Healthy Weight Loss- Weight Loss, Starvation Diets Vs. Functional Foods and Health Promotion (Part 4 of 4)

Healthy Weight loss

This section provides practical examples of weight loss strategies, as well as formulas to figure out what’s right for yourself. First, here are the basics you need to know:

Calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)
BMR for Females: weight (kg) X .95 kcal/kg X 24 hr = BMR in kcal per day
BMR for Males: weight (kg) X 1 kcal/kg X 24 hr = BMR in kcal per day

Determine your physical activity (PA) level
Sedentary: 30% of BMR
Light: 50% of BMR
Moderate: 75% of BMR
Strenuous/Heavy: 100% of BMR

Thermic effect of food (TEF):
10% of the sum of the BMR and physical activity

Total energy expenditure (TEE):
BMR + PA + TEF = TEE


The sedentary individual (Couch Potato)

79 kg (174 lb.) Male:

BMR = 79kg X 1 kcal/kg X 24 hr = 1896 kcal
PA = 30% of BMR (sedentary) = 1896 X 0.30 = 568.8 kcal
TEF = 10% of BMR + PA = (1896 + 568.8) X 0.10 = 246.48 kcal
TEE = 1896 kcal + 569 kcal + 246 kcal = 2711 kcal

This means that with a couch potato activity level (sedentary) a 174 lb. man will expend 2711 kcal per day just living and eating. So, let’s say this man would like to lose 5 lbs. We know that a negative energy expenditure of 3500 kcal constitutes the loss of one pound. Here is an example of how he can accomplish this:

Let’s assume that this man’s weight remains constant with his current food intake (this means that he is taking in around 2711 kcal per day). Now we’ll increase his activity level to the light category:

BMR remains unchanged = 79kg X 1 kcal/kg X 24 hr = 1896 kcal
PA = 50% of BMR (light) = 1896 X 0.50 = 948 kcal
TEF = 10% of BMR + PA = (1896 + 948) X 0.10 = 284.4 kcal
TEE = 1896 kcal + 948 kcal + 284 kcal = 3128 kcal

Here comes the weight loss math:

5 lbs. X 3500 kcal/lb = 17500 kcal

With only a light increase in activity and no change in eating habits (caloric intake) he will loose weight accordingly:

TEE of light activity = 3128 kcal
Continued dietary intake of: 2711 kcal

He is expending (3128 kcal – 2711 kcal) = 417 kcal per day more than he is taking in. This makes the negative energy expenditure = 417 kcal
At this rate he will lose a pound every 8 days. He will accomplish his weight loss goal of 5 lbs. in about 40 days, or 1 month and 10 days.




63 kg (139 lb.) Female:

BMR = 63kg X .95 kcal/kg X 24 hr = 1436.4 kcal
PA = 30% of BMR (sedentary) = 1436.4 X 0.30 = 430.92 kcal
TEF = 10% of BMR + PA = (1436.4 + 430.92) X 0.10 = 186.73 kcal
TEE = 1436 kcal + 431 kcal + 187 kcal = 2054 kcal

This means that with a couch potato activity level (sedentary) a 139 lb. woman will expend 2054 kcal per day just living and eating. So, just like before, let’s say this woman would like to lose 5 lbs. We know that a negative energy expenditure of 3500 kcal constitutes the loss of one pound. Here is an example of how she can accomplish this:

Let’s assume that this woman’s weight remains constant with her current food intake (this means that she is taking in around 2054 kcal per day). Now we’ll increase her activity level to the light category:

BMR = 63kg X .95 kcal/kg X 24 hr = 1436.4 kcal
PA = 50% of BMR (light) = 1436.4 X 0.50 = 718.2 kcal
TEF = 10% of BMR + PA = (1436.4 + 718.2) X 0.10 = 215.46 kcal
TEE = 1436 kcal + 718 kcal + 215 kcal = 2369 kcal

Here comes the weight loss math:

5 lbs. X 3500 kcal/lb = 17500 kcal

With only a light increase in activity and no change in eating habits (caloric intake) she will loose weight accordingly:

TEE of light activity = 2369 kcal
Continued dietary intake of: 2054 kcal

She is expending (2369 kcal – 2054 kcal) = 315 kcal per day more than she is taking in. This makes the negative energy expenditure = 315 kcal
At this rate she will lose a pound every 11 days. She will accomplish her weight loss goal of 5 lbs. in about 55 days, or 1 month and 25 days.


As you can see from the examples above, a subtle increase in daily activity level can have a profound effect on your weight, not to mention your health. You may also have noticed that the heavier you are the faster you will lose weight with increased activity. Increased physical activity will also result in building of more muscle mass. Muscle weighs more than fat, and this fact may extend your weight loss goals slightly, however your body will become more toned and the visual change will be noticeable. There are many possibilities when it comes to finding the right lifestyle change to suit your weight loss desires. Dietary changes along with increased physical activity provide the best results. If you need assistance in determining a strategy for yourself, feel free to contact us at the Lucid Force Chiropractic website.

Weight Loss Strategies- Weight Loss, Starvation Diets Vs. Functional Foods and Health Promotion (Part 3 of 4)

Weight Loss Strategies

How does this affect your weight loss strategies? Here are a few simple principles to consider:

1) One pound of weight can be shed by having a negative caloric balance of 3500 Kcal over time.

2) Weight loss of more than 20 lbs in a month is not recommended. (Varies by height, weight, BMR, and activity level)

3) A healthy lifestyle will inevitably bring you closer to your ideal weight.

4) Eat whole fresh foods that are not processed or minimally processed.

5) Eat a minimum of 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily.

6) Your health is determined by what you do most of the time. Indulgences are to be expected,
but should not become staples of your diet.

7) If in doubt about the food’s value don’t make it a staple of your diet.

8) Drink the right amount of water. Typically, one liter per 50 lbs of body weight. The right amount however varies by person. Your urine should be light yellow to nearly clear.

9) Salt is the spice of life, in moderation. First, use an organic “live” salt and not “table” salt. Second, salt is vital to proper electrolyte balance in our bodies.

10) Eat healthy food that you enjoy eating. If you can afford to eat entirely organic by all means do so. If you can’t do what you can, it is more important to eat regularly than to starve until you can afford better food.

11) Be diligent in your dietary research. Not all information out there can be accepted at face value. If it seems to good to be true it probably is.

True nutritional content and functional food- Weight Loss, Starvation Diets Vs. Functional Foods and Health Promotion (Part 2 of 4)

True nutritional content and functional food

Much of the focus today, with respect to the nutritional content of food, is placed on how much of a given vitamin or mineral it can provide and the calorie content. This small picture of food analysis ignores several important aspects related to the promotion of health. Food is more than just calories, vitamins and minerals. An interesting fact is: despite fortification & genetic alteration of foods to target dietary recommended daily intake values, the morbidity rates from chronic conditions, such as diabetes & obesity, continue to rise. To appreciate the effectiveness of food we need to step back and look at the larger picture. The first step to this realization is understanding that vitamins are more than just antioxidants. For example, vitamin C (a.k.a. ascorbic acid) is a complex structure which contains factors such as bioflavinoids, rutin, and enzymes which are preserved by an antioxidant (ascorbic acid). In truth, the many health benefits of vitamin C are eliminated with synthetic vitamin C supplementation or fortification, which only constitutes the antioxidant portion of the vitamin C complex, namely ascorbic acid. Stepping back from this picture it becomes apparent that what you see is not always what you get. The nutrition label on a box of cereal, for example, may indicate that a serving contains 50% of the recommended daily value (RDV) for vitamin C. However, more than 90% of the time it is rated by ascorbic acid content. Now consider broccoli. A serving of broccoli crowns contains 130% of the RDV for vitamin C (ascorbic acid) as well as the constituents of the vitamin C complex which help maintain vascular integrity & make blood vessels tougher and more durable (vitamin P factors), promote coagulation (vitamin K), and increase the oxygen-carrying capacity of blood (J factors). The trade-off is not worth it if you can prevent it.

Weight Loss, Starvation Diets Vs. Functional Foods and Health Promotion (Part 1 of 4)

The mathematical truth about weight loss

Weight loss is a very popular subject, and there are literally hundreds of conflicting recommendations by hundreds of different professionals. The underlying fact about weight loss is that you must take in fewer calories than you expend to lose weight. The exploitation of this fact has led people to take extreme measures to lose weight rapidly: Enter the starvation diet. It is scientific fact that if you significantly decrease your caloric intake and continue your normal daily activities you will loose weight. It is also scientific fact that if you significantly increase your daily activities and continue your normal caloric intake you will loose weight (however, if your habit is over-eating you may not gain or loose weight). As in all aspects of life, moderation is the cornerstone of balance. Although either of the above methods would change your weight, healthy weight changes are encouraged for your safety. The following parts will contain more information regarding healthy weight loss and nutritional information.

Neck Support Pillows- The secret to a good night's sleep

Choose the right Neck Support!

Today’s health-conscious consumers have more choices than ever before in their pursuit of good health. While it’s good to have different options, too many choices can be overwhelming and lead to confusion. We need help. We need a framework for making the best choices. One area of growing confusion is orthopedic cervical pillows. As the number of orthopedic pillows on the market has grown, so has confusion about selecting the right pillow for your needs. The choice is easier to make by understanding that despite all of the orthopedic pillows available, there are really only two different categories: displacement and supportive.

Displacement vs. Supportive Pillows

Displacement pillows- use materials – such as memory foam or water – that conform or displace to accommodate the head and neck in their current state. Memory foam, a type of viscoelastic foam, compresses under the weight and warmth of the head and neck to conform to their shape, thereby accommodating an existing condition. Similarly, the water in a water pillow displaces to conform to a person’s head and neck. Displacement pillows will accommodate many distortions of the cervical spine to help stabilize an injury during an acute stage of care. Supportive or corrective pillows use the firm elasticity of resilient foams and fibers to provide support to the neck while softly cradling the head.

Supportive pillows- best used in the post-acute stages of care. Supportive pillows provide the resistance necessary to gently traction the neck, encouraging the return of the normal, neutral curve of the cervical spine.

Selection Process

To select or prescribe the best pillow among the displacement and supportive styles, patients and their doctors must determine the end benefit desired. Is the need to accommodate a recent injury or correct the cause of pain by restoring the natural neck curvature? Sometimes people just need to maintain a normal, healthy neck. Whatever the condition, the TriCare: Circle of Health can help determine the best pillow to meet a person’s physical needs.

Three Stages of Care: Circle of Health

When people first suffer an acute injury to the back or neck, they often contact a chiropractor for help. The doctor’s initial goal is to stabilize the injury for comfort. The chiropractor’s work to accommodate the injury prepares the patient for correction of the cause of the injury through hands-on treatment. Accommodation and correction represent two stages of a three-stage system of care. The third stage, maintenance, fulfills a circle of health.
Once an injury or discomfort improves, a person can enter the maintenance stage to ensure continued good health. At each stage of care – accommodate, correct and maintain – chiropractors and their patients will make different decisions regarding the selection of an orthopedic pillow to help in their treatment programs. The “circle” aspect of the TriCare system allows a person to enter at any stage. People manage their health care in different ways and may take different steps to address problems or maintain healthy necks and backs.
The circular nature of the TriCare figure shows the three stages of care – accommodate, correct and maintain – and represents the continuous nature of good health.

Accommodate- Helps provide comfort by conforming to and stabilizing the existing condition or disorder. Someone who suffers from an injury needs to feel comfortable. During the Accommodate Stage, a person needs a pillow that stabilizes the temporary condition or disorder. Displacement pillows work well at this stage because they conform to the condition and provide immediate comfort. Chiropractors could better serve their acute patients by recommending a displacement pillow for short-term use to stabilize the injury.

Correct- Helps eliminate symptoms by treating the cause of the disorder and restoring good health. After an injury, or with the realization that something isn’t quite right, a person enters the Correct Stage by searching for a remedy for the cause of the condition. Perhaps the issue is a loss of cervical curvature or chronic neck pain. In either case, a chiropractor can help. In addition to professional care, a supportive pillow can modify a person’s sleeping position. Supportive pillows help eliminate symptoms by helping resolve the cause of pain and reestablishing proper alignment. The supportive TriCore Pillow, with its trapezoid-shaped center and neck lobes, encourages proper sleeping form and helps restore the normal cervical curve. Corrective pillows can help alleviate headaches, neck muscle and joint strains, arthritis, and whiplash discomfort, and help restore proper nerve function. Doctors can help patients select the appropriate support level, firmness or neck lobe size of the pillow to appropriately align with patients’ health needs.

Maintain- Helps ensure good health by sustaining the body in its proper, natural state. Pillows selected in the Maintain Stage should ensure continued good health by helping sustain the body in its proper, natural alignment. For ideal maintenance, the pillow should provide maximum support and comfort. In fact, most people discover that once the normal curvature of the neck is restored, they crave the comfort of maximum support – the reason supportive pillows have grown more popular. As consumers have become more conscious of the benefits of restoring and preserving the healthy, normal curvature of the neck and spine, they have discovered that they sleep better at night and feel better during the day.

Sleeping Comfort with Core Products

Cervical pillows help place your neck in its proper, most natural position. If you are new to using cervical pillows, your body may require some time to adapt, possibly a couple weeks. When using fiber pillows for back sleeping, start by using the smaller lobe. After several weeks, turn the pillow around and use the wider lobe, if needed. For side sleeping, use the raised sides. With foam, begin by using the pillow with the lobes down, sleeping on the flat side. This allows your body to gradually adjust to a cervical pillow. After several weeks, turn the pillow lobes up and sleep on the lobe that provides the best support while still being comfortable.

Natural Pain Relief- Cervical pillows offer a drug-free way to help Accommodate, Correct and Maintain your cervical spine, giving you the proper sleeping posture needed to help relieve headaches, neck strains, arthritis and other ailments. These pillows accomplish this by helping support your head and neck in their most natural, neutral position. A proper sleeping posture can provide relief from, and help prevent nerve pressure and airway blockage (a major cause of snoring), and assist in recovery from whiplash and other neck injuries.

Back and Side Sleeping- Uniquely shaped pillows offer incredible flexibility for both back and side sleepers. For back sleepers, your head is cradled in the center of the pillow allowing the lobe to support your neck in its most natural position. As you roll to your side onto the raised portion of the pillow, your head and neck are again properly supported. When rolling to your back, the center lets your head nestle for the greatest comfort and appropriate support.

TriCare System developed by Core Products International Inc

Introduction

What is Lucid Force Chiropractic?

Lucid Force means clear energy. Lucid Force Chiropractic refers to the concept of clearing the interference of the body's energy flow using chiropractic techniques. Chiropractors heal people using purely natural methods. The doctor is able to heal by tapping into the innate energy of the body to accentuate the natural healing of disease and relief of pain. Dr. Robles has spent years studying techniques that utilize this natural healing force, termed vis medicatrix naturae (medicinal power of nature) by the medical community, to assist the body in recovery from ailment and restore optimum function.

Dr. Robles developed his website and posts on this blog to provide an unbiased, honest source of information about Chiropractic, diet, and nutrition. With so many opinions out there, it is our goal to provide you with the truth. We hope that you will find you now have the tools to sort out the useful information in those opinions.