Why “Diets” Fail!
Ken Dobberpuhl, CPT, MAT
There seems to be more
information available today about diets and nutrition than ever before yet over
50% of the general population is still considered overweight! An even more
alarming statistic is that with the continuing rise in childhood obesity some
have suggested that this generation of children may not outlive their parents
due to obesity related diseases! I’m not a registered dietician but I do have a
method of presenting general nutritional guidelines to my clients that is based
upon science, human physiology, and common sense.
In order to understand
your body’s relationship with food you need to recognize that this human
machine of ours is first and foremost built for survival. If you can
understand and accept that the “body” does not know or care what your
intensions are, it only knows what you actually do to it. This principle
applies to everything you do to your body. For example in a typical approach to
diet; the body doesn’t care that you intend to lose 20 pounds it only
understands that there are fewer calories coming in and it will slow metabolism
(losing muscle) to conserve stored fuel (fat).
If you diet following a
fairly common approach by reducing calories by 500 each day, that’s 3,500
calories not ta
When you restrict calories
only, the body ironically will actually start to breakdown its own muscle
tissue for fuel! Muscle is where fat is “burned” so you are essentially
reducing the size of the engine that consumes fuels (carbohydrates/fats). You
might wonder why the body would react this way but from a survival perspective
muscle is more metabolically expensive to maintain. So the body’s wisdom is, with
fewer calories coming in then it will reduce the amount of muscle it has to
maintain and it will continue to hang onto the fat. When people go on “extreme”
diets this is what happens and they lose “weight” (aka muscle and water) and
they are temporarily happy until they have low levels of energy (mental and
physical) and realize they can’t sustain this program any further.
Total calories are part of
the equation but the biggest issue for most folks is not eating often enough,
4-6 times a day, especially those of us that are athletes in training. That
works out to about every 3- 3-1/2 hours which just requires planning and taking
food with you so you have some control over the quality and quantity. An easy
visual I like to use is keeping portion sizes to about the size of a deck of
cards. Supportive eating consists of three components (1) lean protein, (2)
starchy carbohydrate (complex grains/potatoes) and (3) fibrous carbohydrate
(vegetables/fruit).
Picture your plate with
these three components each in roughly equal proportions (deck of cards). The
total calories can be the same as you are currently eating but by spreading it
out 4-6 times you actually elevate your metabolism each time you eat. Also,
lean protein has a “thermic” effect in that it takes more calories to break it
down than carbohydrates or fats.
Try eating these smaller
portions more frequently and see if your energy levels don’t stabilize better
throughout the day. Remember also that “good” fats will be part of this
protein/carbohydrate mix in the form of fish oils, flax seed and olive oil, raw
nuts, avocado etc.
Foods to reduce (here it
comes!) refined sugars and grains and hydrogenated oils. I’m not a member of
the food police but the above mentioned really need to be addressed if you are
serious about improving lean mass and reducing fat on the intake side of the
equation.
I’ll be writing some
future tips on some more specific nutritional related issues but try to
implement this approach for 4 weeks, commit to it and see how you feel. Shop
the perimeter of the store and try different fruits and veggies and develop
strategies to have food prepared throughout the day.
Bottom line is eat often (every
3 to3-1/2 hours), lean protein, starchy carbs, fibrous carbs, eat “real” food
as often as possible (bars are not meal replacements). Embrace these changes
gradually in a manner that is sustainable. Start by implementing the frequency
of eating (every 3 to 3-1/2 hours), then fine tune your portions (decks of
cards) and finally work on the quality of the nutrients (fresh, organic etc.).
Remember like everything else we attempt to change in life, it’s more about
persistence and less about perfection, just do the best you can each day.
FUNCTIONAL
FITNESS
