Nutrition News by Charlyn Fargo

OK, so we've all heard about yo-yo dieting and its harmful effects. Is it even worth trying to lose weight if we know we might put it back on again? Go ahead and make that New Year's Resolution to get rid of those 10 pounds you gained. New research on 3,000 participants (that's enough to be credible) in the National Weight Control Registry finds it is possible to lose weight and keep most of it off.

Investigators led by J. Graham Thomas of Brown University evaluated questionnaires completed by people who had been in the registry, which tracks successful dieters, for at least 10 years. About 75 percent were women and most were college-educated. The dieters originally weighed an average of 224 pounds before losing weight. They reported that they'd kept off an average 51 pounds of 69 pounds lost. (It's typical to regain some of the weight lost.)

So what were the secrets to their success? Thomas presented these findings at a recent meeting of the Obesity Society.

— Eat breakfast regularly.

— Walk about an hour a day, or burn an equivalent amount of calories in other activities.

— Weigh weekly.

— Track food intake

— Count calories and fat grams.

— Limit eating out to an average of three times a week, including all meals, and consume fast food less than once a week.

— Limit food variety, mostly eating similar foods from week to week and not splurging much on holidays and special occasions.

— Watch fewer than 10 hours of television a week.

— Average about 1,800 calories a day with less than 30 percent of those calories from fat.

Now instead of making a general New Year's resolution to lose 10 pounds, include these strategies for making it work.

Information courtesy the National Weight Control Registry and Tufts University Health and Nutrition Letter, January 2012.

Q AND A

Q: I'm confused by conflicting advice about whether snacking helps or hurts weight control and health. What do you suggest?

A: Snacks can promote good health when you choose foods that fill nutritional gaps. For example, if you have trouble including enough calcium-rich foods (such as dairy products and soy milk), fruit and dietary fiber in your meals, snacks offer a great chance to do so. However, for many people, "snack food" means food low in nutrients and concentrated in calories.

For weight control, the key point seems to be how snacking affects total calorie consumption. If you're not hungry between meals, there's no reason to eat more than three times a day.

However, within the range of eating three to six times a day, impact on weight varies. Controlled studies do not support the idea that more frequent eating will boost metabolism so you burn more calories, but some people find they can control their appetite better and that snacks help them avoid overeating at the next meal. A snack can prevent or resolve cravings that can stem from low blood sugar, especially among obese people.

If you snack when you're hungry and choose foods and portions that keep total calories appropriate for your needs, it may help weight control. Depending on how active you are, whether you're trying to change or maintain weigh and whether you snack once or three times a day, for typical adults, a healthy snack may be 100 to 250 calories. That's a target easily exceeded by typical snacks and sugary or other high calorie drinks.

Instead, if you snack, choose lower calorie, nutrient-rich foods such as whole fruit, a small handful of nuts or a half-sandwich, all of which can fill and fuel you for several hours.

Information courtesy the American Institute for Cancer Research.

RECIPE

This recipe for overnight oatmeal made Eating Well Magazine's list of top 50 recipes for 2011 — quite an accomplishment considering all the recipes they publish. Fix this the night before, and you've got a quick, healthy breakfast.

Overnight Oatmeal

— 8 cups water

— 2 cups steel-cut oats

— 1/3 cup dried cranberries

— 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped

— 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Combine water, oats, dried cranberries, dried apricots and salt in a 5- or 6-quart slow cooker. Turn heat to low. Put the lid on and cook until the oats are tender and the porridge is creamy, 7 to 8 hours. (Steel-cut oats are best. Regular rolled oats don't work as well in the slow cooker. Fresh apple cubes can also be used) Stovetop Variation: Halve the above recipe to accommodate the size of most double boilers: Combine 4 cups water, 1 cup steel-cut oats, 3 tablespoons dried cranberries, 3 tablespoons dried apricots and 1/8 teaspoon salt in the top of a double boiler. Cover and cook over boiling water for about 1 1/2 hours, checking the water level in the bottom of the double boiler from time to time. Serves eight (serving size: 1 cup).

Per serving: 193 calories; 6 g protein; 34 g carbohydrates; 3 g fat; 0 mg cholesterol; 9 g fiber; 77 mg sodium.

Charlyn Fargo is a registered dietitian from Springfield, Ill. For comments or questions, contact her at charfarg@aol.com. To find out more about Charlyn Fargo and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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