1. Portion size matters.
Well, that makes sense. Calories in versus calories out is the key to weight loss, weight gain or weight maintenance. If you eat more calories than your body needs, you will gain weight. If you eat less calories than the body will burn, you will lose weight. Bigger portions = more calories. Truthfully, it really doesn't matter energy-wise to the body whether the calories are fat, carbohydrate or protein. If you look at any of the weight loss pills, there is always a footnote or inserted pamphlet about following some type of meal plan and/or exercise. Even the different types of diet books or programs always have a low calorie meal plan, even when there is a focus on some particular food or food group touted as the means to success.
If you have ever seen the commericals or TV programming that shows what portions used to look like, it is no wonder that our country has an obesity epidemic. McDonald's is back to giving away "free" Coke glasses but only with the purchase of a value meal, which includes some hefty sandwich, large fries and the large soda - all large portions when compared to the recommended portions on the USDA Food Guide Pyramid. Most restaurants, but especially Mexican restaurants, serve their food on king sized, actually platter sized, plates. A survey conducted by the American Institute for Cancer Research showed that 7 out of 10 Americans said they finish their restaurant entree all or most of the time, regardless of the portion size.
In another interesting study, participants were given varying types of food in varying portion sizes. Those receiving the largest portion of the high-energy dense (more calories for the size of the portion) foods ate 56% more that those offered smaller portions of the less energy dense foods. Surprisingly, the participant's rating of how full they felt after the meals did not differ.
Bottom line is: eat more of the low-calorie dense foods (fresh fruits and vegetables) and less of the high-calorie dense foods (meat, poultry, starches, etc) to achieve the same satiety value with lower calorie intake. Study the Food Guide Pyramid for recommended number of portions for each food group and the recommended portion size per serving to get a better idea of what a real portion should be. Oh, and use a smaller plate at home. It will look like you have more food on the smaller plate and improve the level of satisfaction with the meal. Correct portion sizes for achieving good nutrition can look a little skimpy on a large dinner plate and make you feel short-changed.
2. Don't Skip Meals.
This seems so logical if one is trying to keep hunger at bay but so many people skip the most important meal of the day - breakfast (breaking the fast) and actually end up eating more throughout the day than if they had started the day with a good meal. A study in the British Journal of Nutrition found that eating three meals instead of two meals during a 24-hour period resulted in a higher satiety (satisfaction) value, even though the total calorie intake was the same. Studies have also shown that binge-eating, which typically happens when meals are skipped, results in an increase in body weight. So breakfast skippers beware. If you think skipping breakfast is a good way to lose or control your weight, you may be doing the exact opposite of what you intend. A healthy meal replacement shake will get the day started right and improve control of the hunger pangs that can derail even the best of intentions.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Tips for controlling hunger pangs
If hunger is sabotaging your weight loss efforts, here are a few suggestions to "tame the tiger".
1. Eat solids over beverages, especially avoiding all those sports drinks, sodas and flavored coffee drinks loaded with calories. While beverages may make you feel full, they quickly go through the system and don’t maintain that feeling for long. Eating solid food that includes protein, carbohydrate, fat and fiber will take longer to digest, leaving you feeling full longer. Studies have shown that eating a whole apple instead of applesauce or apple juice reduced lunch calorie intake by 15%, which can really add up over time.
2. Have a low-calorie appetizer before meals such as a salad or soup. This serves to calm the appetite and the overall result is reduced intake over the course of the meal. However, to achieve this calming effect, soup or salad should be eaten before the meal, not with it, and be aware of the type of soup and the amount of salad dressing used. Broth-type soups have few calories than a denser cream soup, which, while it will calm the appetite, may have the adverse effect on weight loss efforts due to the amount of calories.
3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Typically, people eat the same volume of food every day. By substituting bulky lower calorie fruits and vegetables for higher calorie, less satisfying items, the total calorie intake for the day is reduced and weight loss occurs. Eat a piece of fruit instead of chugging a soda or another cup of triple shot mocha latte. The recommendation is to include 9 servings (1/2 cup is a serving) of fruits and vegetables in the diet every day.
4. Fill up on fiber. Fiber impacts the feeling of hunger in several ways: 1) it displaces calories and nutrients in the diet, resulting in lower calorie intake and weight loss, 2) foods higher in fiber require more chewing, which causes increased production of saliva and stomach juices, which in turn fill up the stomach and increase the feeling of fullness and 3) fiber in the food mix reduces absorption in the small intestine. Studies show that increasing fiber in the diet by 14 grams per day resulted in a 10% decrease in energy intake even while not intentionally reducing calorie intake. Once again, include a piece of fruit or 1/2 cup of berries.
1. Eat solids over beverages, especially avoiding all those sports drinks, sodas and flavored coffee drinks loaded with calories. While beverages may make you feel full, they quickly go through the system and don’t maintain that feeling for long. Eating solid food that includes protein, carbohydrate, fat and fiber will take longer to digest, leaving you feeling full longer. Studies have shown that eating a whole apple instead of applesauce or apple juice reduced lunch calorie intake by 15%, which can really add up over time.
2. Have a low-calorie appetizer before meals such as a salad or soup. This serves to calm the appetite and the overall result is reduced intake over the course of the meal. However, to achieve this calming effect, soup or salad should be eaten before the meal, not with it, and be aware of the type of soup and the amount of salad dressing used. Broth-type soups have few calories than a denser cream soup, which, while it will calm the appetite, may have the adverse effect on weight loss efforts due to the amount of calories.
3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Typically, people eat the same volume of food every day. By substituting bulky lower calorie fruits and vegetables for higher calorie, less satisfying items, the total calorie intake for the day is reduced and weight loss occurs. Eat a piece of fruit instead of chugging a soda or another cup of triple shot mocha latte. The recommendation is to include 9 servings (1/2 cup is a serving) of fruits and vegetables in the diet every day.
4. Fill up on fiber. Fiber impacts the feeling of hunger in several ways: 1) it displaces calories and nutrients in the diet, resulting in lower calorie intake and weight loss, 2) foods higher in fiber require more chewing, which causes increased production of saliva and stomach juices, which in turn fill up the stomach and increase the feeling of fullness and 3) fiber in the food mix reduces absorption in the small intestine. Studies show that increasing fiber in the diet by 14 grams per day resulted in a 10% decrease in energy intake even while not intentionally reducing calorie intake. Once again, include a piece of fruit or 1/2 cup of berries.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Taming the Tiger Called "Hunger"
In these times of an obesity epidemic in America, it is important to understand how "hunger pangs" impact our efforts to lose weight. Those hunger pangs are the reason we eat and the secret to long-term weight loss and weight maintenance is learning how to tame the tiger called "Hunger".
Back in the days of the cavemen (and women), hunger is what drove them to hunt for food, a very important survival mechanism. We don't have that concern today - hunting for our food. All we have to do is wander down the isles of the local grocery store and pick out those foods that appeal to us on any particular day. But that doesn't change the fact that our "tiger" (hunger) makes it difficult to stay true to our weight loss goals.
The bottom line is, no matter what any diet plan tries to tell you - to lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than your body requires. This results in your body burning fat for the calories, or energy, it needs to do your daily activities of life, and you lose weight. Hunger, that "growling" you feel in your stomach, is defined as a strong desire or need for food. I won't go into the physiological details of hunger pangs, but basically they are contractions in the stomach and typically may begin a couple of hours after eating. The reason the body has these hunger pangs is because it wants to maintain energy balance - keep the same number of calories coming in as the body is using. Thus hunger drives the person to seek out food to assure survival. There is no way to trick the body into thinking it isn't hungry. The challenge is to develop eating habits that keeps the body satisfied.
Next post: more on "taming the tiger" - or controlling those hunger pangs.
Back in the days of the cavemen (and women), hunger is what drove them to hunt for food, a very important survival mechanism. We don't have that concern today - hunting for our food. All we have to do is wander down the isles of the local grocery store and pick out those foods that appeal to us on any particular day. But that doesn't change the fact that our "tiger" (hunger) makes it difficult to stay true to our weight loss goals.
The bottom line is, no matter what any diet plan tries to tell you - to lose weight, you have to eat fewer calories than your body requires. This results in your body burning fat for the calories, or energy, it needs to do your daily activities of life, and you lose weight. Hunger, that "growling" you feel in your stomach, is defined as a strong desire or need for food. I won't go into the physiological details of hunger pangs, but basically they are contractions in the stomach and typically may begin a couple of hours after eating. The reason the body has these hunger pangs is because it wants to maintain energy balance - keep the same number of calories coming in as the body is using. Thus hunger drives the person to seek out food to assure survival. There is no way to trick the body into thinking it isn't hungry. The challenge is to develop eating habits that keeps the body satisfied.
Next post: more on "taming the tiger" - or controlling those hunger pangs.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)