Two easy weight-loss factors: water and white stuff

With all the diet books and techniques out there, there are two main points to consider when starting out. Hydration and your relationship to what I call the white stuff.

Here in Colorado people are chronically dehydrated. The high altitude and low levels of moisture and oxygen make consuming water a vital part of keeping healthy. Sounds simple, right? Well, dehydration is one of the most common problems among people looking to lose weight. The goal is to drink between1 1/2 liters (about 52 ounces) a day.

Water intake is a critical component of any weight-loss plan. About 8 ounces with each of your six meals a day is perfect (with additional intake as needed to accompany any activity).This is the bare minimum I recommend. Water will help all of your body functions work more efficiently, and it helps to clear out the breakdown products that are created by your body. This is kind of like “flushing out” the waste products. The rule should be that your urine may have color in the morning. But as the day progresses, it should significantly clear up. My patients joke that they pee so much it is annoying. Your body will learn to accommodate. The intake of water naturally starts to trigger your stomach’s stretch satiety mechanism. This takes effort! Try it. Next time you are hungry, slug a glass of water and wait 20 minutes. Now, aren’t you somewhat less hungry? There is science behind how this works.

Avoiding empty calories and high-carb foods has become the craze of many dieters. This is the most naturally understood dieting advice. The problem with these types of food is that they are much too calorie dense — there are far too many calories for even a small portion. Most of these represent very processed foods that were developed to give “cheap and easy” calories with minimal effort. This is great if you are active and working hard physically (as an example, we are all aware of the classic “carbohydrate loading” by marathoners before a 26.2-mile race). But for the daily life of most of us, this is a slow poisoning of our metabolism.

For example, 1 cup of rice has about 200 calories. And how many of us have only 1 cup? And how many calories are in the two slices of white bread that are on your sandwich? 160 calories total. These are wasted calories.

I try to minimize foods that many cultures have done fine without. (Hey, I was an anthropologist. What do you expect?) Here are some examples that are historically true. There is no bread in Japan. No rice in Alaska. No pasta in Africa. You get the idea.Minimize these types of foods and you are at a very strong nutritional advantage. (See, I taught you a good thing without even mentioning the impact of the insulin surge they cause. They raise sugar levels in your blood and cause a strong insulin increase . . . and more fat is stored. Oops, I couldn’t help myself!) I am NOT saying carbohydrates are bad. That is idiotic. Rather, I am saying that protein comes first and foremost (as is discussed next), and then you can add small amounts of carbohydrates for flavor, variety and fun. The less “processed” the carbohydrate, the better. You already know which carbs are not as nutritionally helpful to your system. In general, good carbs are those that have been minimally changed from how they were created. If they are in their natural state, on the whole, they are better for you. Better to have an apple than an apple fritter!

So the point here is simple. Help yourself lose weight by limiting your portions of white, starchy, surgery carbs, and by boosting your water intake. The latter expands the interior of your stomach to make you feel fuller, the former teaches your body to store less fat. Both tips are easy to follow and are vital building blocks to a successful weight-loss program.

Dr. Michael A. Snyder, a bariatric surgeon at Rose Medical Center in Denver, is founder of Fullbar and leader of the Be Full, Eat Less movement.