Keys to Effective Weight Loss
By: Dr. David A. Macklin, Senior Medical Consultant, Weight Management Program
Weight loss fads may come and go, but in the end, your weight is determined by the number of calories you consume and the number of calories of energy you use. So if a healthy weight is determined by "how much" food we eat, how are we doing as a whole? As it turns out... poorly.
Average North Americans eat 400 calories more than they did 40 years ago. If I started eating 400 more calories each day compared to what I eat now, I would gain 48 pounds of fat in a year! Here is the problem: Our food world is oversized and it is difficult to determine the "correct" portion size. The average female weight loss diet is between 1200 and 1600 calories a day while a recent study of popular chain restaurants found the average entree to be 1400 calories! Knowing the size of a correct portion is only part of the battle. Most of today’s hardened dieters can tell you what a portion looks like. A protein portion is the size of a deck of cards. A grain portion is a slice of bread, half a bagel or a half tennis ball of rice. A fruit portion is the size of a tennis ball. One serving of dairy is a glass of milk or a piece of cheese the size of four dice.
Now, how do we determine how many portions we should be eating? That depends on metabolism rates, which are different for everyone. Other variables include whether you want to lose weight or simply maintain your current weight. If you are interested in losing weight, you should determine the number of calories you use each day and then the right number of calories to eat to lose weight at a healthy rate. In the Medcan weight-loss program, we use an advanced technology called the Bod Pod to tell us exactly how many calories you burn each day and how much food is appropriate for you to lose weight safely. A healthy rate of weight loss means losing fat exclusively, rather than losing fat and muscle.
For example, a 5-foot-6, 200-pound, 40-year-old woman with a moderate level of activity will use on average 2200 calories per day. If she eats 2200 calories each day her weight will not change. I would advise this woman to learn how to eat a 1450 calorie diet. This would translate into a probable weight loss of 6 pounds per month. The real question? How to learn what 1450 calories a day looks like? How many portions create a total of 1450 calories? Which food groups are they?
The most effective way to arrive at the answers is to parse out the number of calories available at each meal and snack. Our 200-pound woman could be eating a 250-calorie breakfast, a 100-calorie snack in the morning, a 500-calorie lunch, a 100-calorie snack in the afternoon and a 500-calorie dinner. By sticking to these numbers, the woman can be assured that she should not be hungry at any point in the day. She can also be assured of regular, predictable weight loss.
In addition to learning how much food to eat, other tips can help with weight loss. For example, spread your calories throughout the day to avoid hunger. Use your knowledge of portions to create balanced meals and snacks. Never go three or so hours without food. Eat slowly to allow fullness signals to reach your brain. Use small plates to help your brain know that you have eaten enough. This, plus moderate exercise, is a great launching point towards a sustainable weight-loss effort.
Click here to learn more about Medcan's Weight Management Program.