A weighty issue

Managing weight is obviously a very complicated issue. No one has completely figured out how to master the metabolism so that it is running at optimal efficiency. That said, the strategies employed in health care have run from obvious "caloric restriction", to fringe "HcG injections", to preemptive "bariatric surgery". Somewhere in this array of strategies lies a healthy and successful strategy.

One of the most obvious concerns is portion distortion. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has sucessfully pointed out the differences in portion size in the last 20 years. Supersize doesn't only apply to fast food. It applies to coffee, salads, muffins, and well...my weakness....popcorn at the movies. I have summarized this distortion of portions as the NHLBI calls it in my handout that can be downloaded at:
http://www.drrinde.com/portiondistortion.pdf

Either our vision has changed or our stomache's have increased size because we are eating more then 2 times what is normal for a serving . Seriously, for a genetic dna change to occur in the last 20 years to promote this increased caloric consumption is unrealistic. So, it must be a result of behaviorial conditioning. Realistically if you are an adult in your 30's or greater, you are no longer growing vertically which was why when we were younger we were told to "clean our plates". The game has changed and the rules have changed. The mantra shoud be "take only what you need".

The strategies I employ are an interplay of dietary behavior (such as portion awarenes), food macronutrient profile (ie. protein vs. carbs), food pharmacalogic effect (ie. low glycemic, satiating, thermogenic foods, etc), exercise, and lifestyle (ie. stress managment, sleep)

I will be talking about this topic on the Naturopathic Perspective (SCAN TV 77) on December 4th, , 2007 at 6:30 p.m.