Weight Loss and Diet Plans – Portion Size may Matter more than What We Eat!All about nursing

Factors that stimulate your prompt for weight loss:

Ways for weight loss:

Meal plan and exercise regimen (Diet planning is the focus on this post, because eating is necessary, but exercise can be a choice)
Diet pills/ laxatives/ diuretics/ starve and purge
Impulsive change without a plan

A few facts about “weight” in American:

Americans spend more than $46 billion a year on weight-reduction programs, but obesity rates remain rise.
Medicare and Medicaid fund approximately half of the $75 billion attributed to obesity-related health problems.
Modest weight decreases have been shown to decrease plasma lipid levels and hypertension
Losing 10% of one’s body weight can reduce lifetime medical costs by up to $5,300

3 Physiologic mechanisms implicates weight gain:

Thus, weight loss occurs: when caloric intake is lower than expenditure.

***To lose 1 lb. a week, one would have to restrict 500 kcal per day***

Diet Plans:

Very-Low-Calorie Diets:

although some restrict calories even more, the typical very-low-calorie diet allows approximately 800 calories per day
for extremely obese patients under the supervision of a physician***
prepared formulas replace daily meals for a period of up to several months
designed to bring about more rapid weight loss than can be achieved with conventional low-calorie diets
substantial loss usually occurs in the first few weeks

Low-Calorie Diets:

allow approximately 1,000 to 1,200 kcal a day
commercial plans: prepackaged meals (such as Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, and Weight Watchers)
considered safer than very-low-calorie regimens, and better long-term results
can reduce total body weight by an average of 8% over 3 to 12 months.

Low-Fat Diets

restrict intake of fats to between 20% and 30% of the daily calories consumed
an essential nutrient, fats contain 9 kcal per gram (compared with 4 kcal per gram for both proteins and carbohydrates)
***Fat matters, but calories count*** Thus, a low-fat diet that doesn’t include a reduction in overall caloric intake won’t promote weight loss, the body will store carbohydrates as fat.
Fact: many “fat-free” products have more calories than the foods they are designed to replace.

Very-Low-Fat Diets

fat constitutes as 15% of calories consumed
contain a higher proportion of complex carbohydrates
if people replace fat calories with fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber and low in calories, they will consume fewer calories and lose weight.
American Heart Association Science Advisory states that very-low-fat diets are not appropriate for young children, the elderly, pregnant women, or people with eating disorders and that people “with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, elevated triglyceride levels, and carbohydrate malabsorption illnessed should also avoid such a diet. ***

Moderate-Fat, Low Calorie Diets – Also called Mediterranean Style Diet:

allow up to 35% of calories from fats and limit carbohydrates and proteins
incorporate essential omega-3 fatty acids
result showed an average weight loss of 4.1 kg in those following the Mediterranean-style diet (30-month period)
better long-term participation and adherence
Study shown to have a 50% to 70% lower risk of recurrent heart disease ***

Low-Carbohydrate, High-Protein Diets:

allow only 20g to 90g of carbohydrates per day, protein and fat are unrestricted
When carbohydrate intake is minimized, glycogen stores and fats are used as energy sources, altering the body’s metabolism and causing an initial loss of weight from ketosis and diuresis.
by restricting carbohydrates, these diets eliminate many nutrient sources
supplemental vitamins, minerals, and fiber may be required
Most famous book – Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution (1972)
Studies suggested that low-carbohydrate diet was associated with improvements in coronary heart disease risk factors: increased high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels and decreased triglyceride levels. However more studies are needed.
***Adverse Effects***
- vitamin deficiencies
- altered cognitive function (a complication of ketosis)
- increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels
- increases in the glomerular filtration rate
- long term effects can include nephrolithiasis (renal stones), osteoporosis, and progression of chronic renal insufficiency

Several Types of Diet Plans Produce at least Short-Term Weight Loss, however, Portion Size may Matter more than What We Eat!

A few more facts about “weight” in American:

in 2002 Young and Nestle found that the average portion of a single serving of cooked pasta was 480% greater than the recommended serving size.
Cookies were 700% larger

Baker, B. (2016) Weigh loss and diet plans

Weight Loss and Diet Plans – Portion Size may Matter more than What We Eat!