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Dr. Kristine Clark is the Director of Sports Nutrition for the Athletic Department at Penn State University and Nutritionist for the U.S. Olympic women's soccer team. Here's where she'll answer nutrition questions that you can apply to your own lifestyle goals.


Question
I want to lose about 25 pounds and am confused about the role fat plays in weight loss. Is the goal to cut fat or are you supposed to cut carbohydrates (carbs)? Are there good and bad carbs and fats?

Answer
To set the record straight, weight loss involves one major goal - changing energy balance. Simply put, you have to reduce calories coming into your diet (energy in) and increase your ability to BURN calories through more physical activity (energy out). A combination of both is optimal for good health, but one versus the other can influence energy balance. Think about a see-saw or teeter-totter. If YOU are that see-saw, and it was evenly balanced, your weight would not be budging. In other words, you would be maintaining your current weight. Now think about YOURSELF as that see-saw again but consider that one end is touching the ground while the other end is sticking up at an angle. The side touching the ground is your weight, and it's gone DOWN, because the other end of the see-saw is "the calories you're burning" and they've gone UP. You can look at it from one other viewpoint: The side that's DOWN - touching the ground - is your "energy output, or the calories you've burned" and as a result, the side that's UP is your weight. Typically we gain weight when our energy expenditure goes down - even if we aren't eating more.

So to begin losing 25 pounds, you need to take a very close look at your diet and try to see where you could reduce some calories. Also, you need to consider spending a bit more time fitting in physical activity. A 30-minute walk each day would be a good start.

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Question
Diets are everywhere these days and with spring right around the corner, I feel compelled to "start" another diet. What diet should I follow? Are some better than others? Any advice is appreciated.

Answer
Diets are everywhere and more are being developed all the time. Diets that are "programmed" – or in other words, tell you exactly what to eat and when – are not usually the best strategy for most people over the long run. Everyone has food likes and dislikes and of course, all food can be included in a healthful approach to losing weight, or dieting.

The most important fact in weight loss is the fact that calories do matter and do count. For example, one pound equals 3,500 calories. Most people don't realize that they need to reduce the number of calories they eat each day, gradually cutting back portion sizes. If someone cuts 500 calories out of their diet each day for seven days, they will lose one pound per week. (Seven days per week divided into 3,500 calories = 500 calories/day)

Even though this may sound difficult, it's actually quite easy. Five hundred calories could be that late-night snack you're eating, an extra sandwich at lunch, or the fries you eat every day. It could also be the beverages you're drinking. For example, one 12-ounce can of soda is 150 calories. If you drink two to three cans per day, that amounts to 450 calories. Cutting out the soda would save you the amount of calories to reduce your weight by about one pound per week.

Reduce Total Calories
The ultimate answer to weight loss is reduction in total calories. So, along with cutting portion sizes or dropping one or two food or beverage items from your diet, you also could increase your physical activity. If you walked two miles a day, you would burn approximately 200 calories. Now you would only have to decrease your food intake by 300 versus 500 calories to drop one pound per week. So exercise can really help out – and the good news is that it doesn't have to be difficult. Whatever you want to do for physical activity – dance, walk, lift weights, use a stair- climbing machine, jog, row a boat, or skate – it all plays a role in helping you burn more calories.

Remember, food gives us energy, vitamins, and minerals. Some foods are simply eaten for pleasure and taste sensation. Both types of food can fit into a weight-loss plan. The key is to monitor how much you are eating and to include physical activity.

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