Get the goodness of legumes and vegetables, without loads of kilojoules
Per serving (250ml): 430kJ, 4.3g protein, 10g carbs, 5.5g total fat, 4g fibre, 573mg sodium
Note: Many of these soups are relatively high in sodium, so don’t add additional salt and go easy on other high-salt foods.
A recent study at the University of Washington showed that ghrelin levels increase substantially after a period of rapid weight loss. Dr. David E. Cummings, the lead scientist on the study, thinks this was an evolutionary adaptation to encourage the body to regain the lost fat as protection from possible future famine. This genetic program no longer applies to our modern situation. Research is currently under way to develop medications that block ghrelin and its stimulation of appetite and storage of body fat.
Slow, gradual weight loss does not appear to cause the same spike in ghrelin levels, however. This is another important reason to approach your ideal weight gradually. Setting your daily caloric level to match your target weight's maintenance level is the best way to lose weight once and to keep it off.
9. Get exercise. Physical activity is very important for burning calories, lowering your "set point" (the weight your body gravitates toward), and increasing your metabolic level (rate of burning calories), even while you are not exercising. We recommend burning at least 300 calories daily through exercise.
10. Raise your metabolic rate. A primary factor in determining your metabolic rate -- the rate at which you burn calories -- is the number of mitochondria in cells. Mitochondria are tiny energy factories that fuel every cell. The more you have, the more energy you will burn, which will keep you leaner. Unfortunately, we cannot simply take a mitochondria supplement. However, fat cells have very few mitochondria because fat cells store energy rather than burn it, whereas muscle cells have many because they need energy to perform their job. So as you build muscle cells from a regular exercise program, you increase your mitochondria, thereby permanently raising your metabolic rate, even when you are not exercising.
Your weight reflects your total calorie consumption, how much you exercise, and your metabolic rate, but the composition of the food you eat is also important. Here are some tips. Reduce carbs. We have found that it's almost impossible to lose weight and keep it off without eating substantially fewer carbohydrates, particularly those with a high glycemic load (GL). As we discussed in "Carbohydrates and the Glycemic Load," consumption of high-GL carbohydrates leads to a desire for more carbohydrates.
Eating a low-carbohydrate, low-GL diet will help you control your appetite and decrease cravings. You'll feel full sooner, you'll find it far easier to stop eating once you're satisfied, and you'll find yourself less hungry between meals. If you are trying to lose weight, we recommend you keep total carbohydrates under one-sixth of your calories and eliminate all high-GL carbohydrates such as sugary foods, pastas, and breads.
Reduce fats. Reducing fat in the diet aids weight loss because high-fat foods are more calorically dense -- 9 calories per gram versus 4 for carbohydrates and protein. Go for veggies. Emphasize foods that are low in caloric density (that is, low in calories but high in weight). The ideal category: low-starch vegetables, which have a low glycemic index and are rich in valuable nutrients of all kinds, high in fiber, and filling. Eat fiber. Consume at least 25 grams per day, including at least 10 grams of insoluble fiber. Don't switch foods radically. While you are losing weight, we strongly recommend against diets that involve eating in a significantly different way from how you intend to eat when not "dieting." People count the days until they are released from this type of gastronomic prison. They do not associate the benefit of weight loss with learning proper eating habits -- changing tastes, desires, and attitudes -- but rather with the artificial eating patterns that they are anxious to leave. Make health, not weight loss, your goal. If you set a healthy lifestyle as your goal, you are more likely to succeed in both improving your health and attaining permanent weight loss. Don't be too anxious to drop pounds right away. Enjoying the experience is crucial. You want to associate the experience of reaching a healthy weight with that of healthy eating. It may take a few months longer, but it will ensure that you'll never have to lose weight again. A major reason people get discouraged and drop out of weight-loss programs is weight plateaus. Gained muscle mass and blood-vessel expansion due to exercise may temporarily halt weight loss or cause a small gain, but these are actually very desirable phenomena. Since muscle weighs more than fat, you can lose body fat and inches without dropping pounds if you are building muscles at the same time. Changes in medication, menstruation, constipation, water retention, and other factors may also cause weight loss to slow down or even reverse. Remember that your goal is to lose body fat. None of these factors causes an increase in body fat, so do not be discouraged by minor shifts of weight in the wrong direction. Be patient.We suggest the following guidelines: Eat a minimum of 12 calories per pound of your optimal weight. For example, a man with an optimal weight of 150 pounds should eat a minimum of about 1,800 calories per day; a woman with optimal weight of 125 pounds should eat at least 1,500 calories per day. Depending on your activity level, these figures are 10 percent to 33 percent lower than recommended in the above tables of maintenance calories. Set your minimum weight at 95 percent of your optimal weight. For example, if your optimal weight is 200, your minimum weight would be 190 (200 times 0.95). If your weight falls below this minimum number, increase your calorie consumption. Select foods low in caloric density. The best way to reduce calories is to eat low-starch vegetables such as broccoli and summer squash, which are filling and have relatively few calories, instead of potatoes and rice. Focus on fiber. Another choice is foods rich in fiber, which provides bulk and texture with no digestible calories. Fiber also has health benefits by lowering cholesterol levels, improving regularity, and reducing the risks of colon cancer. Most vegetables are, of course, high in fiber. There are also many foods designed to be carbohydrate substitutes that use fiber (as well as vegetable protein) to replace the bulk and texture of starch, such as low-carbohydrate cereals and breads (see Fantastic-Voyage.net for recommendations of specific products).
Copyright 2004 Ray Kurzweil and Terry Grossman, M.D.
Author
Ray Kurzweil is one of the world's leading inventors, thinkers, and futurists. Called "the restless genius" by the Wall Street Journal and "the ultimate thinking machine" by Forbes magazine. Kurzweil's ideas on the future have been touted by his many fans , who range from Bill Gates to Bill Clinton. Time magazine writes, "Kurzweil's eclectic career and propensity of combining science with practical -- often humanitarian -- applications have inspired comparisons with Thomas Edison." A recipient of the National Medal of Technology and an inductee in the National Inventors Hall of Fame, among many other honors, he is the author of three previous books: The Age of Spiritual Machines, The 10% Solution for a Healthy Life, and The Age of Intelligent Machines.
Terry Grossman, M.D., is the founder and medical director of Frontier Medical Institute in Denver, Colorado, a leading longevity clinic. certified in anti-aging medicine, he lectures internationally on longevity and anti-aging strategies. In the words of Arline Brecher, coauthor of Forty Something Forever, "I've met good writers and good doctors, but seldom are they one and the same. Dr. Terry Grossman breaks the mold and sets a new standard for physicians." He is the author of The Baby Boomer's Guide to Living Forever.
For more information, visit www.fantastic-voyage.net
Will skimping on sleep make it easier to pile on the pounds and tougher to lose them?
We tackled that question as part of our ?Is It True?? video series here at the Health Blog — you can see the video below.
The WSJ?s Christina Tsuei reports that a host of hormones are affected by sleep deprivation — among them, two hormones regulating hunger, ghrelin and leptin. Research found that when healthy males didn’t get enough sleep, they reported cravings for foods high in carbs and calories, while their appetite for fruits and veggies diminished.
Watch the video, and read the WSJ?s Health Journal column today on how personality traits and habits can influence body weight. Then tell us what you think in the comments section.
And look here, here, here, here and here for our previous videos, on giving and health, Thanksgiving dinner and tiredness, smiling and mood, the freshman 15 and melatonin’s effects on sleep.
Have a suggestion for a future video topic? Please email us at healthblog@wsj.com or leave a comment below.
Image: iStockphoto
