Avoid Rebound Pounds

Trimmed Down?  Congratulations! Now stay thin.  A fatty acid may be the key to keeping off discarded pounds, according to a new University of California at Davis study.  Researchers had 23 formerly obese adults take 5 grams daily of borage oil – the richest natural source of an omega-6 fat called gammalinolenic acid (GLA).  After a year of supplementing with GLA post-weight loss, the participants regained 80 percent fewer pounds than a control group did.  Being overweight reduces levels of arachidonic acid in key membranes, which makes it easier for the body to store fat, according to study author Stephen Phinney, M.D., Ph.D.  Unfortunately, shedding fat doesn’t reverse this problem.  But consuming GLA may, by pushing the body to produce more arachidonic acid.  Borage oil is available at GNC.com

Don’t Order A Sleepy Meal

          Bad news for dieters with a sleep deficit: One night of tossing and turning can make you crave fast food, report researchers at New York’s Baruch College.   When they reviewed the study participants’ food and sleep journals, those who had trouble falling or staying asleep were significantly more likely to eat fast food the nest day.  According to the researchers, people just don’t feel like cooking when they’re tired and irritable.  You, however, should suck it up:  Men who have two fast-food meals weekly gain an extra 10 pounds over 15 years, compared with men who dine at home.

Are Carbs the Key?

          Before scaling back of bread, make sure it’ll pay off in fewer pounds.  A blood test can identify if a lower-carb diet is best for you.  Called a glucose-tolerance test, it measures your body’s ability to move sugar from your blood into your muscles.  When researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston studied 73 obese young adults for almost 2 years, they found that those with the worst glucose tolerance lost five times more weight when they cut carbohydrates than when they at less fat.  A likely explanation: If that sugar can’t be moved into your muscles it’s shuttled to your liver, where it’s converted to fat.  Ask your doctor for the test, which also helps determine your diabetes risk.