Tag: dieting

This week: soda and osteoporosis, aspartame and arthritis, high cost of healthcare, plus turkey tips

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

I know this is a week when most of us put our nutritional concerns on the shelf, but if you’re in the market for some tips on how to enjoy the feast without doing yourself too much damage, check out my pre-Turkey Day interview with Tom Hall on WYPR-FM.org.

And when you’re ready to turn your attention back to matters nutritional, this week’s podcast reviews the latest research on soda and bone health.  Soda drinkers seem to have thinner bones, but is it something in the soda itself or other lifestyle habits?

While we’re on the topic of soda, find out whether diet soda could be the next arthritis treatment.  And while we’re on the topic of dieting,  I’ve got some advice on how to lose weight without triggering painful gallstones in the Nutrition Diva newsletter.

I also published an open letter to my health insurance company this week, which triggered a good discussion on the Nutrition Diva Facebook Page. It’s a complicated topic…I’d love to get your views.

Enjoy the holiday weekend!

Nutrition Round-Up: carbs and weight gain, prebiotics, sports nutrition tips, and your questions answered

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN
Almonds lower in calories than previously thought
An almond tree in bloom

This week’s round-up is turbo-charged with two weeks’ worth of nutrition advice and commentary (due to the fact that I failed to post a round-up last week)!

Let’s start with the headliners: In last week’s Nutrition Diva podcast, I took a closer look at all the media buzz around the latest study on carbs and weight gain. As usual, there’s a little more to the story than the sound-bytes would suggest.   Also in the news, almonds turn out to be less caloric than we thought.

Speaking of nuts (and no, I am not referring to my dear readers!), a fan wrote in with a question about PB2, the new low-fat peanut butter(like) product taking calorie-counters by storm. Sometimes, less really is less. While we’re on the subject of calories, here’s a quick and dirty tip for a reader who wondered whether it makes more sense to focus on fat or calories when selecting non-dairy milk.

Over on the What’s Cooking blog, I have a post on selenium, what it does for you, and where you get it,  including some yum recipes.  You’ll find more great recipes in this post on starting the day off right with a vegetable-packed breakfast.

Wondering about the difference between prebiotics and probiotics? Check out this recent  episode of the Nutrition Diva podcast (which features a special guest appearance from Everyday Einstein!).   I got to pull out more fancy scientific terminology–words like ‘convective’ and ‘evaporative’–in this post on whether  drinking hot tea cools you down faster than a cold beverage.

And, finally(whew!), this month’s Smart Nutrition segment with Tom Hall on WYPR-FM in Baltimore focuses on sports nutrition tips for serious athletes as well as weekend warriors.

That should keep you busy until next week!

 

3 Ways to Break a Weight Loss Plateau

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

As anyone who has ever lost a lot of weight (like 20 pounds or more) will tell you, the first 5 come off easily and the last 5 are the toughest!  You’re still doing all the right things—eating less and moving more—but all of a sudden it stops working. The scale won’t budge. No matter where you are in the process, hitting a stubborn weight loss plateau is frustrating. But don’t let it erode your resolve.  Here are 3 ways to break through the plateau.

This article is also available as a podcast. Click below to listen:

Tip#1:  Calorie Cycling

In order to lose weight, you need to cut back on your calorie intake. But if you that for long enough, your body may play a nasty trick on you: It may start conserving energy by lowering your metabolic rate. The result? You don’t burn as many calories and your weight loss slows—or stops altogether. Although this feels like the worst kind of sabotage, your body is actually trying to look out for you. Your lizard brain has noticed that food supplies seem to have been scarce for an extended period of time. It’s trying to increase your chances of survival in case the famine continues. Of course, when you’re trying to lose weight, this is not very helpful.

See also: Metabolism Myths

You’re really stuck between a rock and a hard place: You could try eating even less in order to nudge off more weight, but that just confirms your lizard brain’s suspicions about the dwindling food supply. Or, you could eat more in an effort to restore a more robust metabolic rate—but that’s hardly going to help with weight loss.  There’s a way to outsmart old lizard brain: It’s called calorie cycling.

What is Calorie Cycling?

Let’s say you’ve been eating about 1800 calories a day and steadily losing weight. Now suddenly, it’s not working anymore.  Rather than trying to eat even less every day, try alternating high and low calorie days. For example, you could alternate between 2000-calorie days and 1200-calorie days. Over the course of a week, you’d trim an extra 1400 calories but the higher calorie days should help keep your lizard brain from panicking–and your willpower from flagging.

What are the Advantages of Calorie Cycling?

First of all, the higher calorie days keep your metabolism from slowing in response to sustained calorie restriction. Secondly, many people find that this sort of regimen feels easier than constant restriction. Although you may feel hungry on your low-intake day, you’ll always have a higher intake day to look forward to.

In fact, you could even try alternating higher and lower intake days without reducing the total number of calories for the week —alternating 2000-calorie days with 1600-calorie days, for example. Even without a net reduction in calories, the switch-up might be enough to knock you out of a metabolic slow-down.

Calorie Cycling is Not for Everyone

Calorie cycling clearly isn’t for everyone, and I’d encourage anyone considering it to check in with their doctor or nutrition professional first. Those with diabetes, hypoglycemia, who are pregnant, or have a history or risk of eating disorders are not good candidates for this technique.

Aside from health issues, some people may simply prefer a more traditional approach. And, honestly, as long as what you’re doing continues to work, I’d stick with that. But should you hit a plateau, calorie cycling might be something to try.

Tip #2: Mix Up Your Workouts

Although you can lose weight without exercising, exercise can help those pounds come off more quickly. However, when it comes to exercise, that darned lizard brain thwarts us once again.  If you do the same workout routine over and over again, your muscles will learn to perform those motions using less energy–and you’ll burn fewer calories. (And, by the way, the “calories burned” displays on gym cardio equipment are notoriously inaccurate!)

To maximize the benefit from your exercise sessions, you want to mix it up. Try some new classes, a different cardio machine, or even a different program on your favorite cardio equipment. (Best program for fat-burning? Interval training!) If you prefer low-tech exercise, like walking or jogging, try to find a new route that involves some extra hills, or work some 60-second sprints into your routine.

Tip 3#:  Slow Down

My final tip isn’t so much about changing the speed at which you’re losing weight as it is about reframing how you look at it. The closer you get to your goal weight, the slower the weight tends to come off. If you’re thinking of your goal weight as a finish line, this is supremely frustrating. Then again, if you lose those last pounds quickly, chances are good that they’ll come right back the minute you relax your efforts.

Rather than trying to sprint across the finish line, think of the last 5 pounds as your cool down.  By losing the last of the weight more slowly, you’re actually making a gradual transition—both mentally and physically—into your long-term maintenance phase. If it takes you 6 months to lose the final pounds, that’s 6 more months of healthy eating habits under your belt. And that greatly increases your chances of maintaining a healthy weight for the long term.

See also: The case for slower weight loss

Originally published at QuickandDirtyTips.com

What’s so magical about the Mediterranean Diet?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

Forget the mouse studies. After a couple weeks of controversial and much-contested rat studies on the effects of carbohydrates on various aspects of metabolism and disease, here’s a study involving 200 newly-diagnosed, diabetic humans.  Half were told to follow a Mediterranean-style diet, rich in vegetables, whole grains, and monounsaturated fats from poultry, fish, and olive oil and limiting carbohydrates to 50% or less of total calories.

The other half were assigned to a “low-fat” diet, which also emphasized whole grains and discouraged sweets and high fat snacks. Fat was limited to 30% or less of calories and saturated fat to 10% or less of calories.

After four years, the Mediterranean group had lost more weight and was only half as likely to need anti-diabetic medications.

What’s the real difference here?

Notice that the macronutrient distributions between the two diets are not all that different. The Mediterranean diet was not terribly low in carbohydrates (although it’s being described in media reports as a “low-carb” diet). The low-fat diet isn’t really all that low in fat. The two percentages certainly aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, it’s entirely possible that the distribution of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates between the two groups was very similar.  Nor can we necessarily chalk it up to refined versus complex carbohydrates.  Both groups were instructed to favor whole grains.

Perhaps it was just a matter of what the dieters were told to focus on.  The Mediterranean group was told what to eat: vegetables, fish, grains, olive oil. The low-fat group were told what to avoid: sugary snacks and high-fat foods.  Could it be as simple as casting dietary recommendations in terms of positives instead of negatives?

Is Fasting a Good Way to Lose Weight?

by Monica Reinagel, MS, LDN

People fast for many reasons: as a religious observance or spiritual ritual, as a political protest, in preparation for medical procedures, or as an occasional health practice.   And studies have confirmed that short-term fasting can have a number of health benefits. Yet fasting for the purposes of losing weight is not generally seen as a good idea.

Fasting Doesn’t Teach You How to Eat Better

One argument is that you need to learn healthy eating habits in order to achieve long-term weight control. Fasting is by necessity a short-term strategy. Sooner or later, you have to begin eating again. And skills such as exercising portion control, choosing more nutritious foods and fewer empty calories, eating more vegetables and whole grains are not developed by fasting.

And we’ve all heard the argument that people who skip meals (whether one or a whole day’s worth) tend to eat more calories later to compensate. (More on that in a moment.) But a series of new studies, summarized in the U.S. News and World Report, suggest that there may be a legitimate role for modified fasting as a weight loss tool.

Fasting as a Dieting Strategy

A group of researchers in Louisiana conducted a small study in which overweight subjects ate just 20% of their normal caloric intake every other day. On the days in between, they ate as much as they wanted. On average, they lost about 8% of their body weight over the next two months.

Inspired by these results, Kenneth Webb decided to try his own version of the program. Webb calculated his daily calorie requirements (you can calculate yours with this Daily Needs Calculator) and ate just 30% that many calories every other day. On the alternate days, he ate 130%.  Over the course of about seven months, he lost 30 pounds. Not surprising, because he reduced his overall calorie intake by about 20%. But Webb says his one-day-on, one-day-off routine has a psychological advantage: He claims that it’s easy to be disciplined for a single day, knowing that the next day he’ll be eating as much as he wants–with no guilt.

Health and Anti-Aging Benefits of Fasting

There appear to be health benefits to fasting as well. Short-term fasting has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, improve insulin sensitivity, and slow the cellular aging process.   Some research suggests that fasting every other day may be almost as effective (and far less difficult) than the practice of calorie restriction.

Still, fasting isn’t for everyone.  For some, going an entire day on just a few hundred calories is simply too uncomfortable. For others–especially anyone who has struggled with eating disorders–the alternating sequence of fasting and feasting may lead to out-of-control binging.  You’ll have to be the judge of whether this strategy is a good fit for your lifestyle, disposition, and relationship to food.

And if you do decide to try it, remember that when calories are limited, the quality of them matters even more.  On your fasting days, be sure to concentrate on nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean protein.

A final thought: We’ve all been led to believe that skipping meals is an ineffective way to lose weight. But research from Cornell University suggests that restricting calories for one meal per day may be an effective weight loss strategy.

In a small, 2-week study, one group was given a 200 calorie (kcal) lunch (such as a cup of yogurt or bowl of soup) and another was given a 600 calorie (kcal) buffet lunch.  Both groups were allowed to eat as much as they wanted the rest of the day.  Surprisingly, those who ate only 200 calories for lunch didn’t seem to compensate by eating more the rest of the day. In fact, their daily calorie intake was, on average, precisely 400 calories less than those who ate the larger lunch, leading to weight loss.

Time for you to weigh in (so to speak!) on this interesting topic:

Have you ever tried modified fasting as a weight control strategy? How did it work for you?

Do you think every other day fasting would be a workable lifestyle? Easier than dieting every day?  Or do you think its just a gimmick?

Would the possible health benefits of fasting, aside from weight control, motivate you to try this approach?

I look forward to your comments and discussion!