Variety in our food selection has long been encouraged to provide humans with a broader spectrum of nutrients and to prevent nutritional deficiencies. “Make sure that you have every color of the rainbow on your plate” is a phase that I often heard in my undergraduate nutrition courses. While the intention of these recommendations have long been regarded as just, there have been a number of research studies that suggest that too much variety in our meals is attributed to over consumption due to sensory-specific satiety. 

The variety in our diets keeps us from tiring of the taste of the food, explain authors Hollie A. Raynor, M.S., R.D., and Leonard H. Epstein, Ph.D., of the University of Buffalo. This lessens the sensation of feeling full and humans are more likely to overeat when they are in a situation where they can taste different foods. When given one food, sensory-specific satiety is more likely. This is a phenomenon that occurs when a food’s palatability is lessened because the food is eaten until the person is satiated, which lessons the pleasantness of the taste of that particular food and foods that are similar, said the authors.

In one study, participants were given four courses of food: sausages, bread and butter, chocolate dessert, and bananas. Those who were presented each of the four courses consumed 44 percent more than those who were presented one course. When different foods are presented in a meal, over consumption is more likely and satiety is less likely to be reached (until you are unfastening the top button of your trousers).

So what would I recommend? If you are working towards losing weight or maintaining weight and would like an advantage in the rigors of dieting to achieve this, focus on variety in terms of your food selection over the course of a few days or the week, rather than ensuring that you are adding lots of different colors and flavors to your meals. If you don’t believe the difference that this makes in curbing hunger, measure out a cup of fruit cocktail and an orange. On consecutive days, consume each for breakfast and make a note of how soon afterwards you are hungry. The combination of foods can make a significant difference in the satisfaction that is achieved after a meal. My recommendations aren’t intended to suggest that in order to suppress hunger; you must only eat the same 15 foods each day. If you add almond butter to your oatmeal today, try coconut milk tomorrow! Variety is important, but too in moderation.

 References

Raynor et al. Dietary Variety, Energy Regulation, and Obesity. Psychological Bulletin; 127, (3).

In the previous post, it was mentioned that a little over a month ago, I was brought on board for a group called Normal Balance, a medically supervised weight loss practice based out of northernVirginia. Health MSO is an umbrella organization that Normal Balance falls under, along with a sleep apnea clinic named Sleep Heart, a post bariatric surgery practice called After Band, a woman’s health practice called UroGynOb, a surgical weight loss practice called Quantum Bariatric, among several others. Normal Balance offers non surgical weight loss to patients of Health MSO through a multifaceted approach from behavioral health, nutrition consultation, and exercise. While many of the clients whom I have worked with over the years will contest that my approach has been driven through all of these disciplines, Normal Balance is a team approach to provide each patient with a one stop approach to meet with a provider who specializes in each of these areas (not that my methods don’t continue to cross over).

The role that I fill for this organization is that of an exercise physiologist. Aside from promoting the goals and mission of the group, I will routinely meet with new patients, outline a progressive exercise prescription in accordance with their previous health history and limitations under ACSM guidelines, and design a graduated program for each individual to support their weight loss and personal fitness goals. In addition to planning and counseling, I offer trainer-facilitated exercise sessions in the clinics exercise room, which utilizes equipment that I proposed in one of the first projects once joining the practice. Normal Balance has offices located in Reston,Rockville, and now Tyson’s Corner. While theRestonoffice is the only location that has a gym on site, there are plans to implement an exercise room in each facility to provide the patients at each location with the option of scheduling regular personal training sessions.

Regular training sessions I feel are critical to honor the initial recommendations proposed, in addition to keep each patient on track in their graduated programs. These graduated programs also contain resistance and flexibility components that are equally important in terms of improving body composition and daily living, which would otherwise be lost in transition through the absence of means and motivation. In each appointment I monitor the patients vitals throughout (many of the patients have chronic health problems associated with their obesity), in addition to recording their weight, and reviewing their compliance to their home based exercise programs which I design. For many of my former personal training clients, I would tailor workouts and customize meal plans that cater to their individuality but for the specific population that I am working with, it has gotten to the point where their health has had such a degrading effect on their personal health that they have no choice but to comply to the recommendations I provide. In a sense, this makes my efforts feel very appreciated.

In regards to where this practice is headed, I am confident that this multifaceted approach in providing the obese population with resources covered through health insurance has a growing need. Since the 1970’s the obesity rates in our country have been on a rapid progression with little governmental intervention.  Unfortunately one of the major problems in controlling this epidemic is the provision of the right information to this population. I’m sorry but a 60% carbohydrate, 10-15% protein, and 25-30% fat is outdated and has no metabolic advantage for individuals that are in the position of needing to lose weight. Eating out as a norm for every social engagement and office party is not a behavior that needs to be encouraged. Exercising is not the worst thing that you can go through. Through education and understanding of what dietary methods can create a metabolic advantage for weight loss, behavioral health intervention in dealing with the emotional and environmental stimuli that triggers over consumption, and regular exercise to systematically combat excess body fat through energy expenditure, can us as individuals address the weight problem in our country, institutionalize positive change, and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Sunday was the Fredericksburg Half Marathon, the sister race to the Marine Corps Marathon which is held each October in Arlington, VA. I decided to enter this race about a week ago after a whopping four weeks of quality training under my belt, a feat made somewhat more difficult by having to relocate from Blacksburg to Reston, VA in a matter of weeks, starting a new job, going through a painful breakup, and finding comfort in a new gym while adjusting to running in a new environment. For those that are unaware, eight weeks ago, I received a job offer at an up and coming medically supervised weight loss practice based out of Reston Hospital called Normal Balance. Having not given real consideration to ever leave Blacksburg, the offer blindsided me but decided that I would ultimately regret if I choose not to explore the opportunity. Despite these obstacles and the frustration each have caused, if there were one medium in which I have found solace in over the last two months, it has been in my running. The Fredericksburg Half was not a predetermined race for me (I didn’t even taper for it) but served as an early indication in where my conditioning stands, entering the summer.

Entering this race, I was two weeks into my second three-week training block since arriving to Reston. A “block” system is an approach I adopted last summer in which I will plan out all of my workouts three weeks in advance, which would gradually build upon one another. For example, every third Thursday I run a progression run whereas the last segment of the run is performed at lactate-threshold. This segment of this particular run is increased 5-minutes every third week so in week one, the threshold bout was 10-minutes, week 2 15-minutes and week 3 20-minutes (my short term goal). This progression in intensity I have found to also be a same way to increase volume as the more quality (tempo) running that is incorporated into your running, the more distance you are going to cover. So volume takes care of itself. This approach is taken with each workout, whether it is in the gym or on the track. A new device I have incorporated to this block system approach is that after every three weeks I will take what I refer to as a “transition week” with a lower training volume to ensure that I am proving enough time for recovery and avoiding mental burnout. Despite being up for a transition week entering this race, rather than tapering back I decided to continue to press forward in my training and treat it as just a typical long run weekend in the start of a new training block.

Two weeks prior, I ran a 12-mile loop, which gradually built in progression to a 7:05 average pace. This workout gave me a lot of confident entering this race and I felt that a sub 7:00 pace was within reach and that I could potentially break the 90-minute barrier. The first two miles and last two miles were on an out and back to a nine-mile loop through the residential district and historic downtown of Fredericksburg. Most of the course was flat until miles 10-12 where over a mile you climb 200 feet in elevation. This part of the course is known as “Hospital Hill,” kind of ironic right? The weather was in the low sixties at the start with a light head wind. The half marathon field consisted of 5682 runners; including Drew Carry who was making his half marathon debut (sorry I had to incorporate this in here, it was a BIG deal for a lot of people). From the start, the pace felt fast but the flow was there. My mantra for this race was simple, “run as if you were being judged.” I knew the speed would be there but wanted it to appear effortless which I hoped would build the right mindset. I don’t remember much over the first hour but at some point a lot of runners started dropping off. Through nine miles my time was 61 minutes and change, which was slightly aggressive considering that miles 10-12 were the most punishing on the course. Knowing what was ahead, I took in a gel and water at the 8-mile mark to give my blood sugar a jolt for the first climb. Honestly, the first climb around mile 9 broke me and made the last 5 kilometers simply miserable. Even with 0.1 miles to go, I felt that it would have been a stretch to make it. I was glad to be done when I reached the finished line and happy with my efforts. The last 5 kilometers were lost on conditioning but gave me a clear indication that I am capable of breaking the 90-minutes with more training invested. My effort was good enough for 82^nd out of a field of 5682 and the final chip time was 1:30:58.

In going forward I have taken a few things away from this experience, a few of which I need to improve on in going forward and one point that I can be proud about. After revisiting the write up from the Blacksburg Classic, it is becoming redundant that I am pushing the pace too hard at the start and am punishing myself in the last third. I will say this again but first and foremost, going into my next race, I would like to dictate a more mature racing style. Second, considering that my pace rapidly declined during those late miles and that my lungs felt like they were on the verge of exploding, I recognize that more hill work needs to be incorporated. While in Blacksburg, I could get away with not having to include structured hill workouts but here, it will be pivotal. I have already drawn up my first hill session for later this week…it will be 13 x 59-second intervals at whatever grade I figure compares to that of Hospital Hill. If nothing else, it will remind me how close I came to breaking 90-minutes and that I won’t lose to myself in that fashion ever again. As far as what I am proud of coming off this race, a friend once shared with me, the importance of “being in a tree” when life’s ground begins to shake. These last few months have been very difficult, in many facets of life but finding that one area to put pride in has helped me come to terms with those that lie in transition. This race has enabled me to resume some pride in my running, chip time aside. With each race I like to set a goal to keep my training focused and to continue to work on the areas in which I need to improve upon (my way of holding myself accountable). So here goes, the goal in which I’ve set is to run a sub 90-minute half marathon sometime over the next three months. Memorial day weekend is a distinct possibility…stay tuned. Until next time, live clean, work hard, be humble, and stay focused.

 I will often get these questions on a daily basis and thought it could be helpful to share my insite for anyone who is in a similar situation as this person.

Question

I just got back from about a 2 month deployment.. not a lot of food and walking around the mountains every day. went from 195 to 171 in about 50 days.. i look like i did in college… not all bad news though, pretty much have my abs back and am trying to keep them. Im being pretty careful on what i eat so i dont just throw on twenty pounds of fat just to get some weight back. I have a buddy who does the p90x thing and said the diet on there has done really good things for him.. have you used that at all or have you found a better diet plan somewhere else? Also, Im running every night before i go to sleep, usually just short jogs, like between 2-5 miles depending on the workout i did that day.. and am usually starving when i get done… are there any foods out there that i can eat within like an hour of going to sleep that arent just going to turn into bad weight over night? The main thing about my question about night time eating is about whether or not its alright to eat fruit, specifically oranges and bananas before you go to sleep… ive read that fruits like oranges, strawberries, and raspberries are the best bet because of the high sugar content in bananas, but ive read other places that say they are all bad due to the sugar content.

Answer

I imagine the significant amount of weight loss that you have experienced in a short period of time is a common problem for those who perform a high volume of field work in the armed forces. Considering this amount of weight loss in such a short period of time, its likely that you are cannibalizing muscle in addition to fat if you are performing heavy labor in a constant caloric deficit. As you mentioned, if you load up on junk food between now and your next deployment, you will store most as fat since your metabolism is stuck in stall right now and cannot readily use an abundance of calories for energy as efficiently as it could when you were 195 pounds. As your lean mass has decreased, your caloric expenditure each day has also decreased. The more muscle mass on your frame, the more calories you will burn each day. In order to pack on the “good” weight again there are a few considerations I would take with your diet.

The first is to choose whole foods over those that are processed. While whole foods might be organic, locally grown, or pesticide free, its really much simplier than that. Whole foods are those found in its natural state, rather than the bits and pieces left behind after processing. Its the difference between an apple and apple juice, steel cut oatmeal and a packet of cinnamon flavored oatmeal. While a calorie is a calorie, if you eat lots of processed foods you are not taking in the fiber, vitamins and minerals that your body requires for metabolic processes including those which are involved in energy metabolism. Through processing, most of the good nutrients in the food has been removed. Without these nutrients and the replacement of fiber with sugar and fat, the rate in which these calories can be converted into energy is handicapped and will lead to weight gain (not in lean tissue but fat). A healthy diet of whole foods (sweet potatoes, quiona, fresh produce, healthy fats) should be your first priority over any diet devised to lose or put on weight that does not consider the quality of the food that is being recommended. 

While the quality of the food is important, the quantity of food consumed is going to be as important of a consideration for you to increase your lean muscle mass. I don’t care if you eat 2.,000 calories of whole foods or 2,000 calories of processed foods, if your total energy expenditure if 2,500 calories per day you will still lose a pound of fat each week. To figure out how much you should be eating, I would recommend that you take a trial and error approach to your diet and monitor your weight. If your weight is remaining steady then its likely that you are simply not eating enough. Keep protein high to prevent further catabolism of lean muscle mass, your carbohydrates equal to that of your protein intake (more might be warranted in the mornings when your more active, around your workouts and taper them off during periods of the day when your not as active) and get in plenty of healthy fats such as flaxseed oil, avocados, almond butter and cocconut milk. An optimal target for your protein intake in each meal would be 30 grams. Anything higher is a wash as there is a fixed amount for how much protein can be metabolized and used in each meal. If your eating 5 meals per day; breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner, you should be taking in about 150 grams of protein each day.

These are the two MOST important considerations I suggest you make with regards to your diet. Hopefully this will at least enable you to weigh the pros and cons of different cookbook approachs to dieting that have been commercialized.

As far as your post run evening meal, I would suggest a shake consisting of three things; a whey protein powder, coconut milk or almond butter as a source of healty fat and a bananna. Banannas are a high glycemic carbohydrate that will cause a rapid spike in insulin however in the post workout meal, you would actually be doing yourself a favor to include a higher glycemic carbohydrate to ensure that you are prioritizing recovery and that you aren’t inhibiting your energy in your the following mornings workout session. If you are not performing cardio in the evening, simply cut out the source of carbohydrate in the shake (the banana) and limit the meal to protein (whey powder) and a healthy source of fat. Including the fat is important to slow the digestion of protein to ensure that your muscles are not being catabolized while you sleep. In terms of your different options for carbohydrate sources (as not all fruits are created equal) I would go with a higher glycemic carbohydrate if it falls post workout, otherwise you are better off sticking to a more fiborous option such as an apple with an outer skin.