The Impossible Dream II Very low calorie diet worries

Press, 10 March 1988, Page 9

The Impossible Dream II Very low calorie diet worries

YOUR FOOD STYLE I

JANICE BREMER DIETITIAN

Some people experience uniesirable side effects from a very low calorie diet. These are an indicatii n to try a higher energy ntake (more than 300 call ries each day). These symptoms are often difficult to describe but m;y include lightheaded feelings, loss of balance, dizziness, nausea, black spots before the eyes o i sudden standing up, irr lability, sleeplessness, excessive tiredness, dry “ta :ky” mouth, constipation, increased susceptibility ti infection, and dry. skin. Diets that replace normal fold should he used only ir temporary bursts as the products have not stood the test of long time use. We do not know if formula diets can replicate hi trients as they occur in nature i accurately enough It is mportant to revert back to using normal foods o cover those essential substances in food that ar • yet riot well identified, put may be essen-

tial for nutrition. These (powder meals are defij cient in fibre, and are often deficient in trace i l minerals. The very low I j calorie diets lack enough j: calories or kilojoules to i prevent use of their proi tein for energy. There is no one protein t or calorie level that suits I everyone. A particular ( diet may not give the expected results. There may be problems adjusting to a solid diet after weeks of liquid meals. There may be a risk of binge eating after a rigid diet period. This can provoke sufficient despair for

you to completely abandon further attempts at weight reduction. There are people who find the “buzz” from a “sensational” diet imperative to motivate the body slimming process. Some of thel worst diets can be criticised on i nutritional grounds. j The: worst I are single food item diets — apple or grapefruit diet or the bread; diet for example. High { fat and/or low carbohydrate i type diets are also unsound. Never choose low Calorie diets with { no carbohydrate

(sugar or starch) or less than 30 grams of carbohydrate per day. ; For those who. must “go on diets” you ' must be prepared for “coming off the diet” before you start. Like the food i decisions you have to make for the rest of your life — YOU have to decide how: to lose your weight — not your friend, your doctor or dietitian, or the sellers of diet formula.

If you need the security of a “diet” there is plenty of information; available but prepare for coming off it. There is no evidence that Very Low Calorie Diets are more likely to achieve enduring weight loss than other diets 'nor that they are more or less likely to be followed by weight gain. When such evidence is available we will all be clamouring for a try to be sure! J My suggestions for what to do when “coming off a diet,” or better i still, doing it without the diet, will be in my next column. —