This summit was hosted by CNN Health's diet & fitness expert, Dr. Melina Jampolis and KGO's Joanie Greggains at the Jewish Community Center from 1-4pm.
Dr. Jampolis is a board certified internist and physician nutrition specialist (one of only 200 in the country). She specializes exclusively in nutrition for weight loss and disease prevention and treatment.Dr. Jampolis is a published author (of The No-Time-to-Lose-Diet, released in January 2007 and the paperback version, The Busy Person's Guide to Permanent Weight loss, released in May 2008) and maintains a small private practice in San Francisco. She believes whole-heartedly in the role of nutrition in preventative medicine and achieving optimal health. She teaches a balanced and sustainable lifestyle based eating and exercise program and has helped over one thousand clients over the past eight years improve their health and well-being.
I put all that background there because maybe you are like me, and if you are going to get lectured, it should at least be from someone who is qualified and as much of an expert in their field as possible. She was peppy and fit, smart and articulate and backed up her talk with statistics and data! Wasn't just fluff. Love that.
Ok, what were the take aways you ask? Before you read on, know that these are all things you've heard before but were presented in a way to help make diet and fitness work for you as an individual.
As of today, Obesity has killed more people than H1N1 (the swine flu) this year and is a real threat to our society. It has been on the rise for many factors including the development of high fructose corn syrup an portion size.
Since 1966 when high fructose corn syrup was developed our "sugar" intake has increased dramatically with it being included in many every day foods and drinks while refined sugar has actually decreased. In her words, our brains don't know how to process HFCS and don't tell our bodies to stop eating after a certain amount or give you a feeling of fullness. So ultimately you consume more. And your glycemic index yo-yos making you chase your next sugar high, again fueling the consumption cycle.
The Big Gulp didn't exist in the 60s and burgers were 2/3 the size. This might be OK except for the fact that we generally don't stop eating until our plates are empty.
She shared several studies demonstrating how we eat with our eyes. A study was conducted where a group of people ate a bowl of soup one day and filled out a survey afterwards stating their level of fullness and impact on how much they consumed at the next meal. The following day they were asked to eat the same bowl of soup except there was s small tube insert in the bottom of the bowl that slowly and indecipherably filled the bowl as you were eating. People ate 56% more AND when surveyed said they felt exactly as full as the day before and ate just as much in the subsequent meal. In another study she showed how variety can fool you too. Two groups were given jelly beans to eat. One group had all the same color jelly beans. The other had 6 different colors. The group that had the variety of colors ate 73% more jelly beans (and when surveyed said they didn't feel any more or less full than the other group).
Now when applying these studies to my life...
*This made me not feel so silly intentionally using salad plates and/or small bowls at home instead of the large dinner plate to trick myself into feeling fuller by filling my whole plate up, even tho it was a small plate.
*The next time I go to a holiday party or one where appetizer plates keep floating by I'm going to stick with one vice. If I feel like having a sweet thing, fine, but just one kind of sweet thing. I'll eat less of one thing that I will of a variety of things and still feel indulged!
Then she introduced the idea of Energy Density. Past research has shown that by eating a large portion of a low-energy, dense salad (filled with veggies and low-fat or non-fat dressing) prior to a meal resulted in the participants eating fewer calories in the meal. Another study showed that participants who ate soup twice a day for a snack lost more weight than a group of participants who ate dry snack foods such as crackers and chips. In other words, increasing fullness while adding few calories reduces the total calories consumed. This concept of energy density, also known as caloric density of foods, can be defined as "the number of calories in a given weight of food".
This can be calculated by using the following equation:
Energy Density = calories per serving / weight of serving in grams
The idea is to feel fuller on less calories. It sounds like a diet gimmick. But in reality, the concept of energy density can indeed help you feel satisfied with fewer calories. By consuming fewer calories, you can lose weight over time and keep it off long term. All foods have a certain number of calories within a given amount (volume). Some foods, such as desserts, candies and processed foods, are high in energy density. This means that a small volume of that food has a large number of calories.
Alternatively, some foods — such as vegetables and fruits — have low energy density. These foods provide a larger portion size with a fewer number of calories.
Three factors play an important role in feeling fuller longer.
Water. Many fruits and vegetables are high in water, which provides volume but not calories. Grapefruit, for example, is about 90 percent water and has just 38 calories in a half-fruit serving. Carrots are about 88 percent water and have only 52 calories in 1 cup.
Fat. High-fat foods are high density foods. So a small swab of butter provides little volume or fullness and is high calorie. So you are left still feeling hungry and having consumed a lot of calories. Bottom line...focus on the low-fat foods, (avoid the high fat foods) so you consume the same amount of calories for more volume of food to feel fuller longer.
Fiber. High-fiber foods — such as vegetables, fruits and whole grains — not only provide volume, but also take longer to digest, making you feel full longer.
By eating larger portions of foods less packed with calories, you squelch those hunger pangs, take in fewer calories and feel better about your meal, which contributes to how satisfied you feel overall.
Overall, Dr. Melina recommended:
-Eating a higher protein diet
-Eating foods with lower energy density
-Don't rule out all carbs, but focus on healthy carbs with soluble fiber
-Avoid things with trans fat or anything labeled with partially hydrogenated oil
-Avoid things with high fructose corn syrup
-Watch your portions
-Work physical activity into your routine
Basically, all stuff we've heard before. But the kicker is trying to do things in an everyday, manageable way so that its not a temporary diet, but a way of living healthy and happy!
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