Numbers don\u2019t lie, but they might not saying what we think they are saying.<\/p>\n
For years the followers of \u201ccalories-in-calories-out\u201d diet styles have used the same formula.\u00a0 There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. If you cut out 500 calories a day from the amount you are currently eating, you can lose a pound a week. \u00a0That sounds easy, but researchers now are saying what dieters figured out long ago. It doesn\u2019t work that way.<\/p>\n
For one thing, not all calories are created equal.\u00a0 Sugar and carb calories cause a leap in blood sugar and have an insulin response which tells your body to store fat. Vegetable and protein calories don\u2019t do that.\u00a0 How much you lose depends a lot on what kind of calories you are eliminating.<\/p>\n
Then there is the metabolism factor. If you have more muscle, your body will burn more calories.\u00a0 If you carry mostly fat, your body will burn less.\u00a0 Whether your thyroid is functioning properly, whether you are exercising and getting the glucagon \u201cburn the fat\u201d response, and the timing of your meals all affect your metabolism which, in turn, affects your weight loss.<\/p>\n
Researcher Kevin Hall, PhD, of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK),and his colleagues at the World Health Organization, Columbia University, and the Harvard School of Public Health have acknowledged that the 3500 calories model isn\u2019t accurate and can discourage dieters and undermine their efforts.\u00a0 They have developed a model that they say more accurately predicts a dieter\u2019s expected weight loss over time, which can be found on the NIDDK Web site.<\/p>\n
Reducing calorie intake by 250 calories a day will eventually lead to a 25-pound weight loss, but it will take three years for most overweight or obese adults to get 95% of the way there, Hall says.\u00a0He adds that about half the weight will be lost in the first year, with weight loss slowing after this.<\/p>\n
But do we need a model, anyway?\u00a0 It\u2019s enough to know that calories-in-calories-out alone won\u2019t get us where we are going. \u00a0That\u2019s not to say that we ought to forget about calories altogether.\u00a0 Too much — even of the good stuff — will set back your weight loss.\u00a0 Keep an eye on your calories, \u00a0but focus on eating low glycemic foods and on getting up and moving.\u00a0Those things \u00a0will get you where you want to be.<\/p>\n
And remember, God didn\u2019t make you with a cookie cutter.\u00a0 So what if you don\u2019t fit the model the researchers developed?\u00a0 Do what works for YOU.<\/p>\n
Eating to live and living for Christ,<\/em><\/p>\n Susan Jordan Brown<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Numbers don\u2019t lie, but they might not saying what we think they are saying. For years the followers of \u201ccalories-in-calories-out\u201d diet styles have used the same formula.\u00a0 There are 3500 calories in a pound of fat. If you cut out 500 calories a day from the amount you are currently eating, you can lose a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":423,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[56,183,130,141],"class_list":["post-707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-helpful-tips","tag-calories","tag-model","tag-research","tag-sugar"],"yoast_head":"\n