Nutrition Myth - Carbohydrates stimulate insulin and fat storage

As periodic eaters, humans need insulin to survive. Insulin helps the body store energy to fuel the body’s continuous needs and activities. Insulin is secreted after eating in order to store energy (e.g. glucose, amino acids) into the liver, muscle and adipose tissue (fat)—the body’s primary fuel source. Within about an hour after a meal, insulin levels diminish, leading to an increase in the hormone glucagon. Glucagon signals the body to begin releasing stored energy (glycogen from the liver and muscle, and fatty acids from adipose tissue) into the blood stream to fuel the body’s continuous energy needs, essentially reversing the actions of insulin. This cycle is repeated with every meal.

Insulin plays a major role in keeping us alive, but in short, this hormone is not responsible for weight loss or continuous body fat gains. Only we are in control of our weight. Whether one increases or decreases the size of their fat stores from day to day depends upon the relationship of calories eaten to the amount of calories used through metabolism and daily activity. If, at the end of the day, you are in a caloric deficit (more calories/fat burned than stored), then fat stores will decrease. However, if calories eaten exceed calories used, body fat stores will increase. Insulin is just doing its job, which is storing things, including amino acids, to build muscle. However, it is the person, through eating, who gives insulin the "things" to store. In other words, insulin does not cause a person to become fat. The excess food one consumes leads to the average adult’s growing waistline, and of course that is 100% under the control of the person eating the calories.

Nutrition Myth - Sugar makes you fat

All legitimate science agrees that the causes of continuous weight gain in developed nations consists of a variety of environmental, psychological and physiological factors, not sugar and sweeteners.[1] Researchers found that obesity was positively linked with time spent watching TV or at a computer and diets high in fat. Sweeteners are unfortunately guilty by association because of their presence in the foods and drinks (thus calories) we choose to consume. In other words, we can get fat on anything if we eat more calories than we burn. According to a 2003 article in Obesity Research, “The use of caloric sweeteners has risen across the world, and has contributed to an increasing number of calories consumed per day, which leads to weight gain”.[2] The sad truth is that as a society we simply make poor food and drink choices. No one would argue that a diet high in sugar and the low nutrient density foods that deliver it is good for you, but in the end these poor food choices are simply a delivery vehicle for excess calories. There is nothing inherently fat producing about sugar. But, the reality is that sugary foods do make up a significant portion of the typical American’s diet. Coupled with low daily activity, this is a recipe for disaster, tipping the scale in favor of weight gain. The take home message should be more accurately, “reduce junk food intake and increase physical activity to improve health and body composition”. Not, “don’t eat sugar, it will make you fat.”

Nutrition Myth - High protein diets

Things have changed over the years in how scientists and nutrition professionals view dieting and what is truly considered “high protein.” When it comes to health, as long as the diet falls within the current and much wider range of acceptable amounts of protein, carbs and fats (45-65% Carbs, 10-30% Protein, 20-35% Fat), then the best diet for producing weight loss is the one that works for the individual. As long as the diet does not vastly exceed the guidelines, weight loss itself trumps the dieting method when it comes to improving health. In other words, weight loss is the primary driver of health improvement rather than the type of diet used. Other important facts to consider are presented here.
The current recommendation for protein is 10 to 30 percent of total daily calories. Therefore, diets that were once considered high in protein (e.g. 40/30/30, Zone Diet) are well within recommended guidelines and are widely acceptable among scientists and nutrition professionals.
Low-carb diets (e.g. Atkins) are those that severely restrict daily carbohydrate intake to below recommended levels (< 130 g/d) and allow unlimited protein and fat intake. Protein intake often falls within guidelines while fat intake exceeds guidelines (>35% of total calories). A recent review evaluating the safety and effectiveness of low-carb versus traditional high-carb, low fat diets has found that low-carb diets produce greater weight loss at six months but the diets are equally effective after one year. The effectiveness of low carb/high-protein diets is likely be due to 1) protein’s increased ability to prolong the feeling of satisfaction when compared to carbohydrates and 2) limiting food choices to mostly protein and fat sources which often leads to fewer calories consumed daily. Despite this, widespread use of low-carb diets is not recommended because of adverse changes in LDL (“bad”) and total cholesterol levels. It’s also important to note that drop-out rates were significantly high – almost 50% for both diets -- and that most people who lose weight return to their original weight within three to five years. 
Data accumulated through the National Weight Control Registry and other sources has revealed that people use a variety of dieting and food intake strategies to lose and maintain weight loss long-term. While most participants follow a lower fat diet, there is variability in the amount of protein and carbohydrate used. More consistent among successful losers were certain behaviors including eating breakfast daily, tracking food intake, maintaining a high activity level (mostly walking), limiting TV time and self-weighing regularly. Although participants of the National Weight Control Registry represent a model for long-term weight loss success, this population represents a very small percentage of those who attempt weight loss. Therefore, to lose weight individuals should select sustainable eating patterns and activity behaviors that create a calorie deficit and regularly check weight, inches gained/lost or body composition to determine if adjustments are needed. Gaining continuous visibility of weight changes and self-regulating food intake and activity are critical for maintaining losses.

Get the facts on The Biggest Loser

This is a great example of the difference between reality and television. The contestants on the show get to exist in a controlled environment where their primary daily activity IS activity, and they are medically supervised during their time on the show.  It is not uncommon for contestants to do 4-8 hours a day of intense exercise. Add to this a low- or very-low calorie diet and you have the recipe for weight loss: increased calories out and decreased calories in. Also, especially prior to weigh-ins, dehydration strategies are not uncommon, leading to additional weight loss. So, a huge energy expenditure coupled with a sparse calorie intake yields a dramatic calorie deficit and the loss of fat, muscle and water, yielding impressive numbers on the scale. And no, it’s not safe for most overweight people.
More Info
In the real world, rapid weight loss can lead to weight regain. In fact, there has been a lot of controversy around former contestants regaining much of the lost weight. Generally a 1- 2 lb loss per week (more if you have a lot of weight to lose) creates a realistic lifestyle that, for most people, is more sustainable. If you cannot maintain the severity of the lifestyle necessary to promote rapid weight loss, then you most likely will not maintain the weight loss. For more info, read Keys to Permanent Weight Loss, and Proven Strategies for Weight Loss.

Don't Just Sit There, Move!

Weight control is possible without traditional exercise (though there's no substitute for true exercise).
Somehow during the last few decades, somewhere between 20 and 40 years of age, you’ve gained about 20 pounds. This didn’t have to happen--if you had walked an average of 150 more steps daily (which takes about three minutes) during a period you would normally have been sitting, chances are you would still have that same 20-year-old body. If only you’d paced around your office or home while you were on a three-minute phone call, or walked around your house once daily. If you had gone to the gym only ten times each year for approximately half an hour, engaging in a light workout, you would be 20 pounds lighter. And that’s without changing what you ate and drank during those 20 years!

Now, imagine you gained 40 pounds during the last 20 years. Simply double the above numbers and picture yourself 40 pounds lighter. You get the picture. Most people don’t gain weight because they are slothful creatures. Instead, slow, steady weight gain creeps up on us. Many people arrive at a point where they feel it’s too late, the damage is done, it’s too hard to lose weight or they don’t have enough time in their busy lives to make changes.

Take it up a notch

If you need to lose weight and don’t want it to take the 20 years it took to put it on—but at the same time you fall into that category of “no time” or “can’t stick to a diet”—use the formula above and accelerate it up to the point where you can erase the weight over the next year. Like the sound of losing weight without working out and dieting? Basically, you can consume the same foods and fluids but simply move more within your normal daily activities. Here is an example of what a 175 pound person, who does not wish to change his/her lifestyle and eating habits, can do to lose 20 pounds. Refer to “Your Life is Exercise” for additional calorie burning tips.

Start here

Put a stop to the instinctual habit that tells you to take the path of least resistance, the easy way out. Instead, choose to take the path of more resistance anytime you can. In other words, anywhere you can squeeze in some extra steps or movement, do it. Park further out from your destination, pace or stand at home or in the office while on the phone, reading or simply talking to someone. Think “why sit when I can walk or stand”? Get a pedometer and find out how many steps a day you are currently walking. Gradually add an extra 500 steps to your day until you are regularly averaging 2500 steps more per day than you were prior to reading this article. Maintain your same basic lifestyle and eating habits, but incorporate the “move when you can” attitude and stand or pace when performing tasks you previously would have done sitting down. You don’t have to do all this at once; break it up any way you want to. Just average an extra 2500 steps daily. For current physical activity guidelines, click here.


A little goes a long way

For a 175 pound person, every ten minutes of normal walking or pacing while doing something equates to burning approximately 20-30 more calories than sitting down doing the same activity. So, by moving upright for one hour (about 2500 slow steps) more than before, you will lose about 1.5 pounds per month or 18 pounds over the course of a year without working out in a gym (as long as your food intake doesn’t increase). If you did add gym time and a slight reduction in your food intake as well, you could lose significantly more. Not so daunting of a task anymore, is it?
Note: the lighter you get, the fewer calories your body burns, so for every 5-7 pounds you lose, you should add about 500 more steps per day if you choose not to slightly reduce or alter your food intake. Continue the process until you achieve your goal weight.

Tips for extra movement in the gym

Use the same tips recommended in the “your life is exercise” section, but use them in the gym or while going to the gym. 

• Park your car in a safe place at least 1250 paces from the gym
• Always pace or stand between sets
• Circuit train (i.e., move from one exercise to another with little to no rest but rotating body parts)
• Get all 2500 steps/day using cardio machines. On non-workout days, follow the daily life tips or simply do more steps during the three days you are in the gym using a treadmill, stepper, etc., to make the weekly total.

Bottom line

Everyone sits at least an hour a day; the vast majority of people sit a minimum of eight. Find the parts of the day when you can stand, sit or pace while performing something you would normally do sitting down. No matter what you do or how, just be sure you have added an average of 2500 steps to your daily routine and as you lose weight, slowly increase your steps. Always remember, every calorie counts, in or out. That’s a scientific fact. Remember this: if you are wearing it, you ate it.

So there you have it, the easiest, least painful method to stop or reverse weight gain. This is something anyone can do and—most importantly—maintain.


Your Life is Exercise

Around the House

• Get a cordless phone if you do not have one. Walk around the house or yard while you chat.
• Put away the remote control a few days a week and change channels on the TV itself.
• Forget the car wash! Do it yourself and burn about 200 cal.
• Cut back on your cleaning service; schedule them less frequently to save money and boost your activity.
• During commercial breaks on television: Unload one level of the dishwasher. Put in or take out one load of laundry. Clean out one shelf in the refrigerator. Clean out what’s fallen under the sofa cushions. Take out the trash.
• Put away laundry in smaller loads. You’ll make a few extra trips to burn some extra calories.

Traveling

• When traveling by air, walk around the airport till boarding time.
• Walk rather than using moving sidewalks.
• Walk to the airport gate or parking lot instead of using a shuttle.
• Walk to nearby restaurants rather than dining in the hotel.

Errands on the Run

• Bypass the drive through. Use walk-up options at the bank, pharmacy, cleaners, etc. Park at the back of the lot and walk.
• Carry smaller loads into the house to make a few extra trips.
• Hit the mall instead of the Internet.
• Take a lap of the mall or grocery store before starting to shop.
• When loading your purchases, park the shopping cart at the front of the car and carry the bags to the trunk.
• Offer to run errands for an elderly or ill neighbor or friend.

At the Office

• Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
• Get off the elevator two floors early—walk the rest of the way.
• Park a couple of blocks away from your office and walk.
• Use the restroom or coffee maker farthest from your office.
• Use a smaller water bottle and coffee cup. You’ll get up for refills more often.
• Take regular breaks and walk once around the office building.
• Walk to lunch instead of ordering it.
• Sit on a fitness ball instead of a chair. You’ll burn more calories and strengthen those abs.
• Waiting for copies? Take a quick walk while the copier finishes your job.
• Don’t eat at your desk. Take a walk, eat in a nearby park, or climb a few flights of stairs.
• Visit people’s offices instead of calling or e-mailing them.
• Walk the entire office a couple times/day. Visit departments you don’t normally deal with.
• Start an office walking club. You can meet before or after work or even at lunch.

Do these things really add up and make a difference? Refer to the two figures below. They illustrate the impact adding daily movement can have on the same person. All of these “little” tweaks to your daily activity have a significantly greater impact than the daily exercise session. Now, if you did both you’d be golden!
 
  

Why We Eat When We Know We Shouldn't

I'm full, so why do I keep eating?
There are many things that trigger us to eat. Maybe you were taught to clean your plate, or maybe everyone in your family always ate second helpings. Sights, sounds, smells, situations, locations, emotions- all may trigger appetite, which is the desire to eat. It is important to understand what drives appetite so as to minimize the negative impact of an appetite gone awry. Before we get too far into this topic, let's get a little terminology out of the way.

1.    Appetite- the desire to eat (not a physiological need)
2.    Hunger- the physiological need for nourishment
3.    Satiety- a feeling of fullness and lack of desire to eat

Weight gain and satiety

When one is in a weight gain cycle, fullness is a familiar feeling. While maintaining weight, we may often feel sated, although it probably occurs less frequently. When losing weight, satiety is very rare and hunger pangs become the norm.  But as everyone knows, hunger often has nothing to do with eating.

Why do we consistently eat or drink beyond our needs? There are as many reasons as there are overweight people in the US. The trouble is that the potential solution varies from person to person because of the complexities of human psychology and physiology. With so many factors driving us to eat, most people are faced with the seemingly inevitable slow-but-steady weight gain that plagues society.


Saving calories for a rainy day

Appetite and satiety work together to maintain energy stores and body weight.  Due to the nature of human survival, the relationship between appetite and satiety encourages food intake and energy storage. This becomes a problem when you try to reverse unwanted weight gain and true satiety becomes virtually non-existent. This is because, as discussed above, the feeling of fullness only happens when the trend is weight gain or at certain times during maintenance. Your body worked hard to gather and store those extra calories, and based upon inborn survival mechanisms, the body will try to hold onto them for that “rainy day” when a consistent, reliable food supply disappears. In today's world, though, this day never comes.

Now you know why it is virtually impossible to feel regularly full when dieting. Dieting and purposeful food restriction both go against your body’s instincts, regardless of whether you’re ten pounds or 200 pounds overweight.

While dieting, there are moments of agonizing, uncontrollable hunger. The further you stray from your starting weight, the more severe the struggle. Deeper into your diet, you begin to become increasingly aware of food . . . it's everywhere! You might find yourself obsessing over your next meal and even unconsciously find yourself looking at pictures or signs of foods. Cravings become common and food you never even really liked before looks appealing. As hunger continues to mount, you may start to feel crabby and even go so far as to be annoyed with people for having the audacity to eat anywhere near you. Little by little, the body and mind work on you and without your awareness, you may begin to increase your portions a bit. You formulate excuses as to why it is okay to "cheat" for a meal or two (or three). Finally, you start to plan what you will eat when you eventually lose the weight and complete your "diet". It is amazing all of the subtle and not so subtle tricks the body employs to get you to increase your food intake. Dieting is not natural and it is a small percentage of people who succeed at weight loss and maintenance and appear to have “beat the system”. But don’t worry, there is hope.

Know your enemy

Now we realize what drives us to eat (hunger), and we also know that in today's “land of plenty”, finding and storing food is NOT the problem. The trick is identifying when you’ve had enough and suppressing the urge to eat when you know you don’t need to.

If you’re overweight, or like many people have that roll of fat that never goes away, there is no physical or physiological reason to gain weight (you have plenty of energy stores). Nor should you have an internal “lingering” hunger cue following normal meals. So what continues to drive us to eat? External cues, learned behavior and the environment in which we exist. Memories, experiences, emotions, habits, sensory stimulation and situations can all trigger our appetite and motivate us to eat more.  Of course the simple solution is to move to a deserted island (ever notice how everyone on Survivor loses weight?), but since that’s not likely to happen, we are left with altering our environment.

Recall that appetite is influenced most often by our environment: in social or other situations, we drink when not actually thirsty, and eat when not hungry simply because the food is there or it gives us something to do.


Sound familiar?

• You cruise into your favorite coffee shop for a small coffee, but you order a 200-400 calorie beverage instead (e.g. latte or mocha)
• You go out with friends for a few drinks (which of course contain calories), not because you’re thirsty, but to “hang out”
  • A few drinks often become quite a few drinks
• A "few drinks" is infinitely more enjoyable with a few munchies (generally high in fat and calories)
  • As more drinks are consumed, the ability to make wise food choices diminishes
• You clean your plate because that’s what you always do, not because you know it’s exactly the amount of food you need
• Dinner and a movie is almost invariably dinner and a movie and snacks (even though you ate PLENTY at dinner)

What the folks in lab coats have to say

In an important recent study related to satiety, researchers discovered that people “count calories with their eyes and not their stomachs”. Researchers conducted a test using a “bottomless soup bowl” (self-refilling bowl) with one group and a normal bowl of the same size with another group. Participants using the bottomless bowls consumed 73% more soup than the other group. Without the visual cue of the diminishing soup, people were misled into thinking they had not eaten as much as they had, so they kept eating. Here are a few more findings on how the environment affects eating:

• People who eat with others consume 44% more food than when eating alone
• Women eat 13% more in the company of men than when eating with other women
• Snack size, variety of food options, visibility and proximity to food influence how much is eaten
  • At a movie, people eating popcorn from a large bucket ate 33% more by the end of the film than those eating from a medium bucket (even though both groups had previously eaten dinner and the popcorn was 14 days old)
  • When provided with a variety of snack foods (e.g. yogurt, jelly beans, M&M’s) people ate up to 70% more calories
  • People ate Hershey’s kisses at a 46% faster rate when in a clear jar versus an opaque one
  • People ate 5.6 more candies/day when the candy jar was on their desk versus 2-yards away

So what do I do?

Other than our waistlines, we are no different from our ancestors when it comes to satiety. Our early predecessors also ate everything around them. The difference was they didn't have the quantity and variety of foods that we encounter every day. They didn't have the luxury of drive thrus, buffets and snack machines. Our ancestors had to grow it, gather it, catch it (or run from it), and prepare it. The work required to acquire food and stay alive kept people skinny. Taking a page from the past can help guide us to control our weight and appetite: 1) stay busy; 2) a calorie burned offsets a calorie eaten; 3) make food scarce (do not stock your home or surround yourself with a variety of yummy, calorie rich food-if it’s not there, you can’t eat it).

If we had to acquire food as our ancestors did, we would certainly solve society’s weight problem. The energy we would spend to get it would offset the calories we ate once we found it.  What is interesting is that the very traits that led to our survival are now killing us: we are hardwired to seek out food and eat all we can once we find it.


Tricks of the trade

To gain some insight into hunger and how to deal with it, we can look at a group of athletes who truly understand what it is to lose fat (almost all of it) and deal with insane hunger while still trying to function as members of a civilized society. A competitive bodybuilder endures more hunger and food restriction (read misery) than anyone on the planet (who has the luxury of choice).

As such, they have come up with some imaginative and effective methods to take the mind off of food. Here are a few examples:

• Brush your teeth immediately following a meal: it sends a subliminal message that the meal is over
• Stick sugarless gum in your mouth every time you get an urge to eat or keep eating when you shouldn’t
• Drink a diet soda, coffee or tea when an eating urge occurs, or to end each meal
• Eat slowly and wait 40 minutes after a meal before you decide to give in to dessert or more food; it takes roughly that long for the satiety message to get from your stomach to your brain
• Stay busy: plan an activity almost immediately post-meal or between meals where eating would be difficult or impossible to do
  • This increases your calories burned rather than your calories consumed, refocuses your attention, and stalls for time until the satiety signal hits
• Consume foods high in volume and low in calories e.g. BIG salads
• Use non-caloric sweeteners to satisfy a growing sweet tooth
• Go to bed early, or save a meal for right before bedtime – you can’t eat when you’re asleep, but you’re more likely to eat more if you go to bed a long time after dinner
  • Humans are always less hungry in the morning than they are at night
• Take your time eating – take small bites and use small utensils
• Snack on pickles or air popped popcorn when you just have to eat
• When all else fails and you are tempted to make a poor food decision, pinch that spot of fat you’re trying to lose and think again
• When your sweet tooth becomes unbearable (the leaner you get the louder it screams) be sure to save the calories you need to satisfy it – but get the most bang for the fewest calories. If you can, try a lower fat/calorie/sugar option, it may just work
  • dotFIT breakfast bars and protein sticks can be a guiltless dessert that will actually add the proper protein, carbs and fats that you need. Try microwaving them for 20 seconds . . . wow.

Don't Let Your Environment Go To Your Waist (tips for fat-proofing your world)

• Before completing your meal, have the breadbasket removed or have a portion of your entrée boxed “to go.” The atmosphere of a long and relaxing dinner can then be enjoyed without the temptation to overeat
• Although soft music and candlelight can improve one’s enjoyment of a meal, they have calorie intake consequences. Instead of automatically eating a dessert, enjoy a cup of coffee in the pleasant atmosphere
• Make tempting foods harder to get to, putting them in inconvenient locations (such as in a basement or in a top cupboard or buried under the driveway)
• At mealtime, portion out your plate in the kitchen rather than having extra food on the table within arm’s reach
• Decide how much to eat prior to the meal instead of during it. Order smaller quantities (e.g. half-size portions) to avoid excess calories
• Model the behavior of a person eating the least or the slowest
• Discourage “grazing” by focusing only on a meal and only when sitting down, preferably at a distraction-free table
• Don't eat while doing other activities like watching TV or reading. If for some reason you ignore this advice, then pre-serve the portions and allow no “refills”
• Eliminate the cookie jar. Replace it with a fruit bowl
• Position healthy, lower calorie foods in the front of the refrigerator and the less healthy foods in the back
• At buffets and receptions avoid having more than two different foods on the plate at the same time
• Repackage foods into smaller containers to get used to smaller portions
• Plate smaller dinner portions in advance
• Never eat from a package. Always transfer food to a plate or bowl in order to make portion estimation easier
• Out of sight is out of mind. Don't buy or store poor food choices. The work involved with getting them gives you time to reconsider making a bad choice
• Stockpile healthy, low-energy-density foods (few calories per ounce or item) to stimulate their consumption and to leave less room for their high-density counterparts
• Replace short wide glasses with tall narrow ones; it looks like you drank more
• Reduce serving sizes and consumption by using smaller bowls and plates
• Use smaller spoons when serving; it's more work and it makes you feel like you've served a lot

Weight Loss & Weight Fluctuation

The Scale Tells the Whole Story Over Time
On any given day, the scale can lie and your true progress won’t be accurately reflected by your weight. This is because body weight can fluctuate on a daily basis due to the amount of fluid we retain.  Foods high in sodium, menstrual cycles, certain medications and bowel movements can increase fluid retention and skew your weight. However, over time the scale tells the whole story. If your weight creeps up after two or three weeks, you’ve been eating more calories than you’re burning.
The opposite is also true – if your weight decreases after two to three weeks, you’ve been eating fewer calories than you’re burning. A steady weight indicates the calories you’re burning and consuming are equal. (See "Weight Control 101" for more.)



Other Ways to Measure Progress
If you’re making progress in at least two of the following areas, you’re on the right track:

• Inches lost
• Body fat percentage
• Clothing size or fit
• Energy levels

Gaining muscle is another way to gauge your progress. For example, if you’ve gained a pound of muscle, this is not the same as gaining a pound of fat. Gaining muscle is beneficial to your metabolism and strength level. By consistently burning more calories than you eat, muscle gain will taper and fat loss will continue. The scale will eventually capture your results and you will lose weight.
Tips for Weighing In
Be sure to weigh yourself at least once a week. Those who have lost weight and kept it off check their weight on a weekly and even daily basis.  To minimize fluctuations, follow these tips for weighing in:

• Wear similar clothing each time
• Use the same scale
• Weigh in at the same time of day
• Maintain similar eating and drinking patterns prior to weighing in
• Weigh in mid-week if you only check your weight weekly. Monday weigh-ins tend to be inaccurate because of food choices and eating habits on weekends

Regular weigh-ins allow you to react to small gains so they don’t become large ones. Daily weighing has been shown to prevent weight gain.  If you want to know exactly how to adjust your intake or activity level on a daily basis, email your weight to the dotFIT Weight Coach and get instant feedback. Click here to send an email to a coach who will provide more info.