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25 October 2009
The tricks of the fast-food trade:
Adapting their habits to help you
BURN THE FAT more efficiently!
Cliff Baker
You're about to learn how to turn the tables on the fast-food industry by taking one of their "tricks" and making it work to keep you healthy and to help you "burn the fat." It all comes down to one simple phrase . . .
"Supersize me." This phrase, according to some public health officials, is responsible for the worldwide endemic problem of obesity. If you've noticed that you don't even have to tell restaurant servers or fast-food clerks to pile it high and mighty, it just seems to be happening naturally . . .
You're absolutely right!
And just look at the studies conducted within the last several years confirming some pretty chilling news if you're trying to lose weight and burn the fat.
Individual servings in restaurants have increased -- in both the sit-down and fast-food categories. And our "at-home" habits are no better. Studies show we even have "supersized" the amount of food we portion out to our families.
Those two findings are bad enough, but when you couple them with the following two, you can certainly understand why obesity is a major health threat. The sad fact is that when more food is offered, we automatically eat larger portions.
Not only that but, most of us grossly underestimate the number of calories we eat in a day!
Hmm . . . sounds like a pretty hopeless scenario, now doesn't it?
Not according to Tom Venuto, author of "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle," www.burnthefat.com.. His expert eye has discovered a way to use this growing trend to your advantage. While it may sound impossible, it's quite an inventive -- and ingenious -- approach to keeping your body healthy.
Instead of bucking the trend and trying to decrease your portion size, keep your individual serving large -- just switch the type of food you're eating in this "supersize" serving.
Instead of eating a "supersize" of fries or adding another greasy hamburger to that already too-large sandwich, think veggies!
According to Venuto, studies have already been performed that confirm the consumption of "low calorie, dense foods" keep you feeling fuller longer. What kind of foods is Venuto talking about? Green vegetables, salad vegetables and other complex carbohydrates rich in fiber.
Here's the deal in a nutshell. At the very beginning of your meal, eat larger portions of the foods that are rich in nutrients, short on calories (by now you know which ones). Think luxurious salad before your main course here!
Then it your main course. You'll be surprised how much less you eat! As Venuto so keenly observes, "Most people allow the bad foods to push out the good foods, but you can actually do the same in reverse!"
Just read the results of this study, published recently in The Journal of The American Dietetic Association. People were divided into two groups. One group was given a first course consisting of salad. This was purposely kept low in energy density by using a very low calorie dressing. The salad contained no high-calorie toppings, either.
After that salad, this group was told to eat as much pasta as they cared to.
The second group (as you're probably already guessing) ate no salad prior to their all-they-can-eat-pasta offering.
And yes, you are right if you guessed that the first group ate less pasta. Not only did that salad give them a satisfied feeling of fullness, but it also allowed them to eat less throughout the entire meal.
There's an ongoing secondary problem with servings sizes occurring as well, Venuto reminds us. Just about all of us eat more when we're served larger portions. It's just a (very unfortunate) fact.
But, here again, Venuto turns the tables on this trend, so we can keep that fat burning -- and buck the obesity trend. It's the same principle we've just talked about. "Supersize" the healthy foods!
And wouldn't you know it, some researchers have already been testing this theory out -- with what I think you'll agree are outstanding results (at least for those of us trying to keep that weight loss going!)
Researchers decided they would provide individuals with large portions of dense, nutritious foods prior to the main course of a meal. The goal was to see if they not only would eat it, but how the consumption of this food affected the rest of the meal.
Yep, as you might guess, the more of the healthy food available, the more people ate of it. And yep, that translated into less high-calorie foods being eaten in the main course.
Amazingly simple! (It's almost like cheating, now isn't it?) Personally, any time someone gives me an easy way to "burn the fat" I'll take it!
To learn even more about calorie dense, low energy foods, check out Venuto's web site at www.burnthefat.com.
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