Calories as Currency

The reason I appreciate, support and take advantage of calorie disclosures on pre packaged, ready to eat, and bulk food items (see e.g., the USDA nutrient data base) and prepare 90% of my meals - over the course of a year - is because I LOVE to eat and want to stay thin.

Exercise is important - it is vital to health - but unless one can do moderate to vigorous physical activity for more than an hour a day every day - or be in some other way unusual (e.g., have genetically, hyper metabolism), exercise is not going to keep you thin - at best, it will allow you to eat a 100 or so more calories than you could eat without exercising, and maintain a certain weight.

So to meet my goals, I monitor - stay aware of - my calorie intake.  Calories are currency and I do not spend them lightly.  In other words, I would rather have a plateful of 200 calories than a tablespoonful.  To be truthful, it took me years of self education - reading and research - to understand what 200 calories means in relation to my daily needs.  I eat 5 or 6 meals a day and consume between 1500 and 1800 calories a day depending on my current level of physical activity and fitness. 

For all of us, calories have always mattered and up until recently, the calorie content for most of our foods has been hard to access. With new nutritional labeling requirements for away from home foods (e.g., snacks in vending machines and movie theatres, restaurant meals), existing labeling on packaged foods, emerging but imperfect front of pack labeling and unprecedented access to legitimate calorie information on line, people have a real opportunity to consume the right amount of calories for their bodies.  The information is there, but the understanding of calorie moderation and the desire to moderate are both lacking.

Now more than ever, we need health educators and promoters to:

• assure the public that calories do count, 
• educate the public on the amount of calories most people need in a day,
• provide the public with the reasons the amount of calories needed may vary, per person and per day, and
• note that food volume alone does not signify calorie amount - for example a CUP of kale and a TEASPOON of oil or butter have about the same amount of calories (30 to 40), such that more can sometimes be less and less can certainly and often is quite more..

The way I eat, this calorie as currency approach, is possible because I choose foods with low energy density - Dr. Barbara Rolls at Penn State terms it Volumetrics and has written books on the style - it is not a diet, it is a way of choosing and preparing foods - all the time.  I know January is diet focused but I encourage you to think instead about calories and nutritious foods on which to spend them.

[I did not discuss carbs, protein, fats and sugar - you understand there is a current debate and the evidence is contradictory, but calories have not changed - too many of them from any source is a cause of weight gain.  Most will agree that salty, sugary and fried foods should be substantially reduced if not eliminated from the diet, and that complex carbs and fat are important dietary components.]

Fiber rich plates and smaller stomachs?

Okay, the title is sensational.  I wanted to get people's attention.  Fiber rich plates might actually bloat your stomach, and yet, still be good for you.  My blog post is not about using fiber to lose weight, its just about fiber. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My diet is naturally high in fiber.  By naturally, I mean that my daily plate is plant based and contains many vegetables and whole grains, foods that are high in both soluble and insoluble fibers.  I started increasing my fiber intake after learning from nutritionist/researcher Barbara Rolls, PhD that one could have a full plate of food, feel satiated and stay nourished, by choosing foods (and creating meals) low in energy density (~ 2001).  

Energy density, the calories per gram of food, has been the subject of many of my past posts and I have a You Tube channel primarily dedicated to demonstrating how to prepare low energy dense meals.  

Many foods that are low in energy density are also high in fiber.  A body of literature suggests that eating fibrous foods is health promoting and disease preventing.  For an overview of these benefits and the studies that support them, see the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the Nutrition Source at Harvard’s School of Public Health.

One of the benefits associated with diets high in fiber is weight control.  It makes sense that a diet high in fiber would lead us to eat less if we feel full sooner, or with fewer overall calories.  I think, based on my personal experience, that being able to eat more food per calorie is a main mechanism of effect for weight control (aesthetically, emotionally and digestively, we are more satisfied with a fuller plate).  Experimental studies show that certain digestive actions, including the release of certain hormones, are what cause a person to feel full and eat less (see e.g., Pereira and Ludwig, 2001).  A recent study on mice found that hormones are not just acting in the gut, but in the brain as well. The study:  Frost, G., Sleeth, M. L., Sahuri-Arisoylu, M., Lizarbe, B., Cerdan, S., Brody, L., & Bell, J. D. (2014). The short-chain fatty acid acetate reduces appetite via a central homeostatic mechanism. Nature Communications, 5, can be viewed for free here.

In the Frost et al study, researchers fed some mice a high fiber diet while feeding other mice normally.  The mice on the higher fiber diet did end up weighing less than the other mice (on average). A scientist who did not participate in this study, but who also does this kind of work was interviewed by blogger/reporter Brian Owens.  He, the other scientist, made some interesting comments that I wanted to share with you.  To paraphrase William Colmers (in Brian Owens article), in order for the researchers to track the fiber and its metabolites through the mice bodies, the mice were fed a lot of fiber.  Dr. Colmers said that it is possible that the appetite regulation seen in the lab study was not a chemical reaction in the brain - but a consequence of the mice feeling “uncomfortable.”  Dr. Colmers also pointed out that the lab was likely filled with “mouse farts.”  I will let you consider the same scenario for a lab experiment with people.

In fact, the next step is to do a fiber feed in human volunteers, but in order to get the level high enough, they will probably be given some form of fiber in a pill.  I understand that as a first step, it makes sense to see what is happening by using something artificial or modified, but what we really want to know is what happens when people eat foods that are high in fiber. I don’t know how a study using an extracted form of fiber is going to answer that question.

Here is a link to the piece Brian Owens wrote for Nature.

Which of these three things made us fat?

   I recently read an article by Duffey and Popkin (2013) published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.  The researchers attempted to quantify the effects of three suspected causes of the rise of obesity in children and adolescents.  They did a similar study in 2007 on adults.  The results are not definitive, but the three    factors are worth noting.  
   Duffey and Popkin looked at changes in 1) the number of eating occasions (meals+snacks) per day, 2) the energy density of foods and beverages in those meals, and 3) the portion size of each item.  My immediate reaction to their expectation that increases in portion size and number of times people eat would explain the rise in obesity was, "not necessarily."  
   A person might not gain weight under those conditions if they applied the concept of Volumetrics (B. Rolls) or chose foods low in energy density as the Dietary Guidelines advise.  In the thirty years that were studied, portion sizes and number of eating occasions did rise (and sometimes fall).  The energy density of the meals did not show a clear pattern of increase or decrease. 
   In the past 13 years, my number of eating occasions and portion size also increased, but my weight did not. That is because I have strictly adopted the low energy density concept.  I was able to increase the size of my meals because I reduced the calories per gram in each of them.  (I also eat no less than 8 times a day)
   What the researchers did find when studying adults was that in the past 30 years, the change in total energy intake that is associated with the rise in obesity, has involved all three.  More of the change is explained by portion size and an increase in number of meals eaten.  In the last five or more years, portion sizes have begun to decrease.    
   You can review the abstract (a summary of what they did and what they found) by clicking here.
   

Holy Memphis Calories Batman

Mom and I were enjoying a healthy dinner that I prepared (shiritaki noodles Mexican, kale and baby corn) when a Hardees commercial aired. 
As best I remember, the screen was mostly filled with the picture below  - but it showed a man with his hand on the sandwich and then taking bites of it.  He looked very happy.  We both said, "Oh my gosh!"  And Mom said something about there being French Fries inside the bun, but they turned out to be onion rings.  When I showed her the picture she pointed out the pulled pork which I thought was just BBQ sauce.  Then she said, "there's a burger too?!"
Of course I looked up the information on the website and this is what I found.  First of all, there are three versions.  A 'little' one, a 1/3 burger and a monster burger.  The calorie, saturated (unhealthy) fat, and sugar grams are provided for each below, in order of size.  Sugar grams, you say?  Yes, me too.  I guess it is from the sauces.

Ger full nutrition information here.

  Calories  710
    Saturated Fat  14g
     Sugar 28g

  Calories 960
    Saturated Fat 19g
     Sugar  31g
   
 Calories 1000
    Saturated Fat 23g
     Sugar 31g
BTW, Mom did not finish her dinner because she said she was too full - her dinner had LESS THAN 200 calories and no saturated fat... that is what I call Volumetrics :) - well, Barbara Rolls, PhD calls it Volumetrics, but you know what I meant.  Low calorie, high nutrient density.  Its a healthy, yet filling, way to eat.

Pictures Speak Volumes of Volume

I owe my friend and blog reader Jessica a big thank you for tonight's post and picture.  She sent this to me today and I was giddy with excitement.  It is a perfect example of what I am trying to promote - getting more food per calorie - nutrient density over caloric density or Low Energy Density - LED.

Three things to say about the photo.

1) The stomach on the right is full of veggies that have NOT been cooked in oil, fat or butter.

2) A person who has had WLS (weight loss surgery - like gastric bypass/stapling/banding) cannot choose to eat like stomach 3 but CAN eat similar to stomach one, on the left.  I find this to be a fundamental problem with the procedure because WLS in  NO way forces a person to cut calories.  It only prevents them from eating a lot of volume at one time.

3) I just posted a new volumetrics dinner example to my You Tube channel tonight.

Without further Ado - Let The Stomachs Speak for Themselves... 

Take the Combo - but know the difference

Prentice, A., & Jebb, S. (2004). Energy intake/physical activity interactions in the homeostasis of body weight regulation. Nutrition Reviews, 62(7 part 2), S98-104.

Foster-Schubert, K. E., Alfano, C. M., Duggan, C. R., Xiao, L., Campbell, K. L., Kong, A., . . . McTiernan, A. (2011). Effect of Diet and Exercise, Alone or Combined, on Weight and Body Composition in Overweight-to-Obese Postmenopausal Women. Obesity.

Cox, T. L., Malpede, C. Z., Desmond, R. A., Faulk, L. E., Myer, R. A., Henson, C. S., . . . Ard, J. D. (2007). Physical Activity Patterns During Weight Maintenance Following a Low-energy Density Dietary Intervention[ast]. Obesity, 15(5), 1226-1232.

The articles referenced above and others that I have read support what I am about to tell you.  My assertion is NOT new, but research continues to support it.

Most importantly:  Physical activity is essential to health, the prevention of disease and disability, and the ability to bounce back from injury or illness.  Physical activity is proven to boost mood and reduce frailty.  Exercise and weight or resistance training can also improve metabolism.

Everyone benefits from physical activity and everyone needs it.  Current recommendations are anywhere from 45 minutes 5 days a week to 60 minutes every day.

When we are looking at weight loss and maintenance, the studies above show a differential impact by method.  Persons who combine diet and exercise lose the most weight, but in the second study above, the group that only exercised lost about 2% of their body weight while the group that only changed their diet (less calories) lost over 8% of their starting weight.  The combined group did the best at over 10%.  That study was specific to post menopausal women who were predominantly (85%) White.  I found it amazing that the women all weighed over 180 pounds, had BMIs of 30 and above, waist circumferences over 37 inches,  fat percents in the 40s, ate over 1800 calories a day and exercised less than 40 minutes a week.  Actually, the reasons they have high weights and BMIs is explained by their lack of activity and high calorie intake.  I.e. I exercise about 420 minutes a week (10 times more than those women) and eat less than 1800 cals a day. 

The first article listed above was not a research study in and of itself but a discussion of weight gain in Americans as a result of consuming incredibly high calorie, high fat foods and doing very little activity in regards to catching, growing or otherwise obtaining those foods.  The researchers in that piece suggest that the body's physiology has become impaired due to the types of foods that we eat.  Research studies on weight loss are noted in this article and "exercise alone is not an effective means of losing weight."  The reason for this may be, and I have said this before, that it is easier to reduce a certain amount of calories than it is to burn them.  It is also said in this article that low activity can drive the imbalance, but does not cause obesity.  The problem is that we are doing less but eating as if we were not.  But - they contend- the body's ability to tell us to eat less is ineffective.  That being said, as an individual, you have to override the brain and eat what you need, not what you want.


Lastly, the EatRight study followed women who had lost weight during an intervention and found that the majority were able to maintain the weight loss and to do so by eating less calories with low energy dense foods (my Volumetric :)).  The study looked at those who maintained their weight loss compared to do those that did not.  Between the two groups, the amount of exercise was the same.

I understand that the idea of cutting calories is overwhelming and that many people think of restriction and fight to avoid it - but if you learn about food and change the way you cook, it is possible to eat MORE food but less calories. 

Exercise, which is necessary for good health, will assist your weight loss efforts. 

I do not have statistics to back up this assertion, but what I have read and heard is that people prefer exercise over reducing calories - but in practice, they do neither.

None of this is going to work if you do not do it.

Which Tips are Tops

Today I took a look at the list that USA Today put together as the best weight loss tips they have recommended over the years.  You can see that list by clicking here.

I do hope that you will read their advice.  My post is in response to it.

 I found these tips to be ones that I might also suggest or have taken advantage of myself.  They are significantly abbreviated from the article.

1. set realistic goals, 6. portion size, 7. clean out fridge and pantry, 8. create a "dinner deck", 10. load up on produce and keep it handy, 12. make changes for everyone (i.e. non-fat milks and cheeses), 13. cut out liquid calories, 21. dine at the table, 22. dine out without over indulging, 23. get plenty of sleep, 24. weigh regularly.

Now some of these I REALLY liked, and some I liked with reservations.  For example, portion size is related to informed eating and one of my great passions.  If you are creative, you can still have a full plate.  Number seven is a must.  People who are quitting tobacco should not keep a pack of cigs around and recovering alcoholics do not need a pint hidden in the freezer.  You are either IN or OUT - lose the Twinkies.  Number eight is referring to index cards that have some favorite low cal recipes that you can prepare quickly and easily - to that I add "use some of the meals that Deirdre has on You Tube."   With regard to cutting out liquid calories - oh my gosh, fruit juice, sports drinks and soda - must go - if you would like to have alcohol on occasion, remember that light beer has about 100 cals for 12 ounces, wine has 100+ for only 4 ounces and liquor has 100 cals for 1.5 ounces.  That 1.5  can be mixed with 12 ounces of Fresca for a nice cocktail :) 

I have mixed feelings about the weigh regularly advice especially because in the article it notes that some persons weigh daily.  Now, it is true that the National Weight Control Registry lists the behaviors of successful weight reducers and moderating calories, exercising daily and weighing are all there - but weighing can become an obsession.  I weigh about twice a year but notice how my clothes feel all the time.  With that - give yourself permission to be bloated every now and again :)

There are two things in the article with which I categorically disagree .  The writers keep referring to dieting and dieters - BOO - diets are disasters and dieters feel defeated.  Instead, choose to eat in a way that maintains a weight that is good for YOUR health. 

In the article, number 18 suggests never eating after 8 pm and that is more myth than truth.  It always depends on what you eat and how much you eat in a given day.  If one goes to bed on an empty stomach the restorative sleep that is a top priority will be compromised.

Don't forget to check the article.  Review some You Tube video recipes.  And read this book. 

Don't Be a Kirstie

Or an Oprah for that matter. I first remember Ms. Alley from the TV miniseries, North and South. I was struck by her eyes and thought to myself that she was a beautiful woman. She continued to impress me with her acting and her comedic skills for many years, though I watched in dismay as the tabloids presented the other side of Kirstie Alley. I have watched her struggle with her weight and lose. I have no doubt that both she and Ms. Winfrey struggle with inner demons. In fact, I see them as being battered by them - maybe more so for Kirstie. I know those demons by name - which stokes my empathy even more. What is far worse however, is that the media exploits her. I think she is currently "staring" in her second weight loss show. No that is wrong. The first was the commercials for a diet food/program. Now she has a show. I do not want you to be a Kirstie. Diets and celebrity workouts will NOT change a person any longer than they are able to follow them (which is usually only when the cameras are rolling and the person is being paid). Never have these women taken something away from the "plan of the month" that has changed their lifestyles - and thus their health. Whatever battle that Kirstie has - it is deep and destructive and not going to be solved by a "diet." Her health however, will be adversely affected by these gimmicks and her pride, oh my, I cannot bear it for her. Do not be a Kirstie -

Everywhere I go; work, gym, running with friends - I explain Volumetrics - it is a way to eat the most healthy foods, in abundance, but not in caloric density. The video below is made for my YouTube channel, but I have not posted it yet. So enjoy the premiere. BTW, Volumetrics is a concept and there are no foods or things to buy. The idea comes from a college professor and no one pays me a cent to promote it. (if you are an email subscriber, you will have to click on the link at the bottom of your email to access the video on the blog website)

Quitting Smoking and Weight Gain

Today's post isn't only about quitting smoking and weight gain, but also about how people (and doctors are people too) think to manage weight gain. The post is inspired by a statement made in one of my quit smoking classes. Many people are concerned that when they quit smoking they will gain weight and for both medical and aesthetic reasons, that is often a deal breaker. Unfortunately, literature does support that people who quit smoking will gain ten or so pounds, some will gain much more and some will not gain at all. What the literature doesn't get into, is WHY the person gains weight.. I mean the REAL why.

My "student" is very motivated to quit and has the support of her primary care physician. In fact, he told her that if she gained weight to come back to him and he would assist her. She joked and asked if he was going to send her to a psychiatrist.. I offered my guess, a nutritionist? thinking this doctor was really on top of his ballgame when the "student" said, "No, he said he'd give me something for it." Ah... a pill. I told her not to worry because my health education would cover the weight gain issue and hence, this blog post was born.

[All readers know that I consider medication to be a last resort treatment or certainly a second or third approach , but never a first response to a non emergent situation.]

With regard to tobacco... Some will say that nicotine effects metabolism.. well, it may, but not by much. Seriously, if it increased metabolism enough to affect weight we would bottle it up and use it to treat obesity. More say that nicotine is an appetite suppressant. I agree, it is similar to coffee in that regard.

A person who quits tobacco has to get reacquainted with their appetite. There is also the psychological piece of being bored and eating when one would have smoked, being nervous and eating, being angry and eating.. etc. the classic emotional eating pattern that people who have disordered eating experience everyday.

I smoked myself for about 17 years and through it all I have pictures of life events. Sometimes I am thin and sometimes I am quite overweight (ranging 100 to 149 lbs). Many times, I have a cigarette in my hand or a pack of Winstons on the table near to me. I am fat or thin NOT because of cigarettes but because of FOOD. If you eat too much you will gain weight.. it is energy in and energy out, truly that simple for 95% of the population.

So a former smoker or an emotional eater has to learn two or three things. First, when am I hungry and when am I emotional.. Two, how to cope with emotions in health promoting ways.. journaling, exercising, talking, music, aromatherapy, massage, eating nutritious food! and Third, how does weight control work i.e, what food is healthy, how many calories do I need , how many am I currently eating, how do I keep a healthy low calorie food healthy and low calorie when I prepare it and so on.

When I work with people I encourage the Volumetrics concept. It is important because it is NOT a diet, it is NOT temporary and it IS safe, effective and health promoting.

I really frown on my quitters getting all those toxins out of their system just to put more chemicals in. Lifestyle change first and risky drug therapy and surgery as last resorts.. got that?

The Grocery List

I feel that I have to say something about the recent deaths of three celebrities and it is this:

Mr. McMahon died in old age, though not a very active old age. Mr. Jackson died of a heart attack at way too young an age and apparently in correlation to being over medicated, not unlike much of this country. Ms. Fawcet, again, too young to die of natural causes, her illness is one that can often be prevented and if not prevented then treated. Screening for disease may have helped all three. Not knowing any of their life styles, that is all I can really say.

Now: If you have been getting into any of the You Tube cooking videos you may be ready to indeed "try this at home". Here are (quite) a few things that I would suggest you add to your shopping list. Remember, for the most part I chose foods that have more nutrients than calories per gram. I try to stay away from processed foods, but am a one a day diet soda drinker, so obviously I sneak some things in.

The List:
Red, green, yellow and orange bell peppers
Fresh mushrooms
Lettuce (any kind really, I like the leaf lettuce with red edges)
Sweet Potato
Onions
Tomatoes
Butter Nut Squash
Summer Squash
Eggplant
Shredded cabbage (use it in simmer fries)
Lentils
White Beans
Canned baby corn
Cauliflower
Broccoli
Wax Beans
Canned Pumpkin
Canned tomato
Vegetarian Broth
Greens, frozen or fresh
Swiss Chard

Oranges
Apples
Peaches and Plums
Grapes
Berries
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Apricots

Lean Meats (?) you are on your own here
Fish such as salmon, tilapia, grouper, mahi mahi
Clams, mussels, oysters
Canned light tuna (not tuna steak and not albacore tuna) in water
Smucker's all natural peanut butter
Light Tofu
Eggs or Egg beaters
Vegetarian lunch meat and veggie strips
Quorn
Shirataki noodles
Morning Star or Boca Crumbles, sausage, bacon, etc
Hummus (2 tbsp should have 50 cals or less - read your labels!)
Sugar and fat free yogurts (80 - 110 cals)
Skim Milk (I like lactose free, others like Over the Moon)
Sugar and fat free ice cream (watch the label 1/2 cup yes, but what is the serving size weight? compare your brands by weights)
Sugar and fat free jello and puddings (use skim milk and water if you make your own)
Sargento 2% cheese slices
Laughing Cow (skinnies) 35 calorie cheese wedges
Wanton wrappers

Whole wheat flour and bread
Soy and Quinoa flour
Wassa crackers
Mini Toasts
Mini Stoned Wheat Thins
Jacobsens Snack Toast (cinnamon, raspberry, etc.)
Marinela Suavicremas (my favorite sugar wafer cookies!)
Kedem tea biscuits (chocolate or vanilla)
100 calorie pre made snacks (for emergencies)

All bran original and Kashi Go Lean Cereals
Cream of Wheat
Loose Oat bran and wheat flakes
Air Popcorn

Walden's Farms
syrups, dips, salad dressings
Polaner Sugar Free jelly
Olive Oil (for topping)

Vitamin D and Fish Oil Supplements, based on research from Drs. Willett and Cooper.

Well, this is not all inclusive.. I am sure I left off a ton of things, but you get the idea!

More on Low Calorie Foods

To reiterate... I enjoy eating more food more often more than eating food high in energy density only a few times a day. People are sometimes curious about what exactly I do eat and so I had made this list. I do not think that I posted it directly to the blog before and since I am still traveling, it seemed a good time to keep it simple.

BTW, I always travel with healthy meals too and made it through the Tampa Airport without any lunchbox loss. That was a first!

Meals of Deirdre

Each morning I have a small serving of fruit and one of my cereal bars, recipe on FB and You Tube, along with one of the following:
· 1/3 c egg beater, rice cake with smart beat cheese on top
· 1/3 c (dry) loose oat bran from Richards, cooked in h20, served w/ splenda & cinnamon
· 3 TBSP cream of wheat, cooked in water, and served with splenda
· My home made pancakes, recipe on video somewhere
· One 6-8 ounce SF/FF yogurt with 1/8 c all bran or kasha added (warmed in microwave)

I have 65-120 calorie snacks ~ 3 x a day, including:
· 90 calorie Special K bar (or bargain brand)
· 90-100 calorie granola bars (watch those labels!)
· Home made wraps, video available
· ½ egg sandwich
· ½ PBJ sandwich
· Publix cookie toast with non fat cream cheese 2 = 90 cals
· Mexican sugar cookies, staw, van, choc – 30 cal per cookie
· Tea biscuit cookies 65 cals for 4
· Vegetarian lunch meat with sargento 2% cheese (95 – 100 c)
· Pizza slice that I baked and cut into 100-120 cal slices
· And more, with my late afternoon snack I also have a diet soda (12 oz)

For Lunch, I have a small serving of fruit and a cereal bar along with a meal of protein that I made on the weekend. Lunch usually has 150-200 cals

For Dinner, I eat the Volumetrics way with either a salad or stir fry

For Dessert, either SF/FF ice cream with pudding sauce and extras or my dessert cakes with pudding sauce (150 cals either choice)

For a snack, my PB cookies and skim milk cappuccino

Before Bed, air popped and salted pop corn with 1 tsp olive oil on top!

Counting Calories

Today I return to the issue of calories and I do that as a health education specialist, not as a nutritionist. By that I mean, I am able to and pressed to, educate people on nutrition guidelines and concepts but not on individual nutrient or calorie needs.

It is true that the majority of Americans are overweight or obese and because of that many have been advised to lose weight. According to premier health experts and programs, including the Cooper Institute which you can link to below this post, the best way to lose weight is to cut calories. The best way to maintain weight loss is to control calories and to exercise.

When your goal is to influence the behavior of others, as mine is, it is helpful to start where the "others" are and to use personal experience if you have it and evidenced based solutions if they exist. You are in luck as I can provide all of the above! I know what it is like to be overweight, I know what it is like to have dieted and dieted and dieted, better still, I know what it is like NOT to do that anymore. Science says we have to eat less energy then we expend to lose weight. The public health consensus is that almost to a person we overestimate the calories we expend and underestimate the calories we consume.

Reducing caloric intake scares the hell out of people. We just do not want to be deprived. I know. Dr. Barabara Rolls and others say that low energy dense foods can make cutting the calories different from cutting volume. One can lose weight without hunger pains and deprivation. Volumetrics is a safe, effective and pleasant way to improve health. Yes, I said pleasant.

As it turns out, Dr. Rolls has a study published in the journal Physiology and Behavior from March of this year. I haven't read the article yet, only the abstract. But here is your evidence.

The relationship between dietary energy density and energy intake
Barbara J. Rolls ⁎
The Department of Nutritional Sciences, 226 Henderson Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802-6501

I am doing my best to provide you with science and evidence based programs as I don't diet and do not endorse ANY diet program.

Also, I want you to listen to the commercials especially from Nutra System, w/ their special diets for men and for diabetes or people who don't want to get diabetes. And really listen, because what the announcer says is this... "clinically tested". Read that again. Tested is not Proven.

Anyways, I meant today to be a short blog with a video focus. It did not turn out that way. Still, the video is short - 5 minutes - and showcases a very filling 150 calorie meal.

Energy Density: What you need to know...

Energy density is the amount of energy in a given unit of measurement. For food it is the amount of calories per gram. In recent years, nutritionists and public health specialists have begun to suggest that adults and children eat low energy dense foods. I imagine the increased popularity comes from the Volumetrics concept that is the work of Penn State professor, Dr. Barbara Rolls. http://nutrition.psu.edu/faculty/profiles.cfm?facultyid=21

Ideally we would eat foods that are low in calories and high in nutrients. If you do this you get more bang for your buck, more nutrition for your calorie. You get to eat MORE. It is similar to using those UPC shelf labels at the grocery store. For example, there are at least a dozen brands of yogurt in the dairy section and the prices vary greatly. The tags on the shelf can tell you which item has the lowest price per unit. I was looking at this very thing yesterday and the containers that appeared to be the same size offered me single containers at 38, 50 and 52 cent prices. And on the shelf I saw 6.4, 8.4 even 11.4.. per unit. This tells you that the 6.4 cent per unit was the cheapest. The lowest price isn't always the cheapest. If we can buy the less expensive product then we can make our money go further. We are budgeting. We are frugal.

This is exactly how low energy density eating works as long as you are mindful of the nutrient side of it. Celery and lettuce may be very low density but they are also low in nutrients, so not the best every day choices.

Here is how you figure the calorie per gram of your foods. Look at the serving size and divide the calories by the grams.

A chips ahoy cookie package states that the serving size is 27 g and the calories for that are 120. If we divide 120 by 27 we get 4.4 calories by gram. That is moderately high. Peanut butter is higher, but some peanut butter is good for you. Obviously, a natural peanut butter (smuckers) has nutrients your body needs and the cookies do not.
Fats and oils are very high in calories per gram while MOST vegetables and many fruits are low. Grains are moderate, but heart healthy.

If you don't have a nutrient label use the USDA calorie database. Look up your food and it gives you weight options, including 100g. So just pick that one and move the decimal in two places.

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

More examples, spaghetti squash and egg plant have less than .3 cals per gram, strawberries and wax beans have .3 cals per gram. Apples, .5. Bananas .9. Mushrooms, summer squashes, bell peppers, all extremely low (less than .3/g) and high in nutrients, tomatoes too. Winter squash and pumpkin are also superb sources of nutrition with low calorie per gram. Apples are .51 and sweet potatoes .84. That is why I mix my sweet potatoes with a pepper, to volumize them and my plate. Lettuce. cabbages and leafy greens which have more nutrients are also great. Note the spaghetti squash is .27 and regular spaghetti is 1.6 so you can eat a lot more of the vegetable than the grain.

Obviously meats with more saturated fat are higher in ED. Fish (including tuna fish) is low, salmon is higher, but also better for you. Choose to fill your plate with the low ED foods and include the others sparingly.

I always bulk up my salad and or stir fry with onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and sometimes peppers. Lentils are a fantastic low calorie source of protein. Many of the meals I have on You Tube are made from low energy high nutrient dense foods and importantly, I do not add OIL, Butter or sauces to change that when I cook or serve them.

http://www.youtube.com/deerunstoo


This is how you can eat less without eating less !

Meal Ideas

I am beginning to create videos for the blog. My initials ones are pretty rudimentary, but they will get better. I am going to get a better camera and software and I may actually manage to get all of me in the video at some point. Note, I have nothing fancy in my kitchen and buy most of the ingredients at Walmart. This is every day stuff.. and you CAN do it.