Diet Community

This magic "1200" calories that gets tossed around these boards every 15 minutes is needed to maintain baseline metabolic functions such as heart beat and blood circulation, breathing, liver and kidney function, digestion, brain and autonomic nervous system...the spit in your mouth...the batting of eyelashes...

You burn approximately 90 calories/mile, running, so, if you run 4 miles, you've burned an additional 360 kcals beyond your assumed baseline "1200" needed just to stay alive. Hope this helps. Thanks for your question and good luck to you!


Now, my comment...

At what point will we realize that the "Calorie" model for weight loss is, for lack of a better term, whack? 1200 calories? We've been dieting and reducing calories for over 50 yrs, now? How's that workin' for ya?

Why not simply focus and optimize your health, instead?

Do you know your fasting plasma glucose level (diabetes)? How about Calcium (brain and hormones)? Do you know your BUN or Creatinine levels (kidney function)? Any bilirubin in your urine (liver function)? Are you anemic ? Are you diabetic? Have you had TSH screen for thyroid disorder? Did you know most cancer patients are chronically low in 25-OH Vitamin D? C-Reactive Protein is the best test for risk of heart attack or stroke. What is your total serum cholesterol, LDL and HDL levels (lipidemia)? Potassium is critical for muscle and nerve function...Chloride is critical for blood volume, blood PH and blood pressure control...Do you where you stand with these vital electrolytes?

A "CMP" or Comprehensive Metabolic Panel is cheap and fast and provides a wealth of information about:

• how the kidney and liver are functioning
• sugar (glucose) and protein levels in the blood
• the body's electrolyte and fluid balance
• monitor chronic conditions, or when a patient is taking medications

A Complete Blood Count (CBC) gives important information about the kinds and numbers of cells in the blood, especially red blood cells , white blood cells , and platelets . A CBC helps your doctor check any symptoms, such as weakness, fatigue , or bruising, you may have. A CBC also helps him or her diagnose conditions, such as anemia , infection, and many other disorders.


An EKG or electrocardiogram records your heart's electrical signals to determine whether the pattern is normal. Abnormal patterns can indicate damage to the heart due to a heart attack or heart disease.




Summary:


Instead of focusing on "calories", why not optimize your health by monitoring and making necessary adjustments to bring your vital levels to within normal limits? Along with blood pressure and weight, this is essentially preventative medicine. If you practice prevention, not only will your weight be reduced, automatically, you will be protecting yourself against serious chronic disease, too.

Weight loss does not optimize health. Forcing weight loss while being in a less than optimized state of health will result in weight gain, again and again, every time. It's a matter of equilibrium. Fixation Calories is a dysfunctional means of addressing obesity.

Weight loss through health optimization, makes more sense. And, the three tests I described above is a good and easy way to kick start your program by letting you know where you stand and how you are progressing throughout your weight loss journey. Talk to your doctor about getting these tests done throughout your weight loss journey, please.


I posted this little tidbit, last week.

There are seven factors for "Ideal Cardiovascular Health"...

1. Optimal levels of Total Cholesterol
2. Normal Blood Pressure
3. No Diabetes
4. Normal BMI
5. Don't Smoke
6. Perform Daily Exercise
7. Eat a Healthy Diet

"Less than 1% of the total population meet this criteria."


Of that 1%, probably less than 2 in10 are over the age of 45...That means 2 out every 1000 Americans qualify for "Ideal Cardiovascular Health".

Does this tell you anything about the 1200 Cal model, now?

Hi and thanks for your posting. Your questions are excellent and we hear them in one form or the other from so many people in our community.

First, let me make sure everyone understands that the calories you burn with exercise may vary greatly from one person to the next. There are a lot of variables including genetics, changes in metabolism, age, gender, medical conditions, to name a few. Your running 4 miles a day will burn in the range of 120-150 cals/mile based upon your speed and intensity. You can be safe in saying you're burning roughly 500 cals. Then, what does the rest of your day look like? Do you sit? Are you up and moving? All of this affects metabolism. So also does weight training. How strong and toned are your muscles? You need weight training 2 x week to optimize your metabolism.

Log onto the WebMD Food and Fitness Planner and enter your data. I'll bet your range will be a base of no less than 1200 cals but closer to 1500 cals given your physical activity. This will require patience as you experiment to make sure you are getting enough of a balanced diet to maintain your weight. Get your body fat % checked and aim for a range of 20-25%. That's more important than weight.

A healthy metabolism is supported by enough nutrition. Don't under eat or you will negatively affect your metabolism.

Good luck!

Dr. Peeke