Right for My Type

The Fad Diet Fail

When it comes to diets, we’ve seen it all: celebrity diets, extreme starvation plans, weird “eat-as-much-as-you-want-but-stay-skinny” programmes, etc.

The ones that seem to be very popular nowadays are “fad diets”, these short-term quick fixes that lack variety, exclude certain foods and are nutritionally inadequate. In the end, they’re about as effective as not dieting at all, and they may even harm you.

Look around - it’s not difficult to find someone who’s tried a strange fad diet only to find their bodies screaming for proper nutrition.

So here’s something that just might work: forget the fads and do what’s right for you.

The Basic Equation

Here’s the only equation for diets that you need: Energy Balance. What is it?

Simply put, it’s a balance between the energy (calories) you consume - Energy INTAKE - from food and the energy you burn (calories) - Energy OUTPUT - through any form of physical activity.

Here’s a simple representation:

So logically, the balance is affected by what you eat and the physical activity by what you do.

The same amount of Energy INTAKE and Energy OUTPUT over time = weight stays the same
More Energy INTAKE than Energy OUTPUT over time = weight gain
More Energy OUTPUT than Energy INTAKE over time = weight loss

Makes sense right? But then how do you know how much you should be eating and how much physical acitivity you should be doing? Fret not, here’s a very simple chart that tells you your energy requirements are according to your age:

Kilocalorie (kcal) is the unit for energy.
*kcal for people who are not active.

Concerning the type and the amount of exercise your body needs, here are a few pointers:

Youth aged 13-18 years should engage in at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity* physical activity every day.

Youth 18 and above should engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity* aerobic activity a week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic exercise each week.

* Moderate intensity activities refer to those which cause a slight increase in heart rate and breathing.
* Vigorous intensity activities refer to those which cause a large increase in breathing and heart rate.

Simple, right?

Here’s an example of a 1 day meal to meet an 18-year-old’s energy (calories) requirement:

Here are some tools to help you track your energy (calories) intake:

- Food Intake Assessment
- Portion Sizing Tool (for 18 years and above)
- HPB Diet Tracker (Phone application. Free download)

An 18-year-old girl, whose weight is 60kg, will need to do any of the following exercises to ‘burn’ off the energy (calories) intake from a muffin:

What’s My Type?

While we all aspire to be as healthy as we can to do the things we want, sometimes even the most active of us end up not having any exercise for days. We may be caught up in school, there may be exam preparations, or we may be down with the flu.

In any case, you need to assess the types of activity levels you maintain to get a sense of how to go about getting a caloric balance. Here are some situations you might find yourself in:

1) I’m in a sports-junkie-super-charged mode. You will be doing a lot more physical activity and exercise and probably burn more energy. In this case, the normal meals may not be sufficient; you’ll need to supplement with foods like whole-grains and fruits spread throughout the day.

2) I feel like some exercise, but not too much. You may be burning off the calories you have eaten. You may want to use the Healthy Diet Pyramid as a guide to balance your food intake over time.

3) I prefer to chill out on the activity level now, thanks. Don’t be surprised if you are not burning off the calories you have consumed. To balance out, use the Healthy Diet Pyramid as a guide to balance your food intake over time. And to limit the food high in fat, oil and sugar as these foods provides you will a lot of calories but little nutrients for your growth and development. Don’t be discouraged, you can increase your level of activity so that you can still enjoy the food that you like.

It’s a simple game of balancing the food you eat and the amount of physical activities you engage in – once you start winning, you won’t want to stop. And most important, it’s the healthier solution!