Diet

Weight control is the first step in beginning a fitness program that can achieve your fitness goals. Your diet must be well balanced with no use of diet pills. The key is developing lifetime healthy eating habits.

Weight control using diets for gaining and losing weight receive considerable press. It is my opinion that the best approach is one of balance. A diet high in fat and protein and basically void of carbohydrates seems radical, although newsworthy. This currently popular weight control method is flawed in many respects. An important consideration of any weight control method is whether or not you can stay on it for life. If you can't you will revert back to your old ways when you get off. This has been proven over and over. If weight loss control is your goal, you can temporarily try such an approach and weight will come off. Eventually you will scrap this weight control diet and start eating as you did before. Guess what will happen to your weight? I'll give you three guesses. Your weight will balloon. What will all the fat intake do to arteries and your susceptibility to various cancers?

A balanced diet will assure weight control for the long term.

My weight control approach, which is the starting foundation my fitness programs, takes a moderate way. Balance your eating habits with a blend of proteins and carbohydrates while reducing fats. The timing of your carbohydrate intake is important. I believe that most of your carbs should be consumed by early afternoon. Carbohydrates are energy foods and thus by intaking them early, they are available to burn up. Unused carbohydrates can turn into excess weight during sleep. It makes sense to consume and burn them before bed. Most of all, diet pills are taboo. They can be dangerous and unless you are going to take them for life, you will never develop proper eating patterns and weight management will be very difficult.

If you are trying to gain weight, you must pound in calories. You have to eat well and take in sufficient nutrients. Some athletes I have trained complain about not being able to gain weight on 2000 calories a day. I wonder why? Proper weight control utilizing intelligent diets is important for weight gain and weight loss.

If you would like more information on diet, I highly recommend that you check out the website of The American Dietetic Association. They have quite a bit of very informative dietary information at their website.

Weight control is the base from which we must start in discussing fitness and health. It is certainly true that we are what we eat. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how what we eat affects us.

Fad diets for weight control will assure failure. Plain and simple, they don't work for weight management.

There has been so much written about weight control and the diets used that one can become very confused. We may be overwhelmed with so many promises of magic pills and magic diets. There are the low fat, low carb, slim-fast, miracle pills, fat burners, etc., etc., etc., etc. Where do we go from here, if we want to lose weight, gain weigh, put on lean mass? Well, we have to start from the basics. My strong belief is that there are no magic pills. There are no magic diets. Some of these so-called miracle approaches may work temporarily, but what happens when you get off the diet. I have known people who have been on miracle liquid diets for 12 months and lost megapounds. However, when they got off the diet, they reverted back to their old eating habits and pounded the weight back on. The miracle pills are really scary. With basically no governmental control over these, who knows long term and even short term effects. The diets that promote eating all the fat that you want but basically eliminating carbohydrates have to be suspect. They may bleed off the weight but what are they doing internally? Carbohydrates are high energy foods and are necessary for the active person. Would you like to gorge on bacon, sausage and suck on steak fat every day of your life? Something seems inherently wrong here. The risks just aren't worth it.

A successful diet must be based on sound nutritional principles for weight control.

Although dietary science is continuing to evolve and we have seen conflicting advice written by dietary experts, we will try to sort out what we know and how it applies.

Nutrients:
There are six classes of nutrients: carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water.

Carbohydrates:
Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and are essential sources of energy. Carbohydrates are subdivided into three groups including 1) and 2) the simple sugars the most important of which is glucose.(The simple sugars are divided into two groups but are considered one for our discussion.) This category provides most of the caloric content of fruit juices, soft drinks and candy and 3) complex carbohydrates, examples of which are rice, pasta and whole grain breads. Grains, vegetables and fruits are excellent sources of carbohydrates. Foods high in carbohydrates are excellent sources of dietary fiber, which have significant health benefits.

Fats:
Fats serve a vital function in a healthy diet. Fats play important roles in temperature regulation, energy production, distribution of vitamins, protection of vital organs, and formation of component parts of cell members. Saturated fats come from animal sources and are generally solid at room temperature. Plant sources of saturated fat include palm oil, coconut oil and cocoa butter. Unsaturated fats are typically liquid at room temperature and include olive, corn, peanut, canola and soybean oils. The unsaturated fats are more desirable that the saturated. Less than 10% of caloric intake should come from saturated fats. No more than 30% of caloric intake should come from saturated and unsaturated fats.

Proteins:
Proteins are made up of combination of amino acids. Animal sources of protein, such as meat, milk and eggs, contain the eight essential amino acids. Plant sources of protein such as beans, starchy vegetables, nuts and grains do not necessarily contain the essential amino acids. Vegetarian diets must be carefully planned to assure that the essential amino acids are consumed in sufficient quantities. Proteins should make up 10% to 15% of ones caloric intake.

Vitamins:
Vitamins are organic substances that are essential to the functioning of the human body. Although vitamins do not contain energy that the body uses, vitamins are key substances that are needed for various processes. There are 13 vitamins: B1, B2, Niacin, B6, Pantothenic Acid, Folic Acid, B12, Biotin, C, A, D, E, and K. A well balanced diet is required to assure that sufficient quantities of each are obtained. All of these vitamins play important role in the healthy functioning of the body. Vitamin supplementation is sometimes required to assure sufficient vitamins are being obtained.

Minerals:
Minerals are inorganic substances that also perform important functions. These include calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chloride and magnesium and many trace minerals including iron, zinc, chromium etc. Each of the minerals is a key ingredient in the functioning of the body.

Water:
Water contributes approximately 60% to body weight and is necessary to regulate temperature and transport various substances throughout the body. Most adults need about 10 glasses of water a day to supply their needs.

As can be seen, food supplies the necessary ingredients to operate the most complex machine known to man, the human body. Although I am not a nutritionist, it seems to be good common sense to eat a well-balanced diet consisting of 1) 6-11 servings of the bread, rice, pasta group 2) 2-4 servings of fruit 3) 3-5 servings of vegetables 4) 2-3 servings from the milk, yogurt and cheese group 4) 2-3 servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs and nut group 5) sparse use of fats, oils and sweets. This is the basic food pyramid and although scientists continue to study nutritional requirements, this food standard provides an excellent starting point for dietary design.


The beginning of weight control.

Except for people who have medical problem, weight control and weight management are not magic. It is easy to get in the habit of eating when we are bored. Sometimes eating disorders have a psychological component. Trying to fill a psychological need with food is not uncommon. It is easy to get hooked on high calorie sweets, soft drinks and high fat fast foods. These generally make us "feel good" at least temporarily. If you look at your diet, you can probably see bad habits that, if eliminated, would dramatically reduce your weight over time. Remember that changes must be for the long range in order to make a permanent difference. Weight will come off slowly with gradual, long-term changes. It will stay off with these permanent changes. For those that are trying to lose weight, I suggest as the first step, eliminating sweets, soft drinks and minimizing fast foods. Maybe you can have an occasional sweet, but make it rare. You know what you have to do, so get started. I know this is easier said than done. Take that first step now. Eat balanced meals. Don't go hungry, but use sensible snacks like fruits and raw veggies. This small change should allow you to drop at least 6 pounds in a month. Try it! If you are thrown off course one day, don't quit, get right back on! It is simple, but not easy. In addition, get out and walk a little each day. Start with even 10 minutes and add on as you feel you can. Small steps lead to big rewards. Be kind to yourself. It is natural to be impatient. We live in a society that expects instant results. Take one small step at a time. The slow, natural way will pay big dividends.

A sample diet plan.

The following basic diet has been successfully used for weight control by almost all of my clients:

7:00 AM
-1 cup oatmeal
-3 egg whites
-1 egg yolk


9:00 AM
-1 piece of fruit


12:00 Noon
-4 to 5 oz chicken breast, turkey breast, tuna fish or broiled fish(pick one of these)
-1 cup peas, corn, rice or a good size baked potato(pick one of these)
-1 piece of fruit
-1 good portion of other veggies


5:00 PM
-1 5oz serving of either chicken breast, turkey breast, tuna fish or broiled fish Salad with low cal( 1 tablespoon) or fat free dressing(2 tablespoons)
-Veggies and fruit


7:00 PM
-Veggies and fruit(You want 3 to 4 fruit servings a day)
-2 milk servings a day-choose milk, 1 cup fat free or low fat yogurt or 1 oz low fat cheese to make up the 2 servings
-Fat servings 1 1teaspoon margarine, vegetable oil or mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon diet margarine or reduced calorie mayonnaise, 1 tablespoon salad dressing or 2 tablespoons reduced-calorie salad dressing, 1 strip bacon, 1/8 avocado, 5 nuts

Unlimited Bonus
Since these have so few calories use as desired: sparkling water, coffee or tea, fat free broth or bouillon, lemon or lime juice, vinegar, mustard, plain horseradish, dill pickles, soy sauce, 1 tablespoon ketchup
-Drink 6-8 cups of water
-No fat fried foods
-Lower sugar intake
-Increase physical activity Increase dietary fiber
-Increase vegetables, fruits, whole grain products
-Lower alcohol intake.


My clients have reported that they do not go hungry on this food modification program. It is good food. The junk food is out the window. This diet has been great for them. Men trying to gain strength and mass have added the carbs from the noon meal into the 5:00 meal, i.e. peas, corn potatoes, rice. In fact, those trying to gain weight must really take in serious amounts of calories.

Carbohydrate Content of Foods

Regardless of the hype of severe carbohydrate reduction or elimination in popular diets, carbs are essential. Let me tell you why. Carbohydrates are necessary for the function of the brain and nervous system. When you are exercising muscles, they are an essential fuel. We store carbohydrates as glycogen, which is our body's fuel. If the level of glycogen falls dramatically, your exercise or sports performance goes into a tailspin. It is recommended that 55 to 65% of your caloric intake come from carbs. Heavy exercisers should consume carbohydrate amounts near the top of the range. Simple carbs are basically sugars and complex carbs comprise breads, cereals, rice and pasta. Some idea of carbohydrate content in some basic foods is as follows:

Glycemic Index

Carbohydrates that quickly empty into the blood are said to have a high glycemic index. These are recommended immediately following your workout. These restore the glycogen allowing the body to essentially refuel itself. High glycemic foods include white bread, potatoes, sweet corn, raisins and cornflakes. Moderate glycemic foods include spaghetti, bananas, grapes, oranges, rice, yams, oatmeal and baked beans. Low glycemic foods are apples, cherries, dates, peaches, plums, peas, whole milk and yogurt. A balance is needed so that you sufficiently restore the glycemic stores thereby providing the energy you need, but not overdoing it. If you add too much ready fuel ready fuel, the body has to do something with this excess. This is why the high and moderate glycemic carbs are best taken in before the evening meals. The low glycemic foods can be used later in the day, although you can use these at other times.


Protein content of foods

Protein builds and repairs muscles, ligaments, tendons and other body tissues. Protein synthesizes enzymes, hormones and antibodies. Protein is not a basic energy source. If you are not taking in enough calories and carbohydrates to take care of your energy needs, protein will be called upon to supply the extra energy the body needs. The body uses some of the protein for fuel. Protein will therefore not be available for the primary job it was intended for. Based on this rationale, I have a hard time believing that the low/no carb diet can do you any good. It seems like you are going to be leaving a deficit that cannot be filled by normal means. It seems that the body is going to get what it needs by robbing proteins to pay for the lost carbohydrates. This is not good in my book.

Adults need about .8 to 1.0 gram of protein per kilogram of body weight. This can be calculated as follows: (Weight in pounds/2.2) X .8 Thus a 220lb man would need( 220/2.2) X .8 or 80 grams of protein per day.

Protein can be obtained from many sources including milk, yogurt, cheese, cottage cheese, eggs, chicken, steak, tuna etc. Some amounts are given as follows - below is a list of the protein content in some foods:

Heavy exercise and weight training will increase the need for more protein. Some extra protein will have to be consumed. It is generally recommended that about 1.2 to 1.8g of protein per kilogram of body weight is needed for athletes and people on significant exercise programs. It is important to consume the relative amount of protein needed and not oversupply your body. The body is the most complicated system in existence and pushing the system too far in one direction or another can cause complications.


Fat

Fat is the major fuel for exercise in the light to moderate intensity range. Fats supply 2.5 times the amount of calories per weight(9 kcal/gram) as carbs(4 kcal/gram) and protein(4 kcal/gram). Fats are needed for cell membrane functioning, as well as skin and hormone functioning. Fat also is important in transporting the fat soluble vitamins. Although fat is important in long range aerobic activity, it should not be consumed in excess due to potential coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer associated with high fat intake.


Caloric needs and weight loss

Caloric intake is an important consideration when gaining or losing weight. If we want to lose weight, it does not take a genius to figure out which part of our diet may be causing damage. We look to the high calorie fast food, junk food, sweets and pastries as real culprits. Cut these out or way back and we have to see a weight loss. Carb and fat balance must be maintained. Consuming carbs before the evening meal is important. But do not cut them out. We need them to help fuel our body. We can calculate relative caloric needs using the following formula:

Current weight X 10 + current weight(woman)

Current weight X 10 + 2 X current weight (man) - 2% for
each decade after 30 years of age. Applies for men and women

Thus a 180 pound man, 41 years of age would require

180 X 10 + (2 X 180) -2%

1800 + 360 = 2160 - 2% = 2160 - 43 = 2117 calories

This gives a rough idea of what you need to consume to maintain your current weight. I said "rough idea" because basal metabolism varies from one person to another. Other complicated factors including health issues come into play. For complicated situations not responding to dieting, a nutritionist should be consulted and can play a very important role in getting to the root cause of the problem and offering scientific solutions.

However, for "normal" situations, a reduction in calories will eventually result in weight loss, especially when this is coupled with an increase in physical activity. The physical activity allows greater expenditure of energy thereby burning more calories and eventually results in an increase in basal metabolism. This allows greater caloric expenditure while at rest. You must remember that in trying to lose weight, if you are not counting every calorie you must watch the size of your portions. Even if you are eating only good wholesome food, you can't eat an unlimited amount of food. Common sense will prevail here.

In gaining weight, of course, the opposite is true. You must consume extra calories. In both cases, well balanced diets are the key. I hope this discussion relays the message that fad, unbalanced diets are wrought with danger and result in you playing plant manager with the most complicated chemical/biological plant in the universe. Intelligent weight control and weight management must be made using good dietary choices.