You’ll recall me discussing (about a week ago) Gary Taubes and his book concerning obesity research.  It was fascinating because it demonstrated that the evidence favouring many of the dietary approaches advocated today do not work  and why.  I think his book really indicates that a shift in paradigm is warranted (or at least in the research trials) of today’s weight loss approaches.

In particular the keys that Gary recommends (and I think if you really look at his reasoning it seems more sound than the other research of the ineffective approaches) are: eating a diet lower in carbohydrates, not consuming refined carbohydrates or sugar, as these foods cause the body to produce insulin which does not fat to be mobilized – so it collects in the body.  Although this may seem counterintuitive once you see what evidence is really exists (and what the so called healthy diets have been based on) to support the notion that such an approach is counterintuitve, you’ll see that the research is much more scant than you likely thought.   Many approaches have commonly suggested that lack of exercise and lack of portion control were the root cause.

Many researches discouted that fact that there was any hormonal connection. The following article, which you can click on for more informaiton, has finally shown that a hormonal link has been found which would seem to suggest that merely portion control and lack of exercise are not at the healm.

I will include the first link concerning the article and then am also including some videos.

1. Article re the hormonal link is below

Canadian, U.S. scientists win $1M Shaw prize for obesity work.

2.A video is below that provides a very useful points about Gary’s information.

3. Another video with a little more depth into the issue.

Stay tuned for more posts about these concepts and more videos and information.

All the best,

Matthew

Certainly in the early stage of the Atkins Diet, this is the case.  Slowly as more and more carbohydrates are added, Ketosis may stop but carbohydrates are still quite low during this stage of the Atkins Diet.

Here is a summary of the of the Akins Diet:

Phase 1: Induction phase of Atkins Diet

Restrict consumption to 20 grams each day, obtaining carbohydrate primarily from salad and other non-starchy vegetables.

Phase 2: Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL) of Atkins Diet

Add carbohydrate, in the form of nutrient-dense and antioxidant rich foods, by increasing to 25 grams daily the first week, 30 grams daily the next week and so on until weight loss stops. Then subtract 5 grams of carbohydrate from your daily intake so that you continue sustained, moderate weight loss.

Phase 3: Pre-Maintenance stage of Atkins Diet

Make the transition from weight loss to weight maintenance by increasing the daily carbohydrate intake in 10-gram increments each week so long as very gradual weight loss is maintained.

Phase 4: Lifetime Maintenance of Atkins Diet

Select from a wide variety of foods while controlling carbohydrate intake to ensure weight maintenance and a sense of well being. The Atkins diet maintains this lifestyle is the foundation for a lifetime of better health.

Originally, I was quite against the Atkins Diet; however, a naturopath and I were discussing it and she mentioned that the Atkins Diet may be good for some people who need to really lose weight.  Once the weight is off they could move to a healthier diet.  This suggestion made sense to me and I did want to lose weight, so I did some reading and decided to give it a try.  I did in fact lose weight and found that a lot of meals were quite satisfying as I could eat generous portions of meats.

After a while, I was tiring of all the meat, and eating this much meat was counterintuitive to me.  While vegetables are allowed on the diet, I don’t feel the Atkins Diet emphasizes them enough.  I feel that vegetables should form a large portion of one’s diet. So, while I did lose weight and was eating pretty good portions, I just didn’t feel the Atkins diet was balanced enough, not enough carbs and vegetables.

The three doshas are called Vata (sattva), Pitta (raga) and Kapha (tama). These three doshas can even be traced back to the very beginning of creation as representing the three Gods in Vedic wisdom Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. Vata is the underlying subtle force ruling over ether and air, Pitta rules fire and Kapha is responsible for keeping the water and earth elements in balance. One or more of these doshas or elements will predominate in every individual living entity creating seven possible body types. By knowing which type you are by symptoms the proper diet and herbal treatment can be established for you.

Personally I felt this diet encourages you to eat 6 various tastes of food, such as: bitter, sweet, sour, salty, pungent, and astringent.  This allows for some tasty dishes.  Many Ayurvedic practitioners don’t maintain that you have to follow their diet strictly, but rather gear your diet in the direction of your Dosha type.  I didn’t stay on this diet very long as I found it such an adjustment, especially with the high amounts of dairy and ghee (clarified butter), I found it somewhat counterintuitive, considering the higher amounts of saturated fats and cholesterol.

It does stress really more of a vegetarian style of eating, so this aspect could certainly be healthy.  Also, it stressed smaller breakfasts, larger meals, and very small suppers.  My body just didn’t seem geared this way.  Again, I felt this a little counterintuitive, as I felt a good solid breakfast and supper would be important and that meals shouldn’t be skipped.  Overall, I didn’t stay on the diet very long and it was definitely not my favourite

The Blood Type Diet is not a diet that I personally had much success with.  I didn’t really lose that much weight and I found myself feeling that I was out of balance in my meals.  I really felt I was lacking a lot of carbohydrates, since I was the type A.  Just for the heck of it I tried the other blood types, again I felt out of balance.  I didn’t lose much weight.

While I did lose some weight because I was always counting calories, I felt very regimented and controlled which made it hard to stay on this diet long term. While a certain amount of cheating is probably fine, I really felt tempted to cheat on this diet.  One good thing about counting calories is that it does make people conscious of calories.  Certainly portion control is a part of any proper diet.

The Glycemic Index is a measuring system to find the extent of which various foods raise the blood sugar level. The benchmark is white bread, which has a Glycemic Index of 100. The higher the score, the greater the extents of blood sugar raise. E.g. Dextrose scores 138 (HIGH) whereas fructose 31 (LOW).

One positive point about the G.I meal plan is it’s possible for dieters to enjoy the odd “treat” item once or twice each week, maybe an occasional dessert after a light dinner. As long as these “bad” items are NOT eaten alone it should not ruin the diet plan.

I certainly like its promotion of good monounsaturated fats, for instance the extensive use of olive oil in the diet. I also like the way Italians cook their pasta, al dante, to the bite, which makes it a little more chewy. This chewiness means that it is actually lower on the glycemic index

The South Beach Diet is not a low carb diet per se. It actually encourages eating what it considers to be the good carbs. The book explains what the good carbs are. The diet is divided into three phases. Phase one is a two week period in which the dieter’s intake of carbohydrates is almost nil. In the second phase the good carbs are re-introduced slowly. These are most of the fruits and whole grains. The third phase is a life long maintenance phase which is how one should eat always. In that sense it is a diet in the right sense of the word. It is not about deprivation and feeling deprived which could lead to yo-yo dieting. In The South Beach Diet, as is the case with other lower carb diets, certain foods are not recommended ever such as refined sugar, white bread, refined white rice, and pasta made with refined flour.

The South Beach Diet focuses on selecting “good carbs” and “good fats”.  “Good carb” meaning lower carbs that are lower on the glycemic index.  “Good fats” meaning monounsaturated fats.

The South Beach Diet has 3 phases.  Phase 1, 2, and 3.

Phase 1 – smallest portions, lower carbs

Phase 2 – slightly bigger portions, more carbs

Phase 3 – Maintenance Phase – One would stay on this for life.  Adjust portions that allow you to maintain weight.

The South Beach Diet certainly is close to a diet that I really like.  Like most diets, it emphasizes portion control.  Also, it’s promotion of good quality carbohydrates and good monounsaturated fats is very healthy. The only thing I’m not crazy about is the fact that the meals are not quite balanced in their proportions of carbohydrates, protein and fats.  In particular, phase 3 is a little too high in carbohydrates for my liking.