Finally Revealed: The Secret of Successful Dieting!
by Alan Kronhaus, M.D., Health and Welllness Editor

I’d like to use my bully pulpit this month to tell you the truth about dieting. The truth will set you free! It will help you understand not only how to lose weight and keep it off, but also how to cut through all the bogus information that you’re bombarded with about dieting, all of which is designed only to separate you from your money.

The whole “diet industry” is geared to one thing only: making money by ripping you off. Think of all the diets and diet programs that have been promoted: Adkin’s Diet, New Adkin’s Diet, South Beach Diet, The Zone, Stillman Diet, Sugar Busters, Grapefruit Diet, Cabbage Soup Diet, Diabetes Diet, Sonoma Diet, Ultramatabolism, Overeaters Anonymous, TOPS, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem… to name a few.

Now think of all the diet pills you hear advertised on radio and TV. If there were a program or pill that really worked, you’d know about it – no advertisement necessary. It would have emerged as the “gold standard,” and all the other pills and programs would have been relegated to the dustbin of diet history.

When it comes to dieting, the bottom line is this: calories in vs. calories out. You lose weight if, and only if, you burn more calories than you take in. Period. There are no shortcuts or easy answers.

Promoters of pills and programs would have you believe that a special substance or combination of foods will automatically result in weight reduction. That's simply not true. The only reason a diet works is because it helps you restrict your caloric intake. All fad diets work – for a time, usually a short time. When you go off the diet you regain the weight you lost, and often more.

Consider the immutable facts. There are about 3,500 calories in a pound of fat. To lose one pound a week, therefore, you must consume about 500 fewer calories per day than you “burn up” or “metabolize.” The average person burns about 2,500 calories a day. If you adhere to a 2,000 calorie diet, you’ll achieve a “negative caloric balance” of about 500 calories per day. If you sustain that for 7 days, you’ll burn 3,500 more calories than your body needs, which means you’ll lose one pound of fat. That’s a mere one pound of fat for an entire week of pretty strict dieting!

“But,” you say, “I started the such-and-such diet and lost several pounds in a few days.” It’s not magic – it’s water. The body can retain or shed water in response to a variety of conditions and substances, especially salt. If your weight changes significantly up or down over the course of a few days, it can only be because you’ve retained or lost fluid, not fat.

If followed closely, fad diets will result in weight loss — as a result of caloric restriction. But they are invariably too monotonous and are sometimes too dangerous for long-term use. Dieters who don’t adopt better exercise and eating habits will regain the lost weight. I don’t know many people who can adhere to a diet of, say, 1,800 calories a day over the long haul. That’s why there is an epidemic of obesity. And the older you get, the harder it becomes to lose weight, or keep from gaining it, because your metabolism slows. Women around the time of menopause have an especially difficult time of it.

There’s only one way out of the box: If you want to lose weight and keep it off, you simply must adopt a lifestyle that keeps your caloric intake at a reasonable level, and increases your level of activity so you burn more calories than your body needs each day. Here are a few words of advice about changing your lifestyle to achieve your dieting goals in a way that is comfortable and sustainable. 

Because it’s so hard to restrict calories to the extent necessary to lose weight, exercise is the essential partner to dieting. Happily, you do not need to adopt a heavy aerobic exercise program. You can take the stairs, not the elevator; park in the farthest spot in the parking lot; go for a walk during your lunch hour or whenever you can; play with your kids instead of watching them play; buy an exercise bike and pedal while watching TV, or talking on the phone, or reading the morning paper. Even small increases in activity throughout the day will add up and help promote a healthy weight.

We now know that even very modest exercise, like walking for 30 minutes a day five days a week, will not only help you burn calories, it will also give you most of the other health benefits we used to think you could only get from heavy-duty aerobic exercise.

On the other side, you do have to restrict your caloric intake by adopting healthy eating habits: Eat moderate amounts of nutrient-rich, low-fat, low-calorie food. Eliminate completely drinks with sugar or high fructose corn syrup, including fruit juices. They have tons of calories. With the wide availability of safe, great tasting artificial sweeteners, there’s absolutely no reason to consume drinks with sugar.

Read food labels and count calories, keeping the “immutable facts” mentioned above in mind. Many foods that are low in fat are still very high in calories, and should be avoided or eaten in limited amounts. To the extent possible, eat fresh. Processed foods, which mean virtually anything other than fresh foods, have lots of hidden fat and sugar.  Lots of fat and sugar means lots of calories..

The secret of successful dieting is that there are no secrets. Follow my advice and you will lose weight, look better, and live a longer, healthier life. Besides all that, you’ll save money -- my advice didn’t cost you a thing.

Caring for the Caregiver is edited by Alan Kronhaus, MD, owner of Doctors Making Housecalls. The number is 919.384.5017 or visit www.doctorsmakinghousecalls.com

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