For some of us lockdown has meant less time to exercise (and more time to snack!) so as the restrictions begin to ease our thoughts maybe turning to how to get back into shape for the summer (and beyond!). Our friend Jonathan from JC Fitness has prepared some top tips to help you eat a healthy diet to help shed those extra pounds.
How To Eat For Fat Loss
Summer has arrived! (just not yet visible in Edinburgh). With the dawning of a new season that promises sunshine and warmer weather, you’re probably like many, sifting through your summer clothes with somewhat resentment, electing to prolong your winter wardrobe to cover up as many “bits’ as possible. The compound effect of winter and quarantine may have added some unwelcome weight gain and your look of displeasure may be turning into resolve to shed this additional fat.
If you’ve previously, intentionally lost weight (or attempted to), you’ll know it’s not easy. According to the National Centre for Health Statistics, an incredible 49% of people have attempted to lose weight over the past 12 months. More alarmingly, research shows that within 1 year of weight loss, 50-70% of people will have regained back the weight they lost, a figure that jumps to 95% within the first 3 years.
Why then are only 5% of people success at losing weight? It comes down to first understanding and appreciating that body weight is affected by an interaction of biological, environmental and behavioural factors, where any change in these factors will impact your ability to lose and gain weight.
Biologically, our body’s have systems adapt to prevent perpetual weight loss or gain and respond to changing environmental and behavioural factors. Environmentally, our surroundings have become obesogenic with the abundance, availability, and promotion of cheap, highly tasty, calorie-dense foods. Finally, behaviourally, we make choices to eat more high calorie foods in excess of energy requirements because we are greatly influenced by this environment.
So, losing weight is clearly more complex than people may think! But, that doesn’t mean it’s not possible and that shouldn’t deter you from achieving your weight loss goal. There are certainly strategies that we’ve identified through the research that do help and this article will highlight 4 nutritional tips that have been proven effective for facilitating fat loss efforts.
Tip 1: Limit Ultra-Processed Food
Ultra-processed food are typically those middle food aisles in the grocery shop. These are those cookies, cakes, biscuits, sweets, and juices that have gone through multiple processes that add chemicals, preservatives, colourings, and other additives to make the foods extremely tasty, long-lasting, and very cheap to manufacture. Most people are surprised to learn that foods like white bread, granola bars, commercial cereals and ready-made meals all fall into the category of ultra-processed foods. People generally gravitate to these foods because of their convenience, low cost, and high palatability.
Research suggests that the increase in obesity has occurred in parallel with a growing industrialised foods system, where ultra-processed foods comprise the majority of calories consumed in the United Kingdom. When it comes to weight loss, multiple studies indicate that eating ultra-processed foods result in higher calorie intakes and weight gain compared with unprocessed or minimally processed foods. A 2019 study by obesity researcher Kevin Hall and his team showed that, when placed on a ultra-processed diet for 2 weeks, subjects ate on average 508 calories more per day compared with subjects on an unprocessed diet. In their study, subjects gained on average 2 lbs on the ultra-processed diet and lost 2 lbs on the unprocessed diet.
Among other theories, it’s suggested that the combination of food properties found in ultra-processed foods, such as sodium, sugar, starch, and fat, and other elements, create a high motivation state to eat and over consume these foods. Interestingly, motivation appears independent of hunger, which means that ultra-processed foods can drive overeating and food cravings even when you already feel full. Researchers describe this phenomenon as being high in “food reward,” where our brains place greater value in consuming ultra-processed foods compared to others.
Application Point: Identify first the ultra-processed foods you eat, then limit the amount of of these foods to where the majority of calories come from foods that are unprocessed or minimally processed. There is nothing wrong with the odd McDonald’s cheeseburger, frozen pizza, or ready-made meal. We’re talking about where the bulk of your calories should come from.
Tip 2: Eat More Low-Calorie Dense Food
Calorie or energy density is simply the calorie content of a food divided by it’s weight. For example, a medium size orange that weighs 154 grams and contains 60 calories would have a calorie density of 0.39 (60/154 = 0.39). It is well established that calorie density has a massive impact of weight loss or gain. Multiple studies have shown that people consistently eat more when given high calorie dense foods compared with low calorie dense foods. If you recall that Kevin Hall study mentioned previously, subjects in the ultra-processed group ate foods much higher in calorie density compared with the unprocessed group, which contributed to them gaining weight.
Just by adjusting the proportion of high calorie dense foods in your meals to contain more low calorie dense foods, studies have shown that you can effectively reduce calorie intake making it much easier to lose fat. A great study published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition by nutritional scientist Barbara Rolls and her team showed that when they changed the meals of subjects by adding either more or less energy dense foods like vegetables or pasta, they could significantly alter the calories subjects consumed. By increasing the amount of vegetables and reducing the amount of pasta, subjects in the low calorie dense group ended up eating around 400 calories less per day than the high calorie dense group.
Remarkably, even with lower energy dense meals, subjects still ate the same weight of food as those that received high energy dense meals. The reason why? Our stomachs have nerve sensors that activate when we eat. It’s suggested that as we fill our tummy with food, at a certain point with distention, these nerve sensors kick in and communicate with the brain that we feel full. Well, with lower energy dense foods we can consume comparatively more volume of these foods at a fraction of the calories of high energy dense foods.
Application Point: Look to increase the proportion of low energy dense foods on your plate relative to high energy dense one’s. Give yourself more of these low calorie dense foods because even at larger portions, they will still be relatively low in caloric content.
Tip 3: Eat More High Fibre Foods
I know what you’re already thinking: fibre is what you increase when you want go to the toilet. Well, that’s true, however its application for fat loss is undervalued, so hear me out. Fibre are carbohydrates that pass through the body undigested and in general terms, come in two forms: soluble and insoluble. As I’m sure you’ve eaten something high in fibre, like certain fruits or vegetables, you’ve probably, depending on how much you ate, felt pretty full after. This fullness happens because fibre has bulking or viscous properties that expand in the stomach. Insoluble fibre, the type that absorbs water, has been shown to slow digestion and with its bulking properties, increase that feeling of fullness or satiety.
High fibre foods are largely made up of water. In some cases, like with tomatoes, the water content is over 90% of the food. This water adds weight to the food, but not to its calories. If we think back to that study by Barbara Rolls, subjects in the low calorie dense group simply consumed more vegetables and less pasta. These vegetables were higher in fibre, lower in calories, and could be eaten at much higher volumes compared with relatively lower fibre foods. With research demonstrating a strong connection between food volume and satiety, eating more of these fibrous foods will help to turn on feelings of fullness, making it easier to limit food intake for fat loss.
Application Point: At each meal and between meals, look to increase your amount of high fibre foods. This doesn’t just go for fruits and vegetables, snacks like popcorn are a great substitute for potato chips as they are much higher in fibre and air, so will will keep your calories down, while helping you feel full.
Tip 4: Increase Your Protein Intake
This tip is not about building muscle! Popular perception is that increasing protein intake is centred around enhancing muscle development. Although there is certainly value in that discussion, this tip relates to using higher protein intake to lose fat. Protein is a macronutrient (large nutrients that provide energy) that is made up of amino acids, which are organic compounds that our body requires to grow and function. Protein is unique from our other macronutrients (fats and carbohydrates) in that it carries what’s called a higher thermic effect of food. Thermic effect of food is the degree to which our body increases its temperature following a meal due to the energy cost of digesting, absorbing and disposing of nutrients.
Research shows that by increasing daily protein intake to represent 25% or more of total calories, we can take advantage of its higher thermic effect and burn more calories just from this increase. One study published in the American College of Nutrition that compared lower protein intakes of 15% to higher protein intakes of 30%, showed body temperature increased up to 40% higher in the higher protein group. This increase in body temperature resulted in a two-fold higher thermic effect and burnt off an addition 90 calories per day. Over time, this additional boost of energy expenditure can certainly help to speed up fat loss.
Protein is also unique in that it has found to have powerful satiating qualities. A number of studies show that people feel fuller when given higher protein meals compared with lower protein ones. It’s suggested that increasing protein intake may modify hunger hormones so that it decreases appetite stimulating hormones while increasing satiety hormones. Combining higher protein with high fibre intake are two powerful fat loss punches that can truly help you control overeating and ultimately the number of calories you eat.
Application Point: Assess how much protein you typically consume throughout your day by checking the nutrition content of the food. If you’re low on protein, gradually look to build up by increasing either your portioning of higher protein foods, or adding protein rich foods to your meals or between meals. Another simple formula is to multiply your weight in kilograms by 1.2-1.6, which will give your protein target in gram, per day.
About the Author:
Jonathan Cooke is certified personal trainer and Chartered Physiotherapist in Edinburgh and has written for popular publications like Men’s Fitness magazine. Through his coaching, writing, and filming, Jonathan’s mission is to use his knowledge, experience and passion for health and fitness to teach and inspire people to elevate the results in their own fitness journey. He operates an evidence-based personal training service called JC Fitness together with a team of highly skilled personal trainers that all share a common passion for helping people reach their health and fitness objectives.
To learn more about their services, you can visit them at: www.jcfitness.co.uk
