What to eat to lose weight?

Question
I read that at 174 pounds you need about 80 grams of protein a day, I don't know how to eat that without going over my daily limit of 900 calories. I bought Whey isolate at 80% protein... it will take 500 calories of that stuff to get my daily protein. And then I only have 400 calories left over. As well I know bone mass decreases on low calorie diets, if I drink 500 ml of milk that's another 400 calories!!!

Answer
Hi Xiao,

Wow, those are complex questions. Boy, do I have a long answer for you.

First, you should ask your doctor for the advice that's best for you. But, at your weight and being that you're male, IMO, 900 calories is WAY too little food for you to be eating, even on a reducing diet. It's basically a crash diet.

Your "break-even" calorie intake is probably more like 2400 calories a day, give or take some extra calories depending on how active and lean you are. Your energy requirement might be as high as 3000 calories or more if you're a body-builder.

My point is if you eat only 900 calories a day, you're going to lose muscle as well as fat, and your metabolic rate will probably go down, which means if you go back to your regular intake of probably 2400 calories a day, you'll gain fat. Put still another way, if you go on a crash diet like that, in the long run you'll end up relatively flabbier.

Normally, for weight loss, a goal of about 1-2 pounds a week is more reasonable, and that translates into about 750 calories a day, on average. And, normally, it's recommended that half of the calorie deficit should be in the form of exercise and the other half in caloric restriction.

Now, about the protein issue. One gram of pure protein will be about 4 calories. For you to get 80 grams a day of protein would be at the minimum 320 calories. But here's the thing, if you're eating only 900 calories, your body is going to burn that protein as though it was sugar. At that low of a calorie intake, your body uses the food you eat for energy. There's no way you're going to build muscle while your body is trying to survive on that little food.

And, another thing. Soy isolates, whey, and other plant-based proteins are not "complete" proteins. You see, protein is made up of building blocks called amino acids. Think of amino acids as being like 20 different color bricks in a brick wall, with the brick wall being the protein molecule. Pretend you needed to build a brick wall that contained all 20 of those bricks, and then a truck arrived with only 12 of the 20 different colors of bricks. Basically, construction of the brick wall would stop because you don't have all the colors of bricks.

Your body is also like that brick wall. You need 20 different amino acids to make the proteins your body needs, but plant products only have some of those proteins. That's why vegetarians are encouraged to combine legumes (beans) and whole grains (wheat bread). What one of those foods lacks in amino acids, the other has. When you put them together, you get all 20 amino acids that you need to build your proteins.

The take-home message is the protein you get in protein powder is not as high quality as you think, so you're still not getting the full spectrum of amino acids, no matter how many grams you eat.

The highest quality protein is in meat. It has the closest ratio of amino acids to what your body needs. Egg white is also really good. It has all the amino acids you need, but on the down-side, it's not as digestible by the body as animal flesh.

On the calcium end, ask your doctor about taking a multivitamin supplement that includes Calcium and Vitamin D. You need the vitamin D to help you absorb the calcium.

Okay, now Xiao, I hope I answered all your questions. Now, let me throw in my opinion, if you don't mind. If one of my patients asked me those questions, I'd probably tell him or her this: don't get too caught up in the details of exactly what you should eat, or you might just spend half of your life thinking about these things.
If you want to lose a little weight, eat normal food, but just eat slightly less. If you get a couple pieces of lean meat in your diet every day, you'll get your high quality protein. Just eat slightly smaller portions of everything you eat, and make sure you're hungry before you eat. Isn't that easier?

Seriously, that's what I tell my patients, and it works so much better for them for long term weight control than telling them to eat according to an impossible-to-follow and complex set of scientific rules and regulations.

Believe me, I know what I'm talking about on that issue. I lost 75 pounds and kept it off 25 years. When I think too much about getting enough grams of this or that in my diet, I end up gaining weight.

Again, that's just my two cents. Ask your doctor regarding what's best for you.

I hope that helps.

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