Eat More, Weigh Less with Fruits, Veggies (NYTimes article)

[Guest guest]

This today from SoFlaVegans.

Best, Pat.

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Eat more, weigh less with fruits, veggies

By JANE E. BRODY

New York Times News Service

Oct. 8, 2004, 8:06PM

 

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/features/2836180

 

What determines how much we eat and how much we weigh? Is it the

amount of fat in foods, the presence of carbohydrates, the size of

our portions, what we drink with our meals, that elusive trait called

willpower?

Conflicting popular advice can prompt would-be dieters to give up

before they even start.

 

The good news based on solid research is that you can eat more —

probably more food than you're now eating — and weigh less, if you

choose more of the right kinds of foods.

 

At a recent meeting on the worldwide obesity epidemic, Dr. Barbara J.

Rolls, a professor of behavioral health at Penn State, offered this

insight into successful weight management: " Calories count, no matter

what you read in the press. The laws of thermodynamics have not been

reversed. "

 

Calories consumed must be used or they will be stored as body fat.

The body does not waste energy, no matter what its source. When

people are placed on carefully controlled calorie-restricted diets,

the amount of fat in the diet — whether 25 percent or 45 percent of

calories — has little effect on weight loss, Rolls reported.

 

People who claim that they can eat as much as they want (of protein

and fat, for example) and lose weight as long as they avoid certain

kinds of foods (carbohydrates, for example) are really eating less

(that is, fewer calories) than they did before.

 

Feeling full

But what about people concerned about weight control who are not

interested in cutting out breads, cereals, grapes, bananas,

watermelon, carrots, beets, potatoes, rice and pasta (not to mention

wine, beer, cakes, cookies, ice cream and other carbohydrate-rich

foods banned on Atkins-style diets)? Are they doomed to remaining

hopelessly overweight?

 

Not according to Rolls, an expert on what and how much a person has

to eat at a meal to feel satisfied and stop eating. Many

characteristics of foods affect satiety: how they look, taste and

feel in the mouth; how much chewing they require; the nutrients they

contain; how densely packed the calories are; and, independent of

caloric density, the volume of food consumed.

 

She does not dispute the popular premise that the " macronutrients " in

foods — protein, fat, carbohydrates, alcohol and fiber — influence

caloric intake and use. For example, calorie for calorie, protein

appears to be the most satiating nutrient. Furthermore, during

overeating, the body burns more calories to metabolize protein and

carbohydrates than it does when processing fats, which are the

nutrients most efficiently stored as body fat.

 

So what makes your body say you've eaten enough? Rolls' studies on

satiety have clearly demonstrated an overriding influence of food

volume, prompting her to write the book The Volumetrics

Weight-Control Plan: Feel Full on Fewer Calories (HarperCollins, $13)

with Robert A. Barnett.

 

She found that what makes a big difference in how many calories

people consume at a given meal, and throughout the day, is the amount

of calories in a given volume of food. In nutritional parlance, this

is called the energy density of the food. The greater the energy

density — the more calories packed into a given weight or volume of

food — the easier it is to overeat.

 

" People tend to eat a consistent weight of food, " Rolls has found.

When consuming a calorie-dense food high in fat, people are likely to

eat more calories just to get in a satisfying amount of food.

 

What increases food volume without adding calories? You guessed it.

Water.

And what foods naturally contain the most water? You got that right,

too.

Fruits and vegetables.

 

Water weight

" People given the message to eat more fruits and vegetables lost

significantly more weight than those told to eat less fat, " Rolls

said.

" Advice to eat more is a lot more effective than advice to eat less.

Positive messages about what can be eaten are more effective than

restrictive messages about what not to eat. "

 

What would fill you up faster — 1/4 cup raisins or 1 3/4 cups grapes?

Raisins are simply dried grapes; both contain the same macronutrients

and supply the same 110 calories. The difference lies in volume — the

amount of water they contain. If you ate a 475-calorie meal of soup,

vegetables and fruit, you'd consume twice as much food by volume than

if you chose drier, higher-fat foods.

 

In her studies, people ate a constant weight of food, but if water

contributed significantly to the weight and volume of the food, they

ate about a third fewer calories. In one study, Rolls and colleagues

tested the amount people ate when offered a 270-calorie

chicken-and-rice casserole with a glass a water to drink, as opposed

to the same

ingredients prepared as a soup. The soup eaters spontaneously

consumed 100 fewer calories, she reported.

 

Serve the soup

In other studies, when participants were given a water-rich first

course — soup or a salad, for example — before their main dish, they

ate significantly fewer total calories than they did if the main

course was given without the low-energy-density appetizer. In

addition, study participants given foods containing lots of water and

fiber ate less throughout the day.

 

After water, which has zero calories, fiber contributes the most to

food volume for the fewest number of calories.

 

Fiber supplies 1.5 to 2.5 calories per gram, far fewer than fat, at 9

calories, or protein and carbohydrates, at 4 calories per gram. Also,

fiber holds water in the digestive tract, which contributes to a

lasting sense of fullness.

 

Fiber is found only in plant foods: fruits, vegetables and grains,

especially whole grains. Along with water, it acts as a digestive

tract stimulant; cutting out fiber-rich foods can lead to chronic

constipation.

 

Rolls' work helps to explain why so many people who reduced the fat

in their diets failed to lose weight and even gained.

 

" When the fat content of the diet is reduced but energy density is

held constant, people do not decrease their caloric intake, " she

said.

" But if energy density is reduced, no matter what the macronutrient

composition, ad libitum intake declines. "

 

That is, people eat less when there are fewer calories in a given

volume of food. If you cut back on fat and replace it with

energy-dense (that is, dry) carbohydrates like pretzels, crackers or

sweets, you may not be reducing your caloric intake. You may, in

fact, be increasing it.

 

Rolls' findings are good news for pasta lovers, who may be avoiding

this food in response to the current mania for low-carb diets.

 

Start your meal with a salad or cup of soup, dish up a reasonable

portion of pasta (a serving is 2 ounces of dry pasta) and top it with

lots of sautéed vegetables. With fruit and a half-cup frozen yogurt

for dessert, you have a filling, nutritious meal that is not likely

to add to your adipose depot and may even help you shed some extra

pounds.

[Guest guest]

>>>http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/features/2836180

 

Or chug down a big glass of water before each meal and *instead* of snacks.

 

Bethie

 

 

 

 

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