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Nutrition for Weight Loss

Nutrition, Weight Loss Tips  •  September 10, 2019

What is the ideal diet for weight loss? How much protein should you eat? Should we all be doing intermittent fasting? How do we boost our metabolism???

All good questions. Some simple answers.

There was a great article written in the New England Journal of Medicine recently which compared many of the common diets that people try for weight loss with varying amounts of carbohydrates and protein (much like the paleo diet and ketogenic diet, and well as a traditional low-fat diet). The study showed that as long as a diet had REDUCED CALORIES, at 6 months, people lost the same weight regardless of the type of diet; their weight loss depended upon their ability to stick to the diet, no matter which diet it was.

 

What are some important principles of a healthy diet for weight loss??

• The diet must be something that can be sustained long-term, more of a lifestyle change than a “diet”
• The daily number of calories needed by an average American adult for weight loss is around 1,200-1,300, this varies person to person and upon activity/exercise level
• An adequate amount of protein should be eaten at every meal
• Breakfast should have 15-25 grams of protein to stimulate the metabolism for the day and to help suppress appetite
• The food eaten each day should be REAL FOOD, NOTHING PROCESSED. These are foods like chicken, fish, turkey, eggs, low-fat dairy, Greek yogurt, whole grains, fruits, lots of colors of vegetables, nuts and seeds in small quantities
• Processed foods like bread, pasta, pizza, cereal, chips, cookies, cakes; as well as sugary foods should be avoided or eaten in very small quantities
• The diet should have 25-35 grams of fiber which can be found in whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and sprouted grain breads like Ezekial bread
• Adequate water intake helps with hydration, weight loss and energy, around 64 ounces a day for an average-sized adult
• Multivitamins are not necessary if you are eating lots of the above foods and don’t have any know vitamin deficiencies
• Fish oil (omega 3 fatty acids) is an important supplement for a healthy diet, Nordic Naturals makes a good one which can be purchased on Amazon
• Food that can slightly lower the metabolism and can promote weight gain should be avoided or eaten in small quantities: red meat, fried foods, “white” starches like white rice, white bread, pasta, and white potatoes (a little sweet potato is a good thing)

This is oftentimes easy in principle but hard to carry out!! If you need help with figuring out just how much protein you need or how to plan your food each day to keep best nourished and to not feel too hungry, please reach out to our office and we can customize a plan for you.

 

Elyse Dishler, M.D.
Medical Weight Loss of Chery Hill

 

References:
Sacks, FM et al, N Eng J of Medicine 2009;360:859-73
Harvard Blackburn Course in Obesity Medicine, 2017