Getting Negative….
In order the change your body composition and weight, you have two
options:
1. Increase the calories your body burns in a day, or
2. Decrease the amount of calories you put in your body
Pretty simple, eh? As we have seen, you can exercise to burn more
calories - a little during exercise and a lot more by increasing your
24 hour metabolic rate. We have discussed the importance of exercise
elsewhere. And it is important. It is, in my opinion, 90 percent of the
battle you will have to fight to achieve weight management. If I can
get you working on your body, what you put into your "engine" becomes
less and less an issue. But, in the beginning of the process, you need
to pay attention to your diet and understand everything you feed your
engine.
The second way to change your body composition and the subject of
this discussion is by decreasing the amount and type of calories you
put into your engine. Clearly, if you are burning up 3500 calories per
day, you need to decrease the type and number of calories you are
putting into your body. I am emphasizing both the type and caloric
value of food because I do believe it is important. More on this point
later.
Here’s a fact for you: one pound of body fat is 3500 calories of
energy or about the number of calories you burn in one day. In order to
lose one pound of body fat in a week, you only need to cut down your
daily calorie intake by 500 calories a day. 500 calories times 7 days
equals 3500 calories or one pound of fat. If you want to get aggressive
and lose 2 pounds of fat per week, you have to cut back 1000 calories
per day. If your activity-adjusted metabolic rate is 3500 calories per
day, you need to reduce to 2500 calories per day of food to lose 2
pounds of body fat. 1000 calories less per day for 7 days equals 7000
calories or two pounds of fat.
So, it’s all simple math, right? Well, not quite. While there
arguments on both sides of the fence, it is my opinion that all
calories are not equal. It is my opinion that a fat calorie is
distinctly different from a calorie of carbohydrate or fat. Further, it
is my opinion that cutting back on fat calories to achieve the calorie
deficit necessary to lose body weight is more effective that cutting
back on calories from either protein or carbohydrate. I base these
opinions on the following:
- The metabolic "cost" of fat calories is higher
than that of protein or carbohydrate. When you eat 100 calories of fat,
it requires only 30 calories of energy to digest, adsorb, and turn
those excess food calories into stored body fat. Now, what about an
excess of 100 calories of carbohydrate? It requires 70 calories of
energy for the body to go through the same steps of turning the
carbohydrate into stored body fat. So, over two-thirds of the excess
calories eaten as carbohydrate are burned up just to convert it into
body fat. Due to this high metabolic cost, the smart engine that your
body is would just as soon burn the excess carbohydrate calories rather
than go through all the steps required to convert them and store them
as fat. And it does. The burning process is called the "thermic effect
of food." It is what causes you to sometimes feel warm and even break a
sweat during or just after a meal. It is a very real phenomenon and
also a reason why you should eat at least 3 times a day; 4-6 times per
day is even better. Just think about it: you burn calories by eating!
Who would have thought it? By the way, protein conversion is just as
complicated as carbohydrate.
- The energy density of dietary fat. Weigh out
100 grams of fat (remember, a gram is about the weight of a paper clip)
and 100 grams of carbohydrate or protein. Guess which pile is bigger?
Neither one. Each is about the same size. Now, about their energy
content? 100 grams of fat contains 900 calories - 100 paper clips in
weight, 900 calories in energy. What about 100 paper clips (grams) or
carbohydrate or protein? Only 400 calories. That is a big difference!
Dietary fat is an extremely energy dense foot. It doesn’t take very
many excess grams of fat to put you out of the weight loss ballgame.
Let me give you a real life example. A Big Mac™ has 34 grams of fat and
590 calories. If you are cutting back to 2000 calories per day, that burger
can take care of over ¼ of your calories for the whole day. Did you know
that a McDonald’s™ Quarter Pounder™ with cheese has fewer
calories (530) and fat grams (30) than a Big Mac™? How about a Wendy’s™
Big Bacon Classic™? 530 calories and 30 grams of fat; 47% of calories
from fat. What about a Hot ‘n Spicy™ chicken breast from good old
KFC™? 505 calories and 29 grams of fat; 52% of calories from fat. One
chicken breast! If you want to roll out the heavy fat artillery, let’s
move on to Burger King™. Step right up, folks, and grab up a magnificent
Whopper™ with cheese. You just knocked down - are you ready - 780 calories
and 47 fat grams; a very Big Mac-like 54% of calories from fat. It sort of makes
you think a little harder about eating at a fast food restaurant, doesn’t
it? At least I hope so.
TIP: A good tip when
you start reading food labels is the "% calories from fat" line. 54% of
the calories in a Big Mac™ or a Whopper™ with cheese are fat calories.
Not good.
Now, back to energy density of fat. Let’s use another example, the potato.
One of the most popular forms that a potato takes is probably the fast foods version:
French fries. One ounce (about 25 grams) is about 72 calories. Compare that to
the same weight of potato baked. One ounce of baked potato is 24 calories. The
extra 48 calories per ounce is the fat that is absorbed as a result of frying;
this means that 66% of the calories in chips comes from the fat they are fried
in, and this is often "saturated" fat: the worst kind for your health. A large,
satisfying, plain baked potato has less than 200 calories. You could fill up on
two large baked potatoes with chopped jalapenos, chives,
or plain old salt and pepper and have 150-200 calories less than a Big Mac™
and zero fat grams. Which do you think would fill you more?
TIP: Baked
potatoes on their own are very low in calories and make an excellent
food for a healthier diet, as long as they are not loaded with
toppings. It is the butter (210 calories per ounce), sour cream (58
calories per ounce), and cheese (cheddar for example, is 117 per ounce)
that hike up the calorie count. Low-fat plain yogurt makes a good
alternative topping at only 15 calories per ounce and various herbs and
spices (like dill, oregano and basil) can be included for added flavor.
- The final reason I recommend a reduced fat eating plan is a simple one:
fatty food don't, typically, have one of the major determinants of satiety
or "feeling full." That is, specifically, fiber. Fiber is that component of
food that has no calories and is not even adsorbed into the body. But it does
have an effect. It makes you feel full by its sheer bulk.It sits for a long
time in the stomach and upper digestive tract as the body tries, in vain,
to digest it. It soaks up water like a sponge and expands. It, well, fills
you up. It also is critical for preventing constipation and other, more serious,
problems (like diverticulosis, and colon cancer). It has even been shown to
lower your blood cholesterol. It helps move food waste through the colon and
prevents "hard" or difficult bowel movements.
TIP: There is a lot of misconception
about sources of dietary fiber. Fiber is not high in foods you may associate with
"ruffage" like celery and lettuce. For example, you would have to eat 5 stalks
of celery or 3 medium lettuce salads just to get 5 grams of fiber. But you would
get the same amount, 5 grams, in just one-third cup of cooked beans, peas or lentils.
Four cups of "minute rice" has 5 grams of fiber; 1 3/4 cups of long-cooking brown
rice or one bowl of whole-grain cereal has the same 5 grams of fiber. It take
6 and a half slices of white bread to get 5 grams of fiber; it only takes 2 slices
of whole wheat bread to get the same. And we talked earlier about the wonderful,
underappreciated baked potato. While you are considering eating one, make sure
to eat the potato skin, also. With the skin, a large baked potato has about 10
grams of dietary fiber!
Just one more comment to chew on: fiber comes only
from plants. Animal products - meat and fat - have zero
fiber. Think you are getting some fiber from those few little shreds of lettuce
that they throw on top of a Big Mac™? Think again. The fiber content listed
on McDonald's™
web site for a Big Mac™ is 3 grams - not much. (Same for the Quarter
Pounder™ with cheese) Not to pick on Mickey D's, how about that nice tomato
slice and lettuce shards on a Whopper™?
Forget about it! You get about the same 3 grams of fiber in a Whopper™
- and it is from the sesame seed bun, not the lettuce and tomato.
You are not getting any significant amounts of fiber from any of the
fast food sandwiches you are used to ordering. Those paper-thin tomato slices
and paltry shreds of lettuce are not being added to these sandwiches for the
nutritious fiber they are supplying. But they make the sandwich more colorful
and, for the uninformed, at least appear to be a little healthier.
Another Editorial: It is alarming to me that if you
ask someone about getting fiber in their diet, they are either (a) not even aware
of what the heck it is, or (b) they think they can get it from a salad. Folks,
if you think the new salads being offered by your favorite fast food restaurant
will provide you with a low-fat, fiber-filled, health bonanza, you need to think
again. Not to keep bringing up McDonald's™ but they have the best web information,
but every salad listed on their
web site has 3 grams of fiber or less in each salad! Now, chew on
this: the California Cobb Salad™ is around 11 ounces of food. It has 360
calories, 18 grams of fat and 170 calories from fat. Three bitsy bitsy grams of
fiber, by the way. OK, so what's the big deal? Readers, that is the salad
without salad dressing! McDonald's lists their salad dressings
separate and they are some doozies.Take, for example, Newman's Own® Creamy
Caesar Dressing. A mere two ounces of this celebrity delight has - are you ready
- 190 calories, 170 from fat and 18 grams of fat. 90% of the calories from this
dressing are fat. Ninety percent! Old blue-eyed Paul also comes through with Newman's
Own® Ranch Dressing. Two creamy ounces has 170 calories, 15 grams of fat,
and 130 calories from fat. Seventy-six percent of the calories are from fat. If
you put the salad with the dressing, you have a real mess. If you went for the
California Cobb Salad and douse it with two ounces of Newman's Own® Creamy
Caesar Dressing, here's the totals:
- 550 calories
- 36 grams of fat
- 340 calories from fat (62 percent of total calories)
- 3 grams of fiber
Makes you just want to go down there and belly-up to the salad bar,
doesn't it? Healthy food from fast food? Not in these salads! [End
of Editorial]
Here are the healthy things to take away from this:
- You should be getting a minimum of 40-60 grams of fiber per day.
- Fiber only comes from plants - specifically, fruits, vegetables and whole
grains. Lettuce doesn't count!
- Fiber makes you full and prevents one of the biggest problems
people have when they cut back on calories: constipation.
So, fat is out. Fiber
is in. Let's start breaking it down even more next.
Copyright
© 2005
Albright Bariatric Clinic