Eat What You Want and Walk it Off

~ June 2005 No.195 ~

Fad diets come and fade diets go. Eat this, don’t eat that. Some diets seem to work - for a short time anyway. But the true test comes a year later when the scales show that you have gained back all that weight that you lost, and then some more. There has to be a better way.

If you look as many of the most recent recommendations from organizations like Health Canada¹ or the Canadian Heart Association², you will find that the advice now given to people who are looking to lose weight involves more than just diet choices. Lifestyle changes - particularly increasing exercise has become an integral part of any weight loss regime. The message is clear - you can have your cake and eat it too, if - if you are willing to exercise enough to burn off those extra calories.

Everything we eat and drink, except water, contains calories. Fat has the highest calorie content - 9 Kcal per gram. So, as a first step to losing weight, fatty foods should be avoided. Foods high in carbohydrates such as pasta and low fat meats such as skinless chicken should become regulars of our diet. They cut down on the number of calories consumed.

The calorie is just a unit of energy: temperature we measure in degrees, weight we measure in grams, energy in calories. The energy in the food we eat is stored unless it is used. That's the problem - eating too many calories means the body ends up storing all that extra energy as fat.

When we exercise we use energy - we use calories. The type of exercise you choose, the intensity you do it at, and the duration will determine how many calories you burn off. This is why exercise is now being recommended to those who want to lose weight. If you choose you foods wisely and avoid high calorie foods, and at the same time increase your exercise level, you double the rate at which the calories are lost. If you do cheat from time to time, and indulge in an extra serving of dessert, you can make up for it by working off the extra calories with exercise

1. Related Reading
2. Burning Calories with Everyday Activities¹

Other articles on calories §

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DISCLAIMER

To the best of our knowledge, the information contained in Medicinal Food News is true and factual. No changes to your diet should be made without first consulting a dietician or family physician.