Losing weight without the 'D' word

Samantha Nicholson-Spence, Contributor

Whether we are clinically obese or not, many a Jamaican will often state that they want to lose a few pounds. Food is a necessity for sustaining life and the act of eating is downright pleasurable.

Good food brings families together, can make or break relationships, drown our sorrows, lift our spirits, boost our energy, and maybe even sexual prowess.

Coming out of the holiday season, food was, as usual, a major centrepiece and many a New Year's resolution will again be to lose weight.

How to accomplish weight loss

You must burn more calories than you eat. Eating less is critical to achieving real weight loss. If you are one of those people who 'don't eat much' yet can't seem to lose weight, this also applies to you.

Examine the quality of the food you are eating for hidden calories (for example, butter in your steamed vegetables, coconut milk in everything) and get moving to speed up that sluggish metabolism.

Calculate your daily caloric requirements for weight maintenance and weight loss as a starting point.

Online calculators are available at http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm.

You must eat less than your basic maintenance requirements in order to lose weight.

Exercise boosts your body's fat-burning capabilities even while sitting quietly. Muscle burns fat. Exercise is critical for maintenance of weight loss and in conjunction with limiting calories will aid in achieving true weight loss.

Eat less and burn more

Count calories: log everything that you eat and stick to your allotted calorie budget.

Stick to recommended serving sizes (food scales and measuring cups are your friends).

Eat more complex carbohydrates such as wheat bread that will keep you full longer.

Eat your vegetables first then proceed to the meat and rice or ground provisions

Eat from a smaller plate (if it can't fit on the plate, it doesn't make it to your tummy!)

Avoid simple sugars, for example, pastries - these create a sugar rush that will leave you very hungry and tired in a few hours.

Do not drink your calories. Stick to water as much as possible. Now that you will be on a calorie budget you cannot afford to 'waste' 300 calories on a soda. You would need to walk approximately three miles to burn off that soda (that is, from Cross Roads to Half-Way Tree ... and back again).

Do regular aerobic exercise (health permitting). You must exercise within 50-85 per cent of your maximal heart rate for effective calorie burning (read: jogging not leisure walking).

Increase your treadmill incline and do weight training where possible.

Keep challenging yourself - never get complacent in your exercise routine.

Even despite their best efforts, some persons will not achieve their desired weight loss. There are medical and surgical options available locally that can help the morbidly obese.

Uncommon obesity may be caused by an underlying medical illness.

Even when the decision is made to take weight loss drugs or undergo weight-reduction surgery, the same rule still applies: you must eat less and burn more.

NOTE: Maximal heart rate is estimated by subtracting your age from 220. You should consult with your physician before commencing a significant weight loss regime (goal > 20 per cent weight loss) and before commencing an intensive exercise programme.

Samantha Nicholson-Spence MBBS, MD is an American Board of Internal Medicine certified internist practising at Imani Medical www.imanimed.com ; health@gleanerjm.com