Holidays are rough times for calorie counters. The smell of oven-roasted turkey and gravy, honey-baked ham, and the sight of serving platters piled with cookies, cakes, and pies not only trigger fond memories of Holidays past; they also trigger our digestive juices and the primal urge to dive onto the dining table fork-first.
For those watching their waistlines at this time of year, Anders Porter of Core Power is here to share a few invaluable tips — three clinically proven natural ways to keep a leash on your Holiday appetite and stop calorie overload dead in its tracks.
“You don’t have to lock yourself in the car or hide in your bedrooms during Holiday meals – you just have to know what to do to stay a step ahead of your Holiday appetite,” says Porter.
According to clinical studies, here are three of the easiest and most effective ways to control your Holiday hunger pangs before they begin to control you:
1. DRINK 2 GLASSES OF WATER BEFORE MEALS
In one recent study, researchers at Virginia Tech found that drinking water before meals decreased hunger and facilitated weight loss. People who drank two glasses of water before a meal ate between 75 and 90 fewer calories at the meal than those who didn’t drink water. “They also found that over the course of 12 weeks, dieters who drank water before meals, three times per day, lost about 5 pounds more than dieters who did not increase their water intake,” says Porter.
2. EAT EGGS FOR BREAKFAST
A study published in the International Journal of Obesity shows that eating two eggs for breakfast, as part of a reduced-calorie diet, helps overweight adults lose more weight and feel more energetic than those who eat a bagel breakfast of equal calories. This study supports previous research, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, which showed that people who ate eggs for breakfast felt more satisfied and ate fewer calories at the following meal. “The researchers also found that blood lipids were not impacted during the two month study. They found that blood levels of HDL and LDL cholesterol, as well as triglycerides, did not vary compared to baseline cholesterol blood levels in subjects who ate either the bagel or egg breakfasts.
3. DRINK A MILK PROTEIN MEAL
Food proteins are known for suppressing appetite, but it seems that milk protein is especially good at it. Milk protein keeps metabolism burning slowly, and blood sugar stable. Additionally, snacks that have milk as a protein source have no antinutrients, while plant protein based snacks may have them. Anti nutrients are compounds that interfere with the absorption of nutrients. This means that milk proteins are generally safe, even when they have not been purified correctly.
“Animal proteins are more complete than plant proteins, as plant proteins are deficient in at least one nutritionally indispensable amino acid (IAA). IAAs cannot be created by our body and must be provided through food. Milk as a protein source contains all the IAA’s,” says Porter. Porter says as a source of protein, milk has a biological value of 91-93, followed by soy with a biological value of 74, and wheat with a biological value of 64. Milk protein has a digestibility of 94-95 percent compared to 91 percent for soy, 86 percent for wheat and 88 percent for rice protein. “It’s high digestibility factor is why milk protein is a better appetite suppressant than other protein types – it’s more bioavailable,” says Porter
Porter recommends a milk-based protein drink called Core Power. “It can used between meals or as a meal replacement,” says Porter. “Core Power provides 26 grams of protein, about as much protein as a 4-ounce chicken breast. And Core Power was never in a powdered form – meaning none of its amino acids were damaged during the drying process that protein powders must undergo.
“Most athletes use Core Power as a recovery drink to build and replenish muscles after a workout. But this slow burning, complete milk protein product, when used as a meal replacement, removes hunger and controls appetite,” says Porter.