The Fat Truth

[Vivien Wong]

That greasy cheeseburger will leave you feeling full all day, so it's worth the splurge, right? Wrong! Fat is the slowest food component to clear the stomach, so for years it was assumed that fatty foods slowed digestion and kept you feeling full longer. Recent research proves otherwise. "In our studies, we varied the proportion of sugar and fat and found little or no differences in satiety ratings;" says Barbara Rolls, professor of nutritional sciences at Pennsylvania State University and author of The Volumetrics Eating Plan (HarperCollins, 2005).

In fact, protein tends to leave people feeling more satisfied than either carbs or fat, says Barbara. The problem with fat is that it has more than twice the calories of protein or carbs. To eat more and weigh less, reach for foods high in fibre, like fruits and veggies and whole grains. "Fibre and whole grains affect feelings of fullness and satisfaction;" says Barbara. "We don't know exactly why, but [fibre and whole grains] could affect the hormones that send the signal to your brain that you've had enough to eat."

There Are Good And Bad Foods
You may have heard that there are no "good foods" or "bad foods", only good and bad diets. Nutritionally, a potato chip can't hold a candle to a baked potato. "We usually don't have a problem treating ourselves to those tasty foods, so to say there are no 'bad' foods might be a licence for some people to eat anything whenever they want;" says Susan Moores, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.

"If having cookies in the house triggers a person to binge, then that food could be a problem simply because it results in unhealthy behaviors." Enjoy "bad" foods only once in a while and in reasonable portions - but always stock your kitchen with "good" foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole-grain breads.

Diet (Calories) In A Can
Don't give yourself a pat on the back dust because you've replaced your regular soft dunks with diet options. In a US study, 55 per cent of healthy-weight participants became overweight in the next eight years, compared to 33 per cent who drank regular full-calorled soft drinks. Research suggests that artificial sweeteners found in diet soft drinks boost appetite and since they're touted as zero calorie drinks, people tend to dunk more of it.

I Exercise Regularly But I Still Have A High Body-fat Percentage. What Can I Do To Reduce It?
To remove body fat, your body has to incur an energy deficit and draw on its fat stores, says expert. To incur an energy deficit, you need to expend more calories than you consume. To lose weight effectively, you need a daily deficit of 500-1,000 kcal. If the deficit is too small, your body can compensate by slowing its metabolism rather than drawing energy from the body fat. It is likely that the total energy expenditure from your exercise is either not adequate, your intake is too high so as to negate the effect of your exercise, or it is a combination of both factors.

Sit Happens
Serious science and underwear rarely cross paths. So you may have already heard about a recent study by the Mayo Clinic showing that fidgeting burns more calories than previously thought. When researchers equipped zo people with high-tech drawers that monitored slight levels of movement 120 times a minute, 24 hours a day, for to days, they found that overweight people simply moved less than their lean counterparts, burning 350 fewer calories per day.

What you may not have heard, though, is how to make the calorie-burning power of fidgeting work for you:: Trade your office chair for a Swiss ball, "Use it instead of a desk chair for 15 to 20 minutes every hour," says sports-performance coach Charles Staley, C.S.C.S., author of The Unnatural Athlete. Not only will the ball keep you in perpetual motion, but it'll also strengthen your core muscles, alleviating another side effect of too much sitting: back pain.