5 Reasons You’re Always Starving

Article By: Karen Ansel, M.S., R.D.

Spices

A foolproof plan to keep hunger from gnawing away at your weight-loss goals.

You’re driving along on your way to work, to the gym, or to pick up the kids and—bam—it hits you—that overwhelming gnawing hunger. The next thing you know, you’re pulling into a drive through and ordering up a storm.

Tips

Eat on Time. Scientists say that failing to eat regularly scheduled meals can boost the body’s output of insulin, which can, in turn, increase appetite and slow calorie burn.
Plan Ahead. Don’t wait until you’re starving to think about food: Tuck portable snacks like granola bars or string cheese in your purse so you’ll be ready when hunger strikes.

Isn’t it fascinating (and frustrating) how the “I have to eat now!” feeling can hit even if you’ve been making good nutrition a top priority? Experts are discovering that when you eat, what your food tastes like, and even how much you drink can have a major impact on how often hunger pangs strike.

We asked leading nutritionists to share with us the five most common reasons you’re frequently famished, as well as their top tips for maximizing satisfaction and keeping hunger at bay.

1. You eat the right foods at the wrong times.
Eating at different times every day can make it difficult for you to tune in to your body’s hunger signals, says Cindy Moore, MS, RD, director of Nutrition Therapy at the Cleveland Clinic. Haphazard eating can hurt your metabolism as well. When British researchers asked women to eat meals at either the same time or at different times each day, those who followed a predictable pattern ate less and burned more calories than those who ate at a different time every day.

The Fix: Plan ahead.
Reviewing your Tracker helps you zero in on when you’re most likely to fall prey to eating at erratic times. (If you haven’t been tracking your food consistently, try doing so for a few days.) Then, says Moore, create a schedule that focuses on eating within 2 hours of waking up and every 3 to 5 hours after that for the rest of the day. If you tend to lose track of time, set your watch or digital organizer to beep when you should eat.

2. You eat breakfast, just not the right kind.
Although any breakfast is better than none, the foods you choose can have a major impact on how satisfied you feel for the rest of the day. Take that convenient cereal bar: It might appear to be a healthy choice when you don’t have time for a sit-down meal, but its mega-dose of simple sugars may have you rummaging through the fridge well before lunch.

The Fix: Build a better mix of nutrients.
The key to making your breakfast hold your appetite at bay until lunch is building a morning meal that contains both protein and carbs. “It’s important to combine some protein along with some complex carbohydrates to provide sustained energy throughout the morning,” says Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, a Long Island–based dietitian in private practice. Opt for no-fuss choices like a slice of cheese on whole-wheat bread, egg whites on toast, whole-grain cereal with low-fat milk, even half a turkey sandwich .

3. Your diet is flawless but flavorless.
If grilled chicken and steamed veggies are staples on your dinner plate, you could be headed for trouble. “If you don't switch up your menu, you’re going to get bored and eventually have difficulty sticking with your weight-loss plan,” says Lona Sandon, MEd, RD, assistant professor of clinical nutrition at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas.

The Fix: Spice it up.
Getting creative in the kitchen will give your stand-by recipes new life—and keep you more satisfied in the long run. “Experiment with fresh, flavorful herbs, like basil, gingerroot, oregano, and mint,” suggests Moore. Also, adding acidity (a dash of lemon juice or balsamic vinegar) and sweetness (a teaspoon of honey or brown sugar) can make your staple dishes more complex in taste—and more satisfying. Texture is also key: Aim for combinations of creamy, crunchy, and chewy. Try tossing chopped nuts on your greens or mixing granola into your yogurt.

4. You stockpile your calories.
Do you often eat so sparingly during the day that by the time dinner rolls around you’re famished? That strategy can backfire, leading to uncontrollable overeating in the evening. “When you skip meals it’s harder to think straight, so you’re less concerned with the implications of what you eat,” says Taub-Dix.

The Fix: Frontload those calories.
Eating earlier in the day is a must to head off disaster later on. Limit the size of your evening meal so that you wake up eager for breakfast. Even if you’re not hungry, be sure to eat something—even a small bite. “Treat yourself the way you’d treat your kids—you wouldn’t let them skip meals,” says Taub-Dix.

5. You drink your meals.
With the ever-increasing popularity of lattes for breakfast and smoothies for lunch, many of us are drinking our calories away. But drinking too many caloric beverages can ultimately leave you feeling unsatisfied. When researchers at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, gave study participants 450 extra calories daily in the form of either fluid or solid food, those who ate the extra solids ate less later in the day whereas those who drank the extra fluids did not. The reasoning: Chewing causes the release of hormones that signal fullness, and solid food is digested more slowly than liquids.

The Fix: Rethink convenience.
Slurping down a meal might seem fast and easy, but in the time it takes to drive to the coffee shop, stand on line, and pay for that latte, you could have had something just as quick—and far more satisfying. “Try a slice of toast with peanut butter or a cup of yogurt with some fruit,” says Lona Sandon. If it’s the comfort of a hot drink you crave, go ahead and have that latte—just order it with fat-free milk. And instead of sipping it solo, enjoy it with a few whole-grain crackers or a banana. In other words, focus on food combinations that will get you through to your next meal—no starving required.

This article first appeared in the March/April 2006 issue of Weight Watchers Magazine.

Disney Helps "Give Kids The World" Celebrate

Disney Helps "Give Kids The World" Celebrate

Earlier this month, Disney executives were on hand to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Give Kids the World (GKTW), a local nonprofit that provides cost-free vacations to children with life-threatening illnesses. A highlight of the festivities: the unveiling of a new Disney-supported Star Tower and Gallery of Hope, which will shine a spotlight on the organization’s special guests. “I’m proud that Walt Disney World was one of the first supporters of Give Kids the World,” said Walt Disney Parks & Resorts President of Worldwide Operations and GKTW Advisory Board Member Al Weiss. “There’s no doubt that the memories created at the Give Kids The World Village are treasured by the families who visit but they are also cherished by the thousands of Disney VoluntEARS whose lives have been changed by their own visits with the remarkable children they meet.” Learn more.

Jeff Galloway's News Letter

Jeff Galloway
Use the brands that Jeff Galloway recommends! Receive $10 OFF any Accelerade, Hydro, or Endurox R4 Canister. Order today at www.pacifichealthlabs.com Use code GALLOWAY10 Expires: 6/15/11. "Must read for every endurance athlete" Dave Scott 6-Time World Champion FREE DOWNLOAD PERFORMANCE NUTRITION HANDBOOK Authored by leading athletes, coaches and researchers the free Handbook uses the latest science to show you how to create your own nutrition action plan.	#2 HOW CRASH DIETING MAKES YOU LESS FIT Like everyone else, endurance athletes worry about their weight. And, like everyone else, endurance athletes diet periodically. We know that a pound contains about 3,500 calories, so if we eat 1,000 calories less each day, more than two pounds will magically disappear each week. And, since we are generally impatient, we push the daily caloric deficit to help us get to our goal weight faster. For athletes, however, the consequences of reducing caloric intake by 750-1,000 calories per day can be significant. An often-ignored observation was made almost 30 years ago by researchers at Rockefeller University. They looked at the effect of calorie deficit on weight loss. As might be expected, the highest caloric deficit produced the greatest weight loss. What wasn't expected, however, was where the weight loss was coming from. Everyone who goes on a diet is expecting to lose body fat. The researchers found that people who practiced moderate caloric restriction tended to lose the weight as fat. Ninety-one percent of the loss was fat and 9% was lean body mass, or muscle. When the subjects engaged in a diet involving severe calorie restriction, fat represented 48% of the loss and muscle represented 42%. Expressed another way, the greater the daily calorie restriction, the greater the loss of muscle mass. This research also explains why the longer one is on a severe calorie restriction diet, the harder it is to keep losing weight. As the body loses more muscle mass there is a dramatic effect on overall energy metabolism, since a resting muscle cell burns almost eight times more energy per day than a fat cell. As you lose muscle mass, you have to eat even less to keep the weight loss going. The final consequence of a crash diet begins the moment you stop the diet. Your body, having just gone through a period of food deprivation, goes into a hyper-storage mode when you resume normal eating. As we all know, hyper-storage is simply a nutritionist's way of saying fat accumulation. In anticipation that there might be another food deprivation cycle in the future, your body stores a higher percentage of food calories as fat. Ironically, moderate to severe calorie restriction, which results in counter-adaptations by your body, is unnecessary. In fact, a recent study shows that a group who had a 200-calorie-a-day deficit had the same weight loss at six months as a group who had a 750-calorie-a-day deficit. More importantly, diets that have small daily caloric deficits (200-300 calories) don't activate the countermeasure that ultimately will make you less fit. FREE RADICALS AND MUSCLE FATIGUE You probably know that the muscles produce lots of free radicals during exercise. You may also know that free radicals produced during and after exercise damage muscle cells and contribute to post-exercise soreness. What you might not know is that free radicals also contribute to muscle fatigue during exercise. That’s right: free radicals can make you bonk. How they do it is not fully understood yet, but recent science makes it clear they do. Free radicals are not all bad, though. The same compounds that make you bonk during exercise also stimulate physiological adaptations to exercise that make you fitter. Because of this, you don’t necessarily want to load up on a bunch of antioxidant supplements to squash the production of free radicals in your workouts. In other words, you don’t want to overdo your consumption of supplemental antioxidants to the point where they become a crutch that prevents your muscles from fully responding to your training. Until we know more, your best bet is to focus on maintaining a healthy diet that helps strengthen your body’s own natural antioxidant defenses. For example, glutamine is a natural amino acid that increases the concentration of glutathione, the body’s “master antioxidant”, in muscle cells. Good sources of glutamine include meats, fish, eggs, dairy products, beans, beets, spinach and some recovery products. SHOULD YOU EAT LIKE A CAVEMAN? One of the latest trends in endurance sports nutrition is the Paleo Diet. It was developed by Loren Cordain, Ph.D., whose book, The Paleo Diet, was published in 2002. It became popular with endurance athletes after a sequel, The Paleo Diet for Athletes, was published three years later. So what is the Paleo Diet? The authors believe that we humans are healthiest and function best when we eat exclusively those foods that our ancient ancestors ate during the Paleolithic Age, which covers the entire span of our evolution from roughly 2.5 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago. The rationale behind this way of eating is that our species evolved in adaptation to the foods we ate. Thus, our genes are specifically designed to use these nutrition sources. Any food types that entered our diet after the main work of our evolution was done—including grains and dairy products, which the Paleo Diet forbids—cannot be used as efficiently and effectively by our bodies. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence in support of the Paleo Diet. Athletes who switch to it report fat loss and increased energy levels. However, there is no scientific evidence that the Paleo Diet is healthier or better for endurance performance than less restrictive healthy diets, such as vegetarian, Mediterranean, and DASH. Remember, the best diet is not just wholesome but also sustainable.

Transition Area Conduct: Placement of Equipment

This week’s rule is Article 7.2 Placement of Equipment.

The rule addresses how a participant sets up his bike and gear in transition. In races where an assigned spot is designated by race number, the gear and bicycle must be placed on the same side as the race number designation on the transition rack. The front or the rear wheel must be down on the same side as the number and the gear.

If transition spaces are not assigned, then wherever the participant racks, his gear must be located on the same side of the rack as the down wheel. The gear - shoes, run bib, etc, must be next to the wheel that is down and no gear should extend out into the alleyway between racks, nor should it interfere in any way with the adjacent participant’s area.

USAT officials are available in the mornings of the race to advise participants if their gear and bike are racked legally.

Here’s the rule:

7.2. Placement of Equipment.
All participants shall place equipment only in the properly designated and individually assigned bicycle corral and shall at all time keep their equipment confined to such properly designated areas. Any violation of this section shall result in a variable time penalty.

Want to learn more about a specific rule?
Let us know at communications@usatriathlon.org. Put "Rules suggestion" in the subject line. We can feature it in the upcoming weeks.

Click here for more information on USA Triathlon Rules.

Reciepe Of The Week

Grilled Vegetable Antipasto

Makes 8 servings

PointsPlus™ values | 2 per serving

Ingredients

• 2 medium red bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch wedges
• 2 medium green bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch wedges
• 2 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 2 medium yellow crook-neck squash, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 1 medium eggplant, stemmed, cut in half lengthwise and then cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Cooking spray for the grill grate
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp minced fresh oregano leaves
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

• Toss vegetables with remaining ingredients and set aside.
  
  
• Off heat, coat grill with cooking spray. Prepare gas grill for direct, high-heat grilling or build a high-heat charcoal bed in the center of the coal grate on a charcoal grill.
  
  
• Place the vegetables directly over the heat source on the prepared grate. Cover and grill until the vegetables begin to char in places and develop distinct grill lines, about 6 minutes.
  
  
• Turn the vegetables with tongs and continue grilling until they again have distinct grill lines over the fire and have begun to soften, about 4 minutes.
  
  
• Transfer all the vegetables back to the bowl with any remaining marinade. Toss gently and serve.
  
  
• Serving size: 2 cups.

Star Tours Opening 5//20/11

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  Launching May 20th at Disney's Hollywood Studios® and June 3rd at Disneyland® Resort!

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Share Your Itinerary

If you’re flying Star Tours, there’s no telling where you might land. But you can always let your friends and family know your travel plans!

TWO STEPS TO BUILD YOUR ITINERARY - CHOOSE FROM THE DROP DOWN MENU OR SCROLL THE IMAGES BELOW TO CLICK YOUR DESTINATION FIRST AND POINT OF ORIGIN SECOND.

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Stress Got Your Metabolism Down?

I'm sure you've heard of the fight-or-flight response, and you probably know that it's the way your body reacts to danger or stress. But do you know what the fight-or-flight response is? You guessed it: It has to do with hormones.

When you're faced with a danger, your adrenal glands release three hormones: norepinephrine, epinephrine (also known as adrenaline), and cortisol. Norepinephrine and epinephrine cause several changes to help you survive the danger, including a pause in insulin release so you have lots of blood sugar available for energy, an increase in heart rate and blood pressure, and a suspension of your appetite. After the danger has passed, cortisol tells the body to stop producing norepinephrine and epinephrine and stimulates your appetite again.

This response evolved to help people deal with short-term survival situations, like an attack by a predator. The trouble is, it occurs in response to all stressors, including the deadlines pummeling you at work and the traffic that drives you crazy. When stress is always present, your body can't get rid of the excess cortisol built up in the blood. That cortisol just hangs around, causing lots of trouble: It turns young fat cells into mature fat cells that stick with you forever, and increases your cravings for high-fat, high-carb foods.

When you give in to those cravings, your body releases a cascade of rewarding brain chemicals that can set up an addictive relationship with food — you stress, you eat. If you don't consciously control the pattern, you can become physically and psychologically dependent on that release to manage stress. In fact, people who self-medicate with food tend have hair-trigger epinephrine reactions and chronic high levels of cortisol.

You can help yourself keep cortisol in check by limiting caffeine intake to 200 milligrams a day; avoiding simple carbs, processed foods, and refined grains; and getting plenty of high-quality protein. It's also crucial that you find stress-relief techniques that work for you. If you can tame your stress response and lower cortisol levels, you'll have a much easier time losing weight.

Reciepe Of The Week

Healthy Recipes

Spring Greens With Dijon Vinaigrette Recipe

Nutritional Info (Per serving):

Calories: 41, Saturated Fat: 0g, Sodium: 43mg, Dietary Fiber: 1g, Total Fat: 4g, Carbs: 2g, Cholesterol: 0mg, Protein: 1g

Exchanges: Vegetable: 0.5, Fat: 0.5

Total Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup(s) oil, hazelnut
• 1/3 cup(s) vinegar, white wine
• 1 tablespoon mustard, dijon-style
• 1 teaspoon herbes de Provence, dried
• 1/4 teaspoon salt, sea
• 16 cup(s) lettuce, mixed greens
• 2 cup(s) basil, fresh
• 1 medium cucumber(s), halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 6 radish(es), (3/4 cup) thinly sliced

Preparation

1. In a screw-top jar, combine oil, vinegar, mustard, herbes de Provence, and salt. Cover; shake well. Set aside.

2. In a very large salad bowl, toss together greens, basil, cucumber, and radishes. Add dressing; toss to coat. Sprinkle with cracked black pepper. If desired, top with croutons.

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