DATE: Monday, March 17, 1997                TAG: 9703150066

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY PAT DOOLEY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   73 lines

DROPPING EXCESS POUNDS FAT DOESN'T JUST DISAPPEAR - IT'S ``BURNED'' AS FUEL

WHEN WE LOSE weight, where does it ``go''?

Dieters talk about ``dropping pounds,'' as though the excess simply falls off or melts like so much butter.

Maybe that's why we're so quick to reach for fast fixes: We think of weight loss as magic. But it isn't.

We don't lose pounds in chunks that mysteriously disappear in the night, says Dr. Lisa Harris of Chase Wellness Center in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach.

``The idea behind dieting is that fat that's stored in the body is burned as fuel,'' says Harris, one of two Virginia doctors who specializes in bariatrics, or obesity and weight loss.

When we eat fewer calories than we use or when we increase physical activity, we ``burn'' fat, she says.

We stop making fat cells some time around adolescence, she says. ``An overweight child is likely to have more fat cells than a thin child, and will have those extra fat cells throughout life.''

Later, when we gain weight, the cells get bigger. When we diet, they get smaller. But we never lose them, she says.

But we can shed more than fat if we're not careful.

Eating too little for our caloric needs, exercising too much or losing weight too fast cause our bodies to look for fuel elsewhere.

We may burn sugars or carbohydrates temporarily stored in the liver, Harris says. Or we might deplete our muscles.

Burning sugars provides quick energy, Harris says.

But we need muscles to boost metabolism - to keep our fat-burners firing, Harris says.

To prevent muscle loss and to encourage fat-burning, she suggests losing no more than 2 pounds a week.

To burn about 1 pound of fat a week takes about 500 fewer calories a day, Harris says. To burn 2 pounds, requires 1,000 fewer calories a day, or 7,000 a week.

Losing 2 or more pounds a week, Harris says, saps our health over the long haul.

Dieters need at least 1,200 calories a day of nutrient-dense foods, Harris says.

She recommends keeping fat to about 20 percent of daily calories. Another 20 percent or 25 percent should come from protein, she says, and the rest from complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

To further help burn fat, Harris suggests exercising aerobically in ``the target zone.'' An easy way to know you're hitting the target: ``You can talk,'' Harris says, ``but you can't sing.''

Along with proper diet and exercise, Harris reminds dieters to drink plenty of water.

Water also hastens weight loss, but not because it flushes fat from the body. That's a common misconception, Harris says.

Our bodies are composed of 98 percent water, so drinking it helps them work more efficiently, Harris explains.

Water relieves constipation, improves muscle tone, makes skin more radiant. It helps rid our bodies of waste, including the by-products of fat, Harris says.

It's also a myth that drinking water causes fluid retention, Harris says. Our bodies are more likely to swell from lack of water, or dehydration, she says.

And no matter how hard we exercise, our fat will not turn to muscle. Nor does muscle turn to fat, she says.

Consider the bodybuilder who takes a break from his sport. It may look as though his muscle is turning to fat. That's because he isn't exercising; his muscles are get smaller, Harris says.

If he's following his body-builder's diet but isn't as active, he's likely to gain fat. ILLUSTRATION: Staff illustration by JANET SHAUGHNESSY/The

Virginian-Pilot

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