There are too many diets on the market to possibly name, but here we'll give a summary of a few of the popular ones and what experts think of them. Some can even be harmful, particularly if a person has a medical condition such as diabetes. What is it that attracts people to fad diets? Most likely the promise of a quick fix, with slick marketing campaigns and claims that are too good to be true.
Eat Smart...Play Hard wants you to learn healthy habits that can help you get control of your weight and maintain a healthy weight for the rest of your life.
The simple fact is that losing weight isn't easy, and
there's no magic solution. As we have repeatedly said it takes eating
less, exercising more and lots of patience. But the reward is a smarter
you -- a healthier you -- and less risk for heart disease, diabetes, back aches
and knee problems to name a few.
High Protein Diets.
A diet is classified as a high-protein diet if it encourages dieters to increase their protein and decrease the carbohydrates in their diet. Examples of high protein diets include: The Atkins' Diet, The Zone, Protein Power, Sugar Busters and Stillman diets.
Although some people do lose weight on high-protein diets, it's attributed to the decrease in calories, not the increase in protein. Also, much of the initial weight loss can be attributed to water weight loss, not the loss of fat. The Mayo Clinic found that The Zone's "recommended diet" is approximately 850 calories. The American Dietetic Association recommends that women trying to lose weight should not dip below a 1,200-calorie-per-day diet and men should not go below 1,400-calorie-per-day diet.
High-protein diets usually recommend eating 30 percent of
calories from protein, 30 percent from fat and 40 percent from carbohydrates.
Most nutrition experts say, however, that a person should get 55 to 65
percent of their calories per day from carbohydrates. Protein should only
make up 10 to 15 percent. Most Americans easily eat more protein than
their bodies require. Also, some high-protein diets may also be high in
fat, which can promote heart disease.
The Atkins' Diet encourages unrestricted protein consumption, including
eating as much steak, eggs, bacon, chicken or fish as you want. Others may
reduce nutritionally rich foods such as fruits and vegetables. Neither of
which is a good option for long-term weight loss or maintenance. The Atkins'
Diet recommends that you eat only 20 grams of carbohydrates per day for the
first two weeks and limits certain vegetables and carbohydrates. This diet is
based on the theory that excess carbohydrates prevent the body from burning fat
efficiently so that's why they should be limited. One of the diet's main
downsides is that dieters experience low energy and muscle breakdown.
The Zone Diet is based on the theory that carbohydrates cause insulin levels to rise and that increased production of insulin causes obesity. However, professional nutrition experts disagree with his theory.
The Sugar Busters diet works on a premise similar to The Zone -- that certain foods, namely carbohydrates, cause insulin levels to rise. The authors theorize that insulin makes you fat by promoting the storage of fat in the body. Pasta, rice, white potatoes, carrots, corn and watermelon are prohibited. However, nutrition experts agree that insulin does not promote the storage of fat, unless excess calories are ingested. The problems -- as in all weight gains -- is excess intake of calories without exercising enough for the body to use them.
In fact, a high-protein eating plan can cause dehydration,
electrolyte loss, calcium depletion, weakness, nausea, gout, vitamin and mineral
deficiencies and kidney problems.
Liquid Diets
The liquid diets that are available at the grocery store
today aren't as low calorie as ones of the past. Also, many incorporate
their liquid drink into eating plans that also include fruits and vegetables or
prepackaged foods. These diets can result in quick weight loss up to a point,
but the same problem remains that many of the fad diets have -- after the
initial weight is lost, the dieter can't maintain the weight loss after
returning to regular foods. They simply did not learn healthy eating habits that
they can use for a lifetime.
Food-Specific Diets
Theses diets insist that a particular food is responsible for weight loss and recommends eating large quantities of that food, eating it only at a certain time of day or in combination with other food when you want the "fat-burning" food to counter-effect the other foods you eat. Examples of these could be the Grapefruit Diet or the Cabbage Soup Diet. Eating large quantities of grapefruit or cabbage in itself is not bad, but since they limit other foods, you're likely to suffer from a lack of balanced nutrition, not to mention boredom.
The bottom line is that there is no food that has been proved to be a fat-burning food. There are no enzymes in grapefruit that burn fat. Nor is there evidence that any other food can burn it. Enzymes that burn fat are found in the body.
Some eating plans say if you want to lose weight, don't eat
carbohydrates and proteins at the same meal. But there's no evidence that
the body processes foods differently whether they're combined with other foods
or not. When all is said and done, a calorie is a calorie, not matter
where it comes from. If you lose weight on any eating plan, it's
because you're eating fewer and burning more calories through exercise.
Fat-Burning Supplements
Pick up most any popular men's or ladies' magazine, sports or
fitness magazine and even health magazines and the daily newspaper and you'll
find ads for fat-burning, miracle diet supplements. Many of these have
ephedra or ma quang, which are stimulants that health experts caution against
using. They can cause racing heart and increased heart beat. Some of these can
be very dangerous, particularly if used in excess quantities. You've probably
heard of popular athletes who have died while working out and using such
products to lose weight.
Packaged Food Diets
Some diets require that you buy their packaged food. These are convenient and have the calories and nutritional content already calculated for you. However, buying the packaged food can get expensive. These might be a good idea to get you started with your weight loss, but, again, it's important that you focus on learning how to prepare and eat foods from the grocery store in a healthy manner.
Your goal should be long-term weight loss and successful maintenance of the weight. While fad diets often do result in initial weight loss, they don't teach how to keep it off. Their lure is the promise of a quick fix and beautiful actors testifying to how the product helped them. Don't fall for slick ad campaigns. You're looking for a lifestyle change with healthy eating habits that can help you maintain weight loss for a lifetime.
Note: People with a medical condition such as diabetes should not attempt one of these diets.
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