Snacking,Weight Control and the Holidays

Holidays and eating properly is a challenge for us all. The following findings were found in the Wall Street Journal, Tuesday, November 29, 2011.  Hopefully this information will help by giving you something to think about during holidays.

Research suggests that the time of day that you eat a snack may affect how easy it is to lose weight.    This particular study consisted of 123 post menopausal women who were either overweight or obese.  The women who reported snacking between 10:30 AM and 11:29 AM lost an average of 7% of their body weight over the 12 month study.  However, women who did not report mid morning snack he lost 11% on average of their body weight.  Apparently, late morning smackers   tend to keep eating throughout the day and consequently snack more frequently.  If you are snacking more than likely means you are taking in more calories.  Researchers suggest that snacking in the afternoon with the right foods-those relatively low in calories and high in nutrients is a good thing.  We are talking now about 100 to 200 calories per snack.  So make sure your afternoon snack includes foods with fiber- servings of fruits and vegetables.  Other research suggests that combining protein, carbohydrates and a bit of fat can help the body more slowly absorbs the carbs and keep you feeling full longer.

Did you know that how much a person eats is affected by the colors of the dinnerware and table cloth?  Research has shown that the size of a dinner plate influences the quantity of food that people consume-the larger the dish, the bigger the portion.  Also, researchers found that participants in their study serve themselves significantly more food if the color contrast between the dinnerware and the food was low -i.e., if they had cream-colored pasta  on a white plate.  Over serving was reduced when the contrast was more pronounced, for instance, by offering pasta with red tomato sauce on a white plate.  As far as the underlying table cloth is concerned, the opposite occurs.  For example when the color difference was high-as with the white plate on a black tablecloth, the participants served themselves about 10% larger portions than when the contrast was low.  Excess portion size was essentially eliminated when contrast was removed such as employing a white plate on a white tablecloth.  These experiments involved about 200 participants 18-39 years old and were based on an optical illusion described by philosopher Franz Delboeuf in 1865.  He discovered that if same size circles were placed inside separate circles with different circumference sizes, the inner circles appeared to be different as well.

Today, I plan to run with Secretariat after a week long layoff.  I continue to have traces of my cold symptoms.  My intention is to do a short loop and if necessary a run –walk.  If the distance seems too long, I will head back and not push myself. I will let you know tomorrow how it went and if I made the right decision. I recognize that I am impatient."You will not find poetry anywhere unless you bring some of it with you."– Joseph Joubert