Protein and the Thermic Effect of Food

The Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) is one of the three major components of daily energy expenditure, the other two components being a) Basal Metabolic Rate and b) the energy cost of activity.  

The energy expenditure from TEF is related to the stimulation of obligatory energy-requiring processes associated with eating, digesting, absorbing, and storing food (as well as the facultative energy expenditure associated with hormone secretion, sodium-potassium ATPase pump activity, protein synthesis, and substrate recycling).

The TEF raise in metabolism spikes after meals, and gradually declines over ~10 hours (as determined by the return to Basal Metabolic Rate). The main determinant of TEF is the total energy content of the meal (total calories consumed), followed by the protein fraction of the meal.

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Weight Loss Plateaus: How to reignite your weight loss

A common development after a few weeks of losing weight is that your weight loss stalls, or stops. The scale isn’t budging. This situation—a weight loss plateau—has all kinds of mythology attributed to it.

When you start a diet, you reduce your intake of calories and a big part of that reduction is from carbohydrates. The reduction in carbohydrates leads to the depletion of glycogen (how your body stores sugar) from both your muscles and liver. Each gram of stored glycogen normally holds 3- to 4-grams of water with it.^[i],[ii]

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Book Review: The Dukan Diet [part-1]

The Dukan Diet, authored by French doctor Pierre Dukan, is one of the latest best sellers among fad-diet books in the US, and it falls into the high-protein/low-carb approach.

It is not however one of the healthier choices in its genre. Unfortunately, the Dukan Diet is not only extreme in its protein regime, but also cuts out healthy fat sources along with carbohydrates. During its first (Attack) phase you eat only lean proteins, nonfat dairy, and eggs, supplemented with 1½ Tbl. of oat bran per day (no vegetables, grains, fruit, nuts or oils). During its second (Cruise) phase you get to add a selection of (low-carb) vegetables in every other day (still no grains, fruit, nuts or oils). According to Dr. Dukan’s numbers you would spend 2½ months in the Cruise phase to lose 25-pounds, or 4-months to lose 40-pounds. That’s in addition to the week you will probably have spent in the Attack phase.

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Chicken & Grape Salad with Peanut Ginger Dressing

This yummy entree salad can be thrown together in the time it takes to broil the chicken. If you like, round out the meal with some brown basmati rice or whole grain bread. If you are really in a rush, substitute a bottle dressing of your choice.

If this sounds good to you too, here's the recipe: Chicken & Grape Salad with Peanut Ginger Dressing.

Enjoy!
-Dorene

5 Things You Need to Know about Protein for Healthy Weight Loss

How healthy is the diet you’re choosing? When you’re looking at fad diets odds are you’re not thinking much about the potential health consequences of the suggested regime. You might think, “Oh what’s the possible harm?” Or, “I’m only going to do this for a short time.” Dieting however isn’t risk free; here are a few things--just regarding protein--to think about.

Protein helps with important components of healthy successful weight loss.

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