Trick your genes to stay slim and fit
I read an interesting article in the May issue of Vegetarian Times. Page 18
I couldn't find it on line, so I actually typed it out.
Ask the doc: Trick your genes to stay slim and fit.
Q: I seem to put on pounds more easily then other people and everyone in my family has struggled with weight gain. Can I change my inherited “plump genes” without starving myself?
A: It is certainly true that weight problems run in family, so if your parents struggled with their weight, it’s no wonder that you’re worried. But genes are not destiny. By making certain diet and exercise changes, you can override them at least to a degree.
Some genes are dictators. The genes for eye color or hair color for example, issue strict orders. If they call for you to have blonde hair for example, that’s it. But the genes for weight are different. They’re more like committees giving suggestions. You can negotiate and sometimes even reject what they have in mind for you.
For example, genes can influence appetite, and some people have bigger appetites then others. But Barbara Rolls, a nutrition researcher at Penn State University has found a gene that helps shut off appetite. It turns out that your body seeks a certain amount of food each day and judges the amount it needs by weight. That is heavier foods, such as soup will make you feel satisfied quicker then light weight foods such as popcorn. You can use this fact to tame an over active appetite.
In a 1999 experiment at Penn State, Rolls fed volunteers a casserole appetizer and then measured how much food they ate at a subsequent meal; it was about 400 calories. Then, on a separate day, she added water to the casserole, making a soup. When she measured their food intake later that day, she found the volunteers ate about 100 fewer calories then before. The weight of the added water simply flipped their appetite switches off faster.
Any food that is high in water content, fruits, chunky vegetables such as cucumbers or squash and soy milk. To spot a good appetite quenching food, read the package label. The number of calories per serving in the finished product should be lower grams per serving. For an example, one serving of black-eyed peas is 110 calories for 130 grams-a good choice.
You can trick your appetite with fiber too. Every 14 grams of fiber you add to your daily routine causes you to eat about 10% fewer calories. Lets say you get about 12 g of fibers each day, (that’s about 1 apple, 2 slices of whole grain bread and 1 serving of beans) Try ramping up to 26 g-not by eating more food but by making the food you high fiber: beans, green vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Your appetite will tend to shut off at about 10% fewer calories then before. Push up your fiber even more and your appetite will turn off even faster.
One final point: Part of the reason that weight problems often run in families is that activity patterns tend to run in families. If your parents were couch potatoes, you may find yourself with that tendency too. But if you break that pattern and include regular exercise in your routine, you’ll burn far more calories each day then you would if you were sedentary. Whatever genes you’ve inherited, combining the right diet and regular exercise can help.
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for the article I found it very interesting as I have a over weight parents & my sister is that way too. Hugs 
BB
