7) THE MANY WEIGHT LOSS DIETS POSSIBLE
a) Diets: Which One is the Best?
Comparing weight loss diets is difficult. A recent study had women "follow" as best they could four diets for a year. In this study the low carbohydrate high protein high fat low carb Atkins™ diet turned out to be the "best" diet". But interviews with the participants showed that the Atkins™ dieters actually ate more like 150 grams of carbohydrates per day, while the "official" Atkins™ diet maintains one must be below 20 grams of carbohydrates per day. So the diet actually followed by the Atkins™ participants was closer to the Moderation Diet (next Chapter), the Sugarbusters™ diet, the South Beach™ diet or the Zone™ diet that the Atkins™ diet. And the Zone™ dieters were up around 300 grams of carbohydrates per day, outside the actual range of any of the diets in the study! And we suspect that much of this illicit 300 grams was refined carbohydrates. Highly refined carbohydrates increase appetite. It is kind of revealing that we were unable to find any "high refined carbohydrate" diets to compare this 300 gram per day diet to. It seems that no one has come up with such a weight loss diet, even though many people actually eat a "high refined carbohydrate" diet on a daily basis. There are many studies which show that a diet rich in carbohydrates from vegetables and high fiber whole grains (i.e. a vegetarian or vegan diet) can result in sizable weight loss. Actually this four diet study just showed a high protein diet to be better than a low protein diet, none of the test groups were in ultra-high protein induced ketosis (i.e. the Atkins™ Diet).
The local bookstore shelves are loaded with diet books including the: Thrive Diet, Reverse Diet, Somers Diet, The Ultimate New York Diet, Five Factor Plan, Beck Diet Solution, The Ultimate Sex Diet, French Women Don't Get Fat, The no-diet Diet, The Biggest Loser, Skinny Bitch, YOU: On a diet, Dr. Phil, Thin for Life (series), etc. It has to be noted that there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to diets: there are many possibilities (these are only approximations of many plans):
Moderation Ketosis "Low Carb" "Low Fat" ADA Vegetarian Vegan Paleo Refined carbohydrates No No No No Yes Yes No Unrefined carbohydrates No No No Yes Yes Yes No Red meat, Saturated Fat* No Yes Yes No No No No white meat chicken Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Yes fish, shrimp Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Vegetable Fats Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No Legumes (incl' peanuts) Yes No No Yes Yes Yes No Nuts Yes No Yes No Yes Yes Yes (excl' cashews) Dairy Products Yes Yes No No Yes No No Eggs No Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Vegetables Yes No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Fruit No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Green Leafy vegetables Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes *Note that there is no such thing as "lean" feedlot beef or pork. It is all genetically tenderized by marbling the flesh with sizable amounts of saturated fat.
The basic concepts for the success of weight loss diets are two fold. First off, research has consistently shown that the more expensive a diet is the more likelihood of success. I.e. we all want to "get our money's worth". Secondly, the easier and less complicated the diet, the better the results. This second one is why diets such as "eat no carbohydrates (Atkins™ diet)", "eat no fat" or "be a vegetarian" tend to work so well, they are just very simple to follow. Diets like the Zone Diet™ are much more difficult to follow. If one is interested in a simple diet "eat only vegetables, beans, salads and fish" is a very good one to follow. It is simple and is very healthy all around. The only caveats is that some people start broadening the definition of "vegetable" to include heavily sugared foods such as candied yams or sugar filled baked beans or they add fruit or they add baked goods or they add oil filled salad dressings. These are not vegetables! If a person sticks to just vegetables (especially sugar free beans and spinach), salad and fish, even to the point of using sugar free fat free salad dressing, the weight cannot help but come off.
Some people find support groups such as Weight Watchers™ to be of immense help. Other people have had some bad experiences with some plans that promise large weight losses if you buy their food. It's a good idea to never commit sizable amounts of money to any "packaged" plan until you've tried it out for a few months. There are many diet plans which allow a person to purchase prepackaged meals, sometimes at the local supermarket, sometimes over the Internet (Chefs Diet, NutriSystem, etc.). There are some excellent 150 to 250 calorie prepackaged frozen meals in the diet section of the frozen foods in most local supermarkets. It is important to look at the nutrient data on the box and critically examine the calories and the carbohydrates. It is difficult to find low carbohydrate, low fat, high protein preprepared meals, even in the frozen foods section. But there are excellent selections of "steamable" frozen vegetables which cook in the bag in the microwave in just a few minutes and have excellent carbohydrate profiles (they also are very bulky and filing for the low calorie load they contain). Be careful of things such a low calorie soups where the lowering of the calories is accomplished by simply adding more water. Always try to get the grams of protein greater than the grams of carbohydrate and try to keep the grams of fat low.
If the amount of protein is equal to or more than the amount of carbohydrates and the amount of saturated fat is low, the diet food is probably good. It is even better if it contains sizable amounts of fiber. It is also possible to mix foods. For instance, some of the 55% fiber breakfast cereals, such as Kellogg's™ All Bran Bran Buds™ are extremely difficult on the taste buds. So mix the fiber cereal in with Post™ Grape Nuts™ Cereal at a 50-50 ratio. Now the cereal is much more tasty and it still has a very high fiber content.
We are all different metabolically and psychologically. Every individual with diabetes will react differently to any given diet plan. So it's best for anyone with type 2 diabetes to try several of diet plans and use the one that fits best and one that they can live with for the rest of their life. It is important not to pick a diet plan that anyone thinks they can just get down to their target weight and then go off of. Any diet plan has to be a diet plan for life, it has to be a permanent change in lifestyle. A person needs to avoid plans that promise fast weight loss or plans that require supplements. Supplements, herbs, pills or homeopathic remedies do not help anyone diet. Just remember the one immutable truth in dieting, in order to lose weight, calories out must exceed calories in, period. For individuals with type 2 diabetes we do recommend diets which are at least "reasonably" low in carbohydrates.
Every single effective weight loss program we feel is applicable to type 2 diabetes patients seems to be opposed by one or more professional medical associations. It is almost as though they don't want a person with type 2 diabetes to lose weight. Or maybe they just recognize the power of some of the entrenched political forces at work (like the senators from the wheat, corn and beef states). There is a huge amount of research that says that weight loss in type 2 diabetes is very beneficial. There is no statistically meaningful research we could find that shows that any of the diets mentioned here-in are really harmful, there is just "expert" speculation and opinions ("you won't get the necessary nutrients on this fad diet" etc.) . The human body just has an amazing ability to adapt to almost anything. So just find a diet that works and stick to it. We don't recommend either high carbohydrate diets (low protein diets) or ketosis (high saturated fat diets) diets but if you like them and they work for you, go for it.
Of course the next challenge is to come up with a diet that one can follow for a lifetime. It is necessary to find foods which satisfy the hunger urge. And the types of foods which satisfy this urge vary between individuals. Some individuals are satisfied by a lettuce salad. Some people can consume huge amounts of lettuce and still be hungry. Some people need meat added to the salad. And some people need some form of complex carbohydrate with each meal to satisfy the hunger urge. This requires some experimentation. The most satisfying food is beans. This is because it has protein, some healthy fats and complex carbohydrate with fiber. Unfortunately beans have the unpleasant side effects of bloating and gas. But some people find the side effects go away after a few weeks of consuming large amounts of beans, the body adjusts.
There is also the consideration that most people reading this have type 2 diabetes and should reflect that in their choice of diet to at least a limited extent. Keeping carbohydrate intake to less than 15 to 30 grams per meal (we recommend whatever minimum quantity keeps a person out of ketosis, this can vary from 15 to 50 grams per day per 100 pound of body weight) is the major limitation that we recommend be put on diets by type 2 diabetes. And note that even this goes against the majority of the "experts" who recommend traditional plans with high carbohydrate intake. It must be emphasized that calorie counting is absolutely necessary for any diet. The one essential truth in dieting is that calories in must be less than calories out in order to lose weight. As mentioned before, one way to simplify calorie counting is to spend a few hours each weekend preparing small microwavable containers with the right amounts of each food contemplated for the week. That way each day can go something like two meat dish containers, one bean dish container, and four vegetable dish containers per day.
In this chapter we give extremely short synopses of many diets. Our apologies to the authors of those diets. All these diets are all far more intricate, with many nuances revealed in their respective books. If you decide on a given diet, we recommend either buying the book or getting it from the local library. As an intermediate step, look up the diet on a website. The diet we recommend for type 2 diabetes patients, the Type 2 Diabetes Moderation Diet, is expanded upon in the next chapter.
Current Chapter: 7) The Many Weight Loss Diets Possible
a) Diets: Which One is the Best?
b) The "Hunter Gatherer Diet"
c) Moderation Type 2 Diabetes Diet
d) Good Diets
e) Reasonable Diets
f) Helpful Diets
g) Radical Diets
h) Diets We do not Recommend
i) Fad Diets and Pills
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