Four straightforward ways to keep you from packing on unhealthy pounds

American adults are in crisis: Despite a flood of targeted, good advice on healthy weight management, an endless supply of calorieand nutrition-control food services (recommended by those who’ve tried them -- think Marie Osmond and Oprah Winfrey), and an almost daily dose of info on the health risks of being overweight, it’s estimated that over 39 percent of Americans 18 and older are obese. And that’s not just 5 or 10 pounds overweight; it’s being 5 feet, 6 inches tall and weighing 186 pounds or more. That’s an increase from 33.7 percent just 10 years ago, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study published recently in JAMA.

Makes you wonder what’s triggering this, despite all the effort people put into weight management. Approximately 45 million Americans go on a diet each year and spend around US$33 billion annually on weight-loss products.

Well, we know you’ve heard about the importance of eating 7-9 servings of fruits and veggies a day, getting 10,000 steps daily (or the equivalent), even how enough good-quality sleep influences weight management, but clearly that isn’t making enough of a difference.

We want to offer you four surprises that will boost your efforts to maintain a healthy weight so you don’t become one of the everincreasing number of Americans who are obese.

1. Eat a protein-rich breakfast every day. In two studies, teens who were overweight and regularly skipped breakfast saw that making the switch reduced hunger, helped them shed pounds and gave them a measurable boost in “hormonal and neural signals that control food-intake regulation.”

What to have? You might have lean animal protein, such as skinless chicken (4 ounces has 36 grams!) or salmon (4 ounces has 23 g) and spinach wrapped in an egg white omelet (2 eggs’ worth delivers 7 g) and one slice of 100 percent whole-grain toast topped with vegan “butter.”

2. Take a probiotic daily. Exposure to antibiotics, eating gutaltering processed foods with emulsifiers, added sugars and lousy sat and trans fats kills off bacteria in your gut that regulate weight, insulin and blood glucose. That makes you much more likely to gain weight. We like Culturelle and Digestive Advantage, loaded with Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and a proprietary blend of Bacillus Coagulans GBI-30, 6086, respectively, and both make it through the stomach acid to your intestines.

3. Drink plenty of water. You can control your hunger by drinking a full glass of water first thing in the morning and then before every meal. Plus, you boost your metabolic processes by helping food and liquid move through your system. Water can replace calorie-laden sugary beverages!

However, avoid water in plastic bottles. Filtered tap water from your home in a non-plastic bottle is your best bet; a recent study found that 93 per cent of 11 popular brands of bottled water contained micro-bits of plastic in the water! The risks to you, say the researchers, may be that “some particles might lodge in the intestinal wall ... Particles around 110 microns in size (0.11 millimeters) can be taken into the body’s hepatic portal vein, which carries blood from the intestines, gallbladder, pancreas and spleen to the liver.”

4. Make your main food choices products that come from the ground (fruits and veggies), but if you must choose packaged foods, choose only those with fewer than five ingredients (not including spices or herbs). That’ll help you avoid highly processed foods. Unfortunately, say researchers in a 2015 paper published in BMJ Open, almost 60 per cent of Americans’ calorie intake comes from ULTRA-processed foods. Not only does that deliver empty calories, it increases cancer risk.

The researchers (British) defined “ultra-processed” as “flavours, colours, sweeteners, emulsifiers and other additives used to imitate sensorial qualities of unprocessed or minimally processed foods and their culinary preparations or to disguise undesirable qualities of the final product.” Some examples include soft drinks, sweet or savory packaged snacks, packaged baked goods, chicken or fish nuggets and other reconstituted meat products, and instant noodles and soups.

Mehmet Oz, M.D. is host of “The Dr. Oz Show,” and Mike Roizen, M.D. is Chief Wellness Officer and Chair of Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic. To live your healthiest, tune in to “The Dr. Oz Show” or visit www. sharecare.com.