DIET Talk - YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT – Why?

Appetite

Appetite is the desire to eat food. The appetite centre is situated in the brain and regulates the amount of energy intake (from food and drink)) needed to keep the bodies metabolism working normally. When the metabolism is increased e.g. through exercise more food is needed and vice versa. Hunger is the physical sensation experienced when blood sugar levels start to fall because the liver stores are being depleted. The two terms are interrelated.

Steady state

In the steady state, that is, in somebody who is neither losing nor putting on weight, the intake of energy through food/drink will balance the utilisation of energy by the body. Thus a fat and a thin person, leading similar life styles will have similar needs for food to keep to a steady state and one will remain fat and the other thin. On the other hand, a physically more active person of the same weight as a sedentary person will need a higher intake of calories in order to maintain the weight in the steady state.

Control of appetite

Appetite is controlled through the action of many hormones and other substances mostly in the brain, nerves and gut. Their cooperation ensures that we eat when we need to. When one or more of those mechanisms fail, one overeats or loses appetite and therefore gains or loses inappropriate amounts of weight. Unplanned or unexplained weight loss is usually due to a medical disorder. Obesity however, is much more commonly due to habitual overeating of high calories foods and a sedentary file.
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Why do we put on weight?

Every molecule of energy containing foods not needed, is stored. Thus every molecule of sugar, in whatever form it is ingested, will be stored as fat if taken in excess of what is needed. It is said that a daily intake of even a half a biscuit in excess of what the body needs as energy will result in an extra stone in weight within 6 months.

How to lose weight healthily?

If one eats less than is needed for providing appropriate amounts of energy for maintaining the body metabolism, once the glucose stores in the liver (glycogen) are used up (this occurs within a few hours of starvation) the body will start to utilise it’s own fat for energy. Thus, in order to lose weight, the intake of energy must be less than the expenditure of energy, the balance being made up from one’s own fat. Further, if the reduced calories intake is combined with increased calories expenditure as with exercise, the fat utilisation will be speeded up. However, there are dangers in this if the weight loss is too sudden or drastic because high fat utilisation also leads to the production of certain acids (ketones) which are broken down slowly and which can, if they accumulate too much in the body cause medical problems including heart failure.

The healthiest and safest way to lose weight is to change one’s dietary habits and eat a consistently moderately less calorific diet, in smaller quantities as well as combining it with foods higher in fibre, vitamins, minerals and proteins and doing more exercise. This is the hall mark of ‘healthy living’. For the effects on weight reduction to have a lasting effect, this healthier living has to become the new habit, replacing the old. For many people this is very hard and they go from one crash diet to the next one with rebounds in weight when they stop. Further, as metabolism also slows down with crash diets, in time, the diets become less effective.

Dr Yvette Lolin, Clinical Advisor
FRCPAth, PhD
Consultant in Metabolic Medicine and Chemical Pathology

Weight Loss Foods - Beans and pulses are excellent sources of nutrition.

There is a wide range of beans and pulses - sometimes known as legumes - that can be beneficial in improving your health and promoting your weight loss. These foods contain virtually no fat, but are great sources of protein, which is why they are popular with vegetarians who are replacing the proteins that they’re not getting from meat.

Beans have many other positive effects. They are believed to reduce cholesterol and prevent the production of toxins, helping to lower the risk of conditions such as heart disease and cancer. They are also categorised as good carbohydrates, which means that they release energy to the body slowly, helping your diet to control your metabolism and keep your body working at a regular level.

There are many different types of beans and pulses, which can be used in everyday cooking.

Examples are..

Kidney Beans

Available from supermarkets in both canned and dried form, kidney beans are one of the most frequently bought in our shops. They are incredibly rich in fibre and carry high levels of folate and magnesium, and help to revitalise your iron supply. The kidney beans we are used to are dark red in colour; white kidney beans are known as pinto beans.
Lentils

Lentils are popular for adding to soups and casseroles because they absorb liquid quickly. Again, they are full of nutrients, including fibre, protein and folate, and they help to lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease. Like kidney beans, lentils are good foods for promoting iron production in your body.

Soybeans
It’s likely that you’ve never considered buying soybeans, yet they have a good nutty flavour and can be used in a variety of recipes. A staple food in China, it has been used mainly by vegetarians to provide them with the levels of protein, vitamins and minerals they need to stay healthy. A recent study has suggested that some of the compounds found in soy beans encourage us to produce smaller fat cells, resulting in leaner figures.

People are often afraid of including beans and pulses in their slimming programmes, because they are unsure how to keep, prepare and cook them. At SureSlim, we have a number of recipes including beans so that you can reap the health benefits whilst also reducing your weight.

SureSlim provide diet plans that suit your meatbolism and help you lose weight fast!

Twas the month after Christmas - Festive Weight Loss Poem

Happy New Year from SureSlim UK!

‘Twas the month after Christmas and all through the house
Nothing would fit me, not even a blouse.
The biscuits I’d nibbled, the champagne I’d taste
At the holiday parties had gone to my waist.

When I got on the scales there arose such a number!
When I walked to the store (less a walk than a lumber)
I’d remember the marvellous meals I’d prepared;
The gravies and sauces and beef nicely rared,
The wine and the rum balls, the bread and the cheese
And the way I’d never said, “No thank you, please.”
As I dressed myself in my partners old shirt

And prepared once again to do battle with dirt
I said to myself, as only I can
“You can’t spend all summer disguised as a man!”
So-away with the last of the sour cream dip,
Get rid of the fruit cake, every cracker and chip
Every last bit of the food that I like must be banished
‘Til all the additional ounces have vanished.

I won’t have a biscuit – not even a lick.
I’ll want only to chew on a long celery stick.
I won’t have hot scones, or cake, or fruit pie,
I’ll munch on a carrot and quietly cry.

I’m hungry. I’m lonesome, and life is a bore
But isn’t that what January is for?
Unable to laugh, no longer a riot
Happy New Year to all and to all a good diet!

A belated Christmas rhyme from SureSlim...
 
Helping people with their weight loss and to lose weight all year around!

Weight Loss Tips: Falling foul of the office vending machine.

Tips for day to day Healthy Weight Loss 

Not many offices provide fresh fruit or healthy snacks, as it is not a cost-effective option, although most will have a vending machine! Surprisingly though, those firms that do take the time to encourage their staff to eat healthily are viewed as good places to work, which shows that employees appreciate a bit of variety.


The key to eating healthily during your workday is your planning. If your routine in similar everyday, you can plan when and what to eat. If you have a canteen and it serves something healthy that fits in with your eating plan, then take the time to go away from your desk and eat properly. Eating on the go is one of the most common problems at work, closely followed by the lunch meeting that often comprises sandwiches, crisps and sticky buns. Use your lunch hour to take some exercise and eat properly, and this will help with your slimming plan.

When you are trying to lose weight the main problem with the office is snacking. In a large open plan office, there will inevitably be people snacking all the time; this will make it difficult for you to abstain. If you put your mind to it though it shouldn’t be as much of a problem as you think, because if you’re feeling hungry, you should have a snack. The rule to remember is to not dig in your pocket for 50p and go for a bag of crisps. Snacking on healthy foods such as nuts, seeds, fruit and vegetables is a healthier alternative; you can prepare a small container of snack food to keep in your desk drawer. Pretty soon, it will become second nature and you’ll forget where the vending machine is!


At SureSlim, we take your working day into account when we prepare your personalised eating / diet plan, so that you can follow your usual routine, but eat healthy foods that help your slimming programme rather than giving into the temptation of the chocolate machine. If you’re concerned about slipping off the plan while you’re at work, we can give you plenty of advice on how to stay on track.

Lose Weight Fast with SureSlim UK

DRUGS AND WEIGHT LOSS

There is no magic bullet, pill or potion for weight loss though slimming potions of some sort or another have been around for a very long time. The earliest records are nearly 2000 years old and describe mixtures of purgatives and laxatives. Similar types of preparation remained the mainstay of weight reduction until the beginning of the last century when hormones such as thyroxin (to fasten metabolism), followed by amphetamines (to suppress appetite) and their derivatives were introduced. Although their dangers were recognized early on, for several decades they continued to be used and amphetamines were only banned as diet pills in 1979.

Today, slimming pills are divided into those which suppress appetite i.e. trick the body into thinking it is full or reduce absorption of certain nutrients. Some also speed up metabolism.

Drugs which suppress appetite act on the brain or block certain receptors or hormones, decreasing the need for food. Some also delay gastric emptying, thus prolonging the feeling of fullness. They are serious drugs. Some similar to amphetamines can have stimulant effects and are potentially very dangerous. Any sort of diet pill should only be prescribed by and supervised by health care professionals experienced in their use. They should only be used on a temporary basis after all other life style measures have been explored and according to the defined guidelines and recommendations. Only Sibutramine (Brand names Meridia or Reductil) is recommended for use by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE). Some, such as Rimonabant (brand name Acomplia), are either not recommended or have been withdrawn because the benefits do not outweigh the side effects.


An example of a ‘drug’ which tricks the body into thinking it is full is Appesat (known as the Seaweed diet pill). There are a number of other preparations on the market working on a similar basis. Appesat, made from sea weed expands in the stomach thus reducing the volume available for food. This means that one will feel full on less food. However, the effect will last only as long as one continues taking the pill with every meal, it does not prevent snacking or comfort eating and works only as long as the pill is taken and if efforts have been made to also lose weight naturally. Further, it does not solve the long term problem of habitually overeating and or of eating ‘wrong’ foods. It is also expensive.

An example of a drug that reduces absorption of certain foods is Orlistat, available on prescription (or Alli, its equivalent at a smaller dose and available to the general public). Orlistat reduces the absorption of fats. This means that on a ‘normal’ diet, most of the calories that are taken in will be from carbohydrates. However, since most of the dietary calorie intake is from carbohydrates in any case, Orlistat works only if there is also dietary carbohydrate restriction. According to NICE, Orlistat should be prescribed only in conjunction with lifestyle changes (dieting and exercise) and continued for more than 3 months only if there has been a documented 5% decrease in body weight. With Alli, since it is weaker, that is even more important. Further, Orlistat and Alli have also side effects ranging from the inconvenience of having fatty stools and fatty diarrhoea to malabsorption of fat soluble vitamins. The latter can in the long term lead to osteoporosis, undue bleeding and may other problems. Orlistat and Alli and also very expensive. Also, as with all other diet pills, unless one changes ones dieting habits during the treatment and continues to so do thereafter, the weight will simply come back

In summary, we are what we eat and what we do. If the calorie intake matches the output, we neither lose nor gain weight. If the intake is higher we will put on weight. Exercise will increase the calories output, thus combining a sensible, long term dietary regime with exercise will help in both losing weight and then maintaining it. Remember, there is no magic bullet, pill or potion to counteract excessive eating, eating calorific food, comfort food, snacking and a sedentary life style. Any gains through drugs that suppress appetite, increase metabolism, ‘trick’ the body or reduce absorption are an expensive and potentially dangerous short term option which should be reserved only for those where there is no other option and where it is medically justified.

Dr Yvette Lolin, Clinical Advisor

FRCPAth, PhD

Consultant in Metabolic Medicine and Chemical Pathology