More Carbs? Less Carbs? Fat Loss vs. Water Loss? Stop the confusion!

By DiAnn Lanke Stasik 01/10/04

“Caveat emptor” is the Latin phrase for “buyer beware.” This is true of products and services. One type of product that necessitates caution is a diet book. As a personal trainer and group fitness instructor I have lately received a lot of questions pertaining to high protein/low carbohydrate diets from patients, clients and students. Most people who ask if they should try this or that diet are looking for a quick “yes” or “no” answer. Generally, they don’t have the time to listen to an in depth explanation to my canned response of “Not healthy, not good - unless your doctor has a valid medical basis for putting you on such a restrictive diet.” So for those of you who can make the time to read more of an explanation I will provide a brief summary of exercise physiology – the function of the body as it responds to exercise. Be prepared to learn some new terms because I’m going to get technical on you. You may also want to grab a calculator for the equation I will provide you at the end of this article.

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Your resting metabolic rate (RMR) is the number of calories your body burns at rest. There are four main players in determining your RMR – gender, weight, height and age. Personal trainers and dieticians use RMR, in part, to determine a person’s recommended daily caloric intake requirements.

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