Seven things to know to get slim

Rhodes

Know this: It’s not the fat in foods that makes you feel full.

That greasy cheeseburger will leave you feeling full all day, so it’s worth the splurge, right? Wrong. Fat is the slowest food component to clear the stomach, so for years it was assumed that fatty foods slowed digestion and kept you feeling full longer. In fact, protein tends to leave people feeling more satisfied than either carbohydrates or fat. The problem with fat is that it has more than twice the calories of protein or carbs.

To eat more and weigh less, reach for foods high in fiber, like fruits and veggies and whole grains. Fiber and whole grains affect feelings of fullness and satisfaction. Research does not show exactly why, but fiber and whole grains could affect the hormones that send the signal to your brain that you’ve had enough to eat.

Know this: Missing meals is not a good way to drop pounds.

Research has repeatedly shown that people who eat at regular intervals — starting with breakfast — are better nourished, think more clearly, and report fewer mood swings than those who eat erratically. Meal skippers are more prone to weight problems, probably because once they do eat, they eat too much of all the wrong stuff. People often think they can save calories by skipping meals, but if they kept food journals they would find that they more than make up for those saved calories at other times of the day.

Once meal skippers do eat, they find it very difficult to stop, consuming way more calories than people who eat more frequently. Researchers at the National Weight Control Registry, an ongoing research study based at Brown University in Providence, R.I., monitors people who have successfully maintained a weight loss of more than 30 pounds for at least one year. The Registry reports that spacing food evenly throughout the day is key to weight-loss success. Weight maintainers eat every four to five hours, regardless of whether it’s a weekday, weekend or holiday.

Know this: There are good and bad foods.

You may have heard that there are no good foods or bad foods, only good and bad diets. Nutritionally, a potato chip can’t hold a candle to a baked potato. We usually don’t have a problem treating ourselves to those tasty foods, so to say there are no bad foods might be a license for some people to eat anything whenever they want.

If having cookies in the house triggers a person to binge, then that food could be a problem simply because it results in unhealthy behaviors. Enjoy bad foods only once in a while, and in reasonable portions, but always stock your kitchen with good foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole-grain breads.

Know This: Low-carb diets don’t flush calories from the body.

Proponents of low-carb diets claim you can excrete fat fragments called ketones in urine on this type of diet, essentially flushing calories out. But a recent study at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg found no correlation between urinary ketone levels and weight change in women on low-carb diets.

Dr. George Bray, obesity expert at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University explained that since carb-cutters restrict so many foods that are normally accompanied by fat, they end up slashing calories overall. The initial rapid weight loss some carb cutters experience is caused by the body draining glycogen stores for energy. With each gram of glycogen used, three grams of water are released, with the result being a rapid loss in weight due to increased urination, Bray said. After about 10-14 days, increased urination ends and so does the rapid weight-loss phase.

Know this: Eating healthfully can save you money.

With a little planning, eating well can actually cost less than typical fast-food fare. Are you surprised? A study at the Mary Imogene Bassett Research Institute in Cooperstown, N.Y., found that a person who follows a heart-healthy diet can reduce his or her grocery bill by up to $8 a week. That translates to an annual savings of $416 a year for a single person or $1,664 for a family of four. Granted, wild salmon and imported olive oil cost more than a Happy Meal, but you need to factor in the hidden costs of a diet that is high in fat.

More than half of all Americans eat too much, with the extra pounds costing about $400 per person in added health-care bills, not to mention the more than $30 billion spent annually in this country on weight-loss products and services.
Pound for pound, health-boosting whole foods are a lot cheaper than fast-food fare. To help pare down your grocery bill, swap legumes for meat products; buy less-expensive produce such as apples, oranges, carrots, spinach and cabbage; and purchase whole grains like oatmeal and rice in bulk.

Know this: No miracle diet will banish cellulite.

Medically speaking, there is no such thing as cellulite. It’s a marketing term for plain old pudge that ripples — mostly on the thighs — in varying degrees in 50-90 percent of women, regardless of clothing size or fitness level.

This clumpy fat results from fat cells stored just under the skin in honeycomb-like structures held in place by bands of connective tissue. The more fat cells stuffed into each honeycomb, the more puckered the texture. Women are more prone than men to dimpled fat because our skin is thinner, we have less-even fat distribution, and we store more fat in our hips and thighs. Since cellulite is just ordinary body fat, there is no unique diet trick to remove it. The bottom line? A calorie-controlled, healthy diet plus exercise helps you lose fat throughout your body.

Know this: Your body doesn’t need loads of protein.

Even if you exercise regularly, you don’t need any more protein than the average couch potato unless you are sports training or training in certain bodybuilding programs. Most Americans consume more than enough protein, averaging 77.5 grams a day, or 146 percent of the Dietary Reference Intake of 53 grams for a 145-pound adult.

If it were true that only a high-protein diet was important for building muscles, everyone on the Atkins-type diet would look like Charles Atlas. The best diet is one that contains 15-20 percent lean protein, 55-60 percent carbs and 20-30 percent fat. Eat this way and you’ll have no trouble achieving and maintaining a healthy weight.

Beth Rhodes, Certified Exercise Specialist, is the owner of Fitness Together at 119 Colony Crossing in Madison, by Pizza Inn, and 1127 Old Fannin Road in Brandon, by Spillway Road. For more information, call (601) 992-3433.