Easier Weight Loss

What are you doing to lose weight or to stay at your ideal size? The newest research is, well, it’s amazing. And I want you to know about it so you can adjust your personal program to make it easier for yourself and go with the flow of your body’s biology.

A couple weeks ago Time magazine ran an article claiming that exercise won’t help a person lose weight. The premise was that exercisers overindulge in “treat” foods after a workout. After a hour at the gym, the person could feel they deserved a “fully-loaded” latte, a couple doughnuts, or a big piece of pie. Which results in eating more calories than they burned in exercise. If only the facts on exercise were that simple. The biological truth is more subtle.

Exercise helps increase the body cells’ ability to uptake glucose. Which has the effect of normalizing or reducing insulin levels, keeping blood sugar levels in the normal range, and avoiding a condition called insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome. And ultimately avoiding the risk of having type 2 diabetes or other chronic health conditions such as autoimmune disorders and even cancer. Plus, exercise lifts moods such as anxiety and depression.

About the cancer – elevated insulin levels that are still within the “normal” range appear to be associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer and higher-than-normal levels of insulin place postmenopausal women at increased risk of breast cancer. To keep your insulin levels normal, exercise and eat mostly low-glycemic foods and avoid high-glycemic foods. High-glycemic foods are carbohydrates that are quickly digested by the stomach into simple sugars. They cause a quick lift in blood sugar levels and in insulin levels. Eating high-glycemic foods, such as simple starches (bread, cookies, bagels, popcorn, white potatoes, etc.), high-fructose corn syrup, and sugars cause weight gain and leads to insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and may lead to type 2 diabetes.

The American Heart Association (AHA) now recommends eating less sugar. Eating too much sugar can lead to heart disease or a heart attack. They recommend that a woman have no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar a day and that men have no more than 8. Sugar includes table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup but does not include eating apples and fruit. A can of soda contains 8 teaspoons of sugar, so if you’re a woman and enjoy sodas, have only three-quarters of a can once a day. Then don’t eat any food that contains sugar the rest of the day.

A clever way to eat that helps control insulin and blood sugar levels, as well as helps weight loss is to use more vinegar. Years ago a very popular diet included vinegar. You were to take a tablespoon of vinegar in a glass of water after every meal. It worked then and it works now.

New research shows that acetic acid, the main component of vinegar, may help control blood pressure, blood sugar levels, and fat accumulation. They surmise that acetic acid fights fat by turning on genes for fatty acid oxidation enzymes. The genes churn out proteins involved in breaking down fats, thus suppressing body fat accumulation in the body. Glycemic Index research shows that having 4 teaspoons of vinegar with a meal reduces the glycemic effect of a meal by 30 percent. Which helps keep blood sugar and insulin levels normal.

If you don’t have a preference for sour foods, you may want to develop your palate to appreciate vinegar and oil salad dressings, dill pickles, capers, sauerkraut, tangy salsas, green olives, mustard, and horseradish.
Add to that sour fruit and vegetables: lemons, limes, grapefruit, tomatoes, and some berries and greens.

In other words, a couple of spoonfuls of sour a day can keep the doctor away. Along with that apple. The healing power of apples amaze me. When I’m going through a high-stress time, like book deadlines, or return home from a hectic trip, eating an apple or two a day rebalances whatever was out of balance.

The New York Times Magazine recently ran an article on the sorry state of home cooking. Basically, we’re watching more televised cooking shows and doing less cooking in our homes. The end of the article offered this innovative way to lose weight. And I suspect one could lose substantial amounts of weight. Only eat food that you prepare by hand. That means you would bake your own bread, make your own candy, cookies, and pastry. You would cook each meal that you eat. You couldn’t use muffin mix or any convenience packaged food. You’d make spaghetti sauce from scratch. Ditto ice cream. Sort of just like they did on the farm a hundred years ago. Anyone want to try this and let me know your results after 6 months?

Two of my favorites: I shy away from eating much dairy, but I love ice cream and that wonderful cold feeling in my mouth. I’m in love with coconut milk iced dessert. It’s natural, and the main ingredients are coconut milk and agave nectar (which is low-glycemic). I found it at the health food grocers. It’s creamy, rich tasting, and satisfying.

My other favorite is MBT shoes. I wrote about these several months ago after a shoe salesman at the Jax store in Fort Collins, CO told me that they would heal my foot pain problem – plantar fasciitis. I also found that hiking up steep terrain also really helps. It loosens up my tight leg and feet muscles. But back to the shoes. They are amazing. I stand taller, my posture is better. I walked in my MBTs all over Paris for ten long hot days without any foot concerns. Happy feet make for a great vacation. The shoes aren’t high-fashion, but they are sort of “hip” looking in an odd way. I hesitate to recommend them to you because they are really pricey, but they are terrifically effective and very sturdy. Also, if you shop for them on-line by going to google shopping or on amazon.com, you may find some for half price. For my readers in Utah, you can find them at The Walking Store at Gateway.

As we ease into autumn, I’ve looking forward to the fall colors on the mountain sides and up the canyons. It’s time for photographing the colors, state fairs, and those late blooming asters and chrysanthemums in the garden. The Farmer’s Markets offer bountiful and enticing harvests. Have a great September.