L.A. Lifestyle - Nutritional Products

Satiety is defined as fullness. Eating provides satiety, but some foods are better at filling you up than others. Many factors are known to influence satiety, including individual differences in endocrine levels from one person to another, but one of the biggest factors is the type of food(s) that you eat. Some foods will fill you up faster, such as proteins and fats, because they fill up the stomach quickly and stay in the stomach longer.

Hunger is something natural, something we all feel on a daily basis. It ensures that we consume enough calories each day for energy and bodily functions. Hunger is meant to help you, but in most cases it can work against you, especially when trying to cut back on fatty food intake. Many make the mistake of starving themselves to lose weight or eating a lot less per day. The downside to this is that the hungrier you are, the more likely you are to overeat later and consume more calories as a result. Also, when the body is deprived of calories it thinks it is starving, so naturally is will begin to turn any food put inside it into fat to store in the body for fuel. Both of these may seem like quick fixes, but they are counterproductive to losing weight the healthy way.

As young children, we are taught to ‘eat until we are full’, but many people eat until their food is gone. Feeling full is often a sign of being done with a meal, but sometimes we are deceived and may overeat. Fullness is not only a physical but a psychological thing. This may have contributed, in part, to the obesity epidemic that continues to sweep the nation. Many consumers are drawn to foods that say ‘low fat’ or ‘low calorie’, especially if they are trying to lose weight. Satiety foods will claim to make you feel fuller, longer—and hopefully helping you make better food choices and eat less. These are really trying to manage hunger more than weight. The future of foods with added ingredients to provide satiety seems unclear; soon beverages, protein bars and other products could contain some of these ingredients and provide the benefit of staving off hunger. Until these products begin to appear in the marketplace, you can eat foods that will stay in your stomach longer and take time to digest. These include:

•    All natural foods
o    Fruits, vegetables, beans and lentils (contain all original nutrients)
•    Whole grains
o    Choose dark whole grains (make sure whole wheat/whole grain appears before any other type of flour on the ingredients list)

The role of blood sugar and weight management, as well as other weight-related issues, has become a hot topic recently. Since obesity, heart disease and diabetes have run rampant throughout America, food manufacturers are turning to slow release carbs for their food products and beverages. Carbs provide the body with fuel for energy and are necessary for various bodily functions. Normal brain function depends on carbohydrates—when blood sugar drops as a result of high carb intake, the result is cravings, irritability and fatigue. For years carbs have been the enemy for people, with the advent of the Atkins diet and others that deem carbs diet-busters and tools for weight gain. Carbohydrates are not the enemy, the key is moderation. Slow release carbs are carbohydrates that rate moderate to low on the Glycemic Index (GI), which ranks carbohydrates according to their effect on blood glucose levels. Low GI carbs produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels, which are said to help reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes and key to sustainable weight loss. Insulin works as a storage hormone, so when high GI carbs are consumed, it triggers a high insulin response and stores all those carbs as fat. These also cause extreme highs in energy followed by extreme lows. Keeping the blood sugar steady is one way to aid in fat burning, and low GI foods are one way to do this. Low GI foods are usually all natural, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains. Common high GI foods contain refined sugar or white flour, such as bagels, muffins and cookies. To keep blood sugar steady throughout the day, consume meals and snacks that have a good balance of protein, carbs and fats. If snacks or meals are eaten with an uneven amount of either of these groups, blood sugar and hormones in the body will be thrown off.

There is a common misconception that losing weight is the same thing as losing fat. The ultimate goal if slimming down is to lose fat and gain muscle. Gaining muscle helps burn fat. Many people are unaware of this, and pay attention to the scale instead of how their clothes fit. Muscle weighs more than fat, so if the scale suddenly goes up after going down and you feel the same, disregard it. Concentrating more on how your body looks and feels will give you a better idea of your progress than the scale will. There are three supplements out there that can help build muscle, help suppress appetite and help lose fat rather than muscle. These supplements are:

•    Hydroxycitric acid (HCA)
o    HCA has been shown to inhibit the body’s ability to store fat, possibly causing more fat from foods to pass through the body without being stored. It also may cause the body to use existing body fat for energy during prolonged exercise instead of carbohydrates. HCA has also been shown to help suppress appetite.
•    Chromium
o    Chromium enhances insulin’s effect in the body, improving the uptake of glucose, causing better blood circulation and maintenance of blood sugar levels. Chromium has also been shown to reduce the ‘bad’ cholesterol (LDL), which has been linked to the development of heart disease. Research shows that using Chromium during weight management can help keep muscle on and fat off.
•    Branched Chain Amino Acids (BCAA)
o    Branched Chain Amino Acids enhance muscle growth and energy maintenance. Leucine, Valine, and Isoleucine are the branched chain amino acids necessary for the synthesis of lean muscle tissue.

Losing weight seems to be a constant topic in America, but losing pounds may not be the healthiest way to lose weight and keep it off. The key is weight management, finding the right exercise regimen and nutritional plan that works for you and your life specifically. These supplements may help you along the way, but it is important to consult with your doctor before taking any dosage of vitamins or supplements to ensure your body will be truly nourished the right way.