Metabolism Booster

Tip: Maintain Your Metabolism

You've been reading about the benefits of exercise, but here's some news about diet. Lyssie Lakatos, R.D., co-author of Fire Up Your Metabolism reveals some interesting nutritional information in the June issue of Shape.

Are you getting enough selenium and vitamin D?
Research shows that a diet low in either of these nutrients may affect your thyroid's ability to produce metabolism-regulating hormones. You can get the recommended 55 micrograms of selenium a day with foods like tuna, turkey, and cottage cheese. You need a daily dose of 400IU of vitamin D, which is found in fortified lowfat milk and salmon.

Hot Topic

Research shows that a little spice can go a long way...

Prevent diabetes: Australian researchers found that women who ate chili sauce daily had lower spikes in their blood sugar (glucose) levels after meals than those with blander diets. More stable glucose levels reduce diabetes risk.

Stave off Alzheimer's: Curry contains tumeric, which is high in curcumin. According to a study published in Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, this antioxidant helps sweep away amino acids that can build up in your brain's blood vessels. Over time, these blockages can lead to dementia.

Protect against obesity: Early research from Taiwan found that chili peppers' capaicin may reduce the number of fat cells your body produces.

The Gall of Flab

If your belly keeps making a comeback, you may be gaining more than a few pounds: University of Kentucky researchers recently found that men who yo-yo diet are 76% more likely to develop galls tones than those who maintain consistent weight. In fact, the more frequent and severe your body-weight swings, the greater your risk. The scientists aren't sure why weight cycling causes gallstone formation but note that it was specifically related to fluctuating fat levels.

Another Reason to Avoid Trans Fats

Belt size increasing? It may be the kind of fat you're eating--and not the total amount you consume each day--that contributes to weight gain. Researchers at Wake Forest University in North Carolina found that monkeys that ate trans fats gained four times the weight as monkeys eating the same amount of unsaturated fats.

The Age Old Question Answered...

The Question: Does Muscle Turn to Fat When You Stop Working Out

The Facts: As summer heats up and Americans flock to the shores to bear their beach muscles, those of us whose gym memberships collected dust last winter or expired months ago may be left with physiques that went from firm to flabby.

So did all those muscles simply melt to fat from more time on the couch and less at the sports club?

That might be the popular explanation, experts say, but it's not exactly true. When people stop exercising and shift into couch potato mode, their muscles begin to shrink, clearing the way for adipose tissue, or fat, to slowly replace them. At the same time, many people who stop exercising often continue to consume the same amount of calories they took in during their more active days, despite the fact that their energy expenditure is no longer nearly what it once was.

All of this can create the illusion that a lean six-pack and bulging set of biceps turned to fat, said Dr. Gerard P. Varlotta, an associate professor of rehabilitation medicine at New york University, but muscle and fat are two distinct tissues that never convert to the other.

"What happens is that the ratio of fat to muscle has changed," he said. "If you have atrophy of the muscle, then other tissue can move in and take its place."

The Bottom Line: Muscles might shrink when you stop working out, but they never turn to fat.

from NY Times 7/26/06

Hit List of Weight-Gaining Behaviors

This list is a great eye-opener to see how small changes in your behavior can add up in a big way!


Eating second helpings (200 kcal per helping) 3x per week
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 600
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 31,200
Potential Weight Gain per Year 9 lbs

Habitual overeating, every day, 380 extra kcal per day
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 2,660
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 138,320
Potential Weight Gain per Year 40lbs

Eating a large bagel (4.5” diameter, 323kcal) 3x per week rather than a small bagel (3” diameter, 156kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 500
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 26,000
Potential Weight Gain per Year 8lbs

Eating Big Macs (or equivalent, 570kcal) twice a week rather than choosing a small sized hamburger (260kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 620
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 32,240
Potential Weight Gain per Year 9lbs

Eating one glazed doughnut (290kcal) every day at work during your coffee break
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 1,450
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 75,400
Potential Weight Gain per Year 21lbs

Drinking a cup of whole mile (150kcal) twice a day rather than having skim milk (86kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 896
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 46,600
Potential Weight Gain per Year 13lbs

Drinking one regular soda a day (144kcal) rather than diet soda
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 1,008
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 52,400
Potential Weight Gain per Year 15lbs

One small Starbucks nonfat Mocha without whipped cream (170kcal) every day at work rather than black coffee
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 850
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 44,200
Potential Weight Gain per Year 13lbs

Snacking on 15-20 potato chips a day (150 kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 1,050
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 54,600
Potential Weight Gain per Year 16lbs

Eating a bowl of regular ice cream (280kcal) 5x per week rather than having a bowl of nonfat frozen yogurt (160kcal)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 600
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 31,200
Potential Weight Gain per Year 9lbs

Binging twice a week (1000-3000kcal per binge)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 2,000-6,000
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 104,000-312,000
Potential Weight Gain per Year 30-90lbs

Snacking while watching TV 5 hrs a week (136 per snack)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 680
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 35,360
Potential Weight Gain per Year 10lbs

Nighttime eating, five episodes per week (270kcal per episode)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 1,350
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 70,200
Potential Weight Gain per Year 20lbs

Drinking 3 beers at happy hour once a week (146kcal per beer)
Weekly Caloric Cost (extra kcal per week) 438
Annual Caloric Cost (extra kcal per year) 22,776
Potential Weight Gain per Year 6.5lbs



The list and note above were taken from The Ultimate Weight Loss Solution: The 7 Keys to Weight Loss Freedom by Dr. Phil McGraw. I endorse this book as a way to understand the emotional and psychological aspects to overeating, developing a healthy relationship with food, and achieving a positive mental state while losing weight and improving one’s fitness level. I have read the book and have bought it for friends and family.

BIG NEWS on BURNING FAT

Using The Glycemic Index for Ultimate Fat Burn


The News
If you read any publications that deal with fitness or weightloss, you've probably read something about the glycemic index this month. A new study has just reported that eating foods that are low on the glycemic index before exercising drastically improves the fat burn during your workouts.


What is the Glycimic Index?
The Glycemic Index shows how your body's sugar levels respond to certain foods using a rating of 0-100, with 100-the highest level-being pure glucose. Foods with high numbers, such as simple carbohydrates, will increase the body's sugar levels rapidly while foods that are low on the glycemic index, such as whole grains or legumes, will increase the body's sugar levels slowly over a longer period of time.

So pass on that Gatorade (glycemic index value of 78), coffee with sugar, juice, or soda before your workout and burn more fat!

Here's a sample article on the Glycemic Index and Fat Burning from Jan/Feb Muscle and Fitness Magazine Hers:

Use The Glycemic Index To Increase Fat-Burning

Eating a meal containing low-glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates before exercise may result in a higher rate of fat-burning during exercise, report Loughborough University rearchers in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
In two trials, eight healthy, active women ate a test breakfast that provided 2 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of bodyweight-one meal was low GI , the other high GI-three hours before the subjects ran at 65% VO2 max for an hour. During exercise, the estimated rate of fat-burning was greater in the subjects in the low GI trial than in subjects who ate the high GI breakfast.

Use It: Before you do cardio, consider having oatmeal or some tuna on a slice of whole wheat bread 3 hours before your workout.

Q & A with Lisa Drayer, R.D.

Detox Diets, The Skinny on Juices, Eat More to Lose Weight: A Registered Dietician at Women's Health tackles this month's topics...

Q. Are there any health benefits to "detox" diets that make you fast for the first few days?

No. The kidneys and liver remove toxins from teh body, so there is no biological need for that kind of diet. In fact, prolonged fasting can lead to headaches, fatigue, and low blood sugar. Bur if you're just starting a diet, you might want to try a "modified" detox: Eliminate starchy carbs, refined sugars, and alcohol for 3 days to lose weight and boost your motivation.

Q. I love making my own juice. Is this a weight-conscious way to get my five a day?

All juice, including homemade, is a concentrated source of sugar and calories, not great if you're trying to lose weight. Whole fruits and vegetables are much better, in part becase they contain fiber that keeps you full longer. Bur juice is packed with vitamins and antioxidants like beta carotene, so if it's the only way you can swallow your fruits and veggies, go for it. Just limit your servings to 4 ounces a day.

Q. I lost 13 lbs by eating 1000 calories a day for three months. For the past three days, I've eaten 500 calories but gained half a pound. Why?

The gain is probably just because you're retaining fluid. The real problem is that your calorie intake is way too llow! eating so little slows down your metabolism, which can cause you to gain weight quickly when you start eating normally again. Eat a minimum of 1200 caloires and get 20 minutes of exercise daily to keep your metabolism up.