Working With God
To 'Keep Your Healing'

Our last lesson began to look at dieting, at controlling our calorie intake to loose weight so that we are less likely to get diabetes or cardiovascular problems or gallbladder problems -- or any of many other medical problems that seriously overweight people become susceptible to. As believers, our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and we need to take good care of them for God. One of the ways we do that is to eat nutritiously and balanced and healthily. Another way we do that is to begin to control our weight so that it is within medically "safe" boundaries.

There is no quick or easy weight loss formula, no magic pills to take. We need to change our eating style. But that change comes in two phases. The first phase is to change our eating style to reduce our weight and then we have to change it to maintain our weight once we have hit our target weight.

The primary difference between loosing and maintaining is the number of calories we intake each day. We want the calorie intake per week to be 3500 calories below maintenance intake for each pound we are trying to loose a week. Experts recommend loosing one to two pounds a week. That may sound slow when you are looking to loose 50 pounds. But if you reduce your calorie intake by a mere 500 calories per day and persist over a year, you will loose 52 pounds in a year. Look at dieting as a long term lifestyle change rather than a radical and quick fix.

Healthy Weight Reduction

The key to healthy weight reduction is to be balanced and to eat sensible portions. If you get out of balance, then your body will begin to crave certain things because of a physiological need. In addition, you can get weak, tired, and sick from unhealthy and unbalanced diets.

I would like to share some things I learned from a friend named Bill Hartman, who is a weight counselor at a medically supervised weight reduction clinic in San Francisco. He has many years of expertise in this field and has successfully helped a lot of people to loose weight and keep it off. So what I am going to share in this lesson is a few of the thing that Bill teaches his clients.

There are 5 basic food groups to consider: water, proteins, carbohydrates (including fiber), fats and vitamins. We will examine each one from a weight loss perspective.

WATER

Water is essential to your health. Experts teach that we should drink at least 64 ounces of water a day -- that is eight 8-ounce glasses -- whether we are trying to loose weight or not. Water is best for us in it's purest form, e.g., straight water. But those who can't tolerate drinking straight water can try sugar-free, caffeine-free sodas or any low-sodium, caffeine-free, sugar-free and alcohol-free fluids. The more water we drink, the less likely our body is to retain it. Our cells try to grab on to some water and hold it in case it needs it. But when water is in ample supply, the cells decide that they don't need to store up for a shortage and they release the water. Therefore the more water you drink, the less likely you will be to retain it (unless you have a medical condition that causes you to retain water).

The reason that many people loose more weight the first week of their diet is because their bodies are flushing retained water out of their system. That is called water-loss. Drinking water while trying to loose weight provides the added benefit of tricking your stomach into thinking it is fuller than it is, so that you feel less hungry.

PROTEINS

Proteins contain hormones and enzymes that our bodies need for healthy cells. They contain a full range of essential amino acids, and we need to assure we get the full range of these essential amino acids each day. Surprisingly, meat is not the only protein there is. We also get proteins from grains, vegetables, nuts and berries, eggs and dairy products like cheese. It is good to mix some beans and grains every day to get a better mix of the essential amino acids we need. 10%-15% of our daily calories should come from proteins. That means that we should have 3 to 6 ounces (cooked weight) of chicken, fish, or lean meat; or the equivalent from eggs, beans or tofu.

Meats are not equal in calories ... the lean meats contain about 100 calories (beef, pork, ham) per ounce. Cheese contains about the same number of calories per ounce (unless it is fat-free, then it contains less). Fatty meats such as prime rib contain about 125 calories per ounce and bacon contains about 170 calories per ounce. Skinless white chicken is about 50 calories per ounce and dark chicken is about 60. Skinless dark turkey is about 55 calories per ounce and skinless white turkey is about 45. Dark fish seafood is about 50 calories per ounce. Tuna in water is about 35 calories per ounce. White fish, most shellfish, and low-fat cottage cheese are about 25 calories per ounce. One large egg is about 80 calories, but 65 of those calories are from the yoke. So if you have yokeless eggs or egg-whites, it is only 15 calories per egg. Tofu is about 20 calories per ounce or 150 calories per cup. Beans, lentils and other legumes are about 250 calories per 8 ounce cup, or about 32 calories per ounce.

This means that you can take in anywhere from 150 to over 600 calories per day from 6 ounces of meat a day, depending on which type of meat you choose to eat. So expert recommend that you stick with shellfish, seafood, skinless chicken, turkey and other lower calorie proteins so that you reduce your calorie intake each day without reducing your protein intake below the recommended 3-6 ounces.

CARBOHYDRATES

Glucose (a low level form of sugar) is a fuel that the body needs to do its work. Glucose comes from sugars and carbohydrates. In general, the less processed a carbohydrate is, the better it is for your body. Natural sugars found in many fruits are much healthier than refined sugars. The complex carbohydrates are healthier than simple carbohydrates. We should try to prefer the starches and whole grains and stay away from sugar and white flour. 55% to 60% of our daily calorie intake should be from carbohydrates.

In the complex carbohydrates category, potatoes are about 20 calories per ounce (baked). However, if you have French Fries, the oil adds a lot of calories and they are about 80 calories per ounce. Rice and other grains contain about 25 calories per ounce or 200 calories per cup. Corn has 140 calories per 8 ounce cup or about 18 calories per ounce. Winter squash is 100 calories per 8 ounce cup or about 13 calories per ounce. Summer squash is about 25 calories per 8 ounce serving, or about 3 calories per ounce.

If you move to the processed or simple carbohydrates, croissants are high in fat and they are 115 calories per ounce. The typical croissant weighs 3-4 ounces, so that is about 345 to 460 calories per croissant. Waffles cooked in a non-stick skillet (instead being cooked in oil) are 65 calories per ounce. Tortilla chips are 150 calories per ounce. However, a flour tortilla is 90 calories per ounce and a corn tortilla is 65 calories per ounce. Pretzels are 110 calories per ounce. Most crackers are about 16-20 calories each. Breads range depending on their ingredients, but a safe rule of thumb for guessing the calorie content of breads and bagels are about 75 calories per ounce. Note that a typical bagel weighs 3 ounces and is 225 calories. But a typical slice of bread is between 1 and 1.5 ounces or between 75 and 110 calories.

Natural sugars come primarily from fruits. These are much lower in calories than our baked goods and desserts. One cup (8 ounces) of mixed fruit has about 60 calories. Melons are about 10 calories per ounce. Apples, pineapples and oranges are about 15 calories per ounce. Grapes are 20 and bananas are 25 calories per once. Most berries are about 10 calories per ounce or 80 calories per cup. Avocados are higher calorie than most fruits, they are 45 calories per ounce. That may sound like a lot by comparison to other fruits, but it is very low compared to sweets and baked goods.

Most chocolate-free candies are about 100 calories per ounce. Chocolate candy is about 150 calories per ounce. Most cookies are about 150 calories per ounce, but cakes and pastries and doughnuts are about 125 calories per ounce. Low fat cookies drop down to about 110 calories per ounce. Sugar- free non-fat frozen yogurt is about 125 calories per 8 ounce cup, or about 16 calories per ounce. Sugar-free pudding is about 150 calories per cup or about 19 calories per ounce. Regular frozen yogurt and ice milk are about 200 calories per cup, or 25 calories per ounce. Mousse is about 400 calories per cup, or 50 calories per ounce. And premium ice cream, which most people think tastes the best, is 600 calories per cup or 75 calories per ounce.

It does not take a rocket scientist to do the math (of calories per ounce) and see that you can have larger quantities of lower-calorie foods for the same calorie-cost. For instance, if you are hungry and want to snack on a handful of crackers, you can have about 7 Ritz crackers for 120 calories, which won't even begin to fill you up. But if you chose to have a baked potato, you can have a whole medium sized baked potato (6 ounces) for the same number of calories and it is much more filling than a few crackers or a slice of bread.

If you have a sweet tooth and want to allow yourself 1000 calories a week for sweets, that is 1 and 2/3 8-ounce scoops of premium ice cream per week. Or it is 5 8-ounce scoops of ice milk per week. Or it is 8 8-ounce servings of fat-free frozen yogurt per week. You have to decide where to make the trade-off ... the better it tastes to you, the higher the sugar and fat content and the higher the calories. So you can preserve taste by having very small quantities or you can sacrifice taste for much larger quantities by substituting "delicious" for "still pretty good" lower calorie dessert choices.

Fiber is a carbohydrate of sorts. Fiber is a complex carbohydrate that is the part of the plant we can't digest. It is also know as "roughage". Fiber is important to healthy body functioning and it is particularly important to prevent constipation and promote regularity. There are two types of fiber. The first is soluble fiber, which lowers cholesterol and helps our bodies maintain appropriate levels of glucose in our blood. The second is insoluble fiber, which helps regulate the digestive tract and may help prevent colon cancer. We should intake about 20 to 35 grams of fiber a day. We can find fiber in whole grain reads, brown rice, several whole fruits and legumes.

FATS

We need fats to absorb vitamins and certain essential fatty acids. We need just a tad a day of fats and we should try to get them from vegetable oil (avoiding partially hydrogenated vegetable oils if possible) and from fatty fish. During weight maintenance, fats are about 30% of our calorie intake, but for weight loss, you should try to keep fat calories at 25% of our calorie intake. Remember that fat has more than twice as many calories per gram as proteins and carbohydrates, so you will need to consume only small portions of fat to get to 25% of your daily calories.

Most of our fat calories are consumed in baked goods, desserts and in condiments. We have already discussed baked goods and desserts in the carbohydrates section, so we will discuss condiments and calorie counts here. Oil has about 120 calories per tablespoon. Butter, margarine and peanut butter have about 100 calories per tablespoon. Salad dressing has about 75 calories per tablespoon. Sugar, jelly and cream cheese all have about 50 calories per table spoon. Sour cream has about 25 calories per level table spoon ... however, the average serving of sour cream is about 8 table spoons, so the calories add up fast and sour cream should be used in moderation. Mustard and catsup have about 15 calories per level table spoon and salsa has 5. Most barbeque sauces have about 15 calories per level tablespoon, gravy ranges from 10 to 40 calories. Tomato sauce containing oil has 20 calories per table spoon and oil free tomato sauce has about 5.

On the sweet side, honey has 65 calories per tablespoon, hot fudge sauce and molasses maple syrup all have 50 calories per table spoon and apple butter has 35.

The general guideline is that you get the oil you need in your foods naturally, so it is better to use oil-free condiments whenever possible.

VITAMINS / MINERALS

Vitamins and minerals were discussed in great detail in previous lessons, so they are only mentioned here briefly. They are found naturally in seafood, lean meat, eggs and milk products and in fruits and vegetables and legumes. Vitamins and minerals are an important part of your eating and you must not exclude these as you diet.

Overview Of Diet Guidelines

For adequate nutrition, eat the following foods on a daily basis:

Protein: Eat 3-6 ounces (cooked weight) of chicken, fish or lean meat or the equivalent from eggs, beans or tofu.

Calcium: Eat 3-5 servings per day. Examples of servings are 1 cup of milk or yogurt, 3.5 ounces of sardines or 1 cup of leafy green vegetables.

Vitamins, Minerals and Fiber: Eat 2 cups of vegetables and 1 piece of fruit (or cup of mixed fruit) a day.

For Energy, Iron and Fiber: Eat 4 servings of breads or cereals, preferably whole grain. One serving is 1 ounce of bread, or 1/2 cup of cooked cereal, pasta, rice or other grains.