The desire for weight loss has spawned innumerable diets. Most gain popularity for one or two years only to be discarded as they are abandoned. You may have heard of "The Zone Diet," "The Cabbage Diet," and even the "Atkin's Diet." The "yo-yo" effect of going on a diet only to revert to old ways and regain all the weight, is well documented and is dangerous to one's health. If a dietary change for weight loss is not permanent it will always fail. The newest fad is the "HCG Diet." I feel this is one that is particularly dangerous. It calls on taking the pregnancy hormone HCG (human chorionic gonadotropin) and limiting daily calories to 500 a day. Of course this is not sustainable and it will fail. I have repeatedly seen people regain weight after stopping this diet. Let me discuss several programs or ideas that can be sustained life long and thus have merit. There are links to their respective websites by clicking on the highlighted titles.
The evolution of Weight Watchers through the years has been interesting to follow. In its current form, I feel that it is a great way to learn how to eat. It is a "points" system. An individual is given so many points per day. One can choose any food that they want but the least healthy foods are awarded more points. Most fruits and vegetables are "free." You can get more points through exercise. The program works because it is sensible, but it must be followed and all the "points" must be counted. There are new smart phone aps which make keeping track of everything so much easier. I highly recommend it. It is a great way to learn how to eat healthy for the rest of your life.
The low carb craze heralded in by the Atkin's diet (see below) got smarter with the South Beach Diet. I especially think that the maintenance phase of the diet is quite healthy and is a great way to make good food choices. It is especially beneficial for people who have elevated triglyceride levels, have diabetes or are borderline for such. First, a few facts about carbohydrates (carbs). This is prevalent in much of the processed food discussed previously. It is converted into blood sugar quite readily by our digestive tract and will raise blood sugar if we are prone to such. It is also what is the common denominator for "comfort food." If we are feeling lonely, angry, down or blue carbs will give us momentary pleasure. Our bodies acquire a physical dependence to them. Cutting back on them is hard since there will be actual withdrawal symptoms when one cuts back. They can also be eaten in large quantities before our hunger center tells us that we are full. This makes it much easier to over eat. Foods high in fiber are filling. Greasy foods, though not healthy, are harder to indulge on in large quantities. Most people need to get control of their carbs and the South Beach Diet helps do just that.
Lastly, the South Beach Diet allows for the ingestion of "healthy carbs." These are the ones found naturally in fruits and vegetables. There are three reasons why they are healthy. First, natural sugar comes in a compound that is just half of the glucose of table sugar. Secondly, fruits and vegetables have that filling fiber making them harder to be over eaten. Thirdly, fruits and veggies contain the essential vitamins necessary for basic bodily functions.
This has been studied fairly extensively and has been found to significantly lower one's risk for heart disease. It is not as popular here as it is in Europe, though there are many more people learning of its benefit. . Similar to what has been stated above, it is a diet high in fruits and vegetables. Meat is limited and most all fats are converted to olive oil.
This is an acronym which stands for "Dietary Advise to Stop Hypertension." This is a specific diet for high blood pressure but it is quite healthy for anyone. Again, focusing on fruits and vegetables is essential. There is also a strong focus on limiting salt intake, which is very important for lowering blood pressure. There will be more about that later.
I include this diet as it has remained popular for many years. It has shown to be effective in modest weight loss, however, recent research has shown that the risk of heart disease is unchanged and may be slightly higher. In the immortal words spoken at Curley's funeral in the movie, City Slickers: "He ate bacon for breakfast every day....You just can't do that!"
