“It was really interesting to see that the monkeys who ate most of their food at night were no more likely to gain weight than monkeys who rarely ate at night,” said Elinor Sullivan, an OHSU graduate student conducting research along with Cameron at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. “This suggests that calories cause weight gain no matter when you eat them.” -comments on the result of a study that observed the eating pattern of monkeys for a year. -ScienceDaily
This is only 1 study on a few monkeys, and if you read on, researchers also made the following statement: “Overall, this research shows that caloric intake does not specifically correlate to weight gain,” -Medical News Talk about throwing a monkey wrench into our beliefs on weight gain!
Some of our preliminary data presented at the 2005 Society for Neuroscience Meeting shows that a person’s activity level is a better predictor of weight gain and loss.
MY COMMENT: I am not buying into that last statement, however I do believe that it does not make much difference when you take in your calories. Just eat some popcorn or another low calorie snack if you are hungry at night. An extra 100 calories per day will add up over time if you do it consistently, so the key is to monitor weight and balance your intake appropriately when you begin seeing a gradual climb.
Lose It For Ever
“Combination meals” at hamburger chains accounted for 31% of all purchases and averaged over 1,200 calories; side orders accounted for almost one-third of these calories.” -What People Buy From Fast-food Restaurants: Caloric Content and Menu Item Selection, New York City 2007, Obesity Journal, April 2009
MY COMMENT: Drinking water instead of soda and skipping the fries saves money and calories!
Weight Loss Science, Weight Loss Tips
combo meals, fast food, obesity
Here are nine diet tips you may not have not heard yet. Some involve different ways to eat, or adding certain foods to your diet. Others involve learning new behaviors or strategies to help you stay on track. (WebMD).
1. Variety is Overrated.
2. Barley for Breakfast.
3. Add Protein and Fat to Your Lunch Salad.
4. Stock up on Frozen Veggies.
5. Make a Veggie Platter.
6. Keep Your House at 61 F.
7. Smaller Plates.
8. Make it a Hassle to Eat Treats.
9. Try on Your Tight Jeans Every Week.
Weight Loss Tips
Weight Loss Tips
I recently came across an interesting article in the May/June 09 ACSM Health & Fitness Journal titled “Social Undermining of Healthy Eating and Exercise Behaviors”. In the article, authors Dixie Stanforth, MS, and Michael Mackert, Ph.D. make reference to a weight gain theory that “stems from very small imbalances in energy intake and output”, using the term “energy gap.” Some suggest that modifying the energy gap by just 100 kcal per day “has the potential to prevent weight gain in 90% of the adult population.”
Think about that- 100 calories per day!
9 oz of soda
one tablespoon of butter
2 slices of bacon
1 oz cheese
…and so on. Easy to cut 100 calories a day, or you could burn an extra 100 calories by jogging for 10-12 minutes.
This is not a quick fix, but a realistic look at narrowing the energy gap over a lifetime to manage weight.
(c) Dave Elger, 2009. All rights reserved.
Weight Loss News, Weight Loss Science, Weight Loss Tips
energy gap, weight loss
Animals fed a high-fat diet and supplemented with acetic acid (vinegar) developed about 10 per cent less body fat than mice just eating the diet, according to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. -NUTRAingredients.com
MY COMMENT: Can’t wait for the human trials.
Research, Weight Loss News, Weight Loss Science
fat metabolism, vinegar, weight loss
The difficulty, Dr. Blair says, is that it’s much easier to eat 1,000 calories than to burn off 1,000 calories with exercise. As he relates, “An old football coach used to say, ‘I have all my assistants running five miles a day, but they eat 10 miles a day.’” -nytimes
MY COMMENT: It’s easier to lose body fat by cutting calories out of your diet than trying to burn them off. Ideally you should do a combination of both. The primary benefit of aerobic exercise is not how many calories you burn but the change that occurs within the muscle.
Exercise, Weight Loss Science, Weight Loss Tips
Exercise, weight loss
“An increased dairy calcium intake of 1241 mg day-1 increased faecal fat excretion by 5.2 g day-1 compared with low-calcium (less than 700 mg day-1) dairy diet,” -nutraingredients
MY COMMENT: If your intake of calcium is low and you are fighting a weight problem, it might not be a bad idea to boost your intake. 5 grams of fat excreted per day amounts to about 45 calories, or 4-5 pounds in a year, so don’t expect miracles.
Food Sources of Calcium-
Research, Weight Loss News, Weight Loss Science, Weight Loss Tips
calcium, fat, weight loss
No study, these critics say, has ever proved a causal relationship between moderate drinking and lower risk of death — only that the two often go together. It may be that moderate drinking is just something healthy people tend to do, not something that makes people healthy. -NY Times
MY COMMENT: This is one health claim that will be very difficult to prove despite mounds of evidence linking moderate alcohol consumption to reduced risk.
Health Risks, Research
alcohol, beer, health, heart disease
It’s not that difficult, and not very expensive- every day, make it a goal to eat 1 medium sized apple- a great source of fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients that promote good health. Checkout this summary at WHFoods.
Weight Loss Tips
apple, health, Nutrition
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