Category: Diet

Diet

Do Overweight People Eat LESS Often?

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Apparently yes according to a new study.

Overweight adults eat less often than people in the normal body weight range, but still take in more calories and are less active over the course of the day, according to a U.S. study. 

By contrast, normal weight adults, including those who had lost a lot of weight and kept it off, ate more often, according to findings published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

“Most of the research has shown that people who eat more frequently have a lower weight. But no one knows why,” said lead researcher Jessica Bachman, an assistant professor in the department of Nutrition and Dietetics at Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

More than 60 percent of U.S. residents are obese or overweight, but the relationship between the number of meals people eat each day and the ability to maintain weight loss has remained unclear, she said.

I do know that when I weighed over 300 pounds I did not eat breakfast but would binge eat one or two times during the day. Whereas, today, when I weigh about 240 and want to lose an additional 50 pounds, I eat more often and measure the calories carefully.

The level of satiation is no different, although I do know now when I need some protein.

On average, the normal weight subjects ate three meals and a little over two snacks each day, whereas the overweight group averaged three meals and just over one snack a day.

Generally, though, weight loss “maintainers” consumed the fewest calories, at about 1,800 a day, compared with the normal weight and overweight subjects, who took in 1,900 and more than 2,000 calories a day, respectively.

Bachman said that snacking might help prevent weight gain by staving off intense hunger.

 

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Diet

America the Beautiful 2: The Thin Commandments

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A new documentary by Darryl Roberts that explores why we have an unhealthy obsession with dieting in America and who benefits from selling us the thin is healthy ideal.

What Darryl Roberts is saying is that rather than focusing on weight, Americans should be focusing on their health. Read this interesting interview by CNN.

First off, because [if] you are defining [obesity] by BMI, then it’s erroneous. So what we may have as a problem in this country is a health problem. That I agree with. We show it in the film. We have a health problem. And what we also show in the film is that health problems come to people with or without weight. So the film is making the point that we should be focusing on the health of people and not their weight.

Where we have problems is lifestyle choices. We have too many people eating fast food. We have too many people not exercising. We have too many people not engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors. My point is if we have more people engaging in healthy lifestyle behaviors, we will become a healthier nation, whether we lose weight or not. If you think about it — it makes sense, right?

A very interesting perspective.

I have just returned from my annual physical examination and report while I have lost weight and am still considered obese, I am in excellent health.

But, do I wish to lose additional weight?

You bet, so that I can run farther and faster.

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Diet

Want to Lose Weight? Don’t Tell Anyone!

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Anita Mills and her 200 pound weight loss

I am happy for Anita, but this method doesn’t work for me.

Anita Mills was 382 pounds when a family doctor gave her four simple rules to lose weight:

1. Eat 8 ounces of food every 3 hours

2. No sugary drinks

3. Do not skip meals

4. Do not tell anyone what you’re doing

Now 242 pounds lighter, Mills credits that last tip for helping her through the most difficult months of her weight loss journey. Not having someone questioning every bite or trying to persuade her to relax on weekends helped her focus on the goal.

“It’s so much better to walk into a room and have someone say, ‘Hey, did you do something different?’ than to announce, ‘I’m on a diet,’ and have people pointing fingers at you,” she said.

The advice seems counterintuitive. Weight Watchers and similar groups tout support as a major reason for their programs’ success, and studies have found that accountability is important in accomplishing a goal. But telling family, friends and Facebook about your diet plans could have a detrimental effect, some experts say.

I, too, have lost a large amount of weight and have taken many years to do so. I now weigh 240 pounds down from 370 plus or so (8 years ago).

I understand about friends and acquaintenances making comments, but I have found accountability to my wife, children and friends to be a good motivator. Now, I am using MyFitnessPal.com and share my daily diet and exercise with certain friends, who also wish to lose weight.

Different weight loss methods for different people……

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Diet

Former Football Players Prone to Late-Life Health Problems?

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Yes, according to a new study.

Football players experience repeated head trauma throughout their careers, which results in short and long-term effects to their cognitive function, physical and mental health. University of Missouri researchers are investigating how other lifestyle factors, including diet and exercise, impact the late-life health of former collision-sport athletes.

The researchers found that former football players experience more late-life cognitive difficulties and worse physical and mental health than other former athletes and non-athletes. In addition, former football players who consumed high-fat diets had greater cognitive difficulties with recalling information, orientation and engaging and applying ideas. Frequent, vigorous exercise was associated with higher physical and mental health ratings.

“While the negative effects of repeated collisions can’t be completely reversed, this study suggests that former athletes can alter their lifestyle behaviors to change the progression of cognitive decline,” said Pam Hinton, associate professor of nutrition and exercise physiology. “Even years after they’re done playing sports, athletes can improve their diet and exercise habits to improve their mental and physical health.”

While the hitting cannot be eliminated in football, again, it comes down to lifestyle after the player leaves the game. 

Again, diet and exercise play a role.

“Football will always be around, so it’s impossible to eliminate head injuries; however, we can identify ways to reduce the detrimental health effects of repeated head trauma,” Hinton said. “It’s important to educate athletes and people who work with athletes about the benefits of low-fat and balanced diets to help players improve their health both while playing sports and later in life. It’s a simple, but not an easy thing to do.”

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Diet

Is the Freshman 15 Weight Gain a Myth?

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Freshman 15 graphic courtesy of Kansas State

Yes, according to a new study.

Contrary to popular belief, most college students don’t gain anywhere near 15 pounds during their freshman year, according to a new nationwide study.

Rather than adding “the freshman 15,” as it is commonly called, the average student gains between about 2.5 and 3.5 pounds during the first year of college.

And college has little to do with the weight gain, the study revealed. The typical freshman only gains about a half-pound more than a same-age person who didn’t go to college.

“The ‘freshman 15’ is a media myth,” said Jay Zagorsky, co-author of the study and research scientist at Ohio State University’s Center for Human Resource Research.

“Most students don’t gain large amounts of weight. And it is not college that leads to weight gain — it is becoming a young adult.”

The results suggest that media reporting of the freshman 15 myth may have serious implications.

“Repeated use of the phrase ‘the freshman 15,’ even if it is being used just as a catchy, alliterative figure of speech, may contribute to the perception of being overweight, especially among young women,” Zagorsky said.

“Weight gain should not be a primary concern for students going off to college.”

The study found that women gained an average of 2.4 pounds during their freshman year, while men gained an average of 3.4 pounds. No more than 10 percent of college freshman gained 15 pounds or more — and a quarter of freshman reported actually losing weight during their first year.

“It’s worth noting that while there’s this focus on weight gain among freshman, we found that one in four actually lost weight,” Zagorsky said.

The researchers examined a variety of factors that may be associated with freshman weight gain, including whether they lived in a dormitory, went to school full or part time, pursued a two-year or four-year degree, went to a private or public institution, or was a heavy drinker of alcohol (consuming six or more drinks on at least four days per month.)

None of these factors made a significant difference on weight gain, except for heavy drinking. Even then, those who were heavy drinkers gained less than a pound more than students who did not drink at that level.

But, that does not mean college students and young adults should not lead a healthy lifestyle with diet and exercise. Because…..students do increase in weight throughout young adulthood and could become obese if weight gain is not managed.

The results do show, however, that college students do gain weight steadily over their college years.

The typical woman gains between seven and nine pounds, while men gain between 12 and 13 pounds.

“Not only is there not a ‘freshman 15,’ there doesn’t appear to be even a ‘college 15’ for most students,” Zagorsky said.

Over the course of the entire college career, students who both worked and attended college gained an extra one-fifth of a pound for each month they worked.

The researchers also examined what happened to college students’ weight after they graduated. They found that in the first four years after college, the typical respondent gained another 1.5 pounds per year.

“College students don’t face an elevated risk of obesity because they gain a large amount of weight during their freshman year,” Zagorsky said.

Good news about the freshman 15…..

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