Calories, not carbohydrates, make you obese

By Wendy Large [no kidding - that's her name - ed.]

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Continuing my series on weight-loss and diet options, this week let's look at the Atkins Diet.

Let me start by saying I have never been on the Atkins Diet, and never plan to be. I do, however, know many people who have tried this program.

For starters, I don't like the word "diet." To me that means "temporary." When you go off the "diet," you go back to your old ways of eating and you haven't learned anything about your habits. The best "diet," in my opinion, is and behavior modification. Remember, I believe in the 80/20 philosophy; it's what you do 80 percent of the time that will make a difference in your life and behavior. The remaining 20 percent is life.

According to the Atkins Web site, "one meal can destroy your weight-loss program for the day, and set it back for the week." Huh? There is absolutely no way that one meal can sabotage a week's worth of effort. It's all about moderation, not deprivation.

For those of you not familiar with the Atkins Diet, you basically are supposed to omit most if not all carbohydrates from your diet. The program even goes so far to say that if you frequent a burger chain, eat a bacon cheeseburger and toss the bun.

Say what? Let's forget about the weight-loss arena for a moment and think about your heart. What is that bacon cheeseburger, without the bun, doing to your heart? Fat is fat!

Whatever weight-loss route you decide to take, it is input versus output. Take in fewer calories than you burn, and you will lose weight, guaranteed. But I am very skeptical of any "diet" that eliminates any food or food group. We need to eat a variety of foods from all of the food groups. In a fast-paced, super-size meal era, we need to eat the appropriate quantities.

I agree with Atkins on one thing: If you eat these types of carbohydrates you will gain weight. However, it's not carbohydrates that make us fat. Some people don't even realize that vegetables and fruits are carbohydrates. How can we possibly be asked to omit this very important food group from our diet? It isn't realistic or even possible.

The best "diet" I can find does not require you to eliminate any one food from your life. If you omit something, you will crave it. If you crave it, sooner or later you will give in to temptation and overindulge. Instead, I recommend satisfying your craving with a taste and you won't feel deprived.

Many of the people I know who have tried the Atkins Diet have experienced temporary weight loss. The key word here is temporary. I have also noticed that people on this type of carbohydrate-restricted diet become irritable. They tend to need more sleep than they used to, find it impossible to exercise, etc. because they lack the energy. The reason is they aren't eating any carbohydrates.

Our diets are supposed to consist of 55-60 percent carbohydrates, with 48 percent being complex carbohydrates, including starchy and fiber-filled foods, such as whole-grain breads, cereals, pastas, rice, potatoes, beans, fresh fruits and vegetables. The recommended percentage of fats in your diet should be 20-30 percent of your total calories with protein consisting of 12-15 percent.

According to the American College of Sports Medicine the average adult American should eat 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. If you are on a high protein "diet," you are eating way more than that. Do you know what happens to the excess protein we ingest and our body doesn't use? Our bodies either convert it to fat or it is excreted through our urine. This means that Americans have the most expensive urine in the world!

An article in the April 9 Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that among published studies, participant weight loss while using low-carbohydrate diets was principally associated with decreased caloric intake and increased diet duration, but not with reduced carbohydrate content.

In summary, calories, not carbohydrates, make you fat. Burn off more then you take in and you will lose weight. Eat a variety of foods while watching your portion size. Try to concentrate on keeping your fat intake below 30 percent of your total calories. Eating healthy may not only result in weight loss, but will also help prevent cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

Wendy Large, 34, is the manager of MedCentral Health and Fitness Center. If you would like a specific Gen X health and fitness topic tackled, drop her an e-mail at wlarge~medcentral.org and you look for the subject in an upcoming column.

Originally published Monday, May 12, 2003