I’ve recently tried some PhD Diet Whey, its a new diet version of a whey protein powder from PhD Nutrition’s Fat Loss range.

So how is it going to help with fat loss? Well it’s a blend of Whey Protein, Micellar Casein, CLA, L-Carnitine and Green Tea Extract. The protein (Whey and Micellar Casein) will help preserve lean body mass whilst on a diet and CLA, L-Carnitine and Green Tea are all supposed to increase the body’s ability to burn fat. I’ll look at the evidence for each in a future post. For the moment I’ll just say that the white chocolate flavour was a lot nice than the whey protein I usually drink!

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It’s often reported that eating grapefruit, or drinking grapefruit juice will help you lose weight. For example the BBC reported in 2004 on a study at the Scrpps Clinic in San Diego saying:

Ken Fujioka and colleagues at the Scripps Clinic in San Diego California enrolled 100 obese patients with an average weight of 218 pounds in the study.

One group of volunteers ate half a grapefruit before each meal three times a day, while another drank a glass of grapefruit juice before every meal. A third did not include grapefruit in their meals.

After 12 weeks, those eating grapefruit had lost an average of 3.6 pounds, and some shed as much as 10 pounds.

The participants drinking grapefruit juice lost an average of 3.3 pounds. But those in the control group who consumed no grapefruit only lost an average of 0.5 pounds.

So it seems you can lose weight just by adding grapefruit to your diet. Awesome – if you like grapefruit. But there’s a few small problems with the idea that grapefruit will help you lose weight:

1. There doesn’t appear to be any further scientific research that collaborates this finding.
2. Dr. Ken Fujioka is quoted in news reports as saying: “The only dietary change, was the intake of Florida grapefruit and grapefruit juice“. When you consider that the research was funded by the Florida Department of Citrus which markets Florida grapefruit it does seem like the results of the study might have been somewhat skewed by commercial interests.

So does grapefruit help you lose weight?

I can’t say for sure, but I suspect that for many of us eating more grapefruit is a step in the right direction even if it’s only to help us eat the minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables per day.

Since May I’ve been slowly getting back into running because running is a great way to lose weight. I’ve taken it very easy as I know, being overweight, I’m prone to aching knees and shin splints if I ramp up my running too quickly.

Fortunately all has gone well and last Sunday (30th August 2009) I completed the Foxtrot 5 (a local 5 mile road race) in just over 52 minutes. Not a particularly quick time (the winner ran it in 26.5 minutes) but considerably better than last time, when I ran it in 60 minutes. Most importantly I really enjoyed it and being unsure of my progress I’d started off slowly for the first three miles – chatting to a fellow runner – before picking up the pace for the last two miles, one of which was a nice long gentle downhill.

The Foxtrot 5 not a particularly complex race – there’s no chip timing or any of that – but it’s well organised and has a friendly atmosphere. The course is primarily country lanes (I only recall seeing a single car and one tractor) and bit of bridleway, there’s a few small hills but nothing too strenuous – a great first race for those looking to lose weight and wanting something longer than a 5K.

In fact, I had so much fun that I’m now looking for more races to enter in September and October and I’ve entered a trail running series (Coastal Trail Series 2010 – I’m going to do the 10K races) with a view to completing the The Clif Bar 7×7x7 Challenge – 7 races in 7 months on 7 different courses.

It’s counter intuitive – most of us skip a meal when trying to lose weight – but you will probably lose more weight by eating more meals per day. Over the last year I’ve found that by eating small sortions more frequently I do better with my weight loss.

As a result I now aim for 6 “meals” per day. Each meal varies between a 110Kcal protein shake or a handful of nuts and raisins to a full cooked meal containing around 500kcal. My aim is to average 300 kcal per meal for a daily average of around 1800 to 2000kcal. Although as I get fittern and get more exercise that will probably rise in line with the extra requirements for energy to support the exercise.

So what are the benefits of eating more frequently when it comes to losing weight? Well firstly studies have found that there is a correlation between skipping breakfast and obesity. As the researchers noted skipping breakfast was:

…associated with a lower diet quality and concentrated energy intakes through higher protein intakes at lunch and the consumption of snacks higher in energy and carbohydrate in the afternoon and evening;

Which brings us nicely to the other benefit of eating more frequently. If you’ve planned to have 6 meals a day, then you’re eating a meal every 2 to 3 hours which means your energy intake is more even throughout the day and you’re less likely to snack knowing that your next meal is not far away.