In this Knowledge Link, we will review the facts on the accumulation of excess body fat; why many diets and weight loss products won't keep the weight off; and some basic principles of nutrition and exercise that you should know in order to stay lean, including information on nutritional supplements that can help support permanent weight loss. The insights provided in these Knowledge Links can help you to devise an effective, permanent weight loss strategy.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES: DIETARY MANIPULATIONS
There are two main lifestyle changes you can make to deplete excess body fat: you can either adjust your dietary habits or increase your activity levels. A combination of the two is best. Here in Part II, we'll cover eating habits....
Dietary manipulations to facilitate permanent loss of excess body fat involves changing the form of the foods you eat, and/or how much you eat, in conjucntion with the use of the apporpriate, supportive nutritional supplements. Follow this:
In many cases, folks with excess body fat eat no more, in terms of volume, than leaner folks of similar height. Those who do gain weight readily and steadily over time are likely just eating foods that their bodies find easy to store as fat. Further, factors such as activity levels (sedentary vs active lifestyle); gender (women store more fat than men); hormonal status (which naturally changes with age and conditions such as pregnancy); fat storing enzyme activity (which is affected by hormonal status); metabolic rate; and individual genetic variation (which impacts all of the above) all combine to affect how your macronutrients are processed. Macronutrients are the fats, carbohydrates and proteins in our diet that comprise the bulk of all the foods we eat. They function as structural components of cells and tissues; as enzyme components, and energy sources. The energy content of macronutrients is what directly contributes to the accumulation of excess fat.
Lipids are the most concentrated macronutrient food energy source of all. Lipids constitute a class of biomolecules that includes fat. Fat is much easier (in terms of the energy cost of the storage process) for our bodies to retain and really load up on. It is simply broken down on one side of the cell, moved across cell membranes, and put back together in our adipose tissue as fat. Fat is our body's most important long term energy reserve.
Similarly, simple refined sugars, as can be found in candies, pastries, ice cream and soft drinks, are also easily stored. Though they provide less energy per gram than fat, they are often concentrated in the above products to such an extent that the amount of simple sugar per gram of product can be enormous. The simplicity of these refined sugar molecules can also make them very easy for our bodies to store as fat. So if you are one who gains weight readily and are discontented with that state of being, note that:
Eating goo gobs of any form of fat and/or refined sugars will keep you larger than you want to be, particularly if you are not very active physically.
Foods You Should Gradually Eat Less Of
*Fast foods, convenience foods, candies, pastries, chips, ice cream and the like are often high in fats, simple refined sugars and salt. These food components are added to exploit our natural affinity towards sweet and fatty tasting foods. And, with the bad press associated with dietary fat, foods made low in fat are still made to expoit taste cravings by the compensatory addition of large amounts of refined sugars. Not good for weight watchers either. Even the healthier polyunsaturated fats constitute highly concentrated sources of food energy, and should not be consumed voluminously.
Read the ingredient label on the foods you consume, and look out for ingredients such as sugar, cane sugar, brown sugar, rice syrup, high fructose corn syrup, honey, etc. These are concentrated, easily absorbable sources of calories (food energy). The closer to the beginning these foods are on the ingredient list, the higher their concentration in the food. Also, watch for cotton seed, palm kernel and coconut oils. Be wary of partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Look out for beef and milk fat in the ingredient list as well. Even if such food componenets are lower on the ingredient list, eating foods that contain these elements frequently, everyday, can have an additive effect in terms of fat deposition, particularly if you gain weight easily and are physically inactive.
*Also, note the amount of sodium on food labels, and try not to exceed 2 grams (2000 mg) of sodium a day. Less than 2 grams is even better. High intakes of sodium can adversely affect blood pressure. High blood pressure is often associated with overweight and obesity. Try to cut back on foods that list high amounts of sodium, particularly if you use salt to season food and eat a lot of fast foods. Fast foods are often VERY high in sodium, but don't provide ingredient listing to tell you how much. Any ingredient listed on the food's label that contains the word "sodium", should be noted. "Monosodiem glutamate" is an example. It's a common component of many convenience foods...
What You Can Eat to Help With Permanent Weight Loss
Complex carbohydrates. It's a hassle for our bodies to change complex carbohydrates to fat. Unlike dietary fat and simple, refined sugars, it takes a lot of energy to process complex carbs for storage. As such, they are not easily deposited into adipose tissue. Some components of complex carbs, the fiber components, don't even get fully digested. Complex carbs/dietary fibers can however, significantly contribute to feelings of fullness when eaten. The fiber constituents of complex carbs can further benefit our health by binding fatty and bile acids in our digestive tracts, preventing them from being carried into our cardiovascular system. This binding effect can also obstruct fat interactions with gut bacteria on our intestinal lining. Fiber can thus help to lower blood cholesterol and decrease cancer risks associated with frequent, high amounts of fat and bile acids in our digestive tracts. Complex carbodydrates can also provide us with pleasantly sweet tastes, diminishing the reliance upon refined sugars and excess fats for satiety.
Complex carbs can be obtained from such foods as whole wheat, oat and rye breads and cereals. Some sprouted wheat breads can be obtained that are nauturally sweet and tasty, without any added fat or sugars. Whole grain rice and rice cereals are also good sources of these types of carbs. Oat, wheat and rice bran cereals empahsize the fiber components of those grains. Buy the breads and cereals without added sugars or fat. Read the label to make sure.
Whole grains additionally provide us with significant sources of B complex vitamins, as well as vitamin E and some minerals...
Vegetables of all sorts are also great sources of complex carbs and dietary fiber. Select and eat your favorite. Eat as many dark green vegetables as you can. Yellow and orange colored vegetables are good also. The color of vegetables is important because vegetable pigments, though not quite vitamins or minerals, beneficially contribute to human health. For instance, yellow and orange vegetables contain carotene, which is a precursor that your body can convert to vitamin A as needed. Vegetable pigments also serve as protective antioxidants. Beta carotene is an important antioxidant in low density lipoproteins, or LDLs. These are supposedly the "bad" form of cholesterol. LDLs are only "bad" if they are regularly subject to oxidation while being transported in you blood. Antioxidants such as beta carotene as well as vitamin E, can help to protect the LDL cholesterol in your blood from oxidation. These protective micronutrients can be obtained from either supplemets, or appropriatenly prepared vegetables and whole grains. High amounts of LDLs are often associated with excessive body fat.
Vegetables are also a significant source of micornutrient vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Vitamins and minerals are required by our bodies, in order to properly and safely process our macronutrient fats, proteins and carbs, and slow down or prevent disease processes - among other things. Phytonutrients are plant derived biochemicals that are neither vitamins or minerals, but can positively affect our body's ability to resist disease processes by their affect on detoxifying enzyme systems and oxidative processes.
When you prepare vegetables, try not to boil the hell out of 'em, since vigorous, lengthy boiling evaporates or destroys much of the micronutrient elements, and breaks down the fiber components as well...
Fruits can also provide us with dietary fiber, and significant amounts of simple sugars. These simple sugars are not as concentrated as those found in candies and pastries. They therefore won't provide excessive amounts of food energy that could get deposited into adipose tissue. Fruit sugars are easily absorbable and readily used by our bodies for energy, and are naturally packaged in the fruit along with the vitamins and minerals needed to facilitate their metabolism...
Beans (legumes)are an additional source of fiber, as well as protein, vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients. Obtaining some of your daily protein from combinations of grains and beans can decrease your reliance on animal protein food sources, which contributes significantly to fat intake. Note that the type of fiber in beans can contribute to some major gaseous experiences, especially if you are not used to eating them. Therefore, gradually introduce beans into your diet. Navy and soy beans are nutritious choices.
Protein Sources. Try to cut back on fried or grilled meat or fish. Decrease your intake of beef, pork and lamb, and eat leaner cuts of those meats when you do eat them. Fried and grilled foods basically contain large amounts of burned up fats and proteins, which can slowly contribute to the development of disease processes in our hearts and gastrointestinal system, leading to cardiovascular disease, cancers, and overweight. The fats in beef, lamb and pork have been more highly correlated with gastointestinal troubles than the fat in chicken, fish or turkey, which you should try to eat more of (Take the skin off the chicken yourself, to reduce the fat. If you buy it with the skin already removed, it'll cost you more.)
Fish such as herring and makerel contain high amounts of omega 3 fatty acids, which help to keep inflammatory processes in our bodies efficient and on an as needed basis, as opposed to being over reactive and excessive, which can occur in folks who eat lots and lots of meat. Excessive inflammatory reactions can contribute to osteoarthritis and certain cancers (Note here that fats are not bad. We do need this macronutrient in our diet, just not goo gobs of it.).
If you eat eggs, try not to eat bunches of them scrambled or fried in fats and oils. Get the non oily pan spray to cook your eggs, or better yet, hard boil 'em. Eggs are not terrible foods as some have touted. A large sized egg has about 300 mg of cholesterol, which is the recommended daily limit. Since your body can make it's own cholesterol (from other dietary lipids), if you ingest cholesterol, then your liver will down regulate it's cholestrol production. Still, if your cholesterol levels are too high and your HDLs (the so called "good" cholesterol) are significantly low, consider limiting your intake of eggs to about two a day, until you can improve your blood lipid profile. If your cholesterol levels are OK, a few more eggs are OK, especially if you are physically active. Much of the fat in eggs is monosaturated, which is neutral with regards to atherogenesis (the development of atherosclerosis). Note that eating a lot of saturated fat elevates blood cholesterol more so than eating cholesterol itself. Eggs are good sources of certain B vitamins, as well as vtiamins E and A. There is not a lot of saturated fat in eggs, so don't worry too much about them. Of course, egg whites are always an option. Purified egg whites have no fat, and are high in protein. Not a lot of taste though. The taste is in the fat, which is concentrated in the yolk...
With regards to weight loss, the point to all of the above is that you can start to lose weight by changing the forms and relative amounts of the foods you eat, NOT by excluding major food groups from your diet, which is what some rapid weight loss plans are based on. The reduction or exclusion of major food groups can lead to nutritional deficiecies, which can increase the disease risks associated with being overweight.
It is important to include ALL of the major food groups in your daily diet. It is also important to gradually replace some of the more fatty or sugary foods in your diet with less fatty and naturally sweetened food sources, unless, of course, you are medically ordered to immediately change your diet due to serious health risks. In that case, you should be monitored by your doctor.
You can gradually change one component of each meal from a fatty or sugar food source, to a less fatty/less sugary source. For instance, if for breakfast, you habitually consume eggs scrambled or fried in high fat oils; bacon similarly prepared, and toast with butter, try one or two small or medium hard boiled eggs, some whole grain oat or wheat cereal, or some sprouted, whole grain bread, which can be naturally very sweet tasting, due to the complex carbs in the bread. Try some lowfat yoghurt for a calcium source. They key is to identify less sugary and fatty foods, and gradually use them to replace those foods in your daily meals, until you have meals that no longer support and maintain excess adipose tissue in your body. Gradually making changes can reduce the mental and physical resistance that can naturally occur in response to changes in longstanding habits. It should not be an excuse to delay those changes if you are concerned with being overweight...
One way to make weight loss gradual and easier to handle is to simply reduce your caloric intake by 250 to 500 calories a day. You can do this by eating steamed or lightly boiled vegetables instead of french fries for lunch and something like squash or a baked potatoe instead of mashed potatoes and gravy for dinner. Try to cut back on fatty, salty and sugary snacks. If you get hungry and feel like you need some energy, try whole apples, bananas or raisins for your sweet tooth, and unsalted nuts for your "fat tooth". You can also chill out on the butter, syrup and margarine you would normally use to season your food. There are other things that can be used to season and flavor foods, that are less concentrated sources of food energy. Fruit and vegetable oils and juices can be great for that purpose. Read the labels on the back of your foods and the seasonings you use to help make a decision on what you can exclude, or what you should use to make important replacements...
The above provides general ideas with regards to meeting that 250 to 500 calorie deficit. The specifics are up to you. Since a pound of body fat equals roughly 3500 calories, in one week's time, you can, ideally, lose from 1750 to 3500 calories per week, by reducing your caloric intake by 250 to 500 calories a day. The upper range being a pound of fat lost.
Obviously, this rate of weight loss won't produce immediatley apparent results. You can go to the bathroom in the morning or drink some water and lose or gain a pound. The results will appear more significant over the course of a couple of months of consistent lifestyle changes. Be patient. This rate of weight loss is also less likely to get a lot of resistance from your body's protective mechanisms, and what you lose won't readily return if you maintain a diet that won't support excess fatty tissue...
Supplements That Can Help (And Some That May Hurt)
Vitamin C: This vitamin can possibly contribute to a decrease in excess body fat by increasing the metabolic activity of cells im muscle and some other organ systems. In one double blind, placebo controlled study (The type of study design that minimizes bias. See ref #1), taking one gram of vitamin C, three times a day, resulted in more than twice the weight loss in the supplemented group than in the control (non supplemented) group after six weeks of supplementation.
Whether this works for you or not, vitmain C is still a very important water soluble nutrient, that's also found in vegetables and fruits. The supply of C can be lost from those foods however, due to vigorous boiling or long term exposure to oxygen (leaving an open container of orange juice in the frig over a period of days for example). Vitamin C may be significant to the prevention of certain cancers associated with overweight; it's also a key supporter in the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Due to the losses that can occur from foods, it may be a good idea to supplement C regardless of whether you want to use it to support weight loss or not.
If you do try the amount of C used in the study to support weight loss (3 grams), make sure you gradually work your way up to that amount by starting with 500 mg the first week and adding 500 mg each week until you hit 3 grams. Though C is generally safe, sudden, large doses can cause loose stools and gastrointestinal cramps. Also, if you take medications regularly, discuss taking that much C with your doctor or pharmacist first. It's probabaly better to take about one gram of C a day. That amount may still affect your cell's metabolism; it will at least ensure that you are getting an adequate supply of C, considering the loses from foods.
Chromium: As you may have heard, this mineral contributes to the efficiency of insulin, which is a hormone that provides for the uptake of glucose, amino and fatty acids into our cells. Chromium is mobilized from body stores and used in responcse to macronutrient loads, particularly to dietary loads of simple, refined sugars, as can be found in convenience and fast foods. The mobilized chromium is not easily reassimilated and much of it thus winds up being excreted through the urine and sweat. Loses leading to a deficiency of chromium can cause excessive insulin secretion in response to sugar loads, which can possibly contribute to insulin resistance, a condition that precedes the onset of type 2 or non insulin dependent diabetes mellitus - a very serious disorder.
With regards to weight loss, another double blind, placebo controlled study (2) concluded that chromium supplementation supported the loss of body fat in obese individuals, while preserving lean muscle mass. Supplementation of chromium was believed to contribute to more than 4 times the weight loss in the chromium group than in the control group, after 90 days of supplementation.
Further, there are some informed folks who convey that the average American ingests less than the 200 micrograms of chromium per day that's recommended. If that's true, for those who consume large amounts of concentrated simple sugars on a daily basis (from convenience or fast foods), you are likely running a chromium deficit. To help with the lipid and sugar management of folks who are overweight, and reduce the risk of developing insulin resistance and diabetes, a 200 microgram supplement of chromium may be a good idea. If the supplemental chromium helps you lose weight as well, hey that's great.
Carnitine is an amino acid derivative that functions in the transport of long chain fatty acids into our cell's mitochondria, which is where fat is "burned" for energy. Ninety percent of our body's carnitine is stored in skeletal muscle. Although we can synthesize carnitine from lysine and other amino acids (through a process that uses vitamin C), there is some indication that muscle accumulates carnitine based on need, and that underuse of muscle thus provides for marginal stores of carnitine in muscle tissue. Exercise, which is an important component of a permanent weight loss scheme to be addressed later, can increase the fat burning activity of muscle, a process that uses up carnitine. Carnitine thus has to be replenished regularly through the diet. This is not to suggest that you absolutely require supplemental carnitine to replenish muscle stores after exercise, but supplemental carnitine may help to keep muscle stores at optimum levels for fat burning, in the event of a deficiency of other nutrients in the carnitine production process. A supplement from which you could obtain 500 mg to a gram of carnitine daily, could help your body to use fat more readily during and after exercise.
Vitamin D: Folks with excess body fat have been found to have significantly less blood levels of vitamin D than leaner people. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin, meaning it is absorbed from our digestive tract with the fatty part of our meal and stored in fatty tissue. Vitamin D is also made in our skin by the conversion of 7 dehydrocholesterol (secreted by sebaceous or oil glands under our skin) to cholecalciferol, a process initiated by the sun's ultroviolet light.
Vitamin D affects our body's calcium and phosphate regulation. Some of it's functions in this regard is to facilitate the uptake of calcium from our intestines and the reabsorption of calcium and phosphate from our kidneys. A deficiency of vitamin D in adults can thus cause bone to progessively lose minerals, a condition known as osteomalacia, or softening of the bone.
Excess body fat can bind and tie up vitamin D from dietary sources, gradually contributing to decreasing levels of circulating D. If you can't get enough sun exposure and are carrying excess body fat, you need to be sure you are getting enough D to keep your bones strong. A 400 IU supplement is a safe bet, especially if you don't do much dairy or eat D fortified cereals. Don't exceed 800 IU per day of D however (from supplements and foods), since the fat soluble vitamins, with the exception of vitamin E, can be toxic when taken in excessive amounts over a periond of time.
Herbs and other stuff: Plant products that contain methylxanthines, which includes caffeine and theobromine (found in chocolate), have been used to facilitate weight loss because they can increase the release of fatty acids into the blood from adipose tissue. Once in the blood, the fatty acids can be oxidized or "burned" by muscle tissue that may also be stimulated by the action of the methylxanthines.
Methylxanthines have multiple effects on our bodies. With regards to the release and use of fatty acids, this effect is brought about directly through the action of epinephrine (also called adrenaline), which is released by the methylxanthines. Epinephrine is a hormone that initiates and mediates stress reactions in our bodies, such as the familiar fight or flight response. This response serves to increase our alertness and our ability to act. It thus involves increases in heart rate and blood pressure, as well as increases in the availability blood sugar and blood lipids (fat) for energy. Though epinephrine has other effects, the aforementioned are most important to note since folks who have been overweight for awhile are at risk for high blood pressure, diabetes and atherosclerosis. It thus might NOT be wise to seriously apply something that can increase your blood's pressure, sugar and fat content in an effort to lose weight.
Oddly enough, another plant derived stimulant, ephedra, or ma huang, is also used to stimulate the release and oxidation of fatty acids. Ephedra and ma huang contain ephedrine, which is a plant chemical that's similar to epinephrine. Ephedrine has a more intense effect than the methylxanthines on heart rate, blood pressure, blood sugar and triglycerides. In order to counter this, some folks advocate the use of ephedrine AND caffeine. Supposedly, the use of caffeine decreases the amount of ephedrine needed; and dimishes the more dangerous effects of ephedrine, while intensifying fatty acid release and oxidation.
Another technique is to combine aspirin with the ephedrine and caffeine. Again, purportedly, the addition of aspirin makes less of both the caffeine and ephedrine necessary, due to aspirin's ability to prolong the action of the two stimulants.
Though there have been a few studies in which people who were overweight took a combination of ehedrine/caffeine/aspirin, with no significant, detectable adverse effect on blood pressure, blood sugar, heart rate etc, note that these subjects WERE medically monitored. As such, any adverse effect that increased levels of circulating epinephrine could've had on these people would've been dealt with by professional medical personnel. Walking around chucking that stuff by yourself however, in order to lose weight, is NOT a good idea. At the very LEAST, get a medical evaluation of your blood pressure, and blood sugar before embarking on such a path. Return to your doctor regularly if you can for an evaluation. If you lose weight without medical complications, note that a combination of ephedrine, caffeine and aspirin can still keep you pretty wired, so try not to use it before bedtime, or drink coffee or eat chocolate while using that stuff...
Exercise
This is another significant component of a self directed, permanent weight loss plan. If you don't want to exercise or don't have the time, you may have to be more aggressive with caloric restriction. That means trying to cut back on 500, 750 or 1000 calories a day, leading to a 3500, 5250 - up to 7000 calorie decrease per week. That's equivalent to 1, 1.5 or 2 pounds of fat, respectively, per week. Trying to lose more than 2 pounds per week, especially through caloric restriction only, can cause your protective mechanisms to kick in, resulting in a decrease in metabolic rate that makes fatty tissue more resistant to loss. Restricting more calories than needed to lose 2 pounds of fat per week can also possibly lead to nutrient deficiencies, and may require that you seek meal plan guidance, or take a balanced nutritional supplement, unless your daily caloric intake was huge to begin with (How many calories you need to support your target, lean body mass will be addressed at a later point.).
In many cases, weight loss is tough, and people find that the simple caloric manipulations just don't quite cut it. As we get older, have babies, and take on more responsibilities, our body's hormonal and biochemical environment gets set on maintianing extra poundages. That's why regular exercise can be so important. It starts processes going in our bodies that can change our body's hormonal patterns and energy ecomomy towards permanent weight reduction. Combined with caloric restriction, it reduces the amount of food calories that have to be excluded. Exercise also protects muscle tissue from being lost, which occurs with high caloric restriction. Muscle tissue is important because it's high metabolic rate helps to tilt our body's energy economy towards a reduction in excess fat weight. BEFORE you try any exercise however, make sure you are medically cleared to do so by a competent health care provider. Have your cardiovascular and musculoskeletal system thoruoughly evaluated, at the very least...
There are two distinct categories of exercise, low intensity and high intesity, or aerobic/anaerobic. In simple terms, low intensity exercise consists of activity that you can perform nonstop for a long time, 15 to 30 minutes or more; while high intensity exercise consists of activity that you can't do long, anywhere from 3, up to 15 minutes tops.
Our bodies get the energy for these exercises primarly from fats and carbohydrates, with protein being used very little by comparison. High and low intensity exercises differ in the amounts of fat and carbs they make your muscles use, as well as in the amount of calories used per unit of time.
For self monitoring purposes, intensity levels can be selected based on your heart rate. Your age adjusted maximum heart rate can be found by simply subtracting your age from 220. For example, 220 - 40 = 180. The closer your physical activity pushes your heart rate to it's maximum, the more intense the exercise is for you and the less of it you will be able to do. Of course as your body gets conditioned, you'll find that exercises that you could not initially do for long, you'll be able to do all day.
With regards to weight loss, here are some simple calculations you can use to roughly monitor how much energy you are using, and from what source (carbs or fat).
At 50% of your maximum heart rate, your body will burn roughly 7 calories per minute, with 90% of the energy derived from fat. Using the heart rate calculated for the 40 year old above, at 90 beats per minute, the body will roughly be using 7 cal/min x .9 = 6.3 calories per minute from fat. If that person can hold his/her heart rate at 90 bpm (one half of 180) for 20 minutes, there will be 126 calories used. Obviously, the longer the exercise interval at this intensity level, the more calories burned. Combining exercise intervals, that is, resting, then starting up again at the same intensity level, will have the same effect. Don't try to shoot for the gold in one day. Stop when comfortably fatigued; take a day off from exercise, then do it again. Try to increase the interval duration, or decrease the rest period a little the next time. To start, two exercise intervals is likely sufficient.
At a higher exercise intensity of 75%, our bodies use 14 calories per minute, with only 60% being derived from fat. Still, note that 14 cal/min x .6 = 8.4 cal of fat oxidized per minute at the higher intensity. Though the percentage of fat calories used is less at the higher intensity, the higher rate of calorie use makes the higher intensity somewhat more productive with regards to fat oxidation. I say somewhat because you can't do high intensity exercises very long. But, higher intensity exercises help preserve, and can even increase, muscle tissue. It can also increase your metabolism for some time after your done working out, though at a steadily decreasing rate of calorie use; and often much more so than very low intensity execises that are done for long periods. What does all this mean?
In short, exercise can be a crucial factor in nudging a stubborn metabolism towards weight reduction. Once you are medically cleared to exercise, you can use your age adjusted maximum heart rate to monitor how much fat your body is burning. At 50 % of your age adjusted rate, your body uses about 6.3 calories per minute of fat. Continuous activity, or intervals of activity interspersed with rest periods, can be used to burn fat calories at this intensity level. Because fat is so energy dense, it can take quite sometime to burn significant fat calories in a workout at this intensity level. The protracted time required is often a concern for busier folks.
The higher intensity level described above, provided for more fat calories used per minute, but the nature of such activity precludes protracted, continuous effort. In this case, interval training can help you to benefit more from the higher rate of calorie use provided by the higher intensity exercie. You can perform 2-3 sets of an exercise that you can
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