DISCLAIMER: THIS PAGE CONTAINS A GENERAL EDUCATIONAL DISCUSSION ON THE ABOVE TOPIC. IT IS NOT HEALTH ADVICE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED AS SUCH. YOU SHOULD NEVER RELY UPON THE INFORMATION GIVEN HERE. YOUR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES MAY WELL REQUIRE AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT APPROACH. YOU SHOULD NOT MAKE ANY CHANGES IN YOUR MEDICATIONS, DIET, ACTIVITY, LIFESTYLE, ETC. WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING A LICENSED PHYSICIAN IN YOUR AREA.
This is a really long and detailed page. So here's a quick summary. A healthy diet for the average person consists of fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, soy (tofu), whole grain products (including brown rice, and whole grain cereals, breads and pastas), low fat dairy, egg whites, fish, and the white meat of chicken and turkey (without the skin). It minimizes fried foods, cake, cookies, chips, red meats, organ meats, white rice, pasta and bread made from refined grains (instead of whole grains), egg yolks, and dairy products that are not low fat.
Such a diet minimizes the intake of cholesterol, trans-fats, saturated fats and high glycemic index carbohydrates. It provides calories from mono- and poly-unsaturated fats, fish oils and low glcemic index carbohydrates. It also helps to suppress the appetite.
Controversies between the low-carb diets and low fat diets have not been resolved. The most important thing is to limit the caloric intake - Eat Less! Where the calories come from is less important as long as the diet emphasizes the healthy fats and healthy carbs listed above.
Despite what the supermarket tabloids tell you, there is no easy way to lose weight.
At the most simple level, it is simply a matter of how many calories are eaten and how many are burned off. If a person eats more than they burn off, they will gain weight. If a person burns off more than they take in, they will lose weight.
The only way to burn off calories is through physical activity. There are no medicines or food substances available that will safely allow our bodies to spontaneously burn calories while we sit on the couch eating potato chips. There is little scientific evidence to support the claims of most fad diets we hear about. Severe diets that fail to provide the minimum amounts of essential nutrients can actually be quite dangerous.
It is disappointing to learn that it takes a lot of exercise to burn off a significant number of calories. Running or walking a mile only burns off 100 calories-the amount in one slice of American cheese! Nevertheless, the most effective exercises for burning calories and getting rid of fat are the aerobic exercises-swimming, running, bicycling, tennis, dancing, walking, etc.
Weight lifting strengthens the muscles but it burns less calories than you would think during the time you exercise. However, muscle is very metabolically active so building up muscle mass with weight lifting will help the body increase its metabolic rate and therefore burn more calories throughout the day and night. However, the most important exercises are the aerobic exercises to burn fat and improve cardiac fitness.
Sit-ups strengthen the abdominal muscles but do not specifically burn the fat off the waistline and are less efficient for losing weight and slimming down than aerobic exercises.
Any exercise might be dangerous for people with heart disease so peolple are advised to check wth their doctor.
Losing weight takes a long time. A lot of weight may be shed in the first few weeks of a diet but this represents loss of water, not fat. Thereafter, weight loss will only be 1-2 pounds per week. There may be periods of intense dieting when there is no weight loss at all! This can be quite discouraging but if you stick with the diet, more weight will eventually come off.
Many people will lose a phenomenal amount of weight in the first two weeks of any diet. Again, most of this weight loss represents water loss in response to the caloric restriction rather than fat loss. Testimonials about rapid weight loss early in any diet should not be used as evidence of a diet's long term effectiveness. When one hears testimonials about good results from a diet, one should also realize that only the success stories get on the advertisements. We have no way of knowing how many people had no success with the advertised diet.
Limiting the intake of calories is paramount in losing weight. Calories are not only supplied by fat which has 9 calories per gram but also by carbohydrates which contains 4 calories per gram.
To lose weight the overwhelmingly most important thing is to limit the total number of calories one takes in. The easiest way to do this is reduce portion sizes at mealtime and eliminate snacks without changing the types of food one eats. When a dieter gets hungry and has to eat a snack or add more to a meal, it is best to use foods like fruits, vegetables and other high fiber foods which are filling without containing many calories. (They are said to have a low caloric density.)
Despite what many popular diets tell you, whether or not calories come from fat or carbohydrates is far less important. Nevertheless, for those of you interested in how much one should limits their fat or carbohydrate intake, we offer the following discussion:
Low fat diets recommended by the National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association as well as the low carbohydrate Zone diet all recommend that 25% - 30% of the calories in the diet come from fat. The Zone diet recommends that carbohydrates represent 40% of the calories with the rest coming from protein. The National Institute of Health and the American Heart Association recommend that carbohydrates represent 55% of the calories and protein the remaining 15%.
The Atkins diet severely restricts carbohydrates but allow one to eat all the fat they want under the assumption that the fatty foods will make them feel full before they ingest too many calories. This assumption may be wrong for many people and it is difficult to find many authorities who recommend the Atkins diet. The South Beach diet is also low carb but allows for more of the healthy carbohydrates (see below) as time goes on.
The Ornish and Pritikin ultra low fat diets restrict fat calories to no more than 10% of the total calories.
Other low fat diets have claimed that one can eat all the carbohydrate calories they want and they won't get fat. This is, of course, completely wrong.
There are two types of carbohydrates: simple (sugars) and complex (starch). Between these two types, complex carbohydrates have been considered to be less fattening and healthier because of the way they are handled by our bodies. However, a more sophisticated approach looks at something called the glycemic index of carbohydrate containing foods. Please see that page for more detailed information. Eating carbohydrates with a low glycemic index may help suppress the appetite and promote fat burning. Therefore, regardless of how many calories one takes in as carbohydrate, it should primarily be in form of low glycemic index foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains and high fiber foods. Simple sugars, refined grains such as white bread, pasta, white rice and potatoes should be minimized as carbohydrate sources.
There are four types of fat. They differ in their effect on the heart and cholesterol level but they are all equally fattening (9 calories per gram).
One scientific study compared a low fat diet (18% of calories from fat) with no restrictions on the types of carbohydrates eaten to a diet with 30% fat but restricting carbohydrates to those with a low glycemic load. Several interesting discoveries were made. People eating the low fat diet demonstarted a slowing of their metabolism. This is a common problem with many diets. It impedes the ability to continue to lose weight. Remarkably, this slowing of the metabolism was not seen in people eating the low glycemic load diet. People in the low glycemic load group reported less hunger too. The low glycemic index diet also led to less insulin resistance (which should help ameliorate or prevent diabetes), lower triglyceride levels, lower blood pressure and lower levels of inflammatory proteins in the bloodstream. However there was no significant difference in weight loss or total body fat between the two groups.
Other studies of various diets including very low carbohydrate diets (Atkins, Zone, South Beach), ultra-low fat diets (Ornish, Pritikin) and moderate diets (Weight Watchers) amongst others, have shown that the amount of weight lost depends on how well a person sticks with the diet. The actual diet chosen does not seem to matter (low carbohydrate diets tend to cause more rapid weight loss early on but the long term weight loss ends up being the same regardless of which diets is followed). The ability to stick with a diet is poor for all types studied.
Low carb diets tend to get weight off faster in the beginning but one year into the diet, both low fat and low carb diets yield the same weight loss.
Low fat diets reduce the bad, LDL, cholesterol while low cabohydrate diets have no effect on the LDL levels. However, low carbohydrate diets raise the good HDL cholesteol and lower triglycerides and improve control of the blood glucose (sugar) level whereas as low fat diets actually lower the HDL level and raise the triglyceride level.
But following a low fat diet for a long period of time is known to reduce the risk if high blood presure, heart disease and cancer. There is no such data for low carb diets.
The ultra low fat Ornish diet, in combination with other measures and lifestyle changes, has been shown to reduce atherosclerosis and improve blood flow to the heart. However, it is very difficult for most people to stick with over time. It has not been demonstrated to be superior to or healthier than the easier 25% - 30% fat diets.
It is beneficial to eat meals on a regular schedule and avoid between-meal and late night snacks. Skipping a meal can create overwhelming hunger which will then result in eating too much at the next meal and undoing any benefit from skipping the meal. Eating slowly and concentrating on your meal rather than on a distraction like the television will help you feel full while eating less.
Try to eat filling foods that do not contain many calories. This type of food is said to have low caloric density. Examples include fruits and vegetables as well as other high fiber foods such as grains and cereal. A meal high in carbohydrates such as fruits, vegetables and fiber is more likely to make a person feel full and stop eating earlier without ingesting too many calories.
Avoid foods and drinks with "empty calories." These include things like soda and fruit juice. They contain a lot of calories but don't make people feel full at all. So despite all their calories, a person still feels hungry and eats snacks and large meals.
The daily diet should contain foods from all of the major food groups. If a person feels compelled to put something in their mouth between meals, a piece of fruit or other high fiber food can be filling and is also healthy. Carbonated beverages such as a diet soda can also be filling. The food industry is increasingly coming out with low-fat and no-fat snack foods which could be eaten, in moderation, if irresistible hunger occurs between meals. Some snacks can be quite filling without a lot of calories.
When dieting, meals must be prepared with care so that they contain adequate amounts of proteins, minerals and vitamins. Fat and carbohydrates cannot be avoided completely however. Serious diseases can be caused by totally eliminating either from the diet.
Consulting with a registered dietician can be quite helpful in planning a diet that will result in weight loss and at the same time be healthy and enjoyable.
Instead of plopping down on the couch or bed right after eating dinner, taking a walk can help burn off some of those calories.
Alcohol is neither fat nor carbohydrate but nevertheless contains calories and is converted by our bodies to fat. Alcoholic beverages are therefore quite fattening. Any serious attempt at weight loss should avoid alcohol.
The American Heart Association has a number of cookbooks for enjoyable, healthy food.
Also recommended is The Stanford University Healthy Heart Cookbook and Life Plan by Helen Cassidy Page, John Speer Schroeder, M.D., and Tara Coghlin Dickson, M.S., R.D. published by Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1996.
The definitive book on the nutritional values of almost any food you can think of is Bowes & Church's Food Values of Portions Commonly Used, 17th edition by Jean A.T. Pennington Ph.D., R.D. published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Publishers, Philadelphia 1997.
Appetite suppressants are quite popular but they are not without potential side effects. Some of the side effects are quite serious, although quite rare. The longer a person takes the appetite suppressants, the more likely they are to have side effects. Most people tend to regain their weight after they stop taking the suppressant and, in the end, have exposed themselves to the risks of the medication without any long term benefit. Use of these medications should probably be limited to people who are so overweight that the risks of carrying all those excess pounds far outweigh the risks of the medication itself.
Dieting by severely restricting calories can have serious adverse health consequences, even without medications, especially if other medical conditions are present. Consultation with a doctor is recommended before beginning any diet.
The most difficult part of dieting is maintaining the weight loss. Most people tend to regain the weight they lost after dieting. Chronic use of diet suppressants is not considered safe. Thus, keeping the weight off requires a commitment to a long term change in eating behavior. Some people do advocate behavior modification techniques to help. These techniques focus on unconscious eating habits, compulsive eating, binge eating, lack of resistance to social pressures for eating, use of eating to relieve anxiety and depression and lack of self control.
Dieting is not an all or nothing thing. Even if a person loses a little bit, they have still benefited themselves. The goal is to promote health, not to look great. No one should declare themselves a diet failure and give up completely just because they cannot reach their ideal weight.
Weight loss helps prevent and control high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Being overweight can result in breathing disorders, including sleep apnea syndrome. It also puts a strain on the joints in the legs and promotes the development of arthritis. Being overweight makes it difficult to have needed diagnostic or therapeutic medical procedures. For example, it is generally not possible to perform a coronary angiogram on people over 300 pounds and those people cannot get an angioplasty or bypass operation as a result.
Related Topic: Lowering Cholesterol And Fat Levels contains a lot of specific dietary information.
There are other dietary and exercise web sites on our Recomended Links page.
The International Task Force for Prevention of Coronay Heart Disease has a comprehensive table of dietary recommendations that is quite helpful. Also recommended are Diet And Nutrition from the American Heart Association, the Food and Nutrition Center from the Mayo Clinic; and from the National Institutes of Health, the Heart Diseases Prevention Page and the Nutrition Page.
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