Dieting+and+Metabolism

How might dieting affect metabolism? Two weeks calorie restriction followed by two weeks off eating calories for new weight.

To test the theory, Byrne recruited 51 obese, sedentary men and divided them into two groups. Researchers provided food that ensured the control group ate only two-thirds of the calories needed to sustain their body weight, continuing to adjust food amounts as the men lost weight over the course of 16 weeks.

Researchers did the same for the intervention group, but in increments of two weeks. So, for the calorie-restriction weeks, they, too, ate only two-thirds of the calories they needed to sustain their body weight. But during the “rest” weeks, they ate the full amount of calories needed to sustain their new, lower weights. The intervention group members continued these intervals for a total of 30 weeks, so that they, too, got a total of 16 “diet” weeks to match the control group.

Byrne found that the intermittent dieters lost more weight, and more fat mass, than the people who dieted continuously for 16 weeks. The intermittent dieters lost an average of 31 pounds, and 27 of the lost pounds were fat. The control group, on the other hand, lost only about 20 pounds on average, 18 of which were fat. Six months after the end of each experiment, when the researchers were no longer providing food and the participants could eat as they pleased, the intermittent dieters maintained an average of 18 pounds more weight loss than the control group. ...................................................... Researchers found brain cells called tanycytes react with amino acids found in food. The cells, found in the part of the brain that controls energy levels, use the same receptors that sense flavors in the tongue's taste buds.

Tanycytes receive information from the amino acids about the food a person has just consumed. The cells react most readily with the amino acids arginine and lysine. Scientists hypothesize these reactions make a person feel more full.

Foods rich in arginine and lysine include pork shoulder, beef sirloin steak, chicken, mackerel, plums, apricots, avocadoes, lentils and almonds -- all of which will satiate the consumer more quickly.

https://www.upi.com/Science_News/2017/09/27/Appetite-controlling-brain-cells-identified-in-new-study/3781506532472