 120.

The take home message here is:  increase your intensity gradually over time for more calorie burn.  Lose weight slowly so that it is safe and effective in the long term.  Cut back on the calories you take in, making small changes at first.  Also, don’t forget to do strength training to add muscle and aid in fat loss. Last but not least, it is always important to see a physician if you are beginning a new exercise program; in most cases doctors are thrilled to recommend exercise and a sensible diet over the newest weight loss drug.