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Courtesy TREND

“The Skinny Diet” a new book by Louis J. Aronne claims that what and when you eat influences your willpower.

The foods that satisfy and help dieters are foods “high in protein, vegetables, fiber and water.” The idea is that some foods whet your appetite better than others and keep you feeling full longer.

Here are some foods that make it harder to stop eating:
• Bread
• Sweets
• Juice
• Pasta
• Wine or beer before dinner
• Artificial sweeteners
• Cookies
• Chocolates
• Potato Chips

After helping dieters lose weight for 23 years at the Comprehensive Weight Loss Program at the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, Dr. Aronne concludes we feel hungrier after eating them.

As we age, we gradually become more resistant to insulin. If we eat these foods, our blood sugar interferes with leptin, a chemical that tells us to stop eating.

Skipping meals, or going more than five hours without food causes hunger to rise and fullness hormones to drop. It is thought that more of these calories go straight to fat cells.

Dr. Aronne warns that eating bread before a meal makes most people lose their “sense of fullness.” Bread and alcohol with a meal lower resistance and promote fat storage because we'll feel hungrier and eat more food (especially a temptation in restaurants). Also, Dr. Aronne believes artificially sweetened beverages promote hunger for sweets in general and advises drinking water instead.

We need food to live, and food tends to be addictive. We should try to always choose foods that provide satisfaction. Best idea: eat satisfying foods in moderation -- pvfws (proteins, vegetables, fiber in the form of whole wheat grains, and water). (pvfw - fireplace view).

Weight loss is a complex matter, and everyone’s metabolism is different.

To this philosophy, I would combine Suzy Welch's "10-10-10 method" espoused in her new book. While eating slowly, imagine whether eating a specific food choice will be a wise idea in 10 minutes, 10 months and 10 years. Most of us are only thinking of the next 10 minutes when we eat, wouldn't you say?

The list of foods above are ones to be especially wary of, unless weight gain is desired. Cheese, nuts and sunflower seeds are not on that list, but can be quite addictive, too, I think. It's interesting to me how food fads vary. Only five years ago, for example, avocados and almonds were thought too high in fat, and now they're promoted for health-giving nutrients.

Do you agree as this New York Times article says that religious people are usually more self-controlled with food? What other foods make you want to eat more?

With thanks to The Wall Street Journal and The Huffington Post for reviewing Dr. Aronne's book here.