The bottom line to maintaining a healthy weight or losing weight is to not exceed 1,500 to 2,000 calories per day, and the addition of exercise, according to obesity surgeon, Dr. Charles Diggiss.
The laparoscopic and obesity surgeon, who is the chief medical officer at Doctors Hospital, recently visited Albury Sayle Primary School to speak to the staff about the importance of food in achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. During his talk he encouraged them to ensure that they get a better understanding of food choices. He told them that weight maintenance also included them understanding nutrition, reading food facts, moving toward consuming more plant-based foods, checking portion sizes and the frequency of their meals and consuming healthier snack options.
"Healthy food choices improve your overall quality of life," said the doctor who attended the school when it as known as Nassau Street Junior School. "Being overweight or obese compromises your ability to be your very best. Healthy food choices improve your overall quality of life."
The obesity surgeon told the group that there are people who only need to lose between 25 and 50 pounds to get to be at their ideal weight, but that for about one-third of the adult population, that he says needs to lose 100 pounds or more, weight loss surgery is an important intervention to them actually getting to and maintaining a healthy weight.
He also said that as people age, many often gain weight and have health challenges. Sharing his personal weight loss journey that began with his tipping the scale at 223-pounds two years ago, he told them that through exercise and making better food choices the weight needle on his scale dipped to the point that he is steady at 196 pounds.
In an effort to show the staff at the school how easy it is to gain weight, the CEO and founder of The MedNet Group of Companies told them that after a weekend Family Island getaway he had gained three pounds.
As he encouraged them to look at their food choices, portion sizes, preparations and frequency of meals, he urged them to consider what their "food demons" were, and what it is that they eat or drink that adds weight.
He also urged them to read nutritional information on food packaging before eating. He showed them that one chocolate bar could be in excess of calories burned during a one-hour power walk.
"By the time a person consumes one chocolate bar and a sugary drink, that person has eaten in excess of 560 calories of what is usually called a snack and haven't even had their meal yet."
Dr. Diggiss said for most people sugar is their downfall and suggested to the staff that they try sugar-free substitutes that add taste, but reduces caloric intake.
"If it takes three heaping spoons of sugar to sweeten a pitcher of [lemonade], and there are about 10 tablespoons in each large spoonful, that amounts to 90 teaspoons of sugar for the entire pitcher. And if each teaspoon is 15 calories, times that by 90, that equals 1,350 calories in a pitcher of [lemonade]."
When it comes to understanding calories from sugar, he said that people need to understand the glycemic index and the glycemic load. Using bread as an example, the doctor said white bread and brown bread have about the same caloric load at about 60, but that the glycemic index of white bread makes it less healthy -- and that the brown bread has a better glycemic index because it has more nutrients than white bread.
Opening a package and consuming the entire thing he said should never be done, and that they should make themselves aware of portion and serving sizes by reading the nutritional label.
"Food should be eaten as one portion per serving in a salad plate, and the dinner plate left for decoration to assist with portion control," he said. "Some drinks actually contain two servings but are usually consumed in one sitting, by one person. One Pop tart is 300 calories, so if you eat both in the package, you have just eaten 600 calories."
Dr. Diggiss said food preparation is also key. He acknowledged that although fast food chains had changed the fat they fry their food in, he told them that the final product is still high in calories, has a high glycemic index and is high in saturated fats.
"If you are going to have fast food occasionally you need to realize that we live in a supersized nation of overweight people and the last thing we need is to supersize. If you want to supersize something, try supersizing your water," he suggested. He also recommended that the staff eat the healthy salad choices offered at fast food chains with restraint on the salad dressings.
"Remember, the rule is that if you can't see through it, it's not good for you," he said, urging the educators to measure their dressing servings. "Remember, each tablespoon is usually 15 to 30 calories," he said.
Dr. Diggiss also spoke to the Albury Sayle staff about the frequency of eating meals and how it tied into portions that would usually require measuring.
"You can eat five meals a day and stay under 1,500 calories, however, if you eat a plate of pancakes and syrup, you've just consumed an easy 1,000 calories. Instead of cutting it out completely, try one pancake with one teaspoon of syrup." Another thing we don't measure is cream, he told them. "Just liberally pouring cream or creamer into a cup of coffee or tea until you get the right color, is easily over three tablespoons or 100 calories. Add sugar and you've added insult to injury at an additional 15 calories per teaspoon."
One of the best ways he told them to try to get a handle on their weight is to track their caloric intake for a week. Dr. Diggiss said they would astound themselves with the amount of calories they are actually putting into their bodies. Tracking what they eat would also assist them with realizing what they consume, he said.
Another major factor in maintaining weight, according to the doctor, are the decisions made around 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily when the hunger pangs hit and people begin to snack.
"The right snack decisions can work for you, but you have got to bring the snack with you in a plastic container. If you have got to tear open the pack, then it's a processed high sugar, high-salted snack. Leave it alone. Whatever you snack on at these key times should be a fruit and able to go under the faucet," he said.

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