Since moving full time to the Treasure Coast of Florida, my husband, Stephan, and I actively seek opportunities to check out other beaches around our new home state. Specifically, we are excited to experience different Florida coastal beaches as they differ from our own lovely Treasure Coast beach that we enjoy daily. So, when the Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics advertised their annual symposium on Gulf Coast's Marco Island at the JW Marriott resort right on the beach, CostEffectiveRD signed up right away! Stephan was able to join me as the “traveling spouse” since a good chunk of
it was over the weekend. Stephan and I even finished their 6:30pm 5k fun run together!
Interestingly, we determined it had been almost 27 years since our last visit to the island and it was our last vacation destination before we became parents for the first time the following year. And while the beach, sunset, seafood, resort and of course my companion were AMAZING, what actually energized me the most was what I learned about myself and what was going on in my profession as the nutrition expert.
The theme for the conference was “DO SOMETHING”. While they were really urging dietitians to work positively for promotion of our profession, I found that it could also be applied to one of group of presenters and exhibitors during a session I participated in. The group topic was called ENERGIZE YOUR PRACTICE and it was right up my alley since I just started my own private practice business! However, in actuality the presenters were experts in the field of energy intake and expenditure and their goal was to share an opportunity for dietitians as Purveyors of Energy Balance. They shared research supporting individual Energy Balance for living a well life. I immediately thought, "WOW, I need to share this information with people".
To keep this blog post user friendly, I will work hard to be concise. To support your continued knowledge, I will create links to the research and information that support my messaging. It is not rocket science or brand new thinking, but if you can figure out how to accurately apply Energy Balance in your lifestyle….IT WOULD BE AMAZING!
So, here it goes:
Take Away Message #1: Energy Balance is something we should all strive for as a lifestyle choice. Daily we should expend the energy we take in as food. It is not something you enter for short term. Eating and living well is for a lifetime. The sooner you make a plan you can LIVE with FOREVER and not short term, the better.
Message #2 from presenter, Dale A. Schoeller Ph.D.: It is difficult to accurately determine energy balance using subjective tools because people tend to under-report what they eat and overestimate how many calories they burn. This especially hit home for me when he reminded everyone in the room that 6-10 extra calories per day of what we called POSITIVE ENERGY BALANCE could lead to a gradual gain of 20 pounds during
an adult lifespan. (a Lifesaver is 6-10 calories a piece, people! )
Basically, any calories consumed over what your body actually needs will begin to be stored as fat. His presentation focus shared a method to measure energy intake called the Double Label Water Method. Dr. Schoeller shared that the method and body composition analysis tools are accurate methods to measure individual caloric burning over a period of a week or two based on the kinetics of two stable isotope labels in urinary water. This method is not easy to do from home or a doctor’s office, but again it is a start towards moving the profession towards OBJECTIVE measuring tools instead of predominately flawed food recalls to determine weight loss plans. We need to find an effective way to assist people in objectively know why they are gaining, losing or maintaining weight.
Message #2 from presenter, Dr. James Hill PhD:
In a nutshell, losing weight can be done with calorie restriction and improved physical activity, but true weight loss maintenance must include daily physical activity. This is in part due to the fact that energy needs change after weight loss. This is called an energy gap. Therefore, doing what you did to lose the weight is no longer good enough to maintain it. For example, when a person loses 5 pounds, their Total Energy Expenditure (TEE) is reduced by 100 calories per day. This means that they will need to expend at least 100 more calories per day in order to maintain where they are at and not gain weight back. Therefore, as I have suggested in previous blog posts, one must determine what they are willing to do DAILY in their life and not just for losing weight or getting in shape.
Message # 3 from presenter, Dr. Johnston PhD: His professional role is focused on behavioral management of obesity encompassing the entire lifespan. In this presentation he emphasized that barrier removal was critical for the improvement of adherence to healthy lifestyles and combating the obesity epidemic. He stressed a personalized lifestyle medicine approach where a compelling need for change was key to successful lifestyle change more than the idea of losing weight. Dr. Johnston gave an energetic call to dietitians that ALL treatment barriers, concerns and issues can be addressed by personalizing care.
Message #4 from presenter, Dr. S. St. Jeor, PhD: Dr. St. Jeor is a guru in the dietetic field for weight management and research. Anyone who calculates client resting energy expenditure today uses the Mifflin-St. Jeor equation, which she was mentor for Mifflin. That in itself should be impressive! Their calculation is this:
MALES: (kcal / day) = 10 * weight (kg) + 6.25 * height (cm) – 5 * age (y) + 5 / day
FEMALES: (kcal / day) = 10 * weight (kg) + 6.25 * height (cm) – 5 * age (y) -161 / day
Also recommended based on evidence based research is the Total Energy Expenditure calculation by the NIH called the Body Weight Planner that adds physical activity to the REE calculations. (The Body Weight planner link is an online calculator for you!)
Dr. St. Jeor is the reason the other 3 presenters were talking at the Florida symposium. They are all working together to promote Energy Balance as a way to address realistically and accurately energy balance in an effort to tackle the global obesity epidemic and overall wellness. Dr. St. Jeor is also leading a team from the company, GenQuest Nutrition. This company educates dietitians in order for them to become purveyors of energy balance & weight regulation in the healthcare field through innovation. Their goal is to improve America’s health by promoting energy balance to prevent undesired weight loss, gain, and regain. They have a best practices group where dietitians are mentored by experts in Energy Balance and trained in what they call the Black Box of portable office tools in Energy Balance. More to come on this!!!!
WOW! Energy Balance….we can do it! If you are up for it, here is your Healthy Lifestyle Assignment:
1. Determine as objectively and accurately as you can your REE or TEE using the calculations listed in Message #4 and determine what you need to eat every day to lose, gain or maintain your current weight. Also, this is a cool, somewhat expensive at home technology: http://welcome.breezing.com/
2. Make a commitment to yourself for DAILY activity. 60 minutes total! It can be at one time, 4-15 minute walks, 2 -30 minutes! Whatever works for your schedule.
3. Identify 3 barriers that keep you from being successful being in ENERGY BALANCE. Find a solution to each barrier to plan for your success
4. Write up your answers to questions 1-3 above in the form of an action plan and post it somewhere you can see it daily. AND include your compelling reason to make energy balance part of your life.
5. FINALLY, IF any of this is making you feel overwhelmed, DO NOT LET it be your barrier! I am here to coach you to success. Sign up for a single consult where we make a plan or package that we can work together on your plan. COST EFFECTIVE RD is here to help you get in Energy Balance! **
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