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Greetings!
Thank you for your continued support of St. Francis Sports Medicine. We are looking forward to an exciting new year with much to offer. If you would like to hear more about Sports Medicine from one of our experts, please email Rodney Dender. And, remember, we're always available on our 24/7 "hurtline" at 864-675-HURT.
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Diets and Weight Loss
Kenny Cabe, ATC | St. Francis Sports Medicine
With Christmas and New Years' temptations past us, many will make resolutions to attempt shedding a few pounds. Also, many competitive athletes who are concerned about nutrition often look at popular diets and wonder - should I give one of these a try to help me gain an edge?
While completing a recent continuing education course on sports nutrition, I came across an article that addresses the effectiveness of popular diets. It specifically looked at Atkins, the Zone diet, and Weight Watchers. All of these popular diet plans have one thing in common: decreased calorie intake and increased energy output. However, the diet plans vary in nutrient consumption:
The Atkins diet plan is designed to control carbohydrate intake. Carbohydrate intake is limited, which means the majority of calorie intake is from proteins and fat. The Zone diet looks at the amount and type of carbohydrates consumed with emphasis on carbohydrates with a low glycemic index -- these are carbohydrates that have minimal processing along with fruits and vegetables. The Zone diet recommends that the individual eat an equal amount of carbohydrate, protein and fat. Weight Watchers is a program that requires membership, and includes instructions and support groups. All foods are assigned points and the individual is required to keep up with the points that they eat, and points can also be earned by exercising.
The disadvantages to these programs are that they can be strict or hard-to-follow, which may lead to feeling confused, alone, and frustrated - and that can make you want to quit your diet altogether. Dropout rates are somewhat high for all three programs, but one positive for Weight Watchers is that it offers support groups.
As far as results, individuals that are able to stick a plan for one year lose about 3% body weight (roughly 5-10 pounds) on average. These weight loss statistics are similar for all, regardless of whether you choose Weight Watchers, Zone or Atkins. The conclusion was that there is no strong evidence that one weight loss plan is superior to another.
So, are the diets a good way to go? For individuals who wish to lose weight, we simply recommend decreasing caloric intake (while making healthy food choices) and increasing energy expenditure through exercise. For competitive athletes, these diets really may not be a good idea. Athletes need to make sure that they are consuming the right amount of calories that will fuel their activity. Roughly for adult athletes, the acceptable distribution range of nutrients is as follows: 45-65% of calories should come from carbohydrates, 10-35% from protein, and 20-35% from fat.
If you're looking for a good balance diet resource, check out this interesting interactive website: www.mypyramid.gov. It allows you to input your daily diet and see where you stack up in reference to the recommended daily requirements and acceptable ranges.
Have a safe and healthy New Year!
Resource: Abstract and summary of an article written by Marie Dunford, PHD, RD
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Nutrition Experts
If you need help balancing nutrition with your active lifestyle, consider
scheduling an individualized counseling session with one of our Registered Dietitians. They can customize a sports nutrition plan based on your specific needs. Nutrition counseling may be covered by insurance with a physician's referral. For more information or to schedule an appointment, please call 864-675-4323.
Learn more about nutritional counseling at St. Francis >>
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