Archived Ask a Dietitian 4/24/14 - 10/21/14 Topic

U5905241 09/14/14 replied to U6020831
I'm 164.8 pounds today and I'm almost 13. I really want to loose weight and I seem to loose more without trying to watch everything. I would just like tips and some help

Dietitian 09/15/14 replied to U5641819
Hi U5641819, remember that weight control boils down to creating enough of a calories deficit over time. Be sure you understand how MND works - this short article explains settings and how to read the calories targets: http://www.mynetdiary.com/customizing-calorie-goals.html

Tracking foods and exercise will help a lot to get a handle on the calories. But because you have to be careful coordinating carb intake with insulin use and exercise, you can't go too low in carbs or too high. (as you already know).

1200 kcal for adults trying to lose weight appears to be a safe intake level. With good food choices you can meet your nutrient requirements (protein, vitamins, minerals, etc). Look at your daily report to insure that you are meeting those recommendations.

You might find MyNetDiary's Diabetes Tracker a more comprehensive tracker to use - plus, you can track carb grams more easily at a glance by meal and snack time groupings. Read more: http://www.mynetdiary.com/tracking-diabetes-with-mynetdiary.html

Consider reading the Library of articles http://www.mynetdiary.com/diet-and-weight-loss-resources.html

And an article on diabetes http://www.mynetdiary.com/food-diary-for-diabetes.html

If you are having problems with digestion/eating/bloating, ask the doctor following you for diabetes if you might have gastroparesis (a type of neuropathy that folks with Type 1 diabetes might be especially prone to). Sometimes this is the problem.

Because having diabetes puts you at a much higher risk for cardiovascular disease (e.g. heart attack and stroke), be sure to go heart healthy in your food choices. You can read more at the American Heart Association http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HealthyEating/The-American-Heart-Associations-Diet-and-Lifestyle-Recommendations_UCM_305855_Article.jsp

Let me know if you need more assistance.

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Dietitian 09/15/14 replied to U6021827
Hi U6021827, the current research is giving us more hope in terms of weight maintenance of weight loss: regular exercise. Apparently, regular moderate-intensity exercise (e.g. 45-60 min daily or most days of the week) is very important in terms of tweaking the metabolic machinary in place to help counteract the body's obnoxious tendency to regain weight. Weight maintenance is POSSIBLE and achievable. Tracking lifelong is another option. I do BOTH!

If you are curious about folks who have lost weight and have kept it off long term, check out the National Weight Control Registry: http://www.nwcr.ws/Research/default.htm

Don't lose heart.

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Dietitian 09/15/14 replied to U6020831
Hi U6020831, MyNetDiary uses the conservative guidelines of < 7% total calories coming from saturated fat for default goal setting. Any food that contains fat will contain a mixture of saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fatty acids. I would never limit fish/seafood just because it contains a small amount of saturated fats. Fish/seafood has plenty of heart healthy polyunsatured fats (from omega-3 fats) so enjoy. Just avoid the deep-fat fried cooking method (since frying fats are often trans fats or fully hydrogenated veg fats).

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Cathi 09/15/14 replied to Dietitian
Kathy I now like adding coconut water heard got good nutrients and maybe helpful with kidney too- however I need to watch sugar. One can I bought says 15g - 330 ml of sugar. Given fruit has natural sugar and I checked ingredients only said 100% coconut water - is it correct to assume these r all natural sugar then (15 g)? U mentioned before to check for ingredients to determine added sugar - thanks Kathy.

Dietitian 09/16/14 replied to Cathi
Hi Cathi, naturally occurring sugar from whole foods is preferred over any beverage with added sugar, fruit juice, or any other juice product where the fiber components have been stripped away.

Fresh coconut water (like, drill a hole in it and suck it out with a straw) - 1 cup provides 46 kcal, 8.9 g carbs (of which 2.6 g is fiber and 6 g sugar), and a whopping 600 mg potassium.

But canned/bottled commercial coconut water will run the gamut in terms of kcal and carbs as you already know. Ideally, limit commercial coconut water since for the potassium content, you are essentially getting sugar water. Potassium can be obtained by more nutritious whole fruits and veggies - foods that provide more nutrients and in many instances, far lower in kcal than coconut water.

But if you asked me if the lower sugar brand coconut water is better than pop, I would say that it is!

Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

U6012515 09/17/14 replied to Dietitian
I am eating 500 calories or less a day and burning over 600 throughout, I'm seeing rapid results but what are the potential risks?

Cathi 09/17/14
Kathy, I noticed some labels would show total carbs then fibers and sugar but the total of the latter 2 doesn't add up to total carbs. what would usually make up the difference? just concern sugar is actually higher than reported on the label? thanks,

U5693823 09/17/14 replied to Cathi
Hello, I'm 4'11, 145 lbs, 27 years old. I had my second baby one year ago and now that I'm done breastfeeding, I've been eating right and exercising 6 times a week. I do either a two mile run or a 25 minutes HIIT workout. I've done this for three months and have lost 15 lbs. slower than I would like but I'm no real rush, I just want the baby weight off. Anyways, here's my question...the one day a week that I don't workout and have a cheat meal makes be gain about 3 lbs. Then I spend the next week loosing those pounds and maybe loose one more. Is that normal or is there something I can do differently? I'm desperate now because it feels like I flush 6 days of hard work down the drain in one.

Dietitian 09/18/14
Hi Folks, hang tight. I will be answering questions tomorrow evening (Thursday).
Best,
Kathy Isacks, MPS, RD, CDE

Archived Ask a Dietitian 4/24/14 - 10/21/14