Even if your home-cooked portions
have crept up only 5% over the past
few years, that can be an extra 100
calories a day, which adds up to more
than 11 pounds a year, says Lawrence
Cheskin, M.D., chair of nutrition
and food studies at George Mason
University. And Young points out
that the official FDA measure of
“a serving” isn’t necessarily how
much you should eat. For example, to
reflect the growing amounts of food
American people consume, a serving
of ice cream was increased in 2018
from 1⁄2 cup to 2⁄3 cup. More realistic,
perhaps, but still more calories than
many of us need.
What you can do: First, Young
suggests that you spend a few days
getting a reality check on how much
food you’re actually eating. “After
you pour the cereal in the bowl in the
morning, pour it back into a measuring
cup. What you thought was one
cup might actually be three cups,”
she says. Then practice tuning in toyour body. “Serve yourself just one
modest portion on a small plate, and
when you’re done, wait 20 minutes,”
she says. It takes that long for the
hormones in your belly to reach your
brain and tell it you’re full. If you get
to 20 minutes and your stomach is
grumbling, have a few more bites.- You’re eating
the right thing
at the wrong time.
Let’s say you switched jobs and your
healthy dinner is at 9 p.m. instead of
6:30. Or streaming Netflix until the
wee hours involves snacking well past
midnight, though not excessively. Even
if you’re not eating more calories
per se, a time shift might account for
extra poundage.
Why? There’s a connection
between your circadian rhythm
(the way your body responds to the
cues of daylight and darkness) and
body fat. A 2017 study found that
when college students ate closer to
when their sleep-inducing hormone
you kinder and more sane. Hmm,
maybe not. But you can manage your
stress with an app such as Sanvello
(formerly Pacifica), which offers
meditations and can help you work
toward anxiety-reducing goals such
as thinking positively. To sleep more
soundly, you know you should put
down your devices an hour before
bedtime, but you may not know this:
A study at Northwestern University
Feinberg School of Medicine found
that after subjects spent just one night
sleeping in a room with dim light,
their insulin levels the next morning
were significantly higher than those
of people who slept in complete
darkness, potentially affecting their
metabolism rates. Consider buying
blackout curtains.- Yo ur allergy pills
may be making you fat.
“We’re not 100% sure why, but it’s
believed that histamines, chemicals
produced by your immune system to
fight allergens, have a role in appetite
control,” says Dr. Reid. That means
“antihistamines may cause you to eat
more,” she says. A large study from
Yale University confirmed a correlation
between regular prescription-
antihistamine use and obesity. Dr. Reid
points out that some antihistamines
may also cause drowsiness, which
could make you less apt to exercise.
What you can do: Talk to your
allergist about alternatives such
as nasal steroid sprays, nasal
antihistamines (which have less effect
on hunger), leukotriene inhibitors
and allergy shots, suggests Jeffrey
Demain, M.D., founder of the Allergy
Asthma and Immunology Center of
Alaska. He also says that using a HEPA
filter, washing your sheets frequently
in hot water and keeping pets out of
your bedroom can help reduce the
need for allergy drugs. While you’re
at it, ask your doctor if any of your
other Rx meds are known to cause
weight gain (certain antidepressants,
beta-blockers, corticosteroids and
the birth control shot are), and see if
there are equally effective alternatives
that don’t affect weight. - Yo ur portions
are surprisingly big.
Portion sizes in America are
ginormous, and research from the
University of Liverpool found that
people who were served large meals
tended to choose larger portions
later on, says Lisa R. Young, Ph.D.,
author of Finally Full, Finally Slim.
MINUTES
That’s how long
it takes for
your body to tell
your brain
you’re full
from eating.20
WHY (^) THE W
EIGHT?
Your medications
could be messing
with your appetite.
Health we
72 GH APRIL 2020