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Can I snack and still lose weight? (Updated)

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Oscar Wilde said that he could resist everything except temptation. That's probably true of all of us when it comes to snacking, at least sometimes. Not snacking is important if we want to avoid weight gain. However, there are times when we will feel tempted to snack because of an overwhelming feeling of hunger, or even just boredom. This is when it is useful to know which snacks are least likely to sabotage our good intentions. Sometimes the urge to snack can be overcome by just getting up, walking around, having a glass of water or a cup of tea (no sugar). If that fails then nuts, if you are not allergic to them, are ideal. This is because nuts are high in protein, good fats, and fibre, and low in sugar and starches. A small high-protein snack can keep you feeling satisfied until the next meal. On the other hand, a biscuit is high in starch and sugars. The starch quickly gets broken down into sugar in the stomach, and sugar is absorbed very quickly into the bloodstream. Insulin w...
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Mounjaro and sexual function

We are becoming accustomed to headlines that claim all sorts of amazing benefits of Mounjaro (tirzepatide) and other GLP-1 agonists, and we probably shouldn't let go of our natural scepticism of the results of single small studies. But this one looks highly plausible. Obesity can cause 'functional hypogonadism,' a low testosertone state which can also result in erectile dysfunction. A recent study compared treating men with obesity-related hypogonadism with testosterone replacement or with Mounjaro.  The men treated with Mounjaro not only lost weight but also their testosterone levels increased and their erections improved, more than the men in the control group and more than the men who had been treated with testosterone replacement. Source: https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/tirzepatide-tops-trt-men-hypogonadism-and-obesity-2025a1000jga
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Is full-fat yogurt fattening?

 At least one advertisement for reduced-fat yogurt has scantily-clad thin people walking about eating out of yogurt pots. They don't actually say that eating low-fat yogurt will make you thin, but that is the implied message. But what is the reality? In general, high protein, high fat foods keep you feeling full for longer, whereas sugars and starches (which are broken down rapidly into sugar) enter the bloodstream rapidly as sugar. What is not used as an immediate energy source is converted into fat, and likely to be added to belly fat. As this happens quickly, you will feel hungry again soon. So from the point of view of weight management, low fat is not necessarily helpful. Next time you are shopping for yogurt, read the very small print somewhere on the carton that tells you the ingredients. In some reduced-fat yogurts, this tiny print will tell you that corn starch or fructose has been added. These are readily absorbed carbs, and precisely what you don't want if you are tr...
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Heed the signal that says you have had enough

We all like to indulge, especially on holiday. But then the weight goes on, we struggle to lose it, and then comes Christmas, and the whole cycle starts all over again. What to do?  There is a signal that tells us we have had enough, and we can learn to heed it. When the sugar in our blood reaches a certain level, part of the brain called the hypothalamus senses this and switches off the feeling of hunger. If we stopped eating then, we would be a good way towards keeping our weight stable, and even, with some effort, losing some.  This is why we tell children that if they eat too many sweets it will spoil their appetite. The sugar has gone in, hunger is switched off, and they won't eat the food that their bodies actually need. The excess sugar gets turned into fat. Children often burn it off, adults not so much. Ultra-processed food is like eating too many sweets. Ultra-processed food is designed to make you want to eat more of it. It tends to be full of sugars and starches. T...
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Location: Twickenham, England
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