carbs kill… appetite:

No kidding

**An Encouraging Word, Vol. 15**

an occasional note from Jean Fain

 Harvard Medical School psychotherapist & hypnosis instructor

 Published November 19, 2007

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Read on if you’re interested in losing weight without the deprivation associated with dieting. Feel free to forward “An Encouraging Word” to a friend. If you didn’t receive this note directly from Jean Fain and you’d like to subscribe, send an email to the address above with the word “subscribe” in the subject field. If you’d rather not receive future announcements, send an email with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject field.

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Don’t Worry, Be Snack Happy…

It’s no secret: I believe mindful eating, not dieting, is the best antidote to the obesity epidemic. And yet, diets, good and bad, can impart important lessons. Thanks to Atkins, many dieters have realized that a life without carbs isn’t a life worth living. And thanks to Mehmet Oz, Oprah’s diet doctor, many have considered that watching their waistline may be even more important than watching their weight.

Now, with “The Serotonin Power Diet” (Rodale, $24.95), M.I.T. food researcher Judith Wurtman and co-author Nina Marquis are serving up an invaluable lesson about the much-maligned carb. A well-timed, high-carb snack, it turns out, facilitates weight loss by shutting off appetite. What’s more, a carb-y snack – a handful of pretzels, popcorn, a rice cake – increases energy, decreases stress and enhances mood and sleep. For folks whose figures have ballooned on Prozac, Wurtman was thinking of you. She made it a point to test her snacking strategy on subjects taking psychiatric medications. And it helped. Interesting, not much else has.

It doesn’t seem to matter if you snack on simple or complex carbs. Research subjects increased feel-good brain chemicals – more specifically boosted serotonin levels – and got a handle on their eating while snacking on both white and whole wheat crackers, but not crunchy apples or beef jerky. No one knows why carbs curb cravings, but, any restaurant-goer who’s ever filled up on bread before their entrée arrived knows that it does.

Wurtman’s food plan is more than a snacking strategy, it’s a diet with portion sizes, sample menus and recipes. Which is why I can’t wholeheartedly endorse it. As with any diet, “The Serotonin Power Diet” will help you lose weight, if you can stick with it. And that’s a big IF, if you want to dine with friends and family, and uphold American culinary traditions like Thanksgiving.

So don’t throw out your protein bars and stock up on pretzels. But do consider conducting your own experiment: grab a high-carb snack (120-180 calories) when you’re most apt to overeat and see if you’re able to eat with more control. For more information, here’s the link: http://www.serotoninpowerdiet.com/

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Coming To A Theater Near You…

Alternatively, you could find new inspiration for eating mindfully this holiday season. All I want for Christmas is to see the zen cooking priest Ed Brown in his film debut, “How To Cook Your Life.” Mind you, I’ve only seen the preview of Doris Dorrie’s documentary on Brown’s mindful cooking lessons, (http://www.truveo.com/How-to-Cook-Your-Life-Trailer-No-1/id/1941975243), but the camera’s delight in the colorful, whole foods on his chopping block is contagious. The ad copy reads cutesy: “A cheerful documentary about the art of cooking and the art of cooking your life without burning it, putting too much salt or overcooking it.” But the trailer promises much more: a timely reminder that cooking is an act of love and generosity, eating, a festival for the senses.

“How to Cook Your Life” comes to Cambridge/Kendall Square Dec. 7.   For more information, check your local movie listings and/or the San Francisco Zen Center’s website:  http://news.sfzc.org/content/view/421/44/

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Food For Thought…

“In midlife, we begin to expect the worst from our bodies. We assume we’ve reached a point when all change is headed downhill. But our muscles become weaker mainly from idleness. If we challenge them, they can grow strong again. No matter what our age, if we’re merely stubborn enough, we can ascend in defiance of gravity and time.

--Sarah Wernick, 1942-2007

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In addition to seeing clients in private practice, Jean Fain teaches hypnosis at Cambridge Health Alliance, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School, and she writes for O, The Oprah Magazine, among other women's magazines. More information about Jean Fain’s services and weight-loss CDs is available on her website (www.jeanfain.com).

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(Click the Newsletter link below to read other volumes of "An Encouraging Word.")

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