Weight-Loss Q & A with Pamella Montgomery

Q: Please help me weight loss expert. I am a working mother of 3 great kids. My husband and I are average weights as are two of my children. My oldest daughter is 18 years old and is really very heavy. Last time I took her to the doctor she weighed in at 195 pounds and she is only 5'5" tall!! I know she feels bad about herself, and I try not to comment on her weight but it's plainly obvious that she is miserable. I don't know what to do to help her. All of the rest of us can pretty much eat whatever we want, but she gains weight so easily. Do you have any advise for me? I'd really like to help her if I can.

A: An epidemic of obesity has been declared in the U.S and with that there has been an increase in obesity in kids. Part of this is due to the sedentary lifestyles of today’s children and increased use of high calorie convenience foods. But trying to make your child thinner by putting them on a diet doesn’t work. Childhood obesity is a behavioral problem. Limiting food intake often backfires and causes them to become preoccupied with food. Hunger will lead them to fill up on forbidden foods. A better approach is to help your child learn healthy eating behaviors by providing a structure for mealtimes.

Model Your Behavior - You can help your daughter most by setting a good example. The trick, experts say, is to downplay the importance of looking like a model and instead make sure that you are modeling the behaviors you want your children to imitate. Set a positive example and then trust that they will learn to eat and exercise like you. Because many parents work full time, they tend to have less time to prepare nutritious meals. As a result, more kids are eating prepackaged foods and fast foods which are heavier in fat and sugars.

In these hectic times, family meals are often sacrificed. But just by scheduling that time for the family, most experts agree you'll help build your children's self-confidence and conversational skills. You'll also help them develop healthy eating habits. There's no better time to do this than at a family dinner. Make the effort to have family meals and focus your energy on meal planning. Offer a wide variety of healthy foods.

Beyond protecting your daughter’s self esteem, you can try some of these suggestions:
Make subtle changes - change her diet gradually rather than trying to change it all at once.
Clean House - Stock up on healthy snacks.
Limit liquids and portion sizes
Slow Down - try eating more slowly
Have fun by involving the entire family in meal planning
Family Exercise - start adding nightly walks and outdoor activities to your day.
Limit couch potato activities - establish a time limit on Television and Video Games

With some simple changes, you can help your daughter to become more fit. Set a good example by eating and preparing healthy foods and encouraging (and participating in) aerobic activity. If you work together as a family, you will all benefit from this healthier lifestyle without having to single your heavy daughter out.

Q: Is Ephedra really as bad as everyone says? I was taking pills containing Ephedra and was starting to lose weight. I?m afraid to take them anymore.

A: Ephedra, also known as Ma Huang, is an herb whose active ingredients are the ephedrine alkaloids, which are adrenaline-like stimulants. Products containing Ephedra have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for thousands of years to treat symptoms of colds, allergies and asthma, but never for weight loss.
In the U.S., Ephedra is a huge business and is found in countless dietary supplements to reduce weight, boost energy, and improve athletic performance. The use of supplements containing Ephedra has been linked to about 100 deaths, including many young athletes, and over 1,500 reports of serious health problems. It is especially risky for people who have high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease and can cause serious reactions in apparently healthy young people. It is often combined with caffeine or other stimulants which can amplify the herb's effects and increase the dangers. A recent study found that Ephedra was responsible for 64% of all herb-related reports to the poison-control centers around the country.

The FDA has been trying, unsuccessfully, to restrict the use of Ephedra for more than seven years. However, the main problem is that the agency has very little control over supplements. A bill passed by Congress in 1994, the Dietary Supplement and Health Act, requires the FDA to prove that a supplement is a public danger before ordering it off the market. In the case of Ephedra, this has been very hard to do despite the overwhelming evidence that it is dangerous. People are often fooled in thinking that because it's natural, it's safe. In fact this is not always the case. There are many alternatives available for weight loss and I would encourage you to choose a safer option and stay away from Ephedra supplements.




Q: What is your opinion of Atkins diet and philosophy?

A: The Atkins Diet is one of the most well known so-called "High Protein" diets. Dr. Atkins claims you can eat all the protein and fat that you want and still lose weight if you just cut out carbohydrates. When you first begin the diet, you are in an induction phase where you can eat steak and eggs but you cut out almost all carbohydrates (except for a few greens.) After 2 weeks, you are permitted to add back a few carbohydrates "until you stop losing weight."

In my experience, many people who have attempted the Atkins Diet find they can't even make it through the induction phase because they don't feel well eating the allowed foods. While there are a few success stories attributed to the Atkins Diet, many people find it becomes a very unfriendly diet if you need to feed a family, especially children. Since this type of diet restricts many healthful foods which provide essential nutrients, people who remain on the Atkins Diet long term may be at risk for vitamin and mineral deficiencies as well as potential health risks.

The Atkins Diet can produce weight loss, just like the grapefruit diet, the cabbage soup diet, or any other fad diet out there. However, there has been no data to indicate that the Atkins Diet is any better than any of these other diets for weight loss. A researcher at the University of Pennsylvania hypothesizes that "the probable reason for greater weight loss among people on the Atkins Diet regimen" is that it "gives them a framework to eat fewer calories, since most of the food choices in our culture are carbohydrate driven; you are left eating a lot of fat, and you get tired of that. Over time people simply eat fewer calories and lose weight." As it turns out, the Atkins Diet isn't really high protein; it's just high fat. The Atkins plan starts off with 36% of calories from protein and declines to 24% in the maintenance stage.

The American Heart Association's Nutrition Committee is unconvinced that the Atkins Diet controls cholesterol long term and points out that there are no long term studies to back up this claim. Their major concern is with the high fat content of the diet and its overall effect on the cardiovascular system. The bottom line, according to the American Heart Association, is that people who want to lose weight and keep it off need to make lifestyle changes for the long term -- this means regular exercise and a balanced diet.





Q: What do you know about the Cabbage Soup diet?

A: The cabbage soup diet is one of the most popular fad diets floating around the Internet. This is one of the many popular single food diets which claim that certain foods – such as cabbage or grapefruit – have special properties (e.g. “fat burning”) that supposedly cause easy weight loss. The basis of the 7 day Cabbage Soup diet is that you can eat as much cabbage soup as you like, combined with very few other allowed foods. The diet claims that the more soup you eat, the more weight you will lose.

Dieters will experience an initial weight loss either because the diet is so low in calories or because they become bored with the monotony of the diet menu and end up not eating enough to maintain their weight. Their body will then move into a starvation state where it becomes even more difficult to lose weight due to slowing of the metabolic rate.

Single food diets such as the cabbage soup diet, are not based on scientific fact. They limit your food choices making difficult to obtain all of the necessary nutrients. These diets often lack protein, fiber and important vitamins and minerals, making them unhealthy diet choice. Sooner or later, you will grow tired of eating the same foods you’ve been allowed on the diet. Chances are high that you will regain whatever weight you have lost once you go off the diet.




Q: What is the key to a successful weight loss diet?

A: The American Dietietic Association (ADA) suggests that successful weight loss (losing weight and keeping it off for at least 5 years) is accomplished by making positive changes to both eating habits and physical activity patterns. The ADA recommends choosing a weight loss program, which is low in calories (energy) but not in essential foodstuffs.

Choosing a diet plan which is flexible and allows food choices will make it possible for you to permanently change your eating habits. Eating a variety of foods helps provide vitamins, minerals, fiber and phytochemicals, all of which may help reduce chronic disease risk. By using this approach, you don’t need to give up your favorite foods when trying to maintain or lose weight. Choosing a diet program that helps you change both your dietary habits and level of physical activity will increase your chances of maintaining weight loss.

The weight loss-program should also be directed towards slow, steady weight loss. With most diets there will be an initial rapid weight loss during the first couple of weeks but this is largely due to loss of fluid. After this period expect weight loss to be slower. Setting reasonable weight loss goals is important to your continued success. Remember, weight loss programs which incorporate changes in both eating habits and physical activity have been proven to be the most successful without stressing your body.




Q: Is it good to fast occasionally to detoxify the body? Will it help me lose weight?

A: Almost every religion has some type of fasting ritual. For a person in good health, there is no danger in a 24-48 hour fast. However beyond a day or two, fasting can cause fatigue, headache and nausea and can be especially hazardous for anyone with a chronic illness such as diabetes, heart disease or pregnancy. When fasting it is important to drink plenty of fluids.

Proponents of Detox diets claim that toxins in our bodies cause everything from “headaches to heart disease” and that the only way to rid your body of these toxins is by fasting. A toxin is a chemical or poison that is known to have harmful effects on the body and can come from food, water or the air we breath. There is no scientific evidence that Detox diets help rid the body of toxins faster or that the elimination of toxins will make you a healthier, more energetic person. Your digestive system is quite efficient at cleansing itself and ridding the body of waste. Your liver and kidneys will do their job if you eat a healthy diet.

These diets are intended for short-term purposes only and are not recommended to help people to lose weight. Not surprisingly, fasting for several days will result in rapid initial weight loss, but most of the loss is fluid, rather than fat. Continued fasting will result in considerable loss of muscle. Fasting is an ineffective weight loss method because it also slows your metabolism making it difficult to continue losing and maintaining weight loss. There is a name for fasting beyond a day or two: starvation.