Load up on greens to lose weight

Excerpts from an article by Karen Collins, R.D. for MSNBC.

You arrive at a restaurant, ravenously hungry, you first eat a good-sized salad. When the main course arrives, all you can do is nibble and pick at it. If this has happened to you, you’ve stumbled across a good weight management strategy.

Studies by Pennsylvania State University have shown that women who eat large (3 cups), low-calorie salads before being served the rest of their lunch ended up eating 100 less total calories.

It's a weight losing strategy to lose more than 10 pounds a year:

• Salads must be large (3 cups). Salads half that size (typical size for most Americans) were shown to reduce the calorie count by only half as much. The salads included lettuce, grated carrots, tomato, celery and cucumber with limited amounts of reduced-fat dressing.
• Keep it low fat. When salads slightly higher in fat and calories were served in the Penn State study, overall calorie consumption at the meal stayed the same. But large portions of higher-calorie salads with cheese and regular dressings actually increased overall calorie consumption at meals by 17%.
• Wait a bit before eating the rest of the meal. In the Penn State study, the remaining food was served 20 minutes after the salad. That's gives your body enough time to recognize how much you've already eaten. If you eat quickly, you might still eat the same amount after a large salad. Your body needs the time to sense how full it is.
• Admit it, if you're a clean plater. Don't serve yourself (so you won't eat) regular portions of the dishes following the salad. To reduce the total number of calories you eat at a meal, you need to eat smaller portions of the remaining dishes. Let your hunger should be satisfied with smaller portions.
• Along with your low-calorie foods, include protein, whether it is meat, poultry, fish, dairy or vegetarian. Otherwise, within a few hours, you’ll be ready to eat again, and your calorie savings may be wiped out.

While weight loss alone can lessen your risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and a host of other ailments, all the extra fiber, phytochemicals, vitamins and nutrients you are getting in the process will do double-duty in terms of protecting you from disease. Filling up on fruits and vegetables lets you cut calories without feeling hungry, while increasing anti-aging antioxidant activity in your blood.

The success to a salad strategy for weight control depends upon proper food portions. By filling up primarily on low-calorie foods, like salads, vegetables or light soups, you can cut back on high-calorie, high-fat foods like meats and desserts.

By switching to a diet that emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans, you're eating for weight control and better health says the American Institute for Cancer Research.