Diets: Which one is right for you?
September 4, 2004 | 12:00am
Weight problem is the bane of every person’s existence. There was a time when my friends and I could consume tall ice cream sundaes and not pack in an ounce of weight. Sad to say, at a certain age, the mere smell of food makes the scale go berserk. Weight is a universal problem, which is why the best sellers in bookstores nowadays are diet books.
Many years ago, palangga Maurice Arcache introduced me to the Fit for Life Diet. Maurice bought the book and taught his cook how to do the recipes in it, which were actually delicious. One look at Maurice’s slim figure motivated everyone to follow his diet.
Fit for Life Diet recommends eating foods in specific combinations and at certain times of the day – an advocate of the diet, for example, doesn’t eat beyond 8 p.m. The writers of this diet, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, claim that combining certain foods lead to natural weight reduction. The combination was vegetable with protein, or vegetable with carbs for lunch and dinner. For example, one could eat fish, steak or chicken with a salad but not with bread or rice. One could eat a vegetarian-no-cheese pizza or rice with chopsuey. Water was not recommended for meals. Only wine or tea. Fruits were recommended for breakfast and nothing more.
Because one could eat to the max with the proper combination of food and still lose weight, some people found this diet easy to follow. But not being able to eat rice with chicken and pork adobo made it difficult for others to follow. It was also bad because lean meats and low-fat dairy foods were restricted on this diet. Conservative nutritionists claim that this diet has many severe limitations on nutritious foods so it should not be followed. Controversies caused a lot of followers to drop out of this diet and after a short while, the Fit For Life Diet died a natural death.
The next popular diet that most of my friends did was the Atkins Diet, which severely restricts carbohydrates in the initial phase and allows only protein and vegetables. Some people found it great that they could eat a lot of steaks, chicken, fish and salads and still lose weight. But then again, new diets came in, and controversy surrounded the Atkins Diet (like all that protein intake was bad for the liver!) so most followers said goodbye to it.
The latest diet craze to hit Metro Manila these past months is the South Beach Diet that a lot of restaurants are making money by catering to the faithful followers of this diet. For P1,000 a day, one could order from Gaita Fores or Le Souffle a daily ration of this diet, which includes, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Indeed, everybody swears by its success in terms of weight loss.
Why is the South Beach Diet so effective and how did it start? Dr. Arthur Agaston, a cardiologist, decided to develop an eating plan that would improve the cholesterol and insulin levels of his patients with heart disease. The diet became so big because he found out that not only did it improve their cholesterol and insulin levels but it also made them lose weight.
Despite the South Beach’s glitzy title, Agatston’s research and inventiveness are well respected in cardiology circles. The diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean protein and it does not omit any major food groups.
In the first phase of the diet, which lasts two weeks, you eat normal-sized helpings of lean meats such as chicken, turkey, fish and shell fish. Vegetables are allowed, as are nuts, cheese and eggs. A salad with real olive dressing is fine. Coffee and tea are OK and lot and lots of water is required. "The goal is to eat three balanced meals a day and to eat enough so that you don’t feel hungry all the time, " Agatston says.
Forbidden in those 14 days, however, are fruit, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta or baked goods. No sugar, ice cream, cookies or cake and no alcoholic drinks of any kind (wine, fruit and whole grain breads may be added back to the diet in subsequent phases).
Highly processed carbs cause a cycle of over eating, he says. White bread, for example, is digested quickly, resulting in a spike in insulin levels, which causes your body to crave more food.
A typical South Beach Diet breakfast is two eggs and lean bacon, Lunch is salad greens with grilled chicken. A small amount of dry roasted nuts makes for an afternoon snack. Dinner is lean meat again with fiber-rich vegetables. Cheese and low fat yogurt are allowed, as is sugar-free gelatin for dessert. At the end of two weeks, most dieters are 8 to 14 lbs. lighter. Agatston says that the weight loss is not because you are eating less but rather because eliminating simple carbs has broken a bad eating cycle.
The second phase is similar to the first phase but high fiber carbs, such as whole grain breads, are allowed.
The third phase is the hardest. It is all about maintaining the weight that you lost. So the doctor describes it as a "way of life." One has to stick to the second phase program if you don’t want the weight to creep back in.
The other day on Good Morning America, Dr. Fred Pescatore, former medical director of the Atkins Center, was introducing his new book, the Hampton’s Diet. This diet, he claims, is the latest craze among celebs. It eliminates "unhealthful foods that your body does not metabolize well", he says. His diet is high in monounsaturated fats such as macadamia nut oil, vegetables, fish, lean meats, nuts, whole grains, and low sugar fruits. His book has a 30-day menu plan that doesn’t shout "I am dieting!" as it has quiche, pancakes, hot dogs, burgers stuffed with blue cheese, steaks, salads, ham casseroles, for example. The secret ingredient is the macadamia nut oil which he claims to be the best monounsaturated oil in the planet.
So many other diets are hitting the market such as the Goddess Diet, The Menopause Diet, the Gladiator’s Diet, the Zone Diet, the Warrior’s Diet and many more. Which one is right for you?
I believe that though these diets could be effective if followed faithfully, the best diet to follow is the "zip your mouth" diet. Staying slim means only one thing: deprive yourself of that piece of cake, that ice cream sundae, that delicious ensaymada, that bowl of french fries. Giving in to one’s cravings once in a while is good but not on a daily basis. Stay on the phase three of South Beach Diet – meaning, make it your way of life to count calories and eat healthy. Add exercise to the equation and you are on your way to a life time of fitness and looking great.
Many years ago, palangga Maurice Arcache introduced me to the Fit for Life Diet. Maurice bought the book and taught his cook how to do the recipes in it, which were actually delicious. One look at Maurice’s slim figure motivated everyone to follow his diet.
Fit for Life Diet recommends eating foods in specific combinations and at certain times of the day – an advocate of the diet, for example, doesn’t eat beyond 8 p.m. The writers of this diet, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, claim that combining certain foods lead to natural weight reduction. The combination was vegetable with protein, or vegetable with carbs for lunch and dinner. For example, one could eat fish, steak or chicken with a salad but not with bread or rice. One could eat a vegetarian-no-cheese pizza or rice with chopsuey. Water was not recommended for meals. Only wine or tea. Fruits were recommended for breakfast and nothing more.
Because one could eat to the max with the proper combination of food and still lose weight, some people found this diet easy to follow. But not being able to eat rice with chicken and pork adobo made it difficult for others to follow. It was also bad because lean meats and low-fat dairy foods were restricted on this diet. Conservative nutritionists claim that this diet has many severe limitations on nutritious foods so it should not be followed. Controversies caused a lot of followers to drop out of this diet and after a short while, the Fit For Life Diet died a natural death.
The next popular diet that most of my friends did was the Atkins Diet, which severely restricts carbohydrates in the initial phase and allows only protein and vegetables. Some people found it great that they could eat a lot of steaks, chicken, fish and salads and still lose weight. But then again, new diets came in, and controversy surrounded the Atkins Diet (like all that protein intake was bad for the liver!) so most followers said goodbye to it.
The latest diet craze to hit Metro Manila these past months is the South Beach Diet that a lot of restaurants are making money by catering to the faithful followers of this diet. For P1,000 a day, one could order from Gaita Fores or Le Souffle a daily ration of this diet, which includes, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Indeed, everybody swears by its success in terms of weight loss.
Why is the South Beach Diet so effective and how did it start? Dr. Arthur Agaston, a cardiologist, decided to develop an eating plan that would improve the cholesterol and insulin levels of his patients with heart disease. The diet became so big because he found out that not only did it improve their cholesterol and insulin levels but it also made them lose weight.
Despite the South Beach’s glitzy title, Agatston’s research and inventiveness are well respected in cardiology circles. The diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, whole grains and lean protein and it does not omit any major food groups.
In the first phase of the diet, which lasts two weeks, you eat normal-sized helpings of lean meats such as chicken, turkey, fish and shell fish. Vegetables are allowed, as are nuts, cheese and eggs. A salad with real olive dressing is fine. Coffee and tea are OK and lot and lots of water is required. "The goal is to eat three balanced meals a day and to eat enough so that you don’t feel hungry all the time, " Agatston says.
Forbidden in those 14 days, however, are fruit, bread, rice, potatoes, pasta or baked goods. No sugar, ice cream, cookies or cake and no alcoholic drinks of any kind (wine, fruit and whole grain breads may be added back to the diet in subsequent phases).
Highly processed carbs cause a cycle of over eating, he says. White bread, for example, is digested quickly, resulting in a spike in insulin levels, which causes your body to crave more food.
A typical South Beach Diet breakfast is two eggs and lean bacon, Lunch is salad greens with grilled chicken. A small amount of dry roasted nuts makes for an afternoon snack. Dinner is lean meat again with fiber-rich vegetables. Cheese and low fat yogurt are allowed, as is sugar-free gelatin for dessert. At the end of two weeks, most dieters are 8 to 14 lbs. lighter. Agatston says that the weight loss is not because you are eating less but rather because eliminating simple carbs has broken a bad eating cycle.
The second phase is similar to the first phase but high fiber carbs, such as whole grain breads, are allowed.
The third phase is the hardest. It is all about maintaining the weight that you lost. So the doctor describes it as a "way of life." One has to stick to the second phase program if you don’t want the weight to creep back in.
The other day on Good Morning America, Dr. Fred Pescatore, former medical director of the Atkins Center, was introducing his new book, the Hampton’s Diet. This diet, he claims, is the latest craze among celebs. It eliminates "unhealthful foods that your body does not metabolize well", he says. His diet is high in monounsaturated fats such as macadamia nut oil, vegetables, fish, lean meats, nuts, whole grains, and low sugar fruits. His book has a 30-day menu plan that doesn’t shout "I am dieting!" as it has quiche, pancakes, hot dogs, burgers stuffed with blue cheese, steaks, salads, ham casseroles, for example. The secret ingredient is the macadamia nut oil which he claims to be the best monounsaturated oil in the planet.
So many other diets are hitting the market such as the Goddess Diet, The Menopause Diet, the Gladiator’s Diet, the Zone Diet, the Warrior’s Diet and many more. Which one is right for you?
I believe that though these diets could be effective if followed faithfully, the best diet to follow is the "zip your mouth" diet. Staying slim means only one thing: deprive yourself of that piece of cake, that ice cream sundae, that delicious ensaymada, that bowl of french fries. Giving in to one’s cravings once in a while is good but not on a daily basis. Stay on the phase three of South Beach Diet – meaning, make it your way of life to count calories and eat healthy. Add exercise to the equation and you are on your way to a life time of fitness and looking great.
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