In our "have it now" and no waiting, world, diets seem to be no
different. We haven't the patience to wait, eat well, and exercise. We want
a "quick fix" for weight loss. Thus comes into play the fad diet.
It promises quick and easy weight loss with little effort and an almost "magic" formula.
You might hear bright promises, but unfortunately there is no true quick
way to change our bodies. Good things take time!
The truth is, despite the gimmick, all diets are mostly low calorie in disguise. They all limit food choices in some way, and also cause you to pay attention to what you are eating. So, as a result you limit what you take in.
Fads come and go, and often repeat themselves in a newly "dressed-up" fashion. A few of the popular fads are reviewed for you here.
High protein diets restrict carbohydrates and cause your body to go into a semi-starvation state. As a result, your body begins to live on stored fat and muscle combined, to create glucose for survival. This is perhaps a natural way people once endured times of famine. The problem is that these diets are hard to stick with, and can be hard on your kidneys. In addition the weight loss is easily regained when carbohydrates are added back into the diet.
Glycemic Index-a food rating system originally designed for diabetics, gives each food a number related to the amount of sugar it contains. The goal of diets based on this index is to eat mostly "low numbered" foods. The problem is, the numbers are assigned to foods individually, in a lab! When you eat other foods with them, the number is negated. For example, a potato is high on the list, but if you add a little butter and a filling, like cottage cheese, the number no longer has any meaning. Also some vegetables, like carrots are high on the list, but are full of fiber which also minimizes the sugar's impact. There are many popular diets today, that use this gimmick, however, the real weight loss comes from controlling portion sizes!
Cortisol, a stress hormone, does have some relation to increasing the ability to store fat. But few people have the kind of stress that causes this hormone's levels to rise to cause fat gain. Don't give too much power to this one!
So what are you going to do to control weight? The real success comes from a diet of mostly whole foods (minimal refining), with lots of vegetables, fruit, lean proteins, and whole grains. Learn to stop eating at full. Then, add exercise-45 minutes to an hour a day, 5 or 6 times a week for weight loss (if you are medically able to do so). Amazingly, enough sleep also helps to keep off weight, so aim for 7 to 9 hours a night. This plan is simple, takes time, and works for a lifetime!
Rachael Martin, M.S., R.D. is the owner of Eating and Body Image Solutions, a nutritional therapy and consulting business. She also works as a freelance writer and speaker on nutritional topics. Her specialties include mental health nutrition, eating disorders, weight management, longevity nutrition and PCOS. She can be reached at 235.1568 or at ebis-rd@earthlink.net
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