Hi there! As a long (or short) time reader of my emails newsletter, I wanted to welcome you to a new format that I think you are going to love. I call it Macros on Monday.
Macros or Macronutrients are foundational components of the foods that we eat. The major macronutrients are protein, carbs, and fats (alcohol is also a macronutrient too but it is generally ignored during macros discussions).
Macro also means large scale or overall. This big picture is very important when it comes to your nutrition. Sometimes we get lost in the details and that hinders our progress.
With the new Macros on Monday newsletter, we are going to cover macros and the macro.
Every Monday, I am going to share with you one big idea (the macro) and a tip, quote, and concept for fats, protein, and carbs (the macros).
But first, some of you have emailed asking about the 30/10 Cookbook and what happened to it's release!? I'm sorry about this. It was delayed for a couple different reasons. All of them are rooted in the fact that I want this cookbook to be the best cookbook that you ever get your hands on. I appreciate your patience. It will be release before the end of the Month!
Let's get started...
This week focuses on how different kinds of foods that we eat (and drink) impact how full we feel and impact our drive to eat between meals.
Appetite control is the holy grail of health. If you can manage your appetite, then controlling your weight becomes much easier (all the news and weight loss success around Ozempic highlights this fact).
Let’s dig in.
The Macro - Water and Fullness
One of the long running myths in weight loss and appetite control is that drinking water will make you fuller and help curb your appetite. This idea has been around for so long that it has to be true…right?
Not really.
Enter research from Dr. Barbara Rolls. Dr. Barbara Rolls is a trail blazing professor at Penn State who has spent decades studying the psychological and environmental factors that impact food intake and food selection in both children and adults. I was fortunate enough to be mentored by her while I was at Penn State.
Her research has revealed that simply drinking water alongside your meal doesn't have the same impact on satiety as when water is integrated into the food itself.
For instance when research participants were given a chicken rice vegetable casserole with water either as a drink or blended into the dish - they responded differently. Those who consumed the mixture as a soup ate significantly fewer calories during the meal. Those who just had the glass of water - did not.
These findings are just one of numerous examples from Dr. Rolls’ research that highlight a crucial distinction: water consumed as part of food slows its exit from the stomach and more effectively satisfies hunger than water drunk on its own, which primarily quenches thirst.
Drink water to quench your thirst. Eat water to curb your appetite.
Fats - Eating More Calories to Eat Less?
Does the satiating effect of fats beat the calories found in fat? When you look at the research behind the satiating effects of each of the macronutrients -> protein has the most, fats are second, and carbs are last.
This fact has made many people reach for cheese over cucumbers. BUT we must never forget that calories reign supreme. Eating more calories from fat to ‘feel full’ doesn’t make sense if you could eat less calories from carbs and feel just as full (due to the fact that you can eat more carbs but still eat less calories).
For example: 1oz. of cheese is 114 calories. 114 calories of cucumber is ~1 ⅓ cups of cucumbers. Which would make you feel more full?
Protein - Liquid vs. Solid Matters
Following up on the satiating effects of protein, we need to remember one thing. All protein isn’t created equal when it comes to satiety.
Why? We don’t just eat protein, we eat food. While protein is the most satiating macronutrient, this only counts for solid protein. Liquid protein is just as satiating as your average carbohydrate. Remember this when you are drinking a protein shake “because it keeps you full for hours” - this is more of a marketing mind-trick than anything else.
Liquid protein (even my favorite Synthesis shake) passes through your stomach rather quickly, too quickly for your body to register the fullness associated with protein.
So when reaching for protein as a means of curbing hunger - go for the solid food proteins.
Carbs - Go for Volume
When you eat carbs, your body releases a hormone called insulin. Insulin’s job is to get excess sugar/carbs out of your bloodstream and into muscle or fat cells. Insulin is a topic for an entirely different issue of the newsletter (or an entire book!) but here’s what I want you to remember for today.
Insulin is a satiety hormone.
This may be surprising as you may have heard something along the lines of when you eat carbs, your body produces insulin, and that makes you want to eat more, this is why carbs are bad.
Yikes. Unfortunately your body only functions that way when things are way out of whack.
Here’s what actually happens. When you eat carbohydrates, your body produces insulin. Insulin has two missions.
- Mission 1: Get excess sugar/carbs out of your bloodstream
- Mission 2: Go tell your brain that we have lots of carbs (i.e. energy) so you should probably stop eating.
Insulin tells your brain to stop eating. Unfortunately, many of us choose not to listen and keep eating.
However, if you want to make the carbs that you are eating even more filling - listen to Dr. Rolls. Eat carbs that have a lot of water inside of them. These kinds of foods weigh more and take up more space (high volume foods) - weight and volume are two more signals to your body that you are full.
Talk soon,
Dr. Mike
|
|
Mike Roussell, PhD
Nutrition Strategist
|