|
In their quest for a
healthy body, people must wade through a sea of information and
misinformation regarding diet and nutrition. With new products,
books and supplements coming out virtually daily, it is easy to
get lost.
The health conscious
consumer, armed with a few facts and theories, can decipher many
of the diets and ideas floating about in fitness circles. The
information presented today is not intended to be complete or
all-inclusive. Rather, it should serve as a compass to give your
search some general direction. Specific information can be
obtained from your doctor, personal or athletic trainer or
dietician.
The concept of
bioenergetics is central to any discussion of exercise and
sports nutrition. Bioenergetics defines how the body takes in,
uses and stores energy. The key concept to consider when
dieting, exercising or training is that any energy (food) taken
in must be either used or stored.
Especially lately, it
should be emphasized that just because you eat something does
not mean that your body will get the food to the right place.
This concept will be important shortly.
The body has the
capacity to store energy, primarily in the form of fat. So, if
your energy output is less than energy input, the excess is
stored. The only way to get rid of stored energy, i.e. fat, is
to convert it to another form of energy. This is a really
important point that is worth repeating: if your energy output
is less than your energy input (over time) you will store energy
primarily as fat.
If one's goal is to
lose weight and/or fat, there are three ways to go about this.
Either increase output while keeping input the same, decrease
input while keeping output the same or decrease both. In other
words, you can decrease food intake (decrease input), exercise
(increase output) or both. Contrary to popular belief, there are
no magical pills, potions or creams that can change this
equation.
The best and safest way
to maintain a lean body is a combination of a healthy diet and
exercise. If we all had a nickle for every fad diet or pill that
promised to make the weight loss process easier, we could all
retire. This is not to say that absolutly none of them work. In
fact, some probably do help you lose weight in the short term.
There are many problems
with fad diets even if they are successful. The most obvious one
is that even if short term successes are realized, the results
will be fleeting if the initial diet is not followed up with
appropriate lifestyle changes. Also, many of the fad programs do
not take into account the body's need for balance in the diet.
Everyone, especially athletes and active people, need the right
balance of protein, carbohydrates, fat, vitamins and minerals in
their diet everyday.
Many patients are
curious about "diet pills" and whether they would
benefit from such medicines. There is quite a lot of controversy
in medical circles about the benefits of the various weight loss
medicines available. These are decisions best left to you and
your personal physician. Something that virtually every doctor
can agree upon is that the BEST way to achieve your desired
weight is to exercise and eat a healthy diet.
Many people are asking
about a medicine called Xenical recently. Xenical is a "fat
blocker". As the name implies, it keeps a certain portion
of fat that you eat from entering your body through the
intestine. This point is brought up not to endorse or critisize
Xenical but rather to point out that even this new medicine does
not violate the concept of bioenergetics.
The take home message
here is that no matter how hard you try, you can't cheat mother
nature. If you have specific questions about diet and/or
exercise, feel free to talk to your doctor. He or she will be
happy to help you on your way to a fit lifestyle.
|
