Diets Are Bad for You! But if You Must…

Diets are the absolute worst thing that you can do for you body. There’s nothing like depriving your body of what it needs to work to get it on the fast track to getting sick (and putting the weight back on after the diet is over). That’s all well and good to say, but I don’t care how many patients I preach this too, dieting is here to stay. With that in mind I want to give you some quick and dirty facts about how you can diet in a healthy way. The key to a healthy diet is to not be in a rush. Pacing yourself is the key and here are the basics. This guide will show you how Caloric Input/Output can be tweaked to make a huge difference in your “diet” (the unspeakable word in my office)

Understand Caloric Input/Outout

1) -Eating to Fuel- The number one thing you need to realize for an effective weight loss plan is how your body uses calories. When you understand what it takes to run your body, you can make minor tweaks to help you gain or lose weight. The formula below is for your average male who completes a bit of light activity during their day. (If you want help figuring out your formula…just ask!)

“Your Weight” X 13 = Needed Calorie Consumption/Day

(example: 185lb male X 13 = 2405 Calories Each day to fuel his body)

2) -Eating to Lose Weight- Pace Yourself. Plan to lose a pound a week, and nothing more, and your body will thank you for it. (The key is to not overstress your system or your mind….Small Changes spread out over time) If you pace yourself it will also protect you from the dreaded “end of diet weight gain”. Losing 1 pound a week can be achieved by doing the following:

• Decrease your intake 500 calories each day (1 pound= 3500 Calories)
• Don’t do this all in one meal (take a little out of each of your 3 meals…or eat 5 small meals)

Example: Our 185lb male would eat 1,905 calories each day (instead of 2,405) and after a week we would see a weight loss of 1lb.

3) -Adding Exercise- This is the question that I have for my readers… “Why deprive yourself of 500 calories of tasty food, when you could easily just cut out 400 (that 100 calories can make a huge difference in how a meal taste), and make up the difference with exercise. Kick up your activity level just a little bit and it will make a huge difference. Give me 15 minutes of your day to run 1 mile (and alot less time after you get used to it) and burn off 100 quality calories. If you start adding other exercises, you can make a bigger difference. The point I’m trying to make is that exercise is awesome, because you get to eat better when you do.

• Decrease 400 calories a day (2800 calories a week)
• Run 1 mile each day (700 Calories burnt…and you’ll feel better than if you diet without it)

Example: Our 185lb male would eat 2005 Calories and run a mile each day. After 1 week he would lose 1lb and would have increase cardiac function, better circulation, and I would bet money that he would feel like a million bucks (after the soreness wore off from getting started…..Soreness is Good!)

I realize that this is a little oversimplified, but the point is that it gets you thinking about how simple it is to start losing weight with some small modifications. If the small amount of math that I did turns you off to the whole thing, have a doctor do it for you. As Always, its a good idea to see a doctor before you begin any sort of weightloss routine. Having help with your weight loss goals is always a good thing.

If you have any questions, please ask!

Dr. Ben