Safer Weight Loss

Does the diet include reflect the Food Pyramid guidelines?
Any diet that does not rely on foods from these dietary guidelines is nutritionally unbalanced. The Dietary Guidelines describe a healthy diet as one that

• Emphasizes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and fat-free or low-fat milk and milk products;
• Includes lean meats, poultry, fish, beans, eggs, and nuts; and
• Is low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol, salt (sodium), and added sugars.

 Suggested foods to meet your daily dietary goals
Use the dietary guidelines found at www.mypyramid.gov to help you eat better every day. Visit this website to learn your personal dietary guidelines based on your age, gender and level of physical activity.  It’s easy, quick and informative. These tailored guidelines will suggest how many servings of each food group are recommended to maintain a well balanced diet.  

Each of these food groups provide some, but not all, of the nutrients you need. No one food group is more important than another- for good health you need them all. Go easy on fats, oils, and sweets, the foods higher in fat, sugar and calories.

Does the diet explain portion size and employ a specific calorie level?
Pay less attention to specific caloric intake than to portion size and nutritional completeness. A reputable diet will provide food and portion suggestions along with their energy values. Beware of sensational headlines, such as "Eat all you want..." They usually mean the diet lacks direction and information.  A balanced portion plate will be: 1/4 lean meat or protein source, 1/4 bread/starch/grains, and 1/2 vegetables.

Does the diet make realistic claims about the amount of weight that can be lost?
You can be fairly certain a diet is unrealistic if it claims you can lose 10-20 pounds in one week. The recommended safe weight loss is 1-2 pounds per week. Any weekly loss greater than this amount is mostly a loss of water and muscle, and does not change the body's fat content. In fact, the more gradual the weight loss, the more likely it is to be permanent.

Does the diet contain any warning or time limitations?
Any nutritionally balanced diet can be followed by anyone indefinitely. If you see a warning or time limitation on a diet, immediately question its effect on your health. If you have any dietary restrictions, it is especially important to avoid fad diets unless your health care provider or dietitian has evaluated them.

Is the basic principle of the diet clearly explained?
Regard diet descriptions that begin with "New fat burning miracle..." with suspicion. A diet should be based on sound medical principles with additional sources of information cited. (Remember, most fad diets described in popular magazines benefit the writer by fattening his or her bank account.)

How safe are Diet Pills?
Diet pills available over the counter (OTC) contain a combination of medications, usually phenylpropanolamine (PPA) and caffeine, which act to control appetite. The active agent in these medications, PPA, is a central nervous system stimulant and has many effects on the body, one of which is to depress the desire to eat. Caffeine, also a stimulant, increases alertness and decreases drowsiness and fatigue when taken in low doses (50-200 mg). Caffeine also has some weak appetite suppressant properties.

Recently, the effectiveness of PPA-based diet pills as weight control agents have been questioned. Studies show that although PPA may act on the brain to depress appetite, this effect is minimal, and PPA can produce some serious side effects, such as high blood pressure, nausea, restlessness, anxiety, insomnia, irritability, and hallucinations.

Caffeine also affects the circulatory function and has unpredictable effects on blood pressure. Because overweight people run a higher risk of hypertension, using PPA-based diet pills in the recommended doses may seriously damage health, especially in those people who are unaware of possible high blood pressure condition. For those reasons, many pharmacists are refusing to sell such aids until their safety has been evaluated.

Some alternatives to diet pills...
Eating and appetites for particular foods are influenced by many factors, most of which are learned throughout a lifetime. Diet pills of any kind will not change your food habits or preferences. If you want to control your weight by changing eating habits, try to cultivate tastes for new, lower calorie foods and learn more about eating a balanced diet from the Food Guide Pyramid to maintain an ideal weight.

The Department of Health Education has additional materials to help you lose weight safely. If you are unsure about any diet or need more information about dieting for weight control, consult a student health center or nutritionist in the dining hall.

The Department of Health Education has additional materials to help you lose weight safely. If you are unsure about any diet or need more information about dieting for weight control, consult a campus health center or contact:

Department of Health Education

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