At any given point in time our knowledge is incomplete. That’s simply the nature of how research works. Please be cautious about believing what you read and hear about in the news!

All too often you may learn about a new method, product, or service in the media that promises “the answer” to YOUR challenges in achieving your goal weight and better health. Always pause to ask if it’s the real deal. As the saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Weight management is very complicated. You know that. I know that. However, it is nice to hold on to the hope for an easy solution. Let’s take a look at some of the latest information about weight loss in the news.

Change Your Brain, Change Your Body: Use Your Brain to Get and Keep the Body You Have Always Wanted
by Dr. Daniel Amen

A fascinating television program about the newest book written by Dr. Daniel Amen was aired recently on PBS festival week (fund-raising week) in Iowa. I was intrigued by the information he shared. He claims that differences in brain function from one person to the next influences not only a person’s mental health BUT ALSO that person’s ability to lose weight. He is, of course, the owner of the solution for you to assess what your brain might be like as well as the specific remedy. All for a price.

I have no difficulty accepting that the brain and in turn the way we think influences the ability to succeed with any weight loss program. That there might be a specific and unique remedy for each person is intriguing. On the other hand, as with almost any other recommendation for any weight loss program, Dr. Amen stresses the need to eat a healthy diet, restrict calories, get exercise, and be sure to get enough sleep. These are all the same things I cover on this website. If you follow these recommendations you are likely to lose weight regardless of any other change.

What troubled me most was learning more about the story behind having such a program aired on PBS. Like many people, I have a tendency to be more trusting of programs on PBS. It turns out however, that PBS had nothing to do with the production or content of this program. Each local PBS station (315 or so in the United States) is independent, locally owned, and operated and can get material from sources other than PBS. The only way in which you can know for sure if a program is indeed from PBS is to look for the PBS logo at the end of a program. But it isn’t always easy to catch.

Will Dr. Amen’s methods work? I don’t know. Had the program been vetted by PBS, I would have been confident his information was supported by peer-reviewed research studies. Unfortunately, I’m not aware of any well-documented follow-up studies for Dr. Amen’s program.

I will have a wait and see approach to learn if there is any research by other scientists to support his conclusions. His books may make for interesting reading but you may want to hold off before you invest heavily in Dr. Amen’s products.

Weight loss efforts may be dependent on genes to work

Another piece of fascinating news relates to research performed by Stanford University Researchers. In a study of 133 overweight women, these researchers learned that a genetic test may help people know in advance which diet works best!

The women with a genetic predisposition for a low-carbohydrate diet lost 2 ½ times as much weight as women lacking this predisposition. On the other hand, women with a different genetic makeup that evidently favored a low-fat diet, lost significantly more weight than women who reduced their intake of fat calories but lacked the same gene tendency.

If you have always felt like one diet or the other works better for you, this may be the evidence to support your conclusion! I look forward to seeing more research to back up these findings.

Low-fat diet seems to be a better choice in the long run than low-carb

The results of yet another study seem to negate the results I just reported on about genetic predisposition. Which one is right?

Researchers associated with the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania followed the weight loss and maintenance efforts of a group of 132 obese people (the study seems to have included both men and women) for over three years. The study participants engaged in either a low-fat and calorie-restricted diet with less than 30% of daily calories from fat or a low-carb diet with fewer than 30 grams of carbohydrate per day for 12 months.

The group on the low-carb diet experienced the greatest weight loss after six months; however, by 12 months there was no significant difference in the two groups. These results match what has been found in previous studies.

What may be more interesting is what the researchers found two years after the diets ended. Both groups had regained some weight, however, a subgroup of 40 people on the low-carb diet weighed an average of 4.9 pounds less than when the diet began. Whereas in a subgroup of 48 participants from the low-fat diet, people weighed an average of 9.5 pounds less.

The researchers speculate that the weight regained may reflect how quickly the weight was lost initially. The participants who lost more weight during the first 12 months tended to regain more weight over the next two years.

Which study is right? Is low fat better than low carb?

We cannot directly compare the results of these two studies because the sample groups were not the same and the variables (characteristics) measured were different.

The study on genetic predisposition involved overweight women only, whereas the other study included both women and men who were obese. In addition, the later study did not include any assessment of possible genetic differences. So it is not clear if this study might have been biased toward individuals with a genetic predisposition that favors a low fat diet.

You see how research works? When we compare and contrast different studies we find at we have new questions. This leads to opportunities to fill in the gaps with more research.

We now need a study of both overweight and obese individuals with different genetic predispositions. Such a study also needs to include both men and women.

I wish it were easier to do research and come up with the answers people need. Unfortunately well-designed research studies are difficult. They are time consuming and expensive. We have to be patient.

My advice for you is to choose a healthy well-balanced diet with a reasonable calorie restriction for your age and weight (See 1200 calorie diet plan and 1500 calorie diet plan). If low fat suits you better, then choose menu plans that fit that choice. Just be sure to get some healthy fat from sources such as fatty fish, olive oil, canola oil, and avocados in your plan.

If you prefer low carb then that may be the better choice for you. I recommend getting a minimum of 20-40% carbohydrates in your diet. Be sure to choose whole grains to be sure you get enough dietary fiber and antioxidants along with all the other important nutrients these high carb foods have to offer. (To learn more you may want to read: Dietary Fiber: Can it help you with weight loss? and Whole Grains are a Weight Loss Winner.)

Till next time watch those calories and eat healthy food!

I developed the granola bar recipe by modifying one I discovered for a healthy breakfast cookie on the Calorie Count site of About.com.

I chose to include craisins rather than raisins because I like them! Craisins also have the potential to contribute to urinary tract health.

I chose to use a cereal with whole grain flakes such as Wheatabix rather than bran flakes as called for in the original recipe. Have you tried Wheatabix? It’s a nutritious low calorie whole grain choice but I didn’t care for it as a breakfast cereal. I found it turned to mush all too quickly after I added milk. So I used the cereal instead to make muffins, cookies, and granola bars.

Another option for the cereal might be Organic Flax Plus by Nature’s Path. Organic Heritage Cereal by Nature’s Path would also make a good choice if you can find it. It’s a flake cereal made with a wide range of whole grains including wheat, oats, barley, and quinoa. I remember it tasting good when I had a chance to sample it but it doesn’t seem to be available where I live.

Another change I made to the original recipe was to include ground flax seed rather than the suggested wheat germ. By using a whole grain cereal such as whole wheat instead of bran flakes you’ll get the benefits of the germ without having to add more. I like ground flax seed because it has a pleasant nutty flavor and it’s good for you. It may help reduce inflammation in the body and keep your arteries clear of plaque buildup. Both benefits will reduce your risk for heart disease and stroke.

Low Calorie Healthy Granola Bar

makes about 8 bars

Ingredients

2 cups of cereal made with whole grain flakes

2 cups oatmeal

2 tbsp. ground flax seed

1 ½ tbsp. cinnamon

½ cup plain yogurt

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 cup honey

1 egg, beaten

¼ cup skim milk powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

½ cup craisins (soak about 15 minutes in warm water first then drain well)

Instructions

Preheat Oven to 350 degrees F. Crush the whole grain flakes and place in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the oatmeal, ground flax seed, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In another medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, applesauce, vanilla, honey, beaten egg, and skim milk powder. Add baking soda and baking powder to this mixture. Mix well.

Gradually stir the crushed whole grain flakes and oatmeal into the yogurt mixture. Add the craisins and mix well.

Make the granola bars by scooping three heaping tablespoons for each bar onto a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet. Shape into bars about 4 inches long.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes. Makes 8 bars. Remove the granola bars from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Wrap each bar in saran wrap or foil, refrigerate and eat within a week or so. Or freeze the wrapped bars in a zip lock freezer bag. The granola bars should keep well for several months.

Freezing the granola bars works best for me. I’ve found I can take a bar with me to eat in the car if I’m in a hurry. To make a complete meal I have ½ cup of juice for some vitamin C before I leave and I make or buy some coffee with nonfat milk (for example a tall Starbucks cafe au lait with nonfat milk) to round out the meal and keep the calorie count low.

Low Calorie Breakfast

1 homemade granola bar (222 calories)

4 oz. orange juice (Florida Natural, 55 calories)

Starbucks Coffee with Nonfat Milk (1 tall, 60 calories)

Total calories: 337

Protein: 13.6 grams (16%)

Fat: 3.2 grams (8%)

Carbohydrates: 66.4 grams (75%)

Vitamin C: 37.6 mg

Calcium: 336 mg

Iron: 4.4 mg

Dietary Fiber: 5.7 grams

This is a high carbohydrate meal with lots of filling fiber! However, I would recommend getting some more fat in a mid-morning snack with a nutritious choice such as a low calorie cheese or some slices of avocado with whole grain crackers. Or you might choose 2% milk instead of nonfat milk for your coffee (80 calories rather than 60 for a tall cafe au lait at Starbucks.)

For those of you who would rather not make your own granola bars, I will be taking a look at what seems to me be an overwhelming number of choices for commercially made food bars. Originally all you had were granola bars. Now there are breakfast bars, meals bars, snack bars, and energy bars as well as granola bars. Are these actually good for you? And if so, which ones make a better choice?

I’ll cover what you need to know to pick a healthy low calorie food bar if you need a nutritious low calorie meal substitute or a snack. Till then, I hope you enjoy the healthy granola bar recipe. Do you have any low calorie nutritious recipes for meal or snack bars to share? If so, let me know in the comments section! Thanks.

More low calorie healthy breakfast ideas

Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food!

What Does Affect Metabolism?

Your metabolism is determined by many factors over which you have no control. (See: It Must Be My Metabolism: Part One).

Your thyroid gland, on the other hand, can have a significant impact on your metabolism if it is not functioning properly. A healthy thyroid gland will produce the necessary amounts of hormones to keep your body’s metabolism working at a rate that is neither too fast nor too slow.

An overactive thyroid gland (hyperthyroidism) makes more thyroid hormones than your body needs. This can speed up your heart rate and calorie burn but it is not good for your health. Far more common is an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism). An underactive thyroid can slow your metabolism and make you gain weight. More than 12 million Americans have thyroid disease and many of these individuals don’t even realize it. (Harvard Health Publications, 2009).

If you believe you might have a problem with the functioning of your thyroid gland do check with your medical doctor. A simple blood test may or may not pinpoint a problem with the thyroid. If you have been told that your thyroid is fine but you are not convinced then by all means ask for further testing or go get a second opinion.

Yo yo dieting or very low calorie diets may reduce metabolic rate by as much as 5-10%. This problem typically has an easy fix. Metabolism usually returns to normal quite quickly when a woman resumes eating enough calories to maintain a healthy body weight.

Metabolism Slows With Age

Metabolic rate can slow about 2 to 5% each decade after age 40. This slow down is the result of a couple of factors.

Certain organelles within your cells called mitochondria slow down with age. Often called the “powerhouses of the cell”, mitochondria are responsible for making high energy compounds to fuel metabolic processes. Muscle cells have a high-energy need and therefore each muscle cell has more mitochondria than other cells. (MSN Health and Fitness 2009)

In addition, there tends to be a gradual loss in overall muscle tissue with aging. Muscle tissue is metabolically more active than other cells especially fat cells because the muscle cells have more mitochondria. The loss in muscle tissue over time can be lessened by staying active and by doing strength training exercises.

Weight Loss Supplements and Metabolism

The marketers of certain weight loss supplements would like you to believe that it is easy to boost your metabolism and burn extra calories each day with little or no effort on your part. Unfortunately these supplements often contain compounds that speed up your metabolism by making your heart work harder and beat faster. This can cause insomnia, heart palpitations, anxiety, and elevated blood pressure.

I believe weight loss supplements to be a poor choice even if you were to succeed in losing a few pounds without hurting your health. Unless you change your habits you will more likely than not put the weight back on quite quickly.

If you would like to read more about the potential risks of weight loss supplements you may want to read a previous article of mine: Are Weight Loss Supplements Worth the Risk?

Safe Ways to Increase Your Metabolism

Exercise

Regular exercise such as swimming, walking, biking, and dancing at a slow to moderate pace will raise your metabolism and calorie burn while you are active. This level of exertion may also boost your metabolism for a short period afterward. However, the increase in resting metabolic rate is greatest and lasts the longest for those who engage in exercise of a high intensity. (Mayo Clinic Health Letter 2010)

The only sure way you can safely increase your metabolism all the time (24/7) whether you are engaged in physical activity or not is to increase your muscle mass. You can build muscle tissue with weight lifting or with resistance training.

Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat even when you are resting. Each pound of muscle in your body will burn approximately 15-16 calories a day or a little more than 100 a week. A pound of fat only burns 2 calories a day, about 14 calories in a week. That’s a big difference and the reason why men have an advantage over women when it comes to weight management. Men typically have more muscle tissue than women.

Eat Often.

Small, frequent meals give your metabolism a slight boost. Eating any food increases metabolism because of the energy needed to digest and absorb the food. This is called the thermic effect of food. Protein provides a greater thermic effect than fat or carbohydrates. However, the overall affect or metabolic boost of food is minimal, only 10% or so of your total calorie needs each day.

Begin your day with breakfast and continue with low calorie meals and snacks spaced out throughout the day. If you go without eating for a prolonged period of time your metabolism may begin to slow down to conserve energy.

Eat Balanced Nutritious Meals and Snacks

Nutritionally balanced diets make a difference. Your body needs food from different sources to provide the energy, nutrients, and other chemical compounds it needs to keep your metabolism running smoothly.

Your metabolism cannot run smoothly if it is missing an entire food group. Each food group provides a good source of a different set of nutrients than the other food groups. By eliminating or greatly reducing any one of the food groups such as carbohydrates, you will unnecessarily put yourself at risk for a deficiency of certain nutrients. Choose a balanced intake instead. Your body will thank you for that. (See: 1200 Calorie Diet Plan and 1500 Calorie Diet Plan to learn more about what you need from each food group.)

Need ideas on how to eat balanced and nutritious low calorie meals and snacks more often? See:

Best Healthy Breakfasts for Weight Loss: Part One

300 Calorie Mini Meals: Eat Less But Often

28 Healthy Low Calorie Snack Foods to Go

Increasing metabolism with Specific Food

Certain food or food ingredients such as spices, black pepper, ginger, and green tea may speed up your metabolism. However, the effect is very small. I would encourage you to enjoy seasonings and tea for the other benefits they offer. Spices, black pepper, and ginger add flavor to the food you prepare with only a negligible amount of calories. They can also reduce your dependence on salt. Both spices and green tea provide many healthful antioxidants.

I hope you’ve found this article on how to increase your metabolism to be helpful. Having a healthy metabolism can be influenced by the food you eat and the lifestyle you choose. Eating nutritionally balanced meals and snacks and making a conscious decision to be more active makes a difference!

For parts one and two of this series on metabolism:

It Must Be My Metabolism: Metabolism Part One

How Many Calories Per Day Do I Need: Metabolism Part Two

Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food!

Lunch calls for making a delicious sandwich with tuna fish and slices of ripe avocado. Sounds odd? Try it! I honestly think you’ll like it. I do. Today’s supper calls for a Lean Cuisine Cafe Classics Bowl of Three Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni with 1/2 cup of steamed broccoli on the side. All of today’s meals can be ready to eat in minutes!

A tip to keep in mind when preparing dishes with only 1/4 to 1/2 a piece of fruit is to keep the peeling on the remaining fruit. By leaving the peeling on it will reduce the browning that would otherwise occur. Just squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on the cut edges and then refrigerate the leftover to use with meals later in the week. If you are doubling these recipes to serve more than one person this may not be as much of an issue.

To modify today’s menu for a 1300, 1400, or 1500 calorie diet, look for my comments below.

1200 Calorie Menu (Day 2)

Breakfast

1 serving Homemade Instant Oatmeal (236 calories)
1/2 pear
1⁄2 cup Orange Juice

Snack

1 container French Vanilla Yogurt (Dannon - Light ‘n Fit, 100 calories)

Lunch

1 Tuna Fish Sandwich with Avocado
1 medium apple
water, unsweetened tea, or coffee

To prepare tuna fish sandwich with avocado:

Make tuna fish salad with 1 small can of white tuna canned in water (about 1/2 cup). Mix with 1 tbsp. low fat mayonnaise and 1/2 tsp curry powder. Makes enough for two sandwiches.

Spread 1/2 tuna fish salad on one slice whole wheat sandwich thin by Arnold. (Reserve the remaining tuna salad in the refrigerator for another day.) Add 1/4 cup reduced fat shredded mexican cheese blend. Microwave the open sandwich on low to medium for about 30-40 seconds (enough to melt the cheese). Remove from microwave and top with slices of avocado (1/4 medium avocado) and then the second slice of bread.

Snack

Starbucks Cafe au Lait w/Nonfat milk (Tall, 60 calories)
4 Triscuits Reduced Fat Crackers

Supper

Three Cheese Stuffed Rigatoni - Lean Cuisine, Cafe Classics Bowls (240 calories)
1/2 cup steamed broccoli

Water, unsweetened tea, or coffee

(Always remember to get plenty of water throughout the day. Read Water, Weight, and Women to learn more about your water needs.)

Total Calories = 1206

Total Fiber = 27.7 g

Fat = 16%

Carbs = 62%

Protein = 22%

(U.S. Dietary Guidelines Recommended percentages: Fat 20-35%, Carbohydrates 45-65%, Protein 10-35%)

Calcium = 1074 mg (Women between 19 and 50 years need approximately 1,000 mg a day, 51+ need 1,200 + mg a day)

Iron = 7.5 mg (Women 19 to 50 years need 18 mg of iron, 51+ need 8 mg)

This meal plan comes up somewhat short for total fat. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines suggests 20-25% for fat. However, this is an average. What’s more important is how it balances out over a few days or more. We need fat to get enough of certain essential fatty acids that are important for good health.

Although the weekly diet menu does come up slightly on the low side for fat, this shouldn’t be a problem. Most women need more than 1200 calories to keep metabolism running smoothly. Consuming more than 1200 calories makes it easier to get all the nutrients you need. I strongly encourage you to make sure you are getting enough calories in the first place. There are many reasons why 1200 calories is likely to be too little. A couple of my previous articles will help you learn how to determine your minimum SAFE calorie intake.

1. How Many Calories Per Day Do I Need?
2. 1200 Calorie Diet: How to Get Started

1300, 1400, or 1500 Calorie Diet Menu

This menu has a fairly good balance of nutrients. However, it is a little short on fat for all women as I just mentioned. Because you will be adding calories to the basic plan you will likely increase your fat intake for the better.

Iron comes up short for women who are premenopausal. Today would be a good day for a supplement. The meal plan is also little short on calcium for postmenopausal women. If this describes you, you may want to supplement this menu with an additional serving of milk, cheese, or ice cream. Or be sure to take a calcium supplement (with vitamin D). Otherwise, for women of all ages, simply add an additional serving or two of one of the menu items or other food of your choice to bring the total calories up to the level you need.

I will be publishing the next installments in this weekly diet menu over the coming weeks so be sure to check back!

Day 1 Diet Menu

Till next time watch those calories and eat healthy food!

Having an estimate of your calorie needs is good enough for most people. What you will want to do is determine two important values. The first one is your minimum safe caloric intake and the second is the number of calories you need to maintain your current weight. These figures give you an idea of your weight loss range.

Consuming enough calories to keep your metabolism running smoothly but fewer calories than your total needs for weight maintenance is what it takes to encourage your body to burn fat.

Minimum Caloric Needs: BMR and RMR

Even when you are resting, your body needs energy to keep your organs working and blood circulating. You also have energy needs for the growth and repair of body cells and tissues. The number of calories you need to provide this energy is influenced by body composition, gender, age, heredity, height, weight, thyroid, and activity level. This is what I covered in part one of this series on metabolism. (See: It Must Be My Metabolism: Metabolism Part One) The speed with which you burn calories for energy is referred to as basal metabolic rate (BMR) or resting metabolic rate (RMR).

BMR and RMR are not exactly the same.

In a laboratory setting the conditions under which BMR is measured provides the most precise and accurate determination of metabolic rate and calorie needs. The measurement of RMR does not require such strict conditions. Therefore the values for BMR and RMR will be close in value but not the same. For everyday purposes the two terms are often used interchangeably.

The easiest way to determine an estimate for your resting caloric needs is to use an online calculator. There are two online calculators that I use and recommend BMR calculator and Basal Metabolic Rate Calculator.

If you’d like to calculate these figures on your own you can with the Harris Benedict or Mifflin equations:

The Harris Benedict equation estimates BMR:

For women: (9.56 x w) + (1.85 x h) – (4.68 x a) + 655

For men: (13.75 x w) + (5 x h) – (6.76 x a) + 66

The Mifflin equation estimates RMR:

For women: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) – (5 x a) – 161

For men: (10 x w) + (6.25 x h) – (5 x a) + 5

To use these equations you need to plug in the appropriate values for “w” (current weight in kg), “h” (height in cm), and “a” (age).

w = weight in kg
h = height in cm
a = age

——–

NOTE:

Your weight in pounds divided by 2.2 will give you your weight in kg. Multiply your height in inches by 2.54 to get your height in cm.

Keep in mind that the estimates for both BMR and RMR will be skewed (not as accurate) for anyone who has significantly more muscle mass than the average or significantly more fat than the average.

——–

Knowing your resting metabolic calorie needs gives you a value for your minimum safe caloric intake. To keep your metabolism from slowing down make sure you provide your body with at least this many calories from the food you eat each day. As you lose weight remember to recalculate this number because it will change.

Physical Activity

The second important value you will want to determine is the total estimated calories you need to maintain your current weight. You start with the value you derived for BMR or RMR. Then you factor in the average level of physical activity with which you engage each day.

Multiply BMR or RMR by the factor that best describes your AVERAGE level of physical activity.

1.2 = Sedentary (Little or no exercise and a desk job)
1.375 = Light Activity (Light exercise or sports 1-3 days each week)
1.55 = Moderately Active (Moderate exercise or sports 3-5 days a week
1.725 = Very Active (hard exercise or sports 6-7 days a week)
1.9 = Extremely Active (Hard daily exercise or sports or a physically demanding job)

Now you have an estimate for your minimum safe caloric intake and an estimate for your total caloric needs to maintain your current weight. With these two values you can now determine your weight loss range.

Calorie needs to maintain current weight – minimum calorie needs = your weight loss range

Example:

Person A: 1800 calories (for maintaining current weight) – 1300 calories (minimum safe caloric intake) = 500 calories.

For person A reducing calorie intake by 500 calories or LESS each day would result in weight loss.

Person B: 2000 calories (for maintaining current weight) – 1200 calories (minimum safe caloric intake) = 800 calories.

For person B reducing calorie intake by 800 calories or LESS will result in weight loss.

I hope this article answers your question about how many calories per day you need to lose weight or maintain your current weight.

Can you speed up your metabolism to burn more calories? And how can physical activity positively impact your metabolism for faster weight loss? That’s what we’ll talk about in the next part of this series on Metabolism.

Till next time, watch those calories and eat healthy food!