My doctor tells me I have to lose 30 pounds, and there is a lot of information out there on the 'best' ways to do this. What are some of the myths that I should watch out for?
A common and potentially harmful misconception around weight loss involves the notion that there is a magic technique that will melt the pounds away over a short period of time. But, the truth is weight loss is defined by one basic principle: the number of calories ingested in a day has to be less than the number of calories burned in that day.
So, based on this guiding principle, you need to have some idea about your caloric intake and output. Keeping an eating and physical activity journal for a few weeks is a good way to get an idea of your eating habits, especially if you find your weight is climbing, or if you don't know how many calories are present in your favourite foods. However, as a rule, you don't need to count calories in order to lose weight. You only need to burn more calories – and consume less calories – than you do right now.
And, you probably burn more calories in a day than you realize. Besides the 200 to 400 calories burned after a 60-minute walk on the treadmill, your body also burns energy when you walk from the car to your office, when you read or concentrate on work, when you sleep, and just to keep your regular body processes functioning. So, in order to have the energy to keep your body and mind functioning well, you need calories from food. This leads to another common misconception – skipping breakfast to save calories.
Research shows that eating breakfast is the most important meal of the day to promote weight loss. Breakfast should use a good portion of your daily caloric needs to give you energy and keep you from feeling hungry until your noon meal. By eating a lunch packed with fibre and a healthy mid-afternoon snack, you can stave off hunger until dinnertime. Dinner should be the smallest meal of the day, because activity levels are typically lower in the evening.
If you fill up on a token breakfast (such as sugary muffins or doughnuts), you may push back your noon meal by a few hours. Subsequently, if you eat your dinner late, because you had a late lunch – you increase your chances of storing those later-day calories instead of burning them off with activity.
Dr. Christine Simpson is an Internal Medicine Specialist and Medical Director of the Coronary Health Improvement Program (CHIP) in the Capital Health Authority Region.
Disclaimer
Reviewed by Alberta clinical experts. Brought to you by HealthLink Alberta. Copyright.
This material is designed for information purposes only. It should not be used in place of medical advice, instruction and/or treatment. For more health advice call Capital Health Link at 780-408-LINK (5465) 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In Alberta, call Toll-free: 1-866-408-LINK (5465)
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