Recipe of the Week

Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.

Sometimes when I have returned from a holiday, I am surprised that I have not gained as much weight as I thought I would, considering the excesses of the previous week or two. But what I have learned is that if I carry on at the same level of eating and drinking, the weight suddenly piles on! 

This is to do with how the body adapts to a significant change from normal in both eating and drinking habits and the expected weight gain may not be as instant as we think. This is referred to in the scientific world as metabology and is linked to how our metabolism changes when we have over-eaten. It is a natural metabolic adaptation to protect us against the dangerous extremes of both under and over-eating.

Let me try to explain. There is a hormone which was discovered as recently as the 1990s called Leptin and it has been labelled the 'Fat Controller' – not to be confused with the character from the Thomas the Tank Engine children’s TV programme!

After a period of over-eating, the volume of fat in the body increases and, because Leptin is produced in the fat cells, a message is sent to the brain that there is quite enough fat stored and that no more is needed. It then acts to decrease our appetite but, more importantly, it increases our metabolic rate, to burn off what we are eating more quickly. So, in the first instance, like being on a 1 or 2-week holiday, our weight is being controlled 'biologically' despite the excessive food and drink we are consuming and therefore we may not gain as much weight as we would expect.

It is also probably why, towards the end of my holiday, I am just desperate to get back to my normal level of eating and drinking! The over-indulgence is beginning to feel very uncomfortable and there is something within us that is driving a 'need to stop' button.  Leptin is doing its job!

Now it is not all good news regarding how Leptin works because those who are very overweight and have a lot of Leptin circulating around the body seem to be able to override this important signal. Hence why the number of obese people is so high. Much research has been done to try and understand why this happens, but researching large groups of people (and using large groups is the only way to get a clear answer) is difficult. This is because not many people want to enrol on a research programme that expects them to over or under-eat for a prolonged period of time. Understandably!

But it does explain why, for those of us who are not very overweight, the action of Leptin helps us to return to a pre-holiday weight pretty quickly once we get back home. But beware! The longer we leave returning to ‘normal’ eating habits, the more likely our body will adapt to our new weight and weight loss will be harder. That extra weight gained on our holiday will settle. Then it is harder to lose.
 

Post-Holiday Action Plan

• If your usual eating and drinking regime is pretty healthy then commit to getting back on track the day after you get back.
• Don't delay in adding in plenty of exercise. Try for at least one week doing an early morning session that burns more fat than later in the day.
• If your holiday lasted two weeks then aim to get back to normal within two weeks.
• If you started your holiday weighing more than you want to be, then expect it to take longer but stick with it!

Science has not yet come up with all the answers as we are now living in an age where a considerable percentage of the population is overweight and obese. What I do know is that those who follow The 28-Day Immunity Plan, eating foods that are less calorie-dense, and more natural, plus keeping active throughout every day, will lose the weight and feel so much healthier and happier

Did you know... 

The Reverend Awdry started telling stories about steam engines to his three-year-old son Christopher, to keep him amused while he was in bed with measles. He had no thought of getting them published but his wife thought otherwise! The first book "Three Railway Engines" featuring the stories of Edward, Gordon, and Henry, was published in 1945 and sold well. It was to be followed by "Thomas the Tank Engine" and in total Rev. Awdry wrote 26 books. Later, Christopher took up writing further stories and in time they were picked up by television and grew into the enormous phenomena that "Thomas and Friends" is today.

With an eye on political correctness, The Fat Controller is now known as "Sir Topham Hat" although strangely no one seems to have renamed the various "Thin Controllers" and "Small Controllers" who managed the narrow-gauge railways which appeared in the books. It seems that "The Thin Clergyman" (the Rev. Awdry himself) and "The Fat Clergyman" (Rev Awdry's friend and fellow steam enthusiast Rev. Teddy Boston) who first appeared as characters in "Small Railway Engines" also escaped rebranding.