Weight Loss Information |
Whats Wrong With Dr. Phils Food Plan?
I really like Dr. Phil, so I wanted to like his new book on weight loss. And I do like some of it, however, there's a big problem with the chapter on what to eat. Dr. Phil proposes exactly the same eating plan for everyone. This will NOT work! His plan may include too many calories for some people, mostly small-framed people. I was actually eating a very similar amount of food at one time, watching my fat intake carefully, eating plenty of fiber, and my weight wouldn't budge. When I joined Weight Watchers, I learned that I was eating too much (for someone my size) to lose weight. After following their suggestions, I eventually lost 40 pounds and have maintained a healthy weight for almost 5 years. Dr. Phil's plan also actually provides too few calories for many people to be successful. Sound impossible? Let me explain. Your body needs a certain number of calories to sustain normal functions like pumping blood, breathing, and digesting food (called your basal metabolic rate, or BMR.) This need actually depends on your current weight. The heavier you are, the more calories your body needs just to function, even at rest. There are several websites to visit for a BMR calculator and more information on this subject. You also burn calories during exercise; your adjusted caloric needs including your activity level is called the AMR (active metabolic rate). Some of the sites you'll find will calculate both your BMR and AMR, so keep looking if you don't see AMR on the first one you hit. As you lose weight, your BMR and AMR will drop. We all know that if we eat too much, we gain weight. We also all know that if we eat way too little, we can starve to death. But somewhere in between, we can lose weight healthfully. Our bodies are smart enough to know where that range is and to protect us if we eat too little. (It also tries to protect us from eating too much. That's what feeling uncomfortably stuffed is all about!) If you eat a little below your AMR, you can lose weight healthfully. If you eat farther below, your body will protect you by reducing your BMR (and AMR) to conserve energy, and you'll stop losing weight. Eat too far below, and you'll start losing again-but you're starving yourself. What does this mean? You must eat enough to lose weight healthfully! If you eat too few calories, you'll likely either get stuck on a plateau, or you'll lose weight too fast with potential health consequences. A healthy rate of weight loss is no more than 2 pounds per week average, after the first 2-3 weeks on a plan. A good recommendation for healthy weight loss is to eat 500 calories under your AMR (not below your BMR!) and to remember to recalculate your needs as you lose weight (recalculate after every 25 pounds lost, if you get stuck and are not losing, or if you increase your activity significantly). Dr. Phil doesn't provide different plans based on your starting weight and activity level, and he is against counting calories (or exchanges or Points.) But without knowing your approximate AMR and calculating the calories (or exchanges or Points) in a food plan, it's impossible to know how much food to eat to start out. And without recalculating your AMR as you lose and adjusting your food plan accordingly, it's difficult to keep losing weight at the proper rate. He makes no mention of changing your food plan until you reach your final goal. But people who have a significant amount to lose will need to adjust their calorie intake several times before reaching goal. One size does NOT fit all! Frankly I am quite surprised nobody told him this before he published! If you are serious about losing weight healthfully, either calculate this for yourself or join a program (like Weight Watchers) where they teach you how much to eat without restricting your food choices. With just a little information about yourself and your body, you can do this RIGHT. About The Author Dale Reynolds is a weight loss counselor from update New York. She has written a book, "A Slim Book On Weighty Matters", about weight management and has a website with great tips and a free newsletter, www.slimdale.com
MORE RESOURCES: Unable to open RSS Feed $XMLfilename with error HTTP ERROR: 404, exiting |
RELATED ARTICLES
Protecting Your Spine and Lower Back While You Lose Weight When most people begin a Weight Loss program or diet plan so that they can tone up and/or lose weight, the often forget about THE most important aspect of any exercise and diet program: Safety.Although there are numerous ways in which exercising safely is beneficial to you, one of the most important and the least observed is concerning the spine and lower back. Motivation and Dieting - Whats the Missing Link? If you are like everyone else who has hit rock bottom with their weight struggles, and have declared that this day will be the first day of your diet, then this article is for you.Too often it seems that most dieters jump on the weight loss boat, yet fail to bring along a months pass. Fast Weight Loss - Can You Really Lose 60lbs in 30 Days? Fast Weight Loss - Is it better to lose 2lbs a day or 2lbs a week?Yes it's very possible that you can lose 60lbs in 30 days but I don't think you would want to and here's the reason why:Let's say you do lose 60lbs in 30 days? how much of that weight you lose do you think is going to be pure body fat? Remember-- body fat makes us look ugly.Anytime you try to lose more than 2lbs a week or 60lbs in 30 days (2lbs a day!)?A larger part of the weight you lose is only going to be water and muscle. For All Walks of Life Why Walking Could Be the Solution to Your Fitness Dilemma.Walk, don't run, to your local fitness store and try on a pair of walking shoes. How We Rescued Our Child from Anorexia, Effecting a Complete Recovery in Just Six Months In March 2003 our then 13 year old daughter, Helen, was diagnosed with anorexia nervosa, at which point she was on the verge of being emaciated. Her BMI was approximately 15. Fitness Resolutions The holidays are now officially over and it's time to get back on track! January 1st is the day we all get to start over. A time to make the changes in our lives that we've wanted to make but got sidetracked along the way. Lose Weight And Get Healthy; Can Laughter Be A Cure For Obesity? Once there were these two Nuns and they.. The Miraculous Claims of the Zone Diet One way of recognizing a fad diet is said to be the promise of multiple miraculous effects upon health. And Zone diet promises a lot. The Public Stoning of Gastric Bypass Patients: When Things Get Ugly Recently a woman went public in her online diet community with her decision for gastric bypass surgery. She was asking for fellowship and support from fellow dieters. How To Avoid Common Diet Scams As our country gains weight at an alarming rate, we are spending more each year on products that promise us easy, effortless weight loss. Each year in the United States, an estimated 35 billion dollars is spent each year on weight loss products. Atkins Diet in UK The most recent shocking news related to Atkins diet UK is while dieting Atkins, people don't feel the drive to eat more.British population is largely enjoying Atkins dietThough The United Kingdom doesn't have to tackle serious issues regarding overweight and obesity, there are enough British dieting. Acupuncture Weight Loss? Plus 5 Step Weight Loss Plan I remember back in my senior year of high school - my best friend since 5th grade was living in France. He wrote that they didn't like Americans much. The Jack LaLanne Diet - Are You Tough Enough? There's no way you can separate the Jack LaLanne diet from the Jack LaLanne lifestyle. And anyone who knows anything about this undisputed Godfather of fitness knows that his lifestyle is definitely not for the faint hearted. Drink Beer AND Lose Weight Want to shed that beer belly? Why not try the low-carbohydrate approach? Following the philosophy of today's most popular low-carbohydrate books, dieters gradually increase the early restrictions of their daily carbohydrate intake while excess weight continues to come off, once again enjoying starchy foods like potatoes, rice and pasta .. Lose the Weight for GOOD - Nothing to Lose or EVERYTHING to Lose? Some of you will not like what I'm going to say, even though it is the truth. That may be where the issue of America's health problems lies. Americas Secret Addiction America is a nation of self-disclosers, amiably acceptant of our weaknesses. Celebrities, family members, coworkers and friends think nothing of admitting their compulsions and dependencies on alcohol, street drugs, prescription medications. Weight Loss: Its Not Always What You Eat, But What You Dont Eat On a little island half way in between Guam and thePhilippines there is a rampant epidemic affecting the inhabitants. This tiny island of approximately 8,200 people is not afflicted with famine or a deadlydisease as you might think when talking about anepidemic. What is Your Healthy Body Weight Everywhere we look in the western world we are inundated with pictures, images, icons and inferences of the 'perfect' female shape! The truth is that many of these images are altered or enhanced in some way and do not depict the typical female form. The pressure to lose weight is immense when we are bombarded every day with media selling products based on slimness, sex appeal and fashion. The One and Only Way to Lose Weight There is only one way to lose weightThere really is only one way to lose weight. You have to burn more calories than you use in a day. Ghost of Binge Past Holidays and special events should be a time of great joy, but dieters customarily imagine these occasions with dread and horror. Why? Because celebrations are not celebrations without lots of high-calorie, tempting foods. |
home | site map | contact us |