How should I eat to lose weight?

How should I eat to lose weight? Balance is key!

Is diet important for weight loss?  The answer is a resounding yes.  You can’t lose weight without some sort of calorie restriction.  Is there a right way to eat for weight loss?  No!  The key player here is energy balance.  No matter who you are, what you do for a day job, if you take in more energy from food than your body expends throughout the day, you will gain weight – this is energy balance.   There are factors that affect your energy balance such as hormones, stress (cortisol issues), insulin resistance and thyroid but that is a topic for another day.  Today let’s talk about food.

You can lose weight with popular diets such as: Keto, Carnivore, Atkins, South Beach and the list goes on and on, but these popular diets tend to be short term solutions and are hard to stick to – which can lead to yo-yo dieting.  There is no right or wrong way to eat for weight loss – eating in a way that helps you reach your weight goals that you can follow consistently for the long term. Is the goal.  Overeating a particular food on a particular day (eg Christmas dinner) is not going to ruin your attempt to lose weight – thinking it has ruined your weight loss goals and giving up is the problem.  Consistency is the key to successful weight loss.  So, let’s throw out the concept of temporary diets and talk about balanced eating.

Now that we know there is no right or wrong way of eating, we need to acknowledge there are certain foods which promote weight loss:  protein and fiber.

Protein isn’t just something you eat; it’s involved in nearly every process in your body (hormones, enzymes and countless other sciencey stuff).  Protein is absolutely essential and most people don’t eat enough protein.

Eating protein stimulates muscle synthesis, improves recovery, increases lean body mass and helps grow strength.  Sounds pretty good, right?  And protein has a TEF (thermic effect of food) at 30% much higher than the TEF of carbs and fats – which means protein helps you burn calories.  Protein also encourages weight loss from fat vs lean muscle – and sparing lean muscle helps prevent weight regain.  And finally, protein is filling and satiating, it’s hard to choke down 600cal of chicken breast in one go, protein signals the brain to lower total food intake and keeps you feeling full for longer than most other foods.

Protein comes from many sources, legumes, fish, meat, dairy, and there are many vegetarian sources too.  My recommendation is 30 grams of protein at breakfast (your first meal of the day) and total needs can be between 80-140gm.  Your protein needs are unique to you, so discuss with your Naturopathic doctors.

 

Fiber is not talked about enough – it’s not considered a “sexy” food.  You have to make an effort to eat enough fiber, so understanding which foods contain high fiber is important.  Fiber improves blood-sugar and insulin sensitivity, lowers cholesterol, prevents some cancer and most importantly increases satiety.

It takes effort to add fiber into your diet but the results are worth it.  Researcher have found 30gm of fiber per day leads to higher weight loss.

Fiber is not calorie free foods, but it also has a high TEF just like protein. Foods with a high TEF (thermic effect of foods) yield a greater calorie expenditure just be eating them – so eat more protein and fiber and burn more calories, its subtle but it helps to reach your goals.

Fiber comes from fruit and vegetables, whole grains and nuts and seeds.  If you can’t get enough fiber in your diet, sometime adding in a fiber supplement is essential.

I won’t spend much time on carbohydrates and fats – most people don’t have an issue getting adequate amounts of carbohydrates or fats in their diet.  I want to point out there is considerable research showing no difference in weight loss by eating high/low carb foods vs. high/low fat foods.  Part of balanced eating is not restricting or eating too much of any particular food.  Balance and consistency are our goal.  Whole grain carbohydrates are also a great source of fiber.  Unsaturated fats are good for cardiovascular health.  So please don’t eliminate these food groups.

Personally, I love food and enjoy trying new thing.  Consequently, the thought of having to use a meal plan, restricting a food group or consuming the same foods every day in order to achieve my health and fitness goals would lead to misery and failure rather quickly.  A balanced “diet” will be more satisfying, provide more energy and help reach your weight loss goals.

https://www.biolayne.com/articles/contest-prep/key-successful-fat-loss/

 

Dr. Karen McGee, ND