Health Matters

www.drjimshealthtips.com By James W. Jones, MD, PhD, MHA

Weight Self-Control (by Limiting Your Pie-Hole’s Food Patrol)

Any worthwhile endeavor starts with several possible actions to achieve the desired goal. Success is achieved by choosing the spot-on approach and having the resolve to see it to completion. Both the ideation and actions require an understanding of the logic behind the ideal way. The Bible states this truth in Proverbs 5 as, “Get wisdom, get understanding”. Two entities establish our material world: pure energy and material energy. Each can (under the right circumstances) be converted to the other; this conversion is what makes the universe operate and keeps us alive. The living tissue of our bodies is converted to energy that allows us to move about, and we fuel up by consuming material energy. Our body weights clearly are determined by how much fuel we take in. If we take in more energy than we utilize, we gain weight, which is stored as fat tissue. Likewise, fat is released into the bloodstream and used as reserve energy when needed. Fat cells size depends on how much energy (fat) we have stored in them (little storage tanks, if you will). There are three principal types of bodily fuel: fats, sugars, and protein. Fat is high octane; sugar is medium octane; and protein is low octane. Sugar is absorbed immediately and pushed inside cells. As blood sugar rises, it turns off fat metabolism and is stored as lipid in fat cells. Thus, it has a dual physiologic mechanism for increasing body fat. OH NO. Fats are high octane, containing 9 calories per gram and (just like sugars) converted to energy easily. For perspective, a nickel weighs 5 grams. Protein starts with less than half the calories as fat and is intended to be building blocks for our bodies; if not needed, it must be converted to energy--and loses ten times as much energy in the conversion to energy step as fat’s consumption (about 30%) and thus it provides only 2.8 calories per gram. Thus, high protein foods reduce calorie intake considerably. PROTEIN IS GOOD FOR WEIGHT CONTROL. Plus, a high protein meal speeds up metabolism for hours afterwards (termed the “specific dynamic action”). High protein meals will promote weight loss, especially at breakfast, when the increased metabolic rate from the protein will boost the daily activities increase and help shrink your fat. All meats have protein, but choose LEAN cuts. Our bodies have two selves--the conscious and the subconscious. The subconscious tells the awake self when satisfied with the amount eaten. We might think we are FULL when the stomach is distended, but moreover fullness can be with the duration and effort spent consuming the meal.

Start to establish fullness control by using smaller plates and plating reduced amounts. This will aid in the steps to adjust your subconscious self’s appetite. Reduce the size of your bites, and you will get a tastier meal and be satisfied sooner. I have adjusted to get at least ten bites when eating a cookie. YUM! Continue to chew longer, making each bite last and providing more satisfaction than hurried eating would offer.

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