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The ABC's
of Slim
Ready to ditch some pounds? Start with the right vocabulary
A is for Alcohol
You booze, you lose: A daily serving of hooch may be better
for keeping off weight than abstaining. Alcohol may increase
leptin, a hormone that curbs your appetite for sweets. To
get the perks with minimal calories, order a glass of
sauvignon blanc (119 calories per 5 ounces).
B is for Buddies
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of
Medicine compared solo dieters to teams of dieters. After 10
months, the latter were likelier to have maintained their
loss (66 percent versus 24 percent). Find a bud 24/7 at
weightlossbuddy.com.
C is for Cortisol
Your adrenal glands secrete this stress hormone to help you
handle threats, but too much can be bad news. Last year,
researchers at the University of Leeds in the U.K. linked
high levels of cortisol to increased snacking on junk food.
Spend the cash you'd pay for a big dinner on a
stress-reducing massage.
D is for Density
A yearlong study published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition found women eating water-rich foods low
in calories but high in nutrients (like veggies) as part of
a low-fat diet lost more weight than those who only cut back
on fat. They were less hungry than the low-fat-only bunch,
too, most likely because they ate 25 percent more food by
weight. Go for grub with an energy density (calories per
serving ÷ weight in grams of serving) of 2 or less. Or snag
ideas from Barbara Rolls' The Volumetrics Eating Plan, which
lists the energy densities of dozens of foods.
E is for Estimation
Developing an eye for appropriate serving sizes can make or
break your diet. Commit these serving-size visuals to
memory:
3 oz lean meat = a standard deck of 52 cards
1/2 cup of fruit, vegetables, or grains = half a baseball
1.5 oz cheese = 3 dominoes
F is for Fructose
A study published last year in the journal Hepatology found
that feeding fructose-laced water to rats increased their
risk of obesity. Ditch the artificially sweetened juices and
sodas and get your fructose from fruit--a form that
researchers say could be kinder to your waistline.
G is for Grapefruit
Kick off every meal with half a ruby red or 8 ounces of
grapefruit juice--you could speed up your weight loss.
Subjects of a 2006 study in the Journal of Medicinal Food
who ate half a grapefruit before each meal lost more weight
after 12 weeks than those who didn't (3.5 pounds versus less
than a pound). |
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