by Dr. Thomas Lundberg, MD
5. July 2011 13:07
The word diet is a literal and figurative "four letter word." The word has such negative connotations to most people, that I don't even mention it, or recommend it. Very low calorie diets are very attractive as a means of fast weight loss to a number of people. However, they are very counter productive, in that "starvation diets," diets where calorie deficits exceed approximately 750 calories a day, cause a decrease in one's metabolic rate. From a survival of the species standpoint, starvation has been the major threat to survival up until the 20th century. Up until then, the human beings that were best able to conserve their fat stores during periods of starvation, were more likely to survive, and therefore pass on their genes. As such, the only reason we are all here, is that our distant relatives were efficient at conserving fat stores.
As a general rule, most dietitians recommend 1-1.5 pounds of weight loss per week. If you have a calorie deficit of 500 calories a day, this equates to 3500 calories in a week, the equivalent of 1 pound. Caloric requirements are calculated based on age, weight and gender. Your caloric needs, and sample meal plans, can be provided at a single visit to a registered dietitian. If you require a more structured program, I recommend both Weight Watchers, and Nutrisystem, as both of these programs provide slow, sustained weight loss.
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