20 January 2022

The Basic Weight Loss Basics

 

Americans alone spent over $78 Billion in 2019 on diets, supplements, programs and plans claiming to help them lose weight. And yet the average weight of Americans keeps going up. In fact there is no magical, one-size-fits-all solution to the problem of getting rid of excess weight. Losing weight can be challenging for many people, but there is nothing complicated about it.

There are three basic biological realities we must consider if we wish to lose weight.

1. You have to consume fewer calories than you burn through metabolism and activity. That is, you need to eat less, move more or, ideally, both.

2. Foods that take a longer time and consume more energy to digest will make you feel fuller after eating them, hopefully making the "eating less" part easier.

3. Caloric availability refers to the percentage of usable calories that our body obtains by digesting a food.

Foods that take longer to digest and have a lower caloric availability are therefor your allies in the weight loss war. The two types of food that take the longest to digest and have the lowest caloric availability? Fiber and protein.

Fiber is a type of plant-based carbohydrate that is difficult or even impossible for humans to digest. Consuming fiber slows down the rate of digestion and reduces the number of calories actually absorbed.

Protein is, chemically, the most complex of all macronutrients. It requires a lot of time to break down and digest and has a caloric availability of around 70% - meaning that for every 100 calories of protein you consume, you have only 70 for energy. By way of comparison, the caloric availability of fats and carbohydrates is 98% and 90% - 95%, respectively.

So keep it simple. When trying to lose weight make protein about 20% of your total daily calories and try to include as much fiber as possible from fruits, vegetables and whole grains. That is the simple foundation for effective weight loss. If the structure and support that a particular diet or program provides is helpful to you fine, go for it. Just make sure it is something you can sustain over the long term. Otherwise any weight you do lose will surely find you again.


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