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Eating all day and not gaining weight- Broccoli nutrients- I keep getting fatter- Detox diets

Questions answered by Tanya Zilberter, PhD

Question: Hi, and thank you for the website. I work in a catering business and I eat all day. I usually only snack, but sometimes I can eat a large meal and be hungry an hour later .However, it seems as though I am always eating something. I also eat near bedtime. However, I do not seem to gain weight. Are there certain body types that can eat all day and not gain weight? Also, if I continue this habit will the weight catch up to me as I get older? Thank you very much. I'm male, 26, 5'8, 150 lb..

Answer: Generally, cutting down on carbohydrates helps to better control eating and appetite. On the other hand, if your weight control is good, why worry? Yes, the types "that can eat all day and not gain weight" do exist. You could figure out your own body type but it would take a lot of tests, which doctors will probably resist prescribing because you are OK.

For example, your skin temperature can be slightly higher than average and this only can explain eating up to 300 extra Cal. every day and not gaining weight...

If you wish to start "watchful waiting" to notice when/if your good body balance stops being so good, I suggest that you calculate your body fat percent rather than weight. Just visit: dietandbody.com/article1113.html

Question: Does baby broccoli have the same nutritional value as regular broccoli? same for baby carrots/regular carrots?

Answer: Here are the numbers I managed to put together.

1 cup mature broccoli versus baby broccoli

Calories 29.920 - 37.840
Fiber 2.288 g - 3.344 g
Protein 2.482 g - 2.974 g
Carb 5.843 g - 7.876 g
Vitamin A 29.040 mcg - 33.440 mcg
Carotene 22.000 mcg - 396.000 mcg

1 cup mature carrot versus baby carrot

Calories 35.60 - 29.750
Fiber 2.848 g - 1.530 g
Protein 1.246 g - 0.544 g
Carb 8.704 g - 7.004 g
Vitamin A 10.680 mcg - 586.50 mcg

Question: I have been trying to lose weight for a LONG time now. I eat right and exercise. I have always been able to lose weight without a problem before. Now, however, no matter what i do i just keep getting fatter! I can do right for weeks on end and maybe lose a 1 pound, but if I have a weekend off or maybe even a week I gain 5 pounds! No joke! What can i do and what is going on?

Answer: Without knowing what you do to lose weight nobody can tell you what's wrong with it. I suggest that you either:

1. Tell me what you do;
2. Do something completely different whatever you do;
3. Try a successful plan that has 92 percent success rate. It's online and free, and helped a lot of people who failed on anything else: bantadiet.com

Question: I would like to seek your advise regarding my plan to detox. I am 26 years old female and healthy :) However, since I started my job with a new company 2 years ago, my health has deteriorated due to job stress. I work from 8.30am to 8.30pm, don't have enough sleep (less than 5 hours everyday), easily tired and always have pimples on my face. I look pale too. Although I eat supplements, but it doesn't seem to improve much.

My friend recommended me to detox my body. I heard there are many ways to detox, and am particularly interested in fruit and fruit juice detox. Do i need to prepare myself before I start the detox program? Is 1 week detox enough to rejuvenate my body? I don't know what are the proper fruits to eat, fruit juice to drink and the timing for each meal. Can I eat other food together with the fruits? I'm afraid I might get too hungry.
Actually, I'm afraid I might get gastritis too because there was once I didn't eat my meal on time and I had gastric and wind in my stomach, causing me to vomit.

I want to try detoxing because I want to improve my health and if possible, less pimples on my face! Could you please advise? Thank you very much!

Answer: Please read the article "Top Tips for Your Own Detox Plan" by Susan Burke, RD (Detox Diets: What You Need To Know) -- you'll get a pretty good answer to your question in more details I can give you here.


 

What if I just reduce calories?

Q: What's all the fuss about carbohydrates? What if I just reduce calories?

A: In one word, you'll be hungry Even if your will power is strong and you don't cheat, hunger signals your body to get those calories as soon as it suspects you are starving

Further, any low-calorie diet burns not only fat, but also muscle Reduced muscle mass causes your metabolism to slow down and the calorie reduction escalates, leading to malnutrition or to regaining all the lost weight plus some

OK then, how about good old low fat diets?

Fat reduction can help if you don't have too many pounds to lose The glitch is, while any low-fat diet prevents fat depositing, it also makes fat burning nearly impossible

I'd also like to mention here that there was a trend of using low-fat diets to improve blood cholesterol and decrease the risk of cardio-vascular diseases, but recent clinical data questioned this approach

What's left is low carb diets and, I think, is your best option First -- and most important -- is that low-carb diets preserve muscle while burning the body's fat for fuel Second, low-carb diets don't make you hungry

To make it short, you get two major benefits when you cut down on carbohydrates that are difficult to get on other restriction diets:

1. You feel full on fewer calories
2. Your belly fat goes first and faster than on other types of diets

Tanya Zilberter, PhD