Can Pickles Help You Lose Weight?

Pickle lovers will be disappointed to learn that eating pickles isn't likely to result in much weight loss. This doesn't mean pickles can't be part of a balanced diet, just that they aren't a weight-loss miracle food. For the best weight-loss results, you'll need to follow a nutritious reduced-calorie diet and increase your daily activity level.

Calories in Pickles

Pickles are relatively easy to fit into a weight-loss diet because they're low in calories. A small sour pickle or a small dill pickle spear made from cucumber, each weighing about 35 grams, has just 4 calories. Sweet pickles, such as bread and butter pickles, are made with a sugary syrup, so they're higher in calories -- a 3-inch-long pickle provides about 32 calories.

Fermented Foods and Weight Loss

A traditionally made pickle, not typically available at the grocery store, is made by soaking a cucumber or another vegetable in brine and allowing it to ferment, resulting in a sour pickle. The fermentation process produces beneficial substances called probiotics. Pickles that have been pasteurized no longer contain probiotics, so you may need to make your own to get this type of pickle. The effect of fermented foods and probiotics on weight loss isn't clear. A review article published in "Nutrition Research" in July 2015 found that probiotics most likely aren't helpful for weight loss. A meta-analysis published in "Microbial Pathogenesis" in 2012, on the other hand, found that it depends on the type of probiotic, with some types leading to weight loss and others having no effect or increasing the likelihood of weight gain.

Glycemic Index and Weight Loss

The glycemic index measures how much a food is likely to affect your blood sugar level, with foods low on the index less likely to have a large effect than those high on the index. Foods that are acidic, such as pickles made with vinegar, tend to have a low glycemic index, as the acidity helps to slow down the transit of food through your digestive tract, thus limiting blood sugar spikes. Eating foods that are low on the glycemic index along with foods that are higher on the glycemic index lowers the overall glycemic index of the meal. For example, a study published in the "European Journal of Clinical Nutrition" in 2005 found that adding vinegar to a meal that included white bread, a high-GI food, helped reduce increases in blood sugar after the meal. Diets that are low on the glycemic index may be even better for weight loss than low-fat diets.

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Sodium Considerations

Getting too much sodium could make you more likely to retain water, which would make you weigh more, at least temporarily. Unfortunately, pickles are relatively high in sodium. A fermented sour pickle provides about 19 percent of the daily value for sodium; a dill pickle provides about 12 percent of th DV; and a sweet pickle provides about 7 percent of the DV. So if you're trying to lose weight, you may want to go easy on the pickles.

Other Beneficial Weight-Loss Strategies

Instead of relying on any one food or beverage to bring about significant weight-loss results, focus on getting more exercise and eating a reduced-calorie diet consisting mainly of nutritious whole foods, including vegetables, whole grains, fruits and lean protein. Each meal or snack should contain some protein and some fiber, because these two nutrients help increase satiety and make it easier for you to cut calories. Aim for 60 minutes of cardio exercise at least five days a week, and two resistance-training workouts per week to help you increase your caloric deficit and ensure that most of the weight you lose is from fat instead of muscle.

MORE >> 20 Ways to Ensure Workouts Happen Every Day



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References

• USDA National Nutrient Database: Pickles, Cucumber, Dill or Kosher Dill
• Clinical Diabetes: The 3 R's of Glycemic Index: Recommendations, Research, and the Real World
• The Cochrane Library: Low Glycaemic Index or Low Glycaemic Load Diets for Overweight and Obesity
• QuickAndDirtyTips.com: Are Pickles Good for You?
• European Journal of Clinical Nutrition: Vinegar Supplementation Lowers Glucose and Insulin Responses and Increases Satiety After a Bread Meal in Healthy Subjects
• Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter: Discover the Digestive Benefits of Fermented Foods
• Nutrition Reseach: Probiotics For Weight Loss: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
• Microbial Pathogenesis: Comparative Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Lactobacillus Species on Weight Gain in Humans and Animals
• Drugs.com: Exercise for Weight Loss: Calories Burned in 1 Hour
• USDA National Nutrient Database: Pickles, Cucumber, Sour

Avoid Winter Weight Gain

There's A Good Chance You're Going To Put On Unwanted Weight This Winter. Here's How Not To:

Call it the worst leftover evolutionary urge ever: winter weight gain. 

It turns out, your body is hardwired to put on weight during the winter. During the season, most people unconsciously (and against all better judgment) try to bulk up like bears and squirrels, as putting on extra insulation used to be a good way to stay healthy during the harsh, underfed winter months, according to Indiana University researchers.

Meanwhile, the short, dark days can deprive your body of vitamin D and up your production of drowse-inducing melatonin, leaving you lethargic and craving sugar and calories. Also, during the winter, serotonin is less effective in interacting with brain cells involved in controlling mood and appetite, says Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., former MIT research scientist and co-author of The Serotonin Power Diet. So in an attempt to improve our moods, we reach for high-carb foods that will trigger the release of mood-boosting serotonin. (One recent Cornell study found that most people buy more food and calories in January and February than they do during the holiday season.) 

Plus, in the winter, your body’s levels of fat-storing enzymes increase, meaning those extra calories are even more likely to give you the jiggles, says dietician Georgie Fear, R.D., author of Lean Habits for Lifelong Weight Loss. 

And motivation to work out? Yeah, right. The setting sun, even at 5 pm, is a signal to our body that the day is over and it’s not time to expend more energy, it’s time to relax, says trainer Mike Donavanik, C.S.C.S., C.P.T. So we don’t work out and, in turn, don’t get the endorphins and feel-good hormones we need to perk up during the winter. We get further into a funk, working out less and eating even more.  

Hence why most people gain around one pound over the winter months, per research published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And while that doesn’t sound so bad, about five percent of normal weight adults, and 30 percent of overweight ones, put on at least five pounds. 

But, biology isn’t fate. Here are five ways to beat Mother Nature and never gain winter weight again.

Cut Back On The Booze

When you’re trapped inside for the winter, it can feel like there’s little to do… besides drink. “With my clients, alcohol intake is a huge contributor to winter weight gain. While I can't suggest a substitute for beer, drinking less beer and choosing a flavorful one can help you reduce the number of drinks you have. One pint of strong beer is still going to be fewer calories than three pints of weaker beer that happened to be on special,” Fear says. Cutting back on the drinks can also help you cut back on the junk food. According to research published in Alcohol & Alcoholism, putting back three drinks can reduce your body’s levels of the feel-full hormone leptin by 30 percent.

Slim Your Coffee

Your caffeine habit can do more than warm you up and give you some extra energy. It can also pack on the pounds. While that’s not to say you need to forgo coffee altogether, work on limiting your use of full-fat milk, white sugar, and even artificial sweeteners, recommends Fear. And make sure you get all of your coffee by noon. That will help ensure it’s out of your system come bedtime. After all, when you don’t sleep well, you’re even more apt to reach for high-energy, low-performing foods the next day.

Slurp Soups

“Filling up on soup before your main course is a valid method of warming up from the cold and losing weight.” Appetite research shows that eating soup as an appetizer can help you put back fewer calories and lose weight. “The trick is to choose soups that are low in calorie density, so think broth and vegetables, not bacon and cheese chowder,” Fear says

Switch Up Your Workout Schedule

If your mood is highly affected by the weather and short days, it can be beneficial to change your standard workout times to lighter hours, says Donovanik. Consider squeezing in a quick workout during your lunch break, or aiming to hit the gym on the weekends, rather than during the workweek.

Pick Up a Winter Sport

Just because it’s snowy, it doesn’t mean you can’t—or shouldn’t—take your workout outdoors. Getting outside for a sport can help you switch your mindset from “I need to do this” to “I want to do this,” Donavanik says. Bonus: You can burn more calories in the winter. Research published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise shows that race times speed up as the temperatures drop—and quicker runs burn more calories. Skiing, for instance, burns 400 to 600 calories per hour, according to University of Utah Health Care.

Source
http://au.askmen.com/sports/foodcourt_150/167_eating_well.html

6 Ways Sleep Can Help You Lose Weight

Well, this is upsetting: Forty percent of Americans get just six hours of sleep or fewer per night, according to a recent Gallup poll. And groggy mornings and a cranky attitude aren't the only side effects of insufficient shut-eye, either—missing out on sleep can also lead to weight gain. In fact, an analysis by researchers at Columbia University found that people who sleep less than seven hours per night are heavier, gain more weight over time, and have a harder time losing weight!

If you're trying to slim down or shape up, hitting the sack is just as important as sweating at the gym. These six reasons are your best excuses to hit the snooze button and get more sleep.

It Stops Late-Night Snacking

The longer you’re awake, the more likely you are to consume calories you don’t need, which can cause you to gain up to two pounds a week, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania. Over the course of seven days, they found that sleep-restricted subjects (sleeping from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m.) gained more weight than their well-rested counterparts (sleeping from 11 p.m. to 8 a.m.), mostly because they ate 550 calories from 11 p.m. to 4 p.m., a time that the other group spent in bed asleep.

It Helps You Burn More Calories

Not only do you have more energy to take on the day after a good night’s sleep, but your body also torches calories, even when you’re not working out. A study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that normal sleepers' resting energy expenditure—the amount of calories burned when you’re not moving—was five percent higher than their tired counterparts. They also burned 20 percent more calories after a meal versus sleep-deprived people.

It Boosts Fat Loss

Even if you eat the exact same diet as your friend, if you’re not getting the sleep your body needs, you won’t drop as much fat as them. A recent study from the University of Chicago compared the weight-loss results from sleeping eight and a half hours per night versus only five and a half hours per night. In both conditions, people ate the same number of calories (about 1,450 calories per day). While both groups lost about six and a half pounds, more than half of that weight was fat for well-rested people, compared to only a quarter for tired participants.

It Helps You Shop for Healthier Food

Never go grocery shopping when you’re hungry—or exhausted. In a study published in the journal Obesity, sleep-deprived men bought nearly 1,300 calories in food more than well-rested men. And this was independent of hunger because all the participants (sleep-deprived or not) had been fed a standardized breakfast before the test.

It Encourages Portion Control

In a Swedish study, well-rested and sleep-deprived participants were asked to complete a computerized "ideal portion size" task where they could manipulate their serving size on a screen. Their findings: Sleep-starved people added 35 additional calories in snacks to their digital “plate” compared to well-rested participants.

It Keeps Your Brain Focused

Your brain functions differently without sleep. Researchers at Harvard Medical School performed brain scans on people who reported high daytime sleepiness and measured their brain activity in response to high-calorie foods. The scans revealed reduced activation in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex—an area of the brain involved with inhibition and behavior control. Translation: Lowered inhibitions indicate a tendency to overeat when you're tired.

 

What's more, another study from Columbia University also found brain activity differences in sleepy people's response to food. Their study revealed increased activation in the insular cortex, which regulates pleasure-seeking behaviors. Importantly, unhealthy food activates this region more than healthy food, which means that skipping out on sleep could make it harder to skip out on a trip to the vending machine.

Source
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/weight-loss/sleep-weight-loss