A new wave of research is unraveling the “molecular causes” of weight loss!!

    Diet isn’t the answer. Dieting, as the latest research confirms, sends all the wrong chemical signals between the brain & the body. The result is inevitable. U can take it off, but you’ll put it right back on. Did U know that almost ½ of what U lose on a conventional diet is muscle tissue, not fat? So when your brain orders your body to regain weight, all that it adds is fat.

   Everyday life makes U stressed out & anxious…if U have been accumulating belly fat that just won’t go away…if U R binge eating in response to daily stress, & U find yourself exhausted in the middle of the day, U might be 1 of the estimated 47 million victims (mostly woman) of Metabolic Syndrome – a figure destroying, health threatening problem resulting in increased belly fat associated with high levels of cortisol, a nasty little stress hormone that causes pound after pound of excess body fat to accumulate around the waist & the tummy.

A good diet in a nutshell.

Protein intake. Even some top body builders succumb to the myth that the protein U eat can’t be stored as body fat. The misconception comes from the fact that protein has a higher “thermic effect” than carbs. or dietary fat, meaning Ur body uses more energy to digest it. Although that’s true, the higher thermic effect doesn’t result in a huge calorie burn. Fact is, eating more protein than Ur muscles need for recovery simply means Ur ingesting excess calories, leading to a gain in body fat. In building mass, set Ur daily total protein intake at 1 –1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight & split that over 6 meals for maximal absorption. If U weigh 185 pounds, that’s 185 - 222 grams of protein

a day, or 31 – 37 grams per meal.

BMI shouldn’t be higher than 25. If Ur body mass index (Ur weight to – height ratio) tops that figure, Ur heart risk increases 32%. Over 29 & it spikes 81%.

Waist circumference should be 35’’ or less for women & no more than 40” for men.

   Skip a pat of butter everyday, & you’ll drop almost 4 pounds a year. Walk 3 mornings a week for 25 min. and watch Ur blood pressure dip by up to 12 points (along with Ur risk of heart attack, stroke & diabetes). Meditate for 5 min. every day, feel Ur stress melt away. Study the Kaizen {a Japanese concept of acquiring the art of making the smallest, subtlest change possible.}

o       Breakfast skippers R 4 ½ X more likely to be overweight. Skipping your morning meal causes blood sugar to plummet, leaving U overly hungry & quadrupling Ur chance of overeating.

o       Restaurant regulars, R twice as likely to gain weight. Foods ingested away from home tend to be higher in calories & fat with a lot less in fiber.

o       Lunch buyers R 30 – 60% less likely to pack on pounds. This exception to the dinning out, get dumpy rule may be explained by the wider variety of healthy options available at lunch than at other times of the day.

o       Eating more frequent and smaller meals during the day cuts Ur obesity risk by 45%. Even when U eat the same # of calories. Eating 1,2, 3, big meals a day prompts Ur insulin levels to spike, triggering Ur body to store more of the food U eat as fat.  

   It’s not the breaks that hurt weight loss efforts; it’s the negative reactions to the breaks & the subsequent downward spiraling. Enjoy the time off and then go back on track.

It’s fun to look at the different sexes, understanding Y women tend to reach out for the junk food not to deal with the messy cleanup and men chose meal items mom would cook. 1 common denominator everyone loves Ice Cream!

Source of reference: M&F pg.80 7/2005 Prevention 1/2004, pg.20-23, 27, 28. Readers Digest pg. 114, 2.09,