Truth about Diets

1. Truth about Diets Sapna Kuehl, M.D. Associate Program Director Internal Medicine St. Agnes Hospital

2. To eat is a necessity, but to eat intelligently is an art. • La Rouche Foucauld

3. Outline • Obesity Epidemic • Why we gain weight • Getting started on a healthy lifestyle • Types of diets • Keeping the weight off

4. Epidemic Nearly two, out of every three Americans is overweight

5. Causes • Age • Gender-slower resting metabolic rate • Genetics • Environmental Factors • Physical Activity • Psychological Factors • Illness/Medications

7. Causes • Habits related to food • Emotional Eating

8. With careful planning and concentrated eating, I can exchange gloom and boredom for blissful numbness.

9. Eating Habits Emotional Eating – practice of consuming large quantities of food, usually “comfort” or junk foods in response to feelings instead of hunger • 75% of overeating • Food can bring comfort, at least in the short term • Prevents learning of other skills to resolve emotional distress • Binge Eating/Medical Problems

10. Emotional Eating Identify our eating triggers • Social • Emotional • Situational • Thoughts • Physiological

11. Emotional Eating • Breaking the habit • Identify your triggers • Develop alternatives • Distractions • Relaxation, Meditation • Keep a food diary

12. Getting Started Losing weight for the long term 1. Set the right goals • Specific, attainable and forgiving 2. Reward Success 3. Balance your Food checkbook 4. Get the fullness message

13. How much you eat?

14. Choosing a weight loss program During a year >50% of Americans go on a diet • Safe • Slow steady weight loss • Plans for weight maintenance • Increase Physical Activity

15. Weight loss programs • Low Fat Diets • Very Low Calorie Diets • High Protein, Low Carb Diets • Miscellanous

16. Low Fat Diets • 1 gram of fat = 9 kcal • 20-25% of daily caloric intake • 10% saturated fat • 2000 calories = approx. 44 grams of fat/day

17. Low Fat diets • Traditional diets • American Heart Association • American Diabetes Association

18. Very Low Calorie Diets • 800-1500 calories/day • Grapefruit diet, commercially prepared formulas • No more effective longterm • Increased health risk in elderly, pregnant/nursing • Side effects: fatigue, nausea, constipation, diarrhea • Increased risk of gallstone formation

19. High protein low carb diet • Promoted widely in recent years • 30-50% of calories from protein • Examples: Atkins, South Beach • Induce ketosis • Side Effects: kidney failure, hyperlipidemia, osteoporosis, kidney stones, nausea, halitosis

20. New Food Pyramid • Diet and Exercise • 30 minutes daily, ideally 60-90 minutes • 10,000 steps/day • No single eating plan is right for all • mypyramidtracker.gov

21. Food pyramid

22. Slim Fast Plan • More than shakes • Four Steps • Portion control • Sensible eating • Regular physical activity • support

23. Slim Fast Plan • Portion Control-6 small meals/snacks • 10% of body weight in 6 months (1-2 lbs/wk) • Message boards, online chats, “Ask the dietician” • positives: structured, online • Must like taste of products

24. Dr. Phil • The Ultimate Weight Solution • New York Times Bestseller • Get real expectations about your goals • Published by Simon and Schuster Inc., 2003

25. Dr. Phil • Seven Keys to Weight Loss Freedom • Right Thinking • Healing Feelings • A No-Fail Environment • Mastery over Food and Impulse Eating • High-Response Cost, High-Yield Nutrition • Intentional Exercise • Circle of Support

26. Diets to avoid • Drastically reduced number of calories • Fad diets, usually unsustainable

27. Keeping it off • Positive Attitude • Commitment to a Healthy Life • Do not skip meals • Weigh yourself once a week • Keep a food journal/exercise • Eat a variety of foods

28. Thank you • The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -Mao Tse-tung (Zedong) • Or in some cases with a single stretch?! :)