Issue Date: December 16, 2001
10 fat busters
Lab-tested tricks can help disarm holiday calories and strengthen New Year's diets.
Holiday weight gain is no myth. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's, the average American gains 3/4 pound, but overweight people gain 5.
Use the following tips to enjoy the rest of the holiday season -- and to help make your New Year's diet successful.
Spice it up. Find any excuse to eat hot peppers, spicy mustards and curry spices. Splash hot pepper sauce in tomato juice; eat hot salsa dips and curries; put jalapeños in your salads. Capsaicin, the hot stuff in peppers, revs up the metabolism, burning off more calories, and may suppress appetite. In a recent Canadian study, subjects who ate sauce rich in capsaicin ate about 200 fewer calories in the following three hours than those who didn't eat the sauce.
Add vinegar. In new Arizona State University tests, subjects who took 1 1/2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar ate 200 fewer calories at the next meal. Probable reason: Vinegar tends to blunt blood insulin levels that trigger hunger. Other research shows eating vinegar or lemon juice, as in salad dressing, with high-carb foods lowers jumps in blood sugar.
Go nuts. When faced with an array of goodies, choose nuts or desserts that contain nuts, especially peanuts. Nuts have good fat and fiber that help suppress hunger. In tests, people who eat peanuts feel fuller and eat fewer calories later. Chocolate peanut clusters are better fat busters than chocolate truffles.
Beware of buffets. Research at Tufts found that adults who ate the greatest variety of sweets, snacks, condiments and entrees ate the most calories and were the fattest. Exceptions: People eating a wide variety of fruit and dairy products had no more body fat; those eating a wide variety of vegetables (excluding potatoes) had less body fat.
Nibble. Try to eat five or six small meals daily instead of the usual three. You're likely to consume fewer calories. In one recent study, men given five small meals instead of one large breakfast ate one-third fewer calories at lunch and felt happy about it. Frequent eating controls blood sugar and, thus, appetite.
Be choosy about fats. Some are more fattening. Best to prevent weight gain: olive oil and omega-3 fats in fish and canola oil. Worst: saturated animal fats. Animals gained one-third more body fat on a high-saturated-fat diet than on a high-canola-oil diet. But all fat can add pounds. Italian research found children stored eight times more fat after a high-fat meal vs. a low-fat one. It's more filling to eat a high-protein/high-carb meal than a high-fat one, Dutch research says.
Eat sugar busters. Stick to foods that suppress blood sugar and dampen appetite. Good choices: turkey and chicken breast; dried fruits such as figs, apricots, pears, apples and prunes (not dates); fresh fruits (not pineapple); sweet potatoes (not white potatoes); and black-eyed peas, lentils and dried beans. Use sourdough bread to make stuffing.
Get your calories in bulk. You stave off weight gain better by eating 300 calories in a cup of stew than in an itty-bitty cookie. The stew's water and fiber fill you up better, finds Penn State researcher Barbara Rolls, Ph.D. Compact calories -- potato chips, crackers, cookies -- create fat without stifling appetite. Best weight deterrents: low-fat, high-fiber, high-water foods such as soups, stews, casseroles, fruits and vegetables. Adding fiber to low-fat diets triples the weight you lose, says Tufts University's Susan Roberts, Ph.D. Aim for more than 25 grams of fiber a day.
Liquid advice. Drink green tea; it helps burn off calories. In one study, two to three cups daily burned off 80 calories. Consuming liquids, especially chunky soup, before meals may curb appetite. Women in a Penn State study ate 27% fewer calories after a starter of chicken-rice soup. Also, alcohol is not necessarily fattening, but beer and sweetened mixed drinks do contain fattening carbs. All alcohol lessens judgment, resulting in overindulgence. Limit drinks to one for women, two for men. Or don't imbibe at all.
Eat at home. The more often you eat at restaurants, including fast-food chains, the more calories and fat you consume, and the fatter you are likely to be, government studies say.
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Scientific sources for this article
Holiday weight gain
Nutr Rev 2000 Dec;58(12):378-9.
Spice
Yoshioka M. Br J Nutr 1999 Aug;82(2):115-23.
Vinegar
Amanda Buller, Arizona State University, presented at annual conference of American College of Nutrition in Orlando, Fl. Oct. 6, 2001.
Buffets
McCrory, Megan. Amer J Clin Nutr 1999;69:440-7.
Nibbles
Speechly DP, Appetite 1999, Dec;33(3):285-97.
Fats
J Nutrition, 1997;127:2006-2101
Maffeis C., J Clin Endocrinol Metab 2001 Jan;86(1):214-9.
Westerterp-Plantenga, Eur J Clin Nutr 1999 Jun; 53(6):495-502.
Bulky foods
Bell, E.A and Rolls, BJ. Am J Clin Nutr 2001 Jun;73(6): 999-1000.
Howarth NC, et al. Nutr Rev 2001 May;59(5):129-39.
Soup
Rolls, B.J., American J of Clin Nutr, 1999 Oct;70(4):448-455.
Eating out
McCrory MA, Obes Res 1999 Nov;7(6):564-71.
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