 | Dear Gramps, I've been looking for a healthy, relatively easy way to lose a few extra pounds put on after having a baby. I've been hearing a lot about low-carbohydrate diets—Dr. Atkins New Revolutionary Diet, Carbohydrate Addict's Diet, Protein Power. Basically, they say you can lose weight by cutting your intake of carbohydrates to about 30 grams a day and you can eat as much non-carb food as you like—meats, eggs, cheese. These are foods with fairly high fat content. Is it possible to lose weight on a plan like this? s/Baby-fat. |
Dear Baby-fat, Probably there is no more hype
on any subject more than on control of obesity. There must be more than a thousand diet
plans on the market, and I suppose that you could lose weight on any of them. There are
some things to be cautious about however. First, one would want to lose weight
safely—without deleterious side effects. Secondly, after losing the weight it is
vital that some program be employed to keep the excess weight off. To lose weight safely,
is it important not to lose protein tissue, and to maintain appropriate input levels of
the micro nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, trace elements and electrolytes. The loss
of protein tissue could be classed as starvation. Great care should be exercised in
choosing a diet that will not violate the above conditions. Weight loss reduces itself to
a simple, basic formula—energy in versus energy out. If we consume more energy than
we expend, the excess energy is stored as body fat. The human body is a marvelous
mechanism for self preservation. Fat tissue is not released into the energy system as long
as the fuel from carbohydrates (glucose) is in the blood stream. Therefore, in order to
lose weight, carbohydrate consumption must be seriously decreased. When the blood sugar
level reaches an appropriately low level, the body will release the lipid tissue into the
energy system. When fat tissue is converted to energy, rather than being reduced to
glucose, the fuel of carbohydrates, it is reduced to ketones. The burning of ketones for
energy has two interesting side effects—it acts as a natural appetite suppressant and
it is a mild euphoric. Thus, the body prepares for the absence of food by suppressing the
appetite and causing the person to feel more energetic. So, don't be afraid of rapid
weight loss diets, as long as they don't rob you of protein tissue or micro nutrients.
When you have reached your ideal weight, if you return to your former eating habits, you
will return to your former weight—energy in vs energy out. So it is essential to
adopt a new life style—less food! An occasional binge doesn't hurt a thing, but
continued overeating does. Here are some general rules of thumb for the number of calories
one can consume without gaining weight. In the first place about 1200 calories per day are
used up in bed rest—principally maintaining the body temperature. The added caloric
expenditure depends on the level of activity and on the person's metabolic rate. Since the
metabolic rate varies someone from person to person, we will assume it be constant. So
here is a chart that you can use to determine how many calories you need.
Light activity—11 times ideal body weight
Moderate activity—13 times ideal body weight
Heavy activity—15 times ideal body weight
How to determine ideal body weight—
For women: 100 pounds for the first five feet of height, plus five pounds for each inch of
height over five feet. For example, the ideal weight of a 5'4" female would be 120
pounds. For men: 106 pounds for the first five feet of height, plus six pounds for each
inch of height over five feet. For example, the ideal weight of a 5'10" male would be
166 pounds. A 5'4" female at a moderate activity level would not gain weight
consuming about 1560 calories per day. A 5'10" male at a moderate activity level
would not gain weight consuming about 2160 calories per day. s/Gramps.