September 30th, 2010
Yesterday we reported on how one method recommended in the past for better weight control is being challenged by some experts who now say “grazing”, or eating small healthy snacks between meals, may lead to weight gain by interfering with the body’s metabolism and its ability to burn fat.
The experts believe people should go back to three healthy meals a day, including fruit and vegetables, and cut out snacks in between those meals.
Snacking also means that organs such as the liver and pancreas are under greater stress, as blood sugar and fat levels stay higher throughout the day.This also increases stress on blood vessels and, perhaps, the heart, as well raising the risk of diabetes. Women with PCOS are already at increased risk of both heart disease and diabetes.
Many people believe that if they don’t eat a little and often they run the risk of becoming hypoglycemic – when blood sugar levels become low, causing mood swings, lightheadedness and feeling shaky.
The theory is that eating six small meals a day keeps blood sugar levels stable. But unless you suffer from diabetes, your body is very good at regulating blood sugar and there’s no need to eat constantly.
“We can actually go a long time without eating,” says dietician Lyndel Costain. “Assuming you’ve had a reasonable meal, you can go four or five hours without eating. And if you start to feel hungry, it will be because most of your food has been digested and your internal appetite regulators are sending messages for more food.
“But your blood sugar won’t go down so low that you have hypoglycemia, unless you have a genuine problem with your blood sugar.”
Indeed, rather than stabilising blood sugar levels, snacking on sugary, high-carbohydrate foods is more likely to make those levels fluctuate wildly – which can make you feel more, rather than less, hungry.
If you eat cake or biscuits, the high sugar content causes you to release too much insulin and your blood sugar ends up lower than it was before you ate, as your body tries to compensate for the sudden sugar intake.
September 29th, 2010
Improved weight control is essential for better management of PCOS symptoms. But one method recommended in the past is being challenged by some experts who now say “grazing,” or eating small healthy snacks between meals, may lead to weight gain by interfering with the body’s metabolism and its ability to burn fat.
The experts believe people should go back to three healthy meals a day, including fruit and vegetables, and cut out snacks in between those meals.
When we eat, the body releases insulin – the hormone that helps carry sugar from food into the cells to burn as energy. This sugar energy can keep us going for around three hours, after which our bodies will start using energy from our fat stores.
If people can hold out for four to five hours between meals, they burn more fat and lose weight.
“Fat is burned as soon as the levels of your carbohydrate stores fall and you start the mobilization of fat for energy,” says Professor Stephen Atkin, head of diabetes and metabolism at Hull York Medical School in England.
“In my view, the ideal would be not to snack. It’s normal to feel hungry before a meal.”
September 28th, 2010
Whenever you go to a supermarket or one of those giant discount warehouses, be ready to be tempted by being offered free samples.
Delicious foods are even more likely to trigger overeating when you come across them unexpectedly. And then they can play havoc with your efforts to control weight to improve your PCOS symptoms.
One free sample may OK. But it tends to excite the taste buds and make you feel hungry when you didn’t before. This, in turn, can lead to you accepting further samples. If it become a regular habit, weight gain can be the result.
Try to avoid them altogether and reward yourself with a healthy snack when you get home.
September 27th, 2010
Weight gain worsens the symptoms of PCOS. But taking that weight off can be especially difficult because the extra pounds often stem from consuming too many high carbs from food favorites.
There are ways round this problem, however. Some things just aren’t the same, for example, without a crunchy crust, even though a coating made with flour and breadcrumbs can quickly turn a healthy dish like fish into a high-carb meal. A quarter of a cup of breadcrumbs contains 20g of carbs, for instance.
But a little creativity can enable you to have your crunch and stay in the healthy eating zone. Great, flavorful substitutions for bread crumbs include nuts, seeds, and (unsweetened) whole grain cereal flakes. All of them can be crushed up in a plastic storage bag and used to coat fish fillets, chicken, shrimp, veggies or anything else you’d normally coat with bread crumbs.
For crab cakes, meatballs, meatloaf and other foods that need help staying together, try mixing up a paste of baking powder and beaten egg to use as a binder, instead of bread crumbs and egg. When making crab cakes, use real crabmeat; imitation crab contains added sugar.
