Healthy eating and exercise isn't the sole answer to weight loss in my opinion.......

The other day I put together this desperate measures workout/eating plan for this guy at Mike's work that has one week to lose an inch or two in his waist to pass his fitness test (he's failed it the last two times), so he's DONE if he can't pass this one.  It made me start thinking.  Because it's not like this guy didn't have the resources to lose the weight.  The Air Force has dietitians and personal trainers available for them, usually for free at that.  So I wondered why he wasn't able to lose the weight even though he had supposedly gone to see them. 

I've seen a lot of the literature they put out at gyms and in health centers, and most of them are either about how to cut calories unnatural ways (i.e. chemical sugar substitutes, etc; not the best in my opinion) or by just eating healthier.  So I'm gonna examine the latter method on this blog and I'll hit the unnatural topic next time. 

Usually they will encourage lower fat, whole grains, lean meats.  And of course 6-9 servings of fruit and veggies per day.  I think when people see that, it might slightly overwhelm them at the idea of eating 9 vegetables in one day so theey hone in on the whole grains and meat since that seems easier.

  While I'm all about whole grain everything, any time you have something whole grain, you're talking a lot of calories for a decent amount.  For example 3/4 cup of whole grain pasta has like 210 calories.  The average person would look at that serving and take twice that so we're talking like a fifth of your daily calorie intake with pasta alone, no sauce or anything extra.  Same with rice.  A cup of cooked brown rice is almost 200 calories.  Not to say that whole grains aren't AWESOME sources of iron, B vitamins, fiber and other good for you stuff.  You just have to understand that a little goes a long way.  That may be one of the reasons that, although people may switch to whole grains, they don't drop the weight. 

And what about the lean meats.  Meat is great, but we really don't need that much.  USDA recommends 56 grams of protein for men per day, and 46 for women.  An ounce of meat has about 7 grams of protein in it.  The average weight of chicken breasts in my freezer are about 10 ounces each.  And they aren't the steroid fed, huge kind either.  So that means that's like 70 grams of protein.  And LOTS of extra, obviously unneeded calories in my opinion.  And if you think that most people have meat at both lunch and dinner, and some even have extra protein with eggs and bacon in the mornings, that's a LOT of protein that the average person doesn't need.  (Side note: I do think you need a little extra protein if you exercise and lift weights, but most of us aren't working out hard enough that we need TONS of it and additional supplements in shakes....though I know there are many weight lifters that would beg to differ but that's not really my point in this article so I'll leave my opinion at that ;-D)  So though chicken and turkey are lean and certainly lower in calories than a big ol' rib eye, people should try cutting those portions  in half, and even less if they consume beans and eggs (which in my opinion are some of the more desirable ways to get protein without adding too many calories). 

And last, the low fat option.  True, low fat often times means lower calorie.  But not always.  Often times, especially in processed foods, to compensate for the lack of flavor from the loss of fat in the food, they add extra sugar.  For example, even my healthy organic yogurt that I eat, the fat free kind will have more sugar than the low fat kind.  And increased sugar in your blood can create it's own weight loss problems.  Though I will say low fat dressings are a GREAT option b/c they do significantly cut the calories of a salad, and most aren't too high in sugar. 

So what's the answer?  It's the basic calories in calories out mantra.  You gotta watch how many calories you are putting in and look at portion sizes.  You have to PLAN!!  You have to be AWARE!  You have to exercise some DISCIPLINE in your portions and GIVE and TAKE.  You have to decide if you want the thick juicy steak, the bread basket, or the dessert.  And only choose ONE!!  And then cut that one choice you've had in HALF and eat the rest the next day (or as I often do instead, just work like a beast the next day at the gym and add extra time)!!!  You just gotta think and be aware of what is going into your body.  Know how many calories you've consumed so you know how much you gotta work to burn any extra off.  I know it's a pain to keep track of what you are eating, but after about three weeks, it's a habit and you start to get good at knowing how many calories are in most foods and how much you can eat of it.  You can start to eye ball your serving sizes instead of having to get measuring cups dirty all of the time.  And once you've lost the weight, you don't have to be so meticulous about serving sizes and calories eaten, though still be mindful of it.  So, yes, in the beginning, it's a BIG inconvenience.  But then, how bad do you wanna lose the weight?  Food journals (keeping track of calories and food eaten) have been proven over and over to be the best and most effective way to lose weight.  That's the whole premise with Weight Watchers and why they are such a success! 

So if you've decided to start eating healthier, hoping that'll help you lose the weight, beware.  It's not enough just to start eating whole grains, lower fat, and lean meats.  However, the one trick that is full proof, is loading up on fruits and veggies and just eating a couple of servings of the others.  Bring on the nutrition facts, they will become your best friends, especially when your pants start to fall down. 

 Tomorrow I'm gonna hammer on eating unnatural food to lose weight.