In their simplest form, habits develop as an association between a stimulus and a response. Initially, a stimulus which initiates a response is known as an unconditioned stimulus (US) resulting in an unconditioned response (UR). This stimulus is then paired with a conditioned stimulus (CS) to give a conditioned response (CR). In psychological terms this is known as ‘classical conditioning’. Perhaps the best known example is the salivary experiences of Pavlov’s dog. Ivan Pavlov was a physiologist living in Russia around the turn of the century. He discovered, not so surprisingly, that every time he presented dinner to his dog, the dog salivated. Pavlov then paired the sound of a bell to the presentation of the food and found, after a while, that the bell alone was all that was necessary to cause the salivation.

Similar principles can be applied, in a very simplistic way, to humans. An example of a typical learned response to eat in modern society would be getting up from a chair to get something to eat every time an advertisement interrupts a program on television. The association between the advertisement and eating is a surprisingly simple connection, but the kind of thing that people do every day without conscious thought. This is similar to the habits formed in getting dressed, sleeping, working, driving a car, or the myriad of other activities that are carried out automatically during the day.

Examples of eating patterns that are conditioned include:

• eating at the same time every day whether hungry or not

• reading while eating (and thus getting hungry while reading)

• always finishing off everything on the plate

• eating crisps/peanuts with alcohol.

Examples of conditioned inactivity patterns include:

• driving to the shops instead of walking

• getting someone to get something for you rather than getting it yourself

• going for a drink instead of a walk

• sleeping in on cold mornings.

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2. Obese people generally need a higher energy intake to maintain weight than lean people.

3. Lack of weight loss on a diet of <1200 kcal is generally due to under-reporting of food intake.

4. Significant fat loss is invariably accompanied by decreases in FFM and thus decreases in RMR. This will tend to reduce the rate of weight loss. Exercise during weight loss helps to preserve FFM and prevent some of the decrease in RMR.

5. A reduction in fat in the diet will result in a greater decrease in energy intake than a similar (gram for gram) reduction in other nutrients.

6. Substrate utilisation (i.e. nutrient use as energy) can be measured through the respiratory exchange ratio (RER), using the ratio of inhaled to expired air, and the means of measuring RER are becoming more and more portable.

7. Physical activity expends energy both during and after the activity. RMR appears to remain elevated after activity. However, the level and duration of increases are a function of exercise intensity, duration and frequency.

8. Wrapping and ’sweating it off will lose water, but not fat. Remember that maintenance of body heat in cold conditions is an active process requiring energy.

9. It is reasonable to use spices that increase RMR—particularly those high in the ingredient capsaicin—to add flavour to low-fat dishes.

10. Caffeine in moderation may be a possible aid to fat loss but at worst, is not likely to interfere in the fat loss process. Denial therefore is not a necessary pre-requisite for fat loss.

11. Caffeine and spicy foods may have small effects on metabolic rate, but the major opportunity for increasing metabolic rate still must be through increases in physical activity and reductions in fat in the diet.

12. Increasing incidental physical activity should be used as well as increasing planned exercise.

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But not Teresa—not anymore. Her secret? She learned to make slimmer versions of her favorite Italian dishes.

Teresa’s weight-loss odyssey began in 1985. Then age 25 and a successful news reporter for a Detroit radio station, she was trying hard to break into television news, with no success. Finally, a friend laid it on the line: At 190 pounds, Teresa was too fat for TV.

The remark stung, but Teresa knew that her friend was right.

She wasn’t about to let her weight stop her from realizing her career | goals. So she enrolled in a medically supervised weight-loss pro- ^ gram that included a written eating plan and weekly weigh-ins. j ^ Within 7 months, she lost 60 pounds.

Teresa was thrilled with her new, trim figure, and she vowed ! ^ not to let those pounds come back. So, armed with the nutrition knowledge that she had gleaned from her weight-loss program, she 1 “* began experimenting with her favorite Italian recipes, looking for ways to lighten them. She reduced the amount of olive oil in her tomato sauce to just a drizzle. And she took out the meat completely, replacing it with vegetables. She used vegetable purees to thicken sauces as well as soups. She topped salads with a squeeze of lemon.

By turning her kitchen into a laboratory and reinventing her recipe collection, Teresa has managed to maintain her weight at a healthy 130 pounds for 14 years. Along the way, she realized her dream of working in television news, landing a job with a Detroit TV station. She stayed there for 10 years before returning to radio, which she calls her real love, in 1998.

WINNING ACTION

Create low-fat versions of your favorite foods. As Teresa discovered, you don’t have to give up your favorite dishes when trying to slim down. Just look for ways to make them slimmer. There are many excellent cookbooks on the market that will show you how to take the fat out of traditional recipes. One of my favorites is Healthy Homestyle Cooking by Evelyn Tribole, which is available in paperback in bookstores. Her Deep-Dish Turkey Pot Pie is fabulous!

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