Testing It Up

Losing weight can be quite a challenge, especially if you’re the kind who loves food and hates exercise. There are, however, some ways you can “cheat the system” and shed the pounds without dieting.

Savor every bite. Eating slow is one easy habit you can adopt to help you lose some weight. When you eat slow, you give your body’s natural signals of fullness a chance to register. You can stop even before you have taken more than you really need. If you eat fast,you continue eating past the point where you’re already full. So, take small bites, chew food longer and enjoy your meal longer.

Have enough sleep. Depriving yourself of sleep can rev up your appetite. This makes you hungry in times you should no longer be eating. It is also good for sleep to replace idle activities, which can help you avoid late-night mindless snacking.

Use smaller dishes. Some people would argue that using small dishes would not help if you still refill your plates several times. Cornell’s Brian Wansink, PhD, however, found that larger dishes encourage people to serve more and eat more. A simple eye trick — replacing your 12-inch dinner plate with a 10-inch lunch plate — can cut 100-200 calories per day.

Needless to say, though, nothing beats the good old combination of diet and exercise to further cut down weight. All you may need to do is find the right kind of diet and exercise that fits your lifestyle and personality.

We are always worried about how much food we eat and how big our stomachs seem to get, but a new study shows that using a bigger fork can help control our voracious appetites.

According to a feature on USA TODAY, a field study was conducted in an Italian restaurant, by Arul Mishra, Himanshu Mishra and Tamara Masters of the University of Utah gave diners two different-sized forks, in order to change the “bite sizes” of customers.

They found out that the customers who were given large–sized forks ate less, when compared against those who were given ones that were smaller in size.

The study authors attributed the difference to diners’ well-defined goal of satisfying hunger, whenever they eat out. As such, diners who eat out tend to be more willing to invest energy and resources in such actions as choosing items from a menu, eating, and paying the check.

“The fork size provided the diners with a means to observe their goal progress,” the investigators explained in a journal news release. “The physiological feedback of feeling full, or the satiation signal, comes with a time lag. In its absence, diners focus on the visual cue of whether they are making any dent on the food on their plate to assess goal progress.”

The researchers clarified, however, that their findings applied only to people who were eating out, as they may have different goals when it came to satiating hunger when compared against those who were dining at home.

There are a number of factors that may be associated with weight loss or gain, such as amount of physical activity, duration of sleep, and time spent watching TV. There was, however, a factor that stood out in a study conducted by Harvard researchers: diet.

A feature on The Atlantic shared details from the researchers’ report, published recently in The New England Journal of Medicine. Among the things discussed in the journal article are the specific foods associated with long-term changes in weight, both for weight gain and weight loss. The researchers were able to determine, among others, the amount of weight gain (or loss) associated with consuming an additional serving of a certain type of food, over a four-year period.

Among the foods that may trigger weight gain are potatoes and potato chips, sugar-sweetened beverages, processed meats, and unprocessed red meat. Foods associated with weight loss are vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, and yogurt.

The study gathered data from a total of 120,877 participants, from the Nurses’ Health Study (NHS), the Nurses’ Health Study II (NHS II), and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS). All the study participants did not suffer from chronic diseases and were not obese at the start of the evaluation process.

Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, and co-author of the study, expressed the following in a press release: “The idea that there are no ‘good’ or ‘bad’ foods is a myth that needs to be debunked.”

“Yummy treats” and “losing pounds” may seem like two phrases that cannot go together, but that may not necessarily be the case. Certain foods that may help fight fat are not wanting in the taste department. A feature on WebMD shares some of these foods.

Greek Yogurt. Sports nutritionist Leslie Bonci, MPH, RD shared that “protein takes longer to leave the stomach.” One such dish is Greek yogurt, which has twice as much protein as other yogurts. In addition to keeping one satisfied for a longer period of time, the body also burns more calories digesting protein, as opposed to carbohydrates.

Quinoa. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a grain-like crop, known as a “pseudo-cereal” because it is not a member of the grass family. It contains 8 grams of protein and five grams of fiber per cup, and is rich in such nutrients as iron, zinc, selenium, and vitamin E. Quinoa can be cooked and mixed with vegetables, nuts, and protein.

Grapefruit. Grapefruit is a common item in many a dieter’s meal plan, as its abundance of soluble fiber helps fill them up. Soluble fiber takes longer to digest, so consuming half a grapefruit, or a glass of grapefruit juice, before a meal will help one eat less calories.

Watermelon. Leslie Bonci shares further that foods with high water content occupies more space in the stomach, a condition that will then tell the body that you’ve had enough to eat. Watermelon is among the raw fruits and vegetables that have high water and nutrient content, but are low in calories; it is a great source of lycopene, as well as Vitamins A and C.

Dieters are typically typecast as health-conscious people who do nothing but count calories before every meal, checking sugar and fat content along the way. And they are usually thought as more likely to make wise choices in terms of the food that they eat, and how healthy these foods are.

A group of researchers, however, conducted a study that indicated otherwise. It seems that dieters are the ones who are more prone to judge how healthy a certain dish is hastily, based only on its label or its name, as opposed to its ingredients. The study is shared in a feature on Time.com.

The authors of the study – Caglar Irmak, assistant professor of marketing at University of South Carolina; Beth Vallen, assistant professor of marketing at Loyola University Maryland; and Stefanie Rosen Robinson, a graduate student at University of South Carolina – said: “Thus, dieters are likely to assume that an item assigned an unhealthy name (for example, pasta) is less healthy than an item assigned a healthy name (for example, salad), and they do not spend time considering other product information that might impact their product evaluations.”

The researchers conducted a series of experiments where participants, who consisted of people who were on a diet and people who were not, were expected to evaluate how healthy and tasty certain foods were. One such experiment called for the participants to determine how healthy the “daily salad special” or the “daily pasta special” was. They were to make the judgment based on the ingredient lists and photos of the entrees – which were basically identical.

The study determined that the ratings given by the participants seem to be influenced by the label assigned to the dish. Dieters rated the “pasta” dish as significantly less healthy when compared against the ratings of non-dieters.

Losing weight is no laughing matter, and for some, it can be one of the trickiest and more difficult things that they need to do.

Experts have mentioned on several occasions that the key to losing weight successfully is to choose a method that is doable and sustainable. A feature on WebMD shares a few tips that are simple and easy enough to be both achievable and sustainable – and may bring huge success in terms of shedding unwanted pounds.

Eat slowly. How fast you eat can lead to overeating, so WebMD suggested getting yourself a timer and giving yourself 20 minutes to finish a meal. Wolfing down food may block signals that trigger the fullness hormones of the body, which may lead to overeating.

Eat more vegetables. Serve more vegetables during your meals, adding color and variety, and you may be well on your way to shedding pounds without necessarily feeling deprived. Just ensure that you do not add too much fat when you cook them, and that you add flavor using lemon juice and herbs, as opposed to fatty sauces and dressings.

Sip Green Tea. Looking for a great way to finish off a meal? Try sipping green tea. There are studies that indicate that green tea increases the rate at which the body burns calories temporarily, perhaps due to phytochemicals called catechins.

Go the extra mile. Losing weight may mean going the extra mile – literally. Burning an extra 100 calories a day may add up to weight loss of 10 pounds in 12 months; those extra 100 calories may be burned by walking a mile, which can take about 20 minutes. You can also choose to jog for 10 minutes, or clean the house for half an hour.

There may be another good reason for trying to lose weight, based on the results of a study led by John Gunstad, assistant professor of psychology at Kent State University.

A feature on ABC News shared that Dr. Gunstad and his team was able to associate weight loss with improvements in concentration, as well as overall cognitive ability. Dr. Gunstad shared: “We’ve known for a long time that obesity is a risk factor for things like Alzheimer’s disease and stroke, and more recent work really shows that obesity is a link to memory problems and concentration problems before that even begins… if excess weight causes these problems, can losing weight help reverse them? That’s what we wanted to research.”

The study involved 150 participants who were overweight. The memory and attention capabilities of these participants were tested by the researchers; some of them went on to undergo gastric bypass surgery, while others did not.

The study determined that 23.9 percent of the participants exhibited impaired learning abilities, while 22.9 percent displayed poor recognition memory. Participants who underwent bypass surgery displayed an improvement on all cognitive tests, twelve weeks after the procedure; this was not observed in those who did not undergo surgery.

Dr. Gunstad shared that the participants “were able to show improvements moving from the kind of mildly impaired range into the normal range, which clinically is a pretty good, is a pretty meaningful change.”

Coming out of the study, however, Dr. Gunstad identified three major questions that still need to be answered: what from obesity causes brain impairment, what brings about improvement after surgery, and whether non-surgical means of weight loss will bring about the same effect as surgery.

A feature on WebMD shared a number of diet mistakes that people make, which lead to frustrating and unsuccessful weight loss efforts – and how to ensure that one is able to avoid them.

One of the most common pitfalls in dieting is going for the crash diet. When one simply has to fit into that Dolce LBD that one found on sale, then the temptation to go on a “lose-10-pounds-fast-and-easy” diet that calls for nothing but grapefruit or soup can be quite tempting.

Crash diets, however, work only up to a certain point – and then you end up with a body that burns calories more slowly, after getting used to having so little calories to burn. Losing weight, therefore, should not be an overnight thing; it should be done gradually, and should be planned for.

Another diet mistake that people should watch out for is mindless munching. Sure you are careful about what you eat during regular meals, but are you holding off on that piece of donut with your mid-morning coffee, or that slice of chocolate cake with afternoon tea? It is advisable to take note of anything that passes through your palate – including those foods in between meals.

That being said, however, it does not mean that one should give up on snacking entirely. Thoughtful snacking may actually help you melt those extra pounds away; protein-rich snacks actually boost your metabolism. WebMD shared that dieters who eat several small, healthy meals and snacks throughout the day, and are more likely to control hunger and lose weight.

David Zinczenko, editor-in-chief of Men’s Health magazine, and the author of the Eat This, Not That! and Abs Diet series, shared weight loss tricks for those who could not avoid eating out.

Let’s face it: if you are among those who are slugging it out in the midst of the urban jungle, chances are you will be eating half – or even more – of your meals outside of the home. This is, however, not the healthiest of practices, and is a boon for those who are trying to shed extra pounds.

Does that mean, then, that there is no hope for the beleaguered urban professional, at least health-wise? Not necessarily, according to Zinczenko, as you can actually go on a no-diet diet while eating out, through little tweaks in the way you make decisions when dining at your favorite food joint.

Among the things that he shared is to steer clear of the urge to “Supersize” your meals. People may think that they are getting more value for their hard-earned green back if they get “proportionately more food for proportionately less money;” that may be true, only if there were three of you sharing the meal – as opposed to you eating everything by your lonesome.

Zinczenko also warns against falling prey to saying “yes” to the little suggestions that your waiter makes – such as adding extra side dishes or dressings, or ordering fancy desserts to cap off your meal. Keep in mind, Zinczenko shared, that the waiter, above all else, is a salesperson whose objective is to encourage you to spend more. It is up to you to rein him in and keep your waistband from bursting.

We will nip whatever misinterpretations may be building in your minds in the bud by saying – it’s not THAT kind of hot. A feature on WebMD shared an interesting weight-loss aid, just in time for anyone looking for a way to shed any weight that may have been gained during Thanksgiving.

Peppers are commonly known as an ingredient that adds spice and kick to any dish. Beyond just giving your taste buds a jolt, however, these hot fruits (as opposed to vegetables) can help in weight loss, among other health benefits.

Nutritional experts say that both sweet and spicy peppers are rich in phytochemicals, compounds that occur naturally in plants. David Heber, MD, PhD, and professor of medicine and public health, as well as chief and founding director of the Center for Human Nutrition at the Division of Clinical Nutrition at UCLA, shared that there are close to a million phytochemicals have been identified in nature.

The phytochemicals that are found in peppers have antioxidant abilities, and the family of phytochemicals present in them depends upon the color of the pepper. Peppers come in various colors, including red, green and yellow.

Dr. Heber and his colleagues at the UCLA is using peppers in their efforts towards helping obese patients on an 800-calorie a day diet. He shared: “When you’re on a low-calorie diet, your metabolic rate goes down about 20 percent to 15 percent, and exercise will not raise it… we wanted to see if chili peppers increase metabolism in cases like these.”

The heat in peppers comes from a flavorless, odorless, colorless compound called capsaicin, and Heber said that it has been shown to slightly curb appetite. A compound that is similar to capsaicin – a synthetic form of dihydrocapsiate (DCT) – was given to obese patients as a supplement. The study showed that those who were taking the DCT supplement burned an extra 80 calories a day.

While Dr. Heber clarified that peppers are not exactly “weight-loss wonders,” they make a good addition to the diet of anyone trying to lose weight.