Make small changes to lose weight
Cutting out an ice cream cone a day is one easy way to reduce your daily caloric intake.
Sometimes a small change is what it takes to make the scale tip the other way. That's what Dr. Sara Blackburn told a patient who wanted to lose weight. After switching from regular soda to diet, the patient lost 75 pounds.
"The whole point is to look at what you're eating," said Blackburn, clinical associate professor in the Nutrition and Dietetics Department at the IUPUI School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. "When you start looking at your portions, that's when you can see where the extra calories are."
But when watching what you eat, is it better to cut calories or cut fat? Calories are a measure of energy that the body needs, and when the body takes in more calories than it expends, the individual begins to gain weight. Blackburn suggests that people who want to lose weight cut back on their calories rather than limiting just a specific food group such as fat.
The Woman's Health Initiative study, released in February 2006, showed that diets lower in fat did not significantly reduce the incidence of breast cancer, heart disease or stroke, and did not reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in healthy post-menopausal women. Nutrients found in a variety of foods are needed to maintain healthy.
Before randomly cutting calories, look first at the newly revised food pyramid, which you can find at this Web site: http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.asp. The pyramid helps people determine how many calories they should consume each day and the number of selections from the various food groups needed every day. Blackburn said people who are trying to lose weight often omit dairy products from their diet or follow an Atkins-style diet, which Blackburn said is not healthy in the long run. For instance, cutting back on milk would also mean reducing calcium and vitamin D, which are both important nutrients for bone health.
"There is a synergistic relationship between foods that you eat and nutrients they provide," Blackburn said. "If you have a well-balanced diet, and include a variety of foods, then you'll meet the body's nutritional needs. Low fat diets are a choice, and when you make that choice you have to make up for the nutrients that are missing."
An easy way to eliminate calories is to cut portion sizes. Blackburn said by reducing caloric intake by 500 per day allows for a one-pound weight loss per week. Severe caloric restrictions, over the long-term, will lead to diet failure.
To get on the right plan for your body, Blackburn suggests seeing a dietician who can work with your needs. Sometimes one visit with a dietician is all someone needs to be headed down the right path. A dietician can show someone how to plan meals, shop for food, how to cook healthy delicious foods and how to control portion sizes. Any new eating plan takes about two weeks before results appear on the scale.
