Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Sound Nutrition vs. Fad Dieting


Sound Nutrition vs. Fad Dieting

            We hear about it all the time, some new product or plan that will finally shed those unwanted pounds for good. We go to GNC and shell out seventy bucks on horrible tasting powders that promise to get us ripped in two weeks. We seek that quick fix, or a magic pill that will make it all better. We have this mindset because of the society in which we live, everyone is a product of their environment and ours is a fast-paced, no-time-to-waste environment. Our banking works this way, our shopping works this way, our entertainment works this way, and our work even works this way, but unfortunately healthy living doesn’t work this way.
            For this post, Fad Diet will be defined as a diet that promotes fast weight loss by adhering to a set of guidelines. These guidelines usually ban one of the three macronutrients (carbohydrate, fat, or protein) or greatly restrict them. Probably the most notable fad diet of the last ten years would be the Atkins diet; this diet restricts the dieter’s carbohydrate intake to only 30 grams or less a day. When carbohydrates are restricted in such a drastic way your body enter a metabolic state called ketosis. Essentially ketosis means that your body is using fat stores as its primary source of energy instead of glycogen (derived from carbs). The problem with this is that your body was made to convert carbs into its primary source of fuel; therefore it is not as efficient at converting fat into fuel. This means that your energy output will not be as great, and if you’re an active person or a competitive athlete your performance will suffer. The fact is the body was meant to process carbohydrates, fats (ideally polyunsaturated and monounsaturated), and protein. If you restrict anyone of these nutrients, you may lose a bit of weight, but you will also experience negative side effects.
            Another problem with fad diets is that the total weight loss doesn’t come exclusively from fat, but also from lean muscle mass. This can cause further problems down the road because the less muscle you have the fewer calories you burn throughout the day, making it easier for you to put on the weight you lost and even harder to take it off for a second time.
            Because fad diets do not work we must rely on sound nutrition to meet our health and fitness goals (note: sound nutrition is as much, or more, of a discipline as it is a science. In order to eat and be healthy it takes hard work and discipline just as anything else worth pursuing in life is, but that is a different post.) But what is sound nutrition and what does it look like?
            Sound Nutrition will vary from person to person, depending on their dietary needs. Obviously a gymnast will have different needs then a NFL linebacker, and a stay-at-home mom will have different needs than a construction worker. How many calories you need each day will vary each day as well, but the basis for sound nutrition lie in the 1-2-3 rule, as in one part fat, two parts protein, and three parts carbohydrates (ideally fats should come from nuts and oils, proteins from lean meats and beans, and carbs from whole grains.) So if you need 2000 calories in a day 1000 of those should be from carbs, about calories 666 should be from protein, and about 333 calories should be from fats. With this rule in mind, and the correct amount of calories, you will not only have the energy your body needs to make it through the day but also to limit and control fat stores on your body.
            As discussed earlier, there is no quick fix to a lifetime of bad nutritional needs, but with these sounds principles, that are based on giving your body the nutrients it was designed to process, and staying active you will be able to achieve and maintain any fitness goal you set your mind to.
To estimate your calorie needs check out this Ehow article, (keep in mind that this is only an estimate) http://www.ehow.com/how_5138_calculate-total-daily.html

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