Diet Advocate

The summer is a time of year when many of us desire to get into better shape and lose weight. It seems like a great time of year to do this. The temperature is warm, the daylight is longer, and there are so many activities to take part in. However, many people have difficulty achieving their weight loss goals for reasons that are unknown to them despite their best efforts.

Over the next five weeks we will examine the healthiest ways to lose weight and change body composition. We will examine the causes of weight gain and the many reasons people have difficulty losing weight and maintaining that weight loss over the long run. We will look at the use of dietary modification, nutritional supplementation, exercise, stress management, acupuncture, intravenous nutrient infusions, and neural therapy in the treatment and support of healthy long term weight loss. In this weeks column we will focus on some of the key background concepts I believe we need to embrace for healthy weight loss. We will also discuss the problems with excess weight, and the causes of excess weight.

What is Healthy Weight?

Ideal weight is the weight at which your risk of dying prematurely is lowest. Obesity occurs when a persons weight is 25% or more above ideal weight. Overweight can be defined as being somewhere between ideal weight and obesity. So, how do we know what someones ideal weight is? There are many different opinions and ways to calculate this and there is no overall consensus. Many health care practitioners, especially in the conventional system use the body mass index (BMI) to determine weight status. BMI is a measure of weight and height and has several limitations. For example, it does not take into consideration the distribution of weight in the body or fat percentage. Recently there has been a lot of evidence to suggest that the most important measure is hip to waist ratio, which is a measure of abdominal fat. I believe the most important way to determine ideal weight is to examine a persons body composition including hip to waist ratio and fat percentage.

Weight Loss vs. Body Composition

For healthy weight loss to occur I believe it is vital to understand the difference between weight loss and changes in body composition. Weight loss is simply losing weight. This can come from fluid, muscle, bone, organ tissue, or fat. Changes in body composition come from an increase in lean muscle mass and a decrease in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and an overall decrease in body fat percentage. Weight loss is not necessarily healthy. Starvation diets often result in drastic weight loss but come at the expense of the bodys organs and tissues. Improved body composition is inherently healthy and has been shown to reduce the risk of acquiring several diseases including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, various cancers, sleep apnea, and various pain syndromes.

Causes of Weight Gain

Over the next five weeks we will address each of the following causes several times with several different strategies to treat them.

Nutrition: