Does this sound too good to be true?

Starting the day with dessert may be the way to keep off unwanted pounds while indulging yourself, a little.

It seems that cravings are kept at bay throughout the day and ghrelin, the hunger hormone, decreases when dessert was added leading to additional weight loss.

Bear in mind, the results don’t suggest that everybody should simply add a glazed doughnut to their morning meal. The study looked specifically at people eating strict low-calorie diets — 1,600 calories a day for men, and 1,400 calories a day for women. The research included nearly 200 nondiabetic obese adults, who were randomly assigned to one of two low-calorie diet groups; both were identical except for breakfast: one group (the lucky ones) ate a 600-calorie, high-carb, breakfast that came with a choice of a cookie, chocolate, cake or a doughnut for dessert. The other group ate a 300-calorie low-carb breakfast. Both breakfasts were rich in proteins, such as tuna, egg whites, cheese and low-fat milk.

Its not just a matter of calories in versus calories out to lose weight. This theory is simplistic and archaic with no basis in science. Fortunately, I sort through the evidence and break it down to an understandable no-nonsense approach in this final installment of a three part series.

Part I
Part II

All calories are not created equal, as discussed in Part II of this series. Most dieticians, nutritionists and doctors will disagree. If a calorie is a calorie, why doesn’t the percent of increased caloric intake match the percent of increase in overweight or obese individuals? The calorie consumption in men and women has increased 7 percent and 9 percent respectively, since the ?70s. The increase in the percentage of individuals who are overweight or obese has increased almost 20 percent in each category. And remember, this increase literally occurred in less than 30 years, which is less than a generation. Why such a discrepancy between calories consumed and weight gained? Because there’s more to this epidemic than the amount of calories people are consuming.

The problem we Americans face is that most of the foods we eat are not only lacking any nutritional value, they are made with ingredients that can have serious health consequences. So let’s get right down to business. You want to get healthier and leaner? The following are some of the worst foods and ingredients we consume, and we need to stay away from them (listed in no particular order). When it comes to the following, there is no moderation. If these foods are eaten regularly — you will pay the price.