Is There a Miracle Diet for
Weight Loss?

chillibreeze writer — Padmini V

Obesity is an undesirable side-effect of modern day urban lifestyles and is reaching epidemic proportions worldwide. Obesity occurs because of unregulated eating under stress, sedentary lifestyles, lack of exercise, or eating inappropriate amounts of some foods. Increasing awareness of the health problems posed by obesity has led to people frantically searching for quick-fix weight loss programs. Diets and weight loss programs are practically industries by themselves today.

The body needs carbohydrates, fats, proteins, minerals, vitamins and water, in amounts that are different for each person. Dieting has come to mean restriction of one or more (or in extreme cases, all) of these ingredients, in order to maintain, or lose weight to a “desirable” level.

Restriction of food and water can be done carefully, for prolonged periods of time, without harm to the body. However, it is vital to remember that a balance of ingredients needs to be maintained as the body requires some amounts of all foods to remain healthy.

Being a universal problem the desire for weight loss has fuelled the popularity of several diets the world over. These are some of the popular diets:

Skimp on Carbs:

Carbohydrates (‘Carbs’) can be restricted to moderate (40-50%), low (25-40%), or very low (< 25%) levels. The carbs thus restricted will have to be replaced by something else, usually proteins. Examples of moderate carb diets include Sugar Busters, Protein Power, South Beach, Dr. Sears Zone and Fat Flush. Examples of low carb diets are Neanderthin, Carb Addicts and Rosedale. A combo diet called the Anne Collins has a phase of low carbs (30%) followed by a phase of high carbs (55%). Atkins, Ketogenic, and Hampton’s diets are very low carb diets. Low carb diets cause rapid weight loss, the lower the faster. This and some aggressive marketing saw a boom in these diets, but soon side effects and regained weights appeared and popularity waned.

Everyone knows that eating fats are a big no-no:

Restriction of fats does lead to satisfying weight loss. Your grandmother is finally happy you listened to her. The Mayo Clinic plan, Jenny Craig and Rice Diet are low fat diets, with fats pegged at 20-30%. Very low fats are prescribed by the Ornish, Pritikin and Hip & Thigh diets. Confusion has recently been created by the revelation that all fats are not equal, and some are not so bad, after all. What is worse is that doctors are now saying that eating fat, by itself, does not actually make one fat. Confusing fat facts right? Some people swear that these diets work while others pooh-pooh them.

Don’t go low on Protein:

Low protein diets are a risky proposition. Protein is required as basic building material for the body, apart from providing the energy needs. People who habitually eat more proteins may undergo supervised restriction, but on the whole, low proteins (4-8%) are suggested only to people whose ability to metabolize protein is impaired, such as in Liver and Kidney disease. These diets also mean a reduction in salt intake to avoid water retention and hypertension.

More is less?

An increasing number of diets are recommending high proteins as a way to lose weight. These supply protein to replace the fats that the body is burning for energy. The body actually burns more energy in order to digest protein. The most popular diets are Atkins, Fatloss4idiots and Protein Power. There are, as always, nay-sayers. Some claim that high proteins lead to kidney failure. There is no medical proof of this as yet; however, it is known that high protein can worsen pre-existing kidney diseases. An area of real concern is the fact that burning protein uses up more body water. Remember to drink plenty of fluids to avoid dehydration.

The Right Sugar:

Sugars that are consumed get translated into blood glucose. The speed and level to which this happens is the subject of this set of diets. A sugar with a low Glycemic Index (GI) will be absorbed slowly, and affect blood glucose levels less. Examples include NutriSystem, Glycemic Load and Glycemic Impact. Originally devised for diabetics, these have been adopted by weight watchers successfully. Glycemic Indices and loads of a variety of foods have been calculated and posted on the Net.

Balance your Eating:

These are diets that supply all essential ingredients in smaller quantities. The General Motors (GM) diet details a 7-day plan of different nutrients each day. The Mediterranean diet consists of all ingredients in the correct form and proportion. There are other balanced diets being advertised. The main advantage is that there is no unnatural restriction of ingredients. The main disadvantage is one of compliance. In some cases people tend to abandon diets halfway, in others they end up overeating.

Don’t Starve Yourself:

The diet with the least going for it; however has many adherents. Severely restricting calorie intake causes breakdown of muscle and water loss. This results in the weight loss. However the percentage of fat in the body is unchanged. The body becomes weak. This, fortunately, is a very difficult diet to follow for any length of time. With the rebound, all the lost weight is rapidly regained.

There are several solutions for your weight problems in the market. But none of them is perfect for everybody. Most of them cannot be followed for very long. Yet, all of us hope for a miracle diet that will help us remain in the pink of health.

Well, the miracle is very much within your reach. Here is your miracle diet- eat breakfast daily, don’t skip meals, savor every bite, control portions, set realistic goals, get active, weigh in regularly, make small changes, snack smart, eat protein at every small meal and most important, make a lifelong commitment to your health.

There is no one miracle diet for weight loss; often the effects of following the simplest precepts are miraculous.

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Padmini writes for chillibreeze.

Is There a Miracle Diet for Weight Loss?

chillibreeze writer — Padmini V

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Is There a Miracle Diet for
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