First, I must mention the disclaimer: All diets should be coordinated with a medical professional.

Now, if you end up starving yourself to death, I'm protected.  :LOL:  On the serious side, however, there are ways diets can be harmful such as too much water, too many protiens, etc. Humans are a very complex organism comprising of many, many interacting systems; each with their own checks and balances. That is why a diet should be tailored to YOUR NEEDS because our bodies are all different. Have you ever believed in buying the same shoe size your friend did just because they said it was a great fit on their feet? I didn't think so. Diets "fit" each of us differently as well.

This week, I began a "strongly encouraged" diet regimen because my body weight had entered the "obese" category by some medical standards. If you saw me in person, you probably would not put me in the obese category but today's medical standards are tough to meet.  :LOL: 

I thought I'd share some cool calculators that I have learned about since beginning to work with my medical professionals about 4 weeks ago to come up with a diet plan that will work for me. These calculators are found at the Mayo Clinic's website and the direct links are:

Body Mass Index (BMI) Calculator
Calorie Calculator (calories you need to maintain current weight)
Target Heart Rate Calculator
Healthy Weight Pyramid Tool

Now I am not going to get in to specifics of what my meal plans look like. The meal plan and overall diet plan is what you need to work out with your medical professional. I am currently taking in about 1,600 calories per day with a nutritional compliment that safely satisfies my body's needs. My specialist said "we" might go lower in calorie consumption but only because I am a full-time wheelchair user that cannot tolerate any form of exercise due to my rare degenerative neuromuscular disorder. My caloric needs are almost certainly different than just about any other person here. Statistically, there are only about 16 adults per 100,000 affected by my medical condition. Did I mention it was rare?  :LOL: 

About the only other thing that I wanted to mention right now is a quote from a book that I am reading. I purchased this book back in 1997 when it was first published to learn more about diabetes. It is 422 pages of very detailed information for the "medically inclined" but contains data that I found to be very useful. Just keep in mind that I like to know everything about certain things that interest me. If that sounds like you and you or somebody you know is a diabetic, this book might be for you.

On page 92 of this edition, the authors state "each 3,500 calories represent one pound of body weight."

What that means, and even my registered nurse (RN) that comes to my house twice a week did not know this, is that if you eat 3,500 calories less than what the calorie calculator mentioned above indicates that your body needs, over a safe period of time (say 4 weeks), you will lose 1 pound of body weight. Remember to multiply the calories you need to maintain your current body weight from the calculator mentioned earlier by 30 days if you want to lose 1 pound over a 4 week period. As a rule of thumb, 3,500 calories less than that 30 day calorie total is your target.

The same is true the other way around if you want to gain weight safely.

And by safely, whether losing or gaining body weight, that means using a nutritional plan that has your medical professional's approval. Please, please... If you are going to diet, don't die because you did not listen to sound medical advice.  :eek:  I hope somebody finds this information useful; if not at least amusing if you are having a slow day.

Blessings to all!

Dave

P.S. Something else I have come to realize is that the reason most diet plans "fail" is because "we" don't have the willpower to not cheat. Again, the human body is a complex network of systems that needs to be gradually realligned with any attempt to begin or end a diet. And that means NO yo-yo diets in between. Consistency and staying the course is your best friend. Where have we heard that before?