AboutTodd Bublitz, RCEP Expertise I can answer questions on Cholesterol & Lipids. I can explain how diet can and cannot improve your cholesterol & triglyceride levels.
Experience I have 17 years experience in cardiovascular disease prevention, rehabilitation and education. Researcher in cardiovascular exercise, cardiac function and cardiac testing. I developed and maintain Lipid-Clinic.com
Also run Nuclear Cardiology Research Organizations National Lipid Association
American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation
Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)
Question Everyone says that your body knows how many calories it is consuming and will adjust accordingly, but way back in history, before a calorie, no one knew how much they were consuming and ate a lot of plants. The plants don't contain very many calories, yet none of them went into "starvation mode". So I guess my question is, does my body know how many calories I am consuming, or just the amount of food it is getting? Secondly, should I count calories so I get enough to stay out of starvation mode, but little enough to not gain weight, or just eat a variety of healthy foods and hope I am not eating too little/too much to gain weight/go into starvation?
Answer Shanya,
Of course our bodies "know" how many calories we eat. When we eat too many calories our bodies save them as fat, when we eat too few our metabolism slows down and we may start to lose weight.
Use some common sense. Eat a healthy diet and when you start to gain weight, realize that you are eating too many calories. Stay physically active. You should be smart enough to eat enough that you don't put yourself into "starvation mode". Eat three sensible, healthy meals a day. Eat several helpings of fruits and vegetables each day, eat grains high in fiber, avoid high-fat foods and avoid foods with added sugar. It's not too complex.
