Things You Never Knew About Your Weight

     The New York Daily News published an interesting article, "8 Things You Never Knew About Your Weight." While I would argue that some of the research covered is actually well-known, some of it has not been highly publicized. My favorite 3 points:

3. Sleep More, Lose More

     "When patients see Dr. Louis Aronne, past president of the Obesity Society and author of the forthcoming book "The Skinny," they're as likely to have their sleep assessed as their eating habits. If patients are getting less than seven to eight hours, Aronne may prescribe more shuteye rather than the latest diet drug. With sleep, he says, "they have a greater sense of fullness, and they'll spontaneously lose weight."

     Why? University of Chicago researchers reported that sleep deprivation upsets our hormone balance, triggering both a decrease in leptin (which helps you feel full) and an increase of ghrelin (which triggers hunger). As a result, we think we're hungry even though we aren't - and so we eat. Indeed, sleep may be the cheapest and easiest obesity treatment there is."

     Anytime I have to get up earlier than normal, I wake up ravenous. If I stay up late working on something, the same thing happens. My body needs energy, and if I don't sleep, it craves fuel in the form of food.

4. Your Spouse's Weight Matters

     "... research shows that weight gain and loss can be, well, contagious. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that if one spouse is obese, the other is 37% more likely to become obese, too. The researchers concluded that obesity seems to spread through social networks."

     Doesn't it seem as if your weight seems to go up and down with that of a significant other? And I actually had a former roommate tell me the other day she thinks she's gained weight because she lives with her boyfriend now instead of me.

5. Cookies Really Are Addictive

     "While food is not addictive the way cocaine or alcohol is, scientists in recent years have found some uncanny similarities. When subjects at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia were shown the names of foods they liked, the parts of the brain that got excited were the same parts activated in drug addicts. It may have to do with dopamine, the hormone linked to motivation and pleasure, say researchers at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. If obese people have fewer dopamine receptors, they may need more food to get that pleasurable reaction."

  

     There has also been some research conducted on sugar addiction in rats. Professor Bart Hoebel and other researchers in the Department of Psychology and the Princeton Neuroscience Institute have demonstrated that rats who consume high levels of sugar can experience withdrawal symptoms when it's removed from their diet. They're then more likely to binge on it when it's reintroduced later.

     Basically, food has similarities with any other substance that causes changes in your brain. We associate it with pleasure. The problem begins when it becomes a primary source of pleasure. And food or drugs shouldn't be the first thing we turn to when feeling low.

Studying Makes Me Hungry

     Has anyone else noticed that since school started, they've been more hungry???

     I noticed this right around the time I read this article. Apparently, there is some preliminary research that suggests mental strain, while not burning any excess calories, might make us more hungry. 

     I can see why. We need energy for work. Food is energy, and mental tasks are definitely still work. But it just doesn't seem fair!

     I am at a job all day where I sit and stare at a computer screen. It actually makes me miss the days when I was a waitress!

     The best advice I can think of: take short walks during the day in which you give your mind a rest and your body some physical exertion. Exercise is also a good way to get energy without taking in any calories.

100-Calorie Packs are Not the Answer

     Everyone's been talking about the 100-calorie packs and how great they are for dieters. Now that school is back in session, maybe you're in need of some quick snacks that you can buy on the go, and these mini-portions of junk food sound tempting.  After all, they're only 100 calories, right?

     Put aside the fact that the idea of snacks in small-portion packaging is anything but innovative. Before the days of "super-size," those were normal servings. Ignore the fact that most bags of chips and cookies should probably be that size.

     Ignore the environmental effects of the enormous amount of packaging that is being used.

     Then consider this. College Candy recently posted about healthy snacks, and while I generally agree with several of their suggestions, I take issue with their assumption that if you ate from a "real bag of Ruffles you'd end up eating way more," so you should eat from these 100-calorie packs.

     Research has found that's actually untrue, because "large packages triggered concern of overeating and conscious efforts to avoid doing so, while small packages were perceived as innocent pleasures, leaving the consumers unaware that they were overindulging." (ScienceDaily) 

     Some of the study participants had just been weighed and given body image surveys, so if they were prone to feeling bad about their weight, these feelings may have been even more pronounced. They may have felt like the other participants were watching them and judge for their consumption. I have felt that way, so I know others have as well.

     So, it's not true that you'll eat less if you eat from 100-calorie packs. But, there are more individual factors to consider. If you're not just watching calories, but trying to eat healthfully, remember that even eating a small amount of high-fat or sugary food will make your body crave more. It's the long run that matters. 100-calorie packs add up.

     But if you are one of those people who worries about digging into a big bag of chips in front of others, at least know that you are not alone. And if you're not trying to give up junk food, but feel hesitant to eat from a big bag, it might be a good, small goal to set for yourself. If you feel judgmental vibes, try to convince yourself that you're imagining it... because you ARE. 

     It may seem like I've contradicted myself, but I'm trying to recognize that the answer is not the same for everyone. If you're trying to become more healthy, these snacks aren't going to do it for you. If you're trying to lose weight and normally eat a whole bag at one sitting, maybe they're a good small step. And if you suffer from disordered eating, or just bad body image, maybe the real issue is you don't want to look like you're eating too much, and if that's true, it might be a good idea to think about the negative effects of that kind of mindset on your life. 

     Let me know what situation you fit!

Diet Soda Might Make You Hungrier

    

     If you're weight-conscious, drinking diet soda may seem like a smart choice. After all, for years health educators recommended using low or no-calorie sugar substitutes for weight loss.

     But the truth is that no-calorie sweeteners may make it harder for dieters to control their intake.

     Researchers speculate that the body associates sweetness with high-calorie foods. When no calories are actually consumed, people may overeat because their body is "looking" for those missing calories.

     When I read about this study, it made sense to me. I've never been a big pop drinker, but when I do, I notice that it makes me really full for a couple hours, but then the sensation seems to abruptly disappear and I get really hungry. Maybe at that point, my body is realizing I didn't really consume any calories.

     It is important to note that the study was on rats, not people, and it only studied the effect of saccharin, not aspartame (Splenda.) Diet Coke includes both saccharin and aspartame.

     Another study found that aspartame, as a replacement for sugar, is effective for weight loss. The important difference between the two studies? In the first study, the rats ate according to natural impulses. In the second study, the participants were replacing sugar with aspartame, so they were eating less overall calories.

     So, my conclusion is that if you are going to consume "fake sugars," (and ignore other possible negative health effects) consider the fact that they may make you hungrier, and you may have to keep a closer eye on your calories than if you were skipping diet soda.

The Connection Between Drinking Alcohol and Eating Sweets

     I've discussed the relationship between alcohol and (female) body weight on this site before. Alcohol consumption doesn't necessarily mean a higher BMI, like one would imagine. In fact, moderate consumption is associated with a lower BMI (while binge drinking is associated with a higher weight).

     I've also discussed the role of blood sugar in our hunger levels, and how low blood sugar can slow our metabolism and make us ravenously hungry. This problem is common the day after drinking. 

     Well it turns out that even though alcohol can lower blood sugar, we crave it when our blood sugar is already low. 

     Some researchers speculate that sugar cravings might explain why women who drink in moderation don't gain weight, because the consumption of candy and sugar goes down when alcohol intake goes up. Think about it. A bowl of ice cream with a beer doesn't sound very appetizing to me.

     So, maybe some women are replacing a 4-500 calorie bowl of ice cream with one or two 100 calorie beers. 

     Not exactly diet advice there. Of course I would never condone drinking for weight loss. But my goal is to educate, and it is something to think about. Next time you're craving a beer, think about whether you could be craving sugar. Then maybe in the future, make small changes to your diet, in order to reduce your sugar intake. Many health professionals believe reducing sugar intake leads to less cravings.

     Just some food for thought...

Does Exercise Really Lead to Weight Loss?

     It's standard advice: to lose weight, exercise. But there are some who disagree, because physical activity makes you hungry. Or course, exercise has numerous benefits, but what is its real effect on hunger and weight?  

     The American College of Sports Medicine and the American Heart Association even said in a statement that “It is reasonable to assume that persons with relatively high daily energy expenditures would be less likely to gain weight over time, compared with those who have low energy expenditures. So far, data to support this hypothesis are not particularly compelling.”          Research has found that those who lose weight and keep it off tend to exercise. One recent study suggested 55 minutes, 5 days a week (or about 40 minutes every day.) But these studies don't isolate exercise as the sole factor contributing to the weight loss maintenance. In the study I mentioned, for instance, the women who lost weight exercised, but they ate less too.

     So does exercise contribute to weight loss, or do people who have healthy habits tend to exercise? 

     In New York Magazine, Gary Taubes points to Jean Mayer, influential nutritionist and former president of Tufts University,  as the person who pushed the "fitness revolution." Mayer is credited with defeating the current societal belief that exercise was bad for you. He noticed that thinner people exercised more, and concluded that exercise did not necessarily equal increased hunger. But Taubes claims the 2 studies that he used to prove this have never been replicated.

     Recent studies don't suggest that there is no connection between appetite and exercise. But one especially interesting study does suggest that appetite is related to the intensity of the exercise. Researchers studied the effect of high-intensity and low-intensity exercise on appetite in college women. (Low-intensity exercisers took an hour to burn 350 calories, equal to walking, high-intensity exercisers took about half an hour.) They found that high-intensity exercisers ate more after their work-out than low-intensity exercisers and a control group. 

     The study really got interesting when the researchers calculated "relative energy intake," or the calories each group consumed not included the calories they burnt off through exercise. The researchers concluded that there were "no significant differences" between the groups. However, it is worth noting that low-intensity exercises had the lowest food intake when the calories burnt from exercising were subtracted. Low-intensity exercisers consumed an average of 2397 calories a day, but 2100 a day after subtracting calories burnt from exercise. High-intensity exercisers consumed 2580, 2266 for relative energy intake. The control group had 2285. In other words, this study suggest that for those watching their weight, low-intensity exercise is best. 

     Jean Mayer suggested that exercise doesn't have to lead to increased hunger. This study helped show us where the line is. And if you want to engage in vigorous exercise, like I do, at least you'll now be a little bit more informed.

The Characteristics of Thin Women

     While I no longer succumb to disordered eating, I still struggle with beliefs that were instilled in my mind years ago. I have an unreasonable fear that if I don't worry about my weight, I will "let myself go." I worry that my weight will balloon if I don't make a constant, conscious effort to keep it under control. 

     These ideas are illogical because I know that I would notice any weight gain before it became substantial, and I could make adjustments to my diet and return to my former size fairly easily. I know that it's not necessary to think about my diet constantly to prevent weight gain. After all, I do enjoy the taste of many healthy foods, and I genuinely like to exercise. But for some reason, it's hard to defeat this belief. Part of me wants to engage in obsessive tendencies, deny myself certain foods and at times, go hungry.

     This study, on the characteristics of thin women, has given me permission to relax. Women who report being thin in childhood, adolescence and adulthood share some traits, including lower rates of dieting and binge eating, greater health satisfaction, higher self-esteem, and lower perfectionism and body dissatisfaction.

     For me, dieting is a trigger for binge eating. And even for those who don't suffer from disordered eating, dieting doesn't often work in the long run. That's why I would rather focus on having a healthy, imperfect diet that I can maintain. When you choose to allow yourself all foods in moderation, it's amazing how those "forbidden" foods lose their appeal.This study seems to support that idea.

     I don't know if these women have high self-esteem because of their appearance, or if their appearance is because of their self-esteem, but either way, it's beneficial to improve your self-concept. These women don't focus on telling themselves what they can't do. Their thoughts are positive. A goal is much more likely to be reached if it is positive than negative. For instance, it's easier to say "I will eat more fruits and vegetables than it is to say "I will never eat junk food."

     If you constantly think about how much you hate your body and how much you want to change it, this can lead to depriving it and abusing it. If you try to think about the good things about yourself, and treat your body well, your appearance will show it.

    I've tried to adopt this mindset as my own, and while I am not "naturally skinny," I choose nutritious foods, and exercise regularly, but I don't deny myself anything, and I remind myself of the perils of trying to be perfect.

Thinking You're Unhealthy is Associated with Later Weight Gain

     I read an interesting study today. The Danish Nurse Cohort Study, which analyzed the weight changes and "self-reported health" of 13,684 women, found that those who reported poor health at the beginning of the study were the most likely to gain weight. It seems believing you are in poor health can be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

     In 1993 and 1999, the nurses completed surveys about their lifestyle and health. To determine how healthy these women believed they were, the researchers asked "How would you rate your health in general?"

     While the researchers suspected that BMI and self-reported health would be related, they were surprised at the results. Women who were of normal weight, but reported poor health, were more likely to gain weight over the course of the study. Overweight women who lost weight did not report better health at a lower weight. Perceptions about our bodies are hard to shake.

     The researchers proposed that women with unhealthy lifestyles were likely to report poor health. Underlying illness is also a factor. But I suggest that the women's feelings about their body also played a part. 

      This study is of special interest to young people, because we're currently developing lifelong habits. If you're thin now, but engaging in other unhealthy behaviors, they will catch up with you later in life. And if you don't feel good about your body, and you don't recognize it's capacity, you likely won't take care of it.

Less Than an Hour a Day Needed to Maintain Weight Loss

     Several weight-loss blogs have covered a recent study about exercise and weight loss. The subject has been researched at length, but there was still debate about the amount of exercise required to maintain weight loss.

     The study followed the weight loss efforts of 201 overweight and obese women for over three years and found that the women who were able to maintain the most weight loss (10% of their body weight) exercised more than the women who didn't.

     Have you seen the study? I've noticed that Diet-Blog claims the study found an hour a day was needed. LA Times and BBC News both covered the story as well, with headlines announcing the need for an hour of exercise a day. Although they both clarified an hour a day was only needed five days a week in their stories, I just wanted to point out that this is not the only solution. The study actually found that the women exercised about 275 minutes a week, equal to 39 minutes a day. Even assuming the women formally exercised 5 days a week, we shouldn't assume they got no exercise at all over the weekend. 

     For college students' lifestyles,  it may be preferable to exercise 40 minutes every day than an hour 5 days a week. Since each day's schedule can be so different, it might even be more convenient to work out only 20 minutes one day and an hour the next.  An hour a day isn't our only choice.

     Keep in mind that "exercise" can be short walks during the day as well. Walking to class has been the best weight-maintenance trick of my college career. 

     The news stories also haven't been publicizing the fact that the "biggest losers'' in the study also ate less than the less successful dieters.

     Basically, this study confirmed what we knew all along. Exercise and eat less to lose weight. But still, 39 minutes a day doesn't sound so bad, does it?

Photo by mikebaird