The Foods You Choose Can Help You Lose, Or Not
Many people think that Americans are obsessed with celebrity, politics or some sport. Yes, we are, but our chief obsession is not on that list. Americans are truly obsessed with weight, especially losing it.
One reason exercise is so important for those losing weight and improving their body composition is that our body’s response, after losing weight by cutting dietary calories, is to slow down its metabolism. Faced with starvation, your body slows everything down. In that state, which some studies show persists for years, you will burn fewer calories than another person who weighs less than you, but never starved themselves. Exercise helps keep that from happening by forcing the body to keep running at a higher metabolic rate.
The really, really bad consequence of the metabolic slowdown is that many people who lose weight not only regain every pound they dropped, but they also end up with a higher percentage of body fat than they started out with. They bounce back up to the same weight, but now they are fatter at that weight. That outcome is cruelly disappointing.
A small but very interesting study shows that what you eat, specifically the balance of fat, protein and type of carbohydrates, might change the rules in this losing game. Researchers helped a group of overweight men and women lose 10-15% of their body weight, and then rigorously tested their individual responses to three different diets. One diet was the traditional low fat/high carb diet with 60% of calories from carbohydrates and 20% each from fat and protein sources. At the other end of the spectrum was a diet with 10% carbohydrates, 60% fat and 30% protein. The third diet had a middle range of carbohydrates (40%), with 40% of the calories coming from fat and 20% from protein. The carbohydrates in this diet were specifically selected to control blood sugar (low glycemic index and moderate glycemic load). Consistent with other studies, those in the low fat/high carb group dramatically lowered their metabolic rate, burning 300 calories a day less than those in the Atkins-like low carb group. In other words, those in the low carb/high fat group burned more calories. That caloric difference is like running 3 miles every day, without getting up off the couch. Piled up over a year, those additional 300 calories a day become 30 lbs of fat. The “old wives tale” about potatoes making you fat proves the wisdom of listening to old wives.
The middle diet had a middle-of-the-road effect, but could be the best choice for the long term. During that phase of the diet people had the least hunger and reported feeling the best. There are reasons not to jump to the conclusion that the Atkins model is certainly the best way to eat. One reason is that during that phase of the diet the subjects’ blood samples showed the highest levels of inflammation. The most important shadow of uncertainty is cast by the problem of protein disparities in this and other trials. Dietary protein makes bodies run hotter, raising the metabolic rate and burning calories. The low carb diet in the study had 50% more protein than the other two diets, and so was then not perfectly comparable.
Regardless of the scientific understanding of how and why, success is the best outcome measure. Without any doubt, my clinical experience teaches me that patients find it easier to lose weight on a high protein diet. For most individuals the simplest approach to making this change is to replace carbohydrate-rich foods with protein-rich ones. Although exercise, sleep, taking a supplement to get the right amount of vitamins and other elements are also required, the dietary essentials are as follows:
- Target a specific amount of protein intake by taking your weight in pounds and multiplying by 0.7 – 1.0. That number is how many grams of protein you should get in a day.
- Do not be afraid of fats.
- Remember that sugars and other foods that make your blood sugar rise quickly (potatoes, processed grains, candy) are going to make it tough to keep your weight down. Although whole grain products like whole wheat bread are less bad, they still have a high glycemic index that will fight against your efforts to lose weight.
- Alcohol, while it has a very low glycemic index, creates blood sugar instability, leading people to eat more for up to 24 hours, fighting the hypoglycemia alcohol creates.