Surprising Weight Loss Tips

From Rodale Publishing and Dr. David Katz:

Here are a few surprising weight-loss tips backed by the latest research.

• The best bread for your weight loss program is not white bread, whole wheat, or whole grain with barley. It’s sourdough bread! A high-fiber diet reduces your body’s production of insulin, and smoothes out blood sugar levels. Which helps you feel full longer, cuts back on cravings, and makes you less likely to overeat. The fermentation process makes sourdough act like it’s got more fiber than any other bread. Volunteers in a recent study who ate sourdough for breakfast had the lowest and most stable blood-sugar levels all day.
  
  
• What’s the best breakfast for keeping your weight in check? Either eggs or cereal. Eggs are nutritious, low in calories and packed with protein that’ll keep you feeling full well into the afternoon. Fresh berries with whole grain cereal is also a great weight-loss breakfast that’ll help you stay full all day. Just make sure the cereal’s ingredient list starts with the words “whole grains.” Make sure it also contains at least two grams of fiber per serving, and no high fructose corn syrup or partially-hydrogenated oils.
  
  
• Finally, the best diet for losing weight is not low-calorie. According to researchers at Harvard University, you’ll lose more weight and have healthier cholesterol numbers if you stick to a Mediterranean diet packed with whole grains and unsaturated fats, or a low-carb diet high in protein and good-for-you fat. Studies show that both diets help you lose as much weight as you’d lose from doctor-prescribed weight-loss pills. Still, this doesn’t give you free rein to eat all the fat you want! The key to weight loss is still to burn more calories than you take in.