Look for dietary balance
Q. After gaining some unwanted pounds, I went on a diet. I'm 5 feet 6 inches and went from 140 pounds to 125 pounds. I find that even with reasonable physical activity (30-60 minutes of strenuous activity a day), I can't keep my weight down if I eat the amount of food required to meet my Recommended Daily Allowances, which I assume are required for optimal health. I also know that recent research shows that restricted caloric intake may actually improve health and extend life expectancy. So this is my question: Is it more healthful to be slightly undernourished (not starving) as I am, or to be properly nourished (according to Food and Drug Administration guidelines) but somewhat overweight? I'd like to know your opinion, and I assume other dieters are in a similar situation.
C.M., San Diego
A. If the only way to provide needed nutrients were to take in extra calories, I would opt to be well-nourished with a little extra weight. (The research connecting caloric restriction with extended life expectancy does not involve any nutritional deficits.)
Your question, though, needs to be reframed. Undernourishment or overweight are not the only alternatives. Meeting the RDAs (Recommended Daily Allowances) need not be a burdensome task.
Congratulations to you on your successful weight loss. You have no doubt experienced that during a diet, and in the months after losing weight, the body has an annoying tendency to regain at the slightest provocation. Just looking at food seems to do it. You need to maintain your activity level and stick to a conservative eating pattern to establish the new status quo.
According to the Calorie Control Calculator at tinyurl.com/gucse, an active women weighing 125 pounds needs about 1,900 calories. There should be no problem meeting your nutrient goals within that allotment.
Eating is one of life's great pleasures, and it makes no sense to get frantic about occasional nutrients lapses. The "R" in RDA stands for recommended, not mandatory. If you happen to fall short of your RDA every now and then, your body is not going to degenerate into a slab of broken bones or a mass of oxidized flesh. Just as it does with calories during a diet, the body becomes more efficient at nutrient conservation during times of disease, famine or nutritional inadequacy.
Know the good foods and what your body needs and proceed to keep your nutritional house in order as best you can. Healthful eating involves a diet that is rich in fruits and has plenty of greens and other vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, dairy products, a regular presence and an occasional meal with low-fat meat products.
A helpful strategy is to have some nutrient-rich power foods in your diet. For example, a vitamin/mineral-fortified whole grain cereal is a great way to start the day. You can opt for some blended vegetable juice instead of a diet soda, and some fresh fruit and nuts instead of chips. A cup of yogurt provides a calcium boost. Have a green salad with carrots and other fresh vegetables with one of your daily meals.
For those on a weight-loss regimen in which fewer foods are eaten, or if there are special needs, it is reasonable to take a dietary supplement to help bolster the intake of certain nutrients, such as calcium and vitamin D.
• Ed Blonz, Ph.D., is a nutrition scientist and the author of "Power Nutrition." Send questions to: "On Nutrition," Ed Blonz, c/o Newspaper Enterprise Association, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016 or ed@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.