Weight loss Part 2. Nutrition for weight loss

Weight loss Part 2. Nutrition for weight loss  
   
Nutrition adjustment

An important goal of nutrition adjustment is to maintain a negative energy balance from food (calories) every day. This means that the calories from the food you eat are lower than the calories your body burns each day which are considered separately into two parts: calories in and calories out

1. Calories in 

Set a calorie goal. The lower you set, the more weigh you loss but also the even more difficult it gets. such as

• Regular calorie formula. Set a goal of 1,200 calories a day.
• Moderately low calorie formula. Set a goal of 800-1200 calories a day.
• Very low calorie formula. Set a goal of 800 calories a day. There is no evidence showing greater benefit for weight loss from setting lower calorie beyond this point. And strict fasting should be avoided which is to starve yourself below 200 calories per day. Doing so can lead to dangerous ketosis from nutrient deficiency.

2. Calories out 

Calculate only the number of calories you burn at rest (basal metabolic rate: BMR) which is proportional to your body weight at 22 calories per kg. e.g. body weight of 80 kg, calories out are = 80 x 22 = 1,760 calories,  however, this exclude additional calories burned, e.g. exercise other than daily activities, etc. This shows that the more weight loss, the less calories burn, making weight loss in the late stage more difficult than the early stage. In addition, for anyone who is 30 years and over, the number of calories burned is reduced by 10 additional calories per person per each additional year, making the elderly more prone to excess calories every year if there is no adjustment to reduce calories or increase exercise. 

Practical steps for controlling incoming calories 

Step 1. Set your calorie goal. It is usually recommended not to be lower than 800 calories per day, otherwise, it may not be possible to achieve the goal. However, it should not exceed 1,200 calories per day, as it may lead to an ineffective weight loss.

Step 2. Learn to assess calories contained in the food that we eat on a regular basis each day till it becomes a habit.  It may be evaluated as simple, as looking at food labels or open the food analysis tables by the Nutrition Division, Department of Health, where I cut in brief part of them that are often used as attached at the end of this document. These data from the Nutrition Division analyze calories specifically from 100 grams of eatable food. 

The principles that will help make it easier to assess calories from food are as follows

1. Learn to estimate the weight of 1 gram which is approximately equal to the volume of 1 cc, or 1 cm wide, 1 cm long, 1 cm high. If it is in liquid form, one teaspoon will scoop 5 cc or about 5 grams, one tablespoon will scoop 15 cc or about 15 grams.
2. All kinds of meat without fat and bone. One slice of 100 g provides approximately 150 calories and 20% protein (20g). 
3. 100 grams of steamed rice (about 7 spoons) provides about 140 calories. 
4. 100 grams of dessert provides approximately 250 calories. However, it also depends on the amount of water in the dessert. Sweets with less water have more energy.
5. Fruits with a lot of water, such as watermelon, apple, provide about 20 calories per 100 grams. Fruits with firm flesh but not very sweet, such as guava, raw mangoes, oranges provide about 50 calories per 100 grams. While a sweet or oily ripe fruit, such as bananas durians, provide about 150 calories per 100 grams which is around the same calories as from cooked rice. 
6. Almost all kinds of vegetables provide about 20 calories per 100 grams. 
7. Dishes cooked by stir-frying or frying will contain approximately 250 additional calories from fried oil per 100g of meat. 
8. Practice reading the label of ready-made food to learn how many unit of consumption (servings) in each purchased package or can and how many calories are provided in each serving.

Step 3. Write a diary, record the food we eat in 1 day and calculate the amount of calories received.

Step 4. Analyze the food currently eaten.

Analysis of the nutritional value of food. There are four important points to be analyzed as follows:

Calorie intake is optimal or too much.  If too much, from which food where the calories are from. 

1. Is amount of fruits and vegetables sufficient to provide the body enough vitamins and minerals?  This is considered enough if the body receives up to 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. 
2. Is the amount of protein that the body received enough?  WHO standard recommended optimal daily protein intake for the average person should not be less than 0.45 g of protein per 1 kg body weight. According to the US-RDA standard, it is recommended not to eat more than 0.8 g of protein per kg. 
3. Is amount of sodium or salt too much? The US-RDA recommends that the average person shouldn't get more than 1.5 grams of sodium per day. 

Step 5. Formulate your own food.

Diet formulation is to set up a menu to start diet plan that will look like a food diary that we have already made but only the details of the food that we intend to eat will change.

Example of nutrition adjustment

Ms. Sudsuay who has a height of 155 cm and wants to lose weight to 55 kg (unknown current weight) makes dietary adjustments by  
Step 1. Ms.Sudsuay sets a goal of nutrition adjustment, here which, is 1,200 calories per day.  
Step 2. Ms.Sudsuay must learn to assess calories contained in the food that she eat on a daily basis.  
Step 3. Write a diary, record the food she eats in 1 day and calculate the amount of calories received.

1 Nov. 2010

Step 4. Analyze the food you currently eat.

1. Total calories received are 2,641 calories per day. But the target is only 1,200 calories, so there are 1,441 extra calories per day, and found that a lot of calories received are from sugar, soft drinks, creamer, cookies, cakes and cooking oils. 
2. Amount of fruits and vegetables received all day is much below the standard that should be 5 servings.
3. The total protein intake is 32 grams per day, which is neither too small nor too much. So in the new diet plan, there is no need to deliberately increase or decrease amount of protein as much.
4. It is difficult to count how much sodium we get in practice, as the detailed sodium count is only one way possible through calculation from the analysis table. A practical way is to avoid salty foods and stop the habit of adding chili fish sauce.

Step 5. Formulate your own food.

Reduce the amount of incoming calories. Reduce sugar intake, soft drinks, powdered fat (solid fat or trans-fat) such as creamer, cakes cookies, etc. Avoid stir-fried and fried foods, triple amount of fruits and vegetables.  However, as there are a lot of excess calories, it may be necessary to cut down on non-protein foods and more on fruits and vegetables. For example, stop eating dinner, etc.

New dietary plan for Ms. Sudsuay  

2 Nov. 2010

The above is just an example. In real life, a person who want to lose weight must take action to set up their own diet. Be diligent in reading food labels. Be diligent to compare. Learn to cook by oneself as much as possible. Choose to buy food more carefully until able to summarize into a well-balanced diet chart that is consistent with the above four principles to be used for own self.

Appendix Table: Example of nutritional analysis of Thai food

Group 1. Cereals and products

Group 2. Starchy roots, tubes and products.

Group 3. Hard shell fruits, seed plant, dried beans and products

Group 4. Vegetables and vegetable products

Group 5. Fruits and fruit products

Group 6. Meat

Group 7. Seafood

Group 8. Eggs

Group 9. Milk and products

Group 10. Ready-made meals and single dishes

Group 11. Sweets