Did You Know That Bad Carbs Make You Hungrier?

The Health Journal section of the Wall Street Journal had a fascinating article today. A new book by Louis J. Aronne called "The Skinny," reports that some types of foods actually effect what else you eat. After 23 years of study, Dr. Aronne concluded that refined carbs create a state he calls "fullness resistance." Basically, these types of foods interfere with the messages that the body usually sends out to signal the brain that you are full. Instead, people actually feel hungrier.

Just the other morning, my husband and I were complaining that while we LOVE this one local bagel joint, after eating a bagel, we always feel like we just want to eat about 3 more. Along with breads, the other "appetite stokers" that make it harder to stop eating are sweets, juice, pasta, wine or beer before dinner, and artificial sweeteners.

Dr. Aronne recommends eating foods high in protein, vegatables and fiber to have the opposite effect. Funny enough, soon before I sat down to write this article, I ate a meal that consisted of a large salad with some chicken and sunflower seeds. I feel so full I could not even think about eating sweets or breads right now. Here are some tips to keep in mind to feel fuller throughout the day:

Breakfast: Load up on lean protein with egg whites or a protein shake. I can highly recommend Shakeology here! A study of overweight women found that those who ate eggs at breakfast consumed 140 fewer calories at lunch, and at less for the next 36 hours, than those who ate bagels.

Lunch: Too many people think it's a good idea to skip lunch. If you go more than 5 hours without food your hunger hormones rise and fullness hormones drop. The worst part is that this supposedly send more of the calories you eat during dinner straight to the fat cells. This last part was news to me. So eat lunch ladies.

Dinner: Late in the day is when we all tend to want to cheat. Try to load up on salad and clear soups before your main course so that you can keep that smaller, and ideally a lean protein choice. Careful on the alcohol consumption because it can lower your resistance to temptations and promote fat storage.

- Coach Jenn
PersonalFitCoach.com