Losing weight without a grumbling stomach or going on a crazy diet may be as simple as eating a lighter lunch, finds a new Cornell University (Go Big Red!) study to be published in the October issue of the journal Appetite.

In this study, participants who ate portion-controlled lunches did not compensate by eating more calories later in the day, leading researchers to believe that the human body does not possess the mechanisms necessary to notice a small drop in energy intake.

Researchers closely monitored the food intake of 17 volunteers who ate whatever they wanted from a buffet for one week. For the next two weeks, half of the group selected their lunch by choosing from one of six commercially available, portion-controlled foods, such as Chef Boyardee Pasta or Campbell's Soup at Hand, but could eat as much as they wished at other meals or snacks. For the final two weeks, the other half of the volunteers followed the same regimen.

The good news...While eating portion-controlled lunches, each participant consumed 250 fewer calories per day and lost, on average, 1.1 pounds.

Bottom Line: This was a small study and more research needs to be done on different populations and for longer periods of time, but it emphasizes the importance of portion control. What we as Americans think of as a normal portion is often much larger than is healthful, resulting in consuming far too many calories at meal and snack times. Take a look at what your plate holds- do you really need all of it?

Source: Appetite, 2011; 57 (2): 311 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2011.04.015

Feed Your Brain, Manage Your Cravings

Have you ever had a day where you could not summon the will power to say "no" to your favorite food? Well, maybe your brain was too hungry to care. Yes, that's right, your brain. Researchers at Yale manipulated the glucose levels of volunteers and monitored changes in blood sugar levels while they were shown pictures of high-calorie food, low-calorie food and non-food items as they underwent fMRI scans. fMRI, or functional magnetic resonance imaging is a way to study neural activity of the brain in real-time.

These brain imaging scans showed that when glucose levels drop, an area of the brain known to regulate emotions and impulses loses the ability to dampen our desire for high-calorie food. When glucose levels drop, an area of the brain called the hypothalamus senses the change. Other regions called the insula and striatum, associated with reward are then activated, inducing a desire to eat, the study found. The most pronounced reaction to reduced glucose levels was seen in the prefrontal cortex. When glucose is low, the prefrontal cortex loses its ability to put the brakes on increasingly urgent signals to eat generated in the striatum. This weakened response was particularly striking when the obese volunteers were shown high-calorie foods.

Bottom Line: Feed your brain healthful foods like fruits, vegetables, lean protein and whole grains so that your brain is never so over-hungry that you can't just say "no".  

Source: Journal of Clinical Investigation, 2011; DOI: 10.1172/JCI57873

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