Jan

8

What Are The Risks Of Fad Diets?

Filed Under Diets, Healthy Diets, How To's, Main Content, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

So-called “fad diets” seem to spring up all the time, offering a diet plan to help you lose a lot of weight in a short period of time. Often, they do this by focusing on one or two types of food to either eliminate from the diet completely or to dine on exclusively. Examples of this type of fad diet are Cabbage Soup Diet, Sugar Busters! and the grapefruit soup diets. But can these diets help you lose weight, and do they pose other health risks?

Well, they certainly can help you lose weight. They are all designed to do that, and on that level they are almost all effective, at least for a little while.

But there are risks to many of these diets. Often, vital nutrients are eliminated from your diet for too long, leading to a variety of complications, some of which can be very serious.

Starvation diets where you either limit your diet to one or two foods or reduce the total intake of food can be very dangerous. Your body needs a wide variety of nutrients, balanced effectively for maximum use. If it fails to get what it needs, you can suffer from a variety of issues, some of which can be serious and result in permanent injury.

Many of these diets are especially dangerous to people with diabetes. They can take so drastically lower the dieters blood sugar level that serious complications, even death can result. Studies have also shown that diabetics can be at increased risk of cardiovascular disease when on poorly balanced diets. If the dieter is not aware they have diabetes they have no way to avoid those risks. This is why it is so important to consult your physician before starting any significant weight loss program.

How can a dieter avoid these risks and still lose weight? There are many diets out there that offer sensible and safe ways to shed weight and still be healthy. Some of those plans are outlined in books you can find in your local bookstore. Others can be found online at sites like www.stripthatfat.com. Each of these plans focus on the key things to remember when trying to follow a safe diet.

First, your body needs a balance of sugars, carbohydrates and fats. Research your diet plan for signs that it is balanced and includes the proper nutritional balance of foods, then be sure to follow that plan carefully. Avoid those plans that focus on one or two foods or types of food to the exclusion of all others.

One advantage to on-line programs is that many of them have menu generators that can help you plan healthy meals that still help you lose weight. Others may have on-line food diaries, which have been proven to be effective in helping a dieter manage their diet.

Using these resources will help you stick to a diet that will not only help you lose weight but will do so in a healthy way that will not pose an even greater risk to your health than the excess weight will.

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Dec

16

What Not To Eat On A No-Carb Diet?

Filed Under How To's, Low Carb Diet, Low carb foods, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

Low carbohydrate diets have been popular for a number of years and have recently shown a marked increase in popularity. Part of that popularity has been extended to what are now being called “no-carb diets.” Knowing what types of foods to avoid involves understanding what the diet is about.

It is virtually impossible to avoid carbohydrates entirely in your diet, and it would be unhealthy to do so. Your body does need some carbohydrates. A “no carb” diet is actually a very low carb diet. One example of a no-carb diet is the induction phase of the Atkins plan. There are other diets out there that keep carbs low as a permanent part of the plan. Either way, what foods should a person on one of these diets avoid?

Breads and pastries are the easiest things to identify as being high in carbohydrates. Bread, muffins, crackers and bagels are on the list of things to avoid on low carb diets while no carb diets rule them out altogether. A basic rule is that if it is made with flour, it is not on your diet plan. Pastas fit this rule as well.

Potatoes in all their forms (fried, baked, mashed, etc.) are to be avoided on low and no carb diets. Pastas such as gnocchi and potato breads are similarly to be avoided.

Another food to avoid is rice. Brown and whole-grain rices are okay in later stages of low carb diets, but are not on a no carb diet (or the first stages of low-carb diets for that matter). Both of these types of diets recommend avoiding white rices.

Cereals are another food to avoid. This includes not only cold cereals that you pour milk over and serve but also hot cereals such as oatmeal and cream of wheat.

Beans such as black beans, kidney beans and pinto beans are to be avoided as they are high in carbs. Corn and carrots are other vegetables to avoid as both are high in sugar and carbohydrates.

Fruits to avoid include (but may not be limited to) apricots, bananas, blueberries, dates, grapefruits and figs.

Milk has carbohydrates in the form of lactose sugar. Many of those sugars get taken out of milk in the process of making cheese, but watch out for plain milk and cream. Those sugars are still in there.

Another good rule of thumb on no-carb diets is to avoid all processed and packaged food. Invariably, they are loaded up with sugary and carb-heavy ingredients in an effort to compensate for the loss of taste inherent in the preservation and packaging processes. This is especially true of so-called reduced fat foods. They are even higher in sugars and carbs than their higher fat counterparts.

Lastly, avoid sweets. High sugar foods are also high in carbohydrates. Avoid cakes, candies and other sweets. Following all of these rules will help you stick to your no carb diet.

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Nov

26

Atkins Diet Phase Two - Ongoing Weight Loss

Filed Under Atkins, How To's, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

If you have made it past the initial induction phase of the Atkins Diet, congratulations on accomplishing the first stage of your weight loss goal. The ongoing weight loss phase(OWL) you are entering into now is where you will being to customize the Atkins program to fit your individual tastes which is what makes the Atkins Diet Program so unique in the diet and weight loss world.

Even though you are now allowed a little more flexibility than in the induction phase of the program this second stage will continue to amaze you with the how much the weight will continue to drop and the fat melt off.

You will begin to see a gradual slow down of the rate in which the weight loss and inches lost occur. This is a normal and deliberate part of the plan so don’t let it bother you. Just bear in mind that just because you are being allowed a few more carbs it doesn’t mean you can go back to eating whatever you want. You must eat good quality carbs and steer clear of junk carbs such as white flour and sugar.

You must also have a set goal. Do not just make a goal of losing some weight, have a specific amount of weight you want to lose and write the goal down. It is much easier to visualize you end goal when it is written down. You must visualize and see how your body will look and how you will feel when you reach your goal.

With the Ongoing Weight Loss Program you will learn to continue to burn and dissolve fat, maintain control of your appetite, learn how many more carbs you can take in and eat a wider choice of foods.

The following are the main rules of Ongoing Weight Loss:

Keep protein and fat as the mainstays of your nutritional regimen

Do not increase your daily carb intake by more than five grams a week

Add new foods in the order listed in the Atkins carb ladder

Only add one food group at a time

Stop new foods immediately if they promote weight gain or increased cravings

Continue on Ongoing Weight Loss until you have five to ten pounds to lose.

If you follow these guidelines you are sure to be successful in your quest for weight loss.

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Nov

25

Atkins Diet - Is it as Effective as they say?

Filed Under Atkins, Diets, How To's, Low carb foods, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

Even though it has been several decades since the late Dr. Robert Atkins created his self-named low carbohydrate diet, it was only in the late 1990s and early 2000s that the Atkins diet took the weight loss world by storm.

Millions of people rode on the low carb bandwagon and nutrition experts were appalled. The uproar over the diet is understandable; after all, it went against all the principles of the medically accepted and traditional low fat regimen, which had been the norm for years.

Simply put, going on the Atkins diet - or “doing Atkins” - means that a person has to drastically cut down on his or her intake of carbohydrates, especially those found in starchy foods.

People find that this can be difficult, especially those who have become accustomed to consuming food like bread, potatoes, cakes, cereals, and pasta regularly for years. On the up side, protein-rich foods are not only allowed on this low carb diet, they are actually encouraged. So there’s no need to give up mayonnaise, butter, pork, beef, fried food, and many others that are off-limits in low fat diets.

There are four phases in this diet. The first stage, called Induction, requires the dieter to reduce his or her carb intake to 20 grams per day for two weeks. Carbohydrates should be acquired from vegetables, so the usual starchy baked products and fruits are forbidden during this period.

After the induction phase, you are allowed to gradually increase your intake of carbohydrates until you reach your carb threshold, or the amount of carbs you can safely eat without gaining weight.

For many adults, 60 to 90 grams of carbs per day is the limit. With this diet, you count carbs, not calories.

The Atkins premise is that carbohydrates, which our bodies use for fuel, are the culprits responsible for weight gain. Excess carbohydrates increase blood sugar levels, which in turn make us feel hungry in a short amount of time after a meal. An increase in your blood sugar can also trigger the pancreas to create more insulin, which in turn influences how the body converts carbs to fats, which are manifested in that paunch or those love handles.

This extra weight can lead to many health problems, including diabetes and heart disease.

In addition to helping a person lose a significant amount of weight in a short period of time, a number of clinical studies have shown the Atkins diet to be beneficial in the reduction of the so-called “bad cholesterol” that can lead to heart disease.

In addition, other studies suggest that the diet has at least a positive short-term effect on diabetics, and anecdotal evidence states that it is also instrumental in relieving the symptoms of disorders such as polycystic ovarian syndrome.

One thing that the critics praise about the Atkins low carb diet is its education of people about being picky about foods; to avoid junk food and those that contain nothing but sugar and empty calories.

Another aspect of the diet that meets with expert approval is its encouragement of exercise. It still follows the basic tenet that if you take in more than you burn, you will still gain weight, no matter what diet you are on.

One relative difficulty that reduced-carbohydrate dieters complain about is food boredom. Perhaps this was a problem in the early days, but not so anymore.

Today, there are plenty of “mock” foods patterned after regular dishes like pancakes, mashed potatoes, cheesecake, muffins, and the like - but without the carbohydrates and sugar. If you have a craving for something sweet, you can still eat candy bars, cakes, and chocolate products that are sweetened not with sugar but with sucralose.

Weight loss on this low carb diet is quicker than that observed on low-fat diets, but remember that you should not shed pounds too rapidly - 2 to four pounds a week is the average.

And to make sure to take the necessary dietary supplements to make sure that you are getting all the nutrients you need to stay healthy while losing weight. You should also remember to drink plenty of water.

This will help flush waste from your body and assist it in the burning of fat as the major source of fuel.

Going on the Atkins diet can help you in your weight loss efforts if you follow the basic tenets: don’t overeat (eat only until you feel satisfied);

don’t under-eat (eat whenever you feel hungry);

exercise; be realistic. You should not aspire to be razor thin. Rather, aim for your ideal body weight and stay
healthy on your way there.

About the author:
Carb-club.com provides you with information on all kinds of issues like the Atkins diet and diets like the South Beach diet, the Zone diet, and more. Come take a look at http://www.carb-club.com/

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Nov

22

What are the risks of the Atkins Diet!

Filed Under Atkins, Low Carb Diet, Weight Loss | Leave a Comment

The induction phase of the Atkins Diet is a very low carbohydrate diet. It operates on the theory that refined carbs cause you to gain weight. Refined carbs are white breads, pastas, sugars and starches. The carbs most of us eat regularly.
One of the biggest downsides is the elimination of certain foods and food groups.  Protein and fat alone cannot provide you with the nutrients you need for good health. There are some foods in each food group that offer the nutrients your body needs.

The Atkins Diet says carbohydrates affect blood sugar and the hormone insulin. They contend that insulin, not the types or quantities of food, cause an imbalanced metabolism and fat storage.
Insulin is produced by the body in response to the high glucose levels. It causes the liver to convert glucose into glycogen, (which can become body fat), reducing the blood sugar to safe levels.

On the other hand, if the diet is very low in carbohydrates, the blood sugar level can fall too low. There will be insufficient glucose to fuel the cells of the body. The Atkins Diet says it allows enough good carbs to keep this from happening.
Medical experts say that allowing high protein and high fat foods in unlimited quantities is unhealthy. The downside is that it is not good for your heart. We have all heard about how fat and cholesterol can clog our arteries.
Some of the nutritional benefits that are lost as a result of low carb diets are fiber and B vitamins that are found in bread, cereals, and grains.  Fiber, vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals that are found in fruits and vegetables, protect against disease.

Calcium and vitamin D, found in dairy products, help build strong bones and teeth. Healthy sources of fat, found in nuts, protect against heart disease. Fiber, found in most high carb foods, helps you feel full longer.

Constipation is a big downside for people following low carb, high protein diets. Fruits, vegetables and grains provide fiber that helps maintain regular bowel function. The Atkins Diet is not recommended for people with chronic gastrointestinal diseases.

High levels of protein have been shown to increase calcium loss from the body. Dairy products, which contain calcium, are restricted in low carb diets. Inadequate intake has been associated with osteoporosis, a disease which causes the bones to become very fragile. High protein intakes have also been associated with kidney disease.

Since the kidneys are responsible for eliminating the by-products of protein, researchers say it puts excess strain on them. This has not been proven, except in persons who already have poor kidney function.
Since carbohydrates are the primary source of fuel for the muscles and brain, eating a low carb diet can cause muscle weakness, tiredness and dehydration. Individuals who participate in high endurance activities should not participate in a low carbohydrate diet.
A low carb diet should be completely avoided during pregnancy, lactation, childhood, and the pre-teen years. During these periods of life, growth is very rapid and requires calories and many nutrients for optimal development.
These are the main downsides to the Atkins Diet.  Is a low carb diet good for you or is it dangerous. By looking at both sides, and consulting with your health care provider, you can make an informed decision.

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