Diets make one lose weight but it is not due to any detailed pattern. Weight loss happens because these diets advocate consuming low calories. They work because generally people eat too much food. When this food intake is not matched by energy output, naturally the result is weight gain.
Let's look at some of the popular diets that support the right combination of food. These do not stress concentrating or avoiding a particular type of food. Some of the most popular ones of this type of diet are Eat Right for Your Type Diet, the Zone Diet, and Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Solution Diet.
The Eat Right Diet is based on the belief that the blood type decides the right diet, the right exercise regimen and the right supplements to keep a person healthy, attain the ideal weight and live longer. If one does not eat the correct food according to blood type, he will be at risk for developing some diseases.
The fact is that the blood type has nothing to do with consuming a healthy diet with low calories in order to lose weight. This type of diet may make one unnecessarily avoid foods that one enjoys. Some people might even use this diet to treat a serious condition.
On to the Zone diet which assures that if one eats small meals with carbohydrates, protein and fat in the correct ratio of 1:1:1, one's hormones and insulin will be balanced to the point the body will function at its best. One will lose weight and will be able to fight the diseases.
The trouble with this diet is that there are too many rules. One has to eat within one hour from wake-up, a snack before thirty minutes before exercise and a snack before bedtime. This is so strictly controlled that it may discourage one when all that is needed is to eat less of healthy food and move more.
How about Dr. Phil's diet? He recommends eating the right foods he calls "high-response cost, high-yield foods" and avoid the wrong foods he calls "low-response cost, low-yield foods" to lose weight. It is true one should eat slowly and to plan food four hours apart and to include fiber as he recommends.
Diabetics could benefit from Dr. Phil's diet but will have to monitor blood sugar to avoid hypoglycemia. Also be careful because the "high-response cost, high-yield foods" and the "low-response cost, low-yield foods" may not include food choices for diabetics.
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Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Monday, November 12, 2007
How Much Protein Do We Need
The RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) of the amount of protein we need is important. Healthy women need forty-six to fifty grams of protein each day while the healthy men need fifty-eight to sixty grams of protein each day. Why is it important to know this? Read on.
According to the National Academy of Sciences, people should not eat more than twice the amount recommended. Why? Because people who do raise the risk for gout, kidney stones and calcium loss. They can also put too much strain on the liver and the kidney as these two process the protein intake.
Too little protein is not good either because one can become easily tired and lethargic. In fact, eating too little protein for a long period can compromise the immune system, decreased organ size and muscle mass and can cause anemia, hair loss and malnutrition.
The suggestion from the Institute of Medicine is for people to eat 10 to 35% of the calories from protein while the American Diabetes Association's recommendation is 15 to 20%. Now let's not get stressed out over all these figures. The key is moderation.
Now that we have covered how much protein we need, let's turn our attention to what proteins to eat for optimal health. Unlike fats, there are no such things as unhealthy protein, thank goodness, but there are proteins that contain unhealthy fats like red meat. So choose wisely.
In my humble opinion, this does not mean you can't have steak once in a while as a treat. Just don't overdo it. Besides, there are substitutes that taste just as good as meat. I had a vegetarian burger at Hard Rock Cafe in New York City that tastes so good I dream about it sometimes.
The best thing to do is to choose low-fat sources for protein. Vegetarians do not have to worry about their protein intake either. Why? Because there are a wide choice of food rich in protein at their finger tips. There are grains, legumes, vegetables and soy products.
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According to the National Academy of Sciences, people should not eat more than twice the amount recommended. Why? Because people who do raise the risk for gout, kidney stones and calcium loss. They can also put too much strain on the liver and the kidney as these two process the protein intake.
Too little protein is not good either because one can become easily tired and lethargic. In fact, eating too little protein for a long period can compromise the immune system, decreased organ size and muscle mass and can cause anemia, hair loss and malnutrition.
The suggestion from the Institute of Medicine is for people to eat 10 to 35% of the calories from protein while the American Diabetes Association's recommendation is 15 to 20%. Now let's not get stressed out over all these figures. The key is moderation.
Now that we have covered how much protein we need, let's turn our attention to what proteins to eat for optimal health. Unlike fats, there are no such things as unhealthy protein, thank goodness, but there are proteins that contain unhealthy fats like red meat. So choose wisely.
In my humble opinion, this does not mean you can't have steak once in a while as a treat. Just don't overdo it. Besides, there are substitutes that taste just as good as meat. I had a vegetarian burger at Hard Rock Cafe in New York City that tastes so good I dream about it sometimes.
The best thing to do is to choose low-fat sources for protein. Vegetarians do not have to worry about their protein intake either. Why? Because there are a wide choice of food rich in protein at their finger tips. There are grains, legumes, vegetables and soy products.
For the disclaimer and more information on diabetes, please go to this site:
Free Diabetes Alert
Friday, November 9, 2007
Are there Healthy Fats?
Are all fats the same? Do we avoid all kinds of fats? Just look around the grocery and you will find labels of low-fat. Fats have really gotten a bad rap. Let's see if we can turn the tide around for poor old fat. It isn't true that all fats are bad for us because they raise the risk for heart disease and other conditions.
It is true though that we get more calories from one gram of fat than from one gram of carbohydrate. That's how the news started to spread around that all fats are bad. But in reality, we need fats because they furnish us with fuel to run the functions of the body cells.
Now don't go all out and eat all the fats you can get. Moderation is the key. It is good to remember that we should not avoid fats like the plague they are not because some fats are good for us. They are an important part in keeping us healthy.
What we have to do is eat the healthy fats and avoid the bad ones. But let's not forget that our goal is to keep our weight within normal limit in order to avoid diabetes and the complications that might come along. Now what are the unhealthy fats? I thought you'd never ask.
Two unhealthy fats are the trans fats and saturated fats. They are abundant in dairy products, meats and animal fat and in some oils. Saturated fats clog the arteries and raise the LDL or bad cholesterol. Trans fats are man-made where chemists changed the liquid oil to solid so products will be easier to transport.
So read the food labels. Before 2006, the labels did not specify the amount of trans fats. Be on the lookout for words partially hydrogenated because this would mean trans fats are present. Like their cousin the saturated fats, trans fats increase the risk for heart disease and other conditions.
Now here come the good guys, the healthy fats. the monounsaturated fats found in olive, canola and peanut oils, and polyunsaturated fats found in soybean and corn oil, salmon, tuna, seeds and whole grain. Don't shy away from them for they lower the bad cholesterol.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
It is true though that we get more calories from one gram of fat than from one gram of carbohydrate. That's how the news started to spread around that all fats are bad. But in reality, we need fats because they furnish us with fuel to run the functions of the body cells.
Now don't go all out and eat all the fats you can get. Moderation is the key. It is good to remember that we should not avoid fats like the plague they are not because some fats are good for us. They are an important part in keeping us healthy.
What we have to do is eat the healthy fats and avoid the bad ones. But let's not forget that our goal is to keep our weight within normal limit in order to avoid diabetes and the complications that might come along. Now what are the unhealthy fats? I thought you'd never ask.
Two unhealthy fats are the trans fats and saturated fats. They are abundant in dairy products, meats and animal fat and in some oils. Saturated fats clog the arteries and raise the LDL or bad cholesterol. Trans fats are man-made where chemists changed the liquid oil to solid so products will be easier to transport.
So read the food labels. Before 2006, the labels did not specify the amount of trans fats. Be on the lookout for words partially hydrogenated because this would mean trans fats are present. Like their cousin the saturated fats, trans fats increase the risk for heart disease and other conditions.
Now here come the good guys, the healthy fats. the monounsaturated fats found in olive, canola and peanut oils, and polyunsaturated fats found in soybean and corn oil, salmon, tuna, seeds and whole grain. Don't shy away from them for they lower the bad cholesterol.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Low-Carbohydrate Diets, Are They Good?
Low-carb diets have become trendy and well-liked. The Atkins diet is an example. It encourages eating red meat which contains lots of saturated fat. This sounds weird but the authors of this type of diet believe that high-carb diets lead to higher insulin levels, increased appetite, obesity and insulin resistance.
How do these diets work? They have low calories, that's true, but the loss is in the release of water due to restriction of carbohydrate intake. Despite the fact that much of the loss of weight in the first two weeks is due to water weight loss, people believe it's the way to go.
The trouble is as soon as one uses up the stored carbohydrate, the body starts using the fat in the fat cells. When broken down, they form ketones and this can be dangerous to people with diabetes. Why? Because this can lead to a condition called ketoacidosis.
So should one go on a low-carb diet? Well, to lose weight when one is obese is healthy. When the lost weight can be long-lasting, then the health is improved but there are no long-term studies to prove this point. Besides consuming foods high in saturated foods can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke so the benefit of weight loss can be outweighed by the harmful health effects of the saturated fats.
Another problem is that as the body excretes water so do minerals flush out that could lead to kidney stones and bone loss. That's why this diet suggests buying a long list of supplements. The benefit of this diet lowers blood sugar level, but if one is on insulin and medications, careful monitoring is vital to prevent hypoglycemia.
Be careful of foods that are sold for people on a low-carb diet. Often they're expensive and high in calories. And watch out for the high amount of protein in this diet as this can make the kidney work too hard. And the diabetics have enough problem with kidney risk.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
How do these diets work? They have low calories, that's true, but the loss is in the release of water due to restriction of carbohydrate intake. Despite the fact that much of the loss of weight in the first two weeks is due to water weight loss, people believe it's the way to go.
The trouble is as soon as one uses up the stored carbohydrate, the body starts using the fat in the fat cells. When broken down, they form ketones and this can be dangerous to people with diabetes. Why? Because this can lead to a condition called ketoacidosis.
So should one go on a low-carb diet? Well, to lose weight when one is obese is healthy. When the lost weight can be long-lasting, then the health is improved but there are no long-term studies to prove this point. Besides consuming foods high in saturated foods can increase the risk of heart attack and stroke so the benefit of weight loss can be outweighed by the harmful health effects of the saturated fats.
Another problem is that as the body excretes water so do minerals flush out that could lead to kidney stones and bone loss. That's why this diet suggests buying a long list of supplements. The benefit of this diet lowers blood sugar level, but if one is on insulin and medications, careful monitoring is vital to prevent hypoglycemia.
Be careful of foods that are sold for people on a low-carb diet. Often they're expensive and high in calories. And watch out for the high amount of protein in this diet as this can make the kidney work too hard. And the diabetics have enough problem with kidney risk.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
Monday, November 5, 2007
Low Fat Diets
There are diets with very low fat content that promise the moon. One example is Dr. Dean Orbish's Eat More, Weigh Less. In this diet of very low fat content, the hype is that one has quite a selection to choose. There will be a sense of abundance. And one will never feel deprived. They say further that the diet has such low fat content one will get full before consuming more calories.
How about the Pritkin diet? How does that measure up? The promise here is that it is the world's healthiest diet. It promises a lot. Apparently, it touts itself as a secure and reasonable way to change one's lifestyle. It is supposed to add years to one's life and help reverse symptoms of a number of diseases including diabetes.
Do very low food diets work? This type of diet recommends food consumption from fat to be 10%. We know that some people food consumption with calories from fat is as much as 30%. Others even consume as much as 40% of calories from fat.
Diets with very low fat can help lose weight. Fat has nine calories per gram compared to proteins and carbohydrates which have 4 calories per gram. So reducing the calories from fat to only 10% will give you room to eat more while consuming lower calories.
There another reason why diets with very low fat can help lose weight. The body burns more energy in digesting proteins and carbohydrates than it does so with fat. The third reason is that diets with very low fats contain more fiber so one feels full earlier in the meal.
Are diets containing very low fat healthy though? These diets are about 70% carbohydrates. This can increase the blood sugar and triglyceride levels and lower the good cholesterol so this type of diet is not advisable for those with diabetes or prediabetes.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
How about the Pritkin diet? How does that measure up? The promise here is that it is the world's healthiest diet. It promises a lot. Apparently, it touts itself as a secure and reasonable way to change one's lifestyle. It is supposed to add years to one's life and help reverse symptoms of a number of diseases including diabetes.
Do very low food diets work? This type of diet recommends food consumption from fat to be 10%. We know that some people food consumption with calories from fat is as much as 30%. Others even consume as much as 40% of calories from fat.
Diets with very low fat can help lose weight. Fat has nine calories per gram compared to proteins and carbohydrates which have 4 calories per gram. So reducing the calories from fat to only 10% will give you room to eat more while consuming lower calories.
There another reason why diets with very low fat can help lose weight. The body burns more energy in digesting proteins and carbohydrates than it does so with fat. The third reason is that diets with very low fats contain more fiber so one feels full earlier in the meal.
Are diets containing very low fat healthy though? These diets are about 70% carbohydrates. This can increase the blood sugar and triglyceride levels and lower the good cholesterol so this type of diet is not advisable for those with diabetes or prediabetes.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Do Diets Work?
Trying to lose weight is not as easy as going on a diet. In fact if our goal is to lose weight on a permanent basis, diet alone does not work. It is not as simple as this. It involves the what, when, where, why and how we eat. We will be committed to it on a long term basis.
There are so many diets that tout to be the best, the one with the magic formula that will make one get thin quickly. They may help some lose weight but they are not miraculous nor are they the right diets for every one. Let us review the basic rules on losing weight.
1. Weight loss is all about calories. We lose weight when we burn off more calories than our food intake. No matter what we eat, whether the food we eat is healthy or not, it is still all about calories. Any diet works only if it helps us reduce the amount of calories we consume.
2. Wise choice of healthy foods becomes more important. Why? Because being on a low-calorie diet, it is imperative to select healthy foods. Being on a 1800 calorie diet, there is not much flexibility. So to maintain good health the choice is for foods that contain the nutrients the body needs.
3. Exercise is a part of any weight loss program. Exercise is good whether or not it will make one lose weight. Why? Because it raises the good cholesterol level and reduces the risk for diabetes and many other diseases. But the thing is it does help burn off calories.
4. Long term commitment is what matters in any weight loss program. Losing weight and then gaining it back is not healthy. Rather, it has been found to be harmful. Losing weight is only good if it can be kept off. Any weight loss program can make one lose weight for a few weeks but remember the goal is for the long term.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
There are so many diets that tout to be the best, the one with the magic formula that will make one get thin quickly. They may help some lose weight but they are not miraculous nor are they the right diets for every one. Let us review the basic rules on losing weight.
1. Weight loss is all about calories. We lose weight when we burn off more calories than our food intake. No matter what we eat, whether the food we eat is healthy or not, it is still all about calories. Any diet works only if it helps us reduce the amount of calories we consume.
2. Wise choice of healthy foods becomes more important. Why? Because being on a low-calorie diet, it is imperative to select healthy foods. Being on a 1800 calorie diet, there is not much flexibility. So to maintain good health the choice is for foods that contain the nutrients the body needs.
3. Exercise is a part of any weight loss program. Exercise is good whether or not it will make one lose weight. Why? Because it raises the good cholesterol level and reduces the risk for diabetes and many other diseases. But the thing is it does help burn off calories.
4. Long term commitment is what matters in any weight loss program. Losing weight and then gaining it back is not healthy. Rather, it has been found to be harmful. Losing weight is only good if it can be kept off. Any weight loss program can make one lose weight for a few weeks but remember the goal is for the long term.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Preventing Relapse to Maintain New Lifestyle
Lapses do happen despite our best intention and effort. We will try to take quick steps to go back to the road of healthy living. To refocus, there are steps we can follow. They are proven to work and have been employed by the Diabetes Prevention Program.
1. Talk back to negative self-talk. The first thing some people do in a relapse is blame themselves. We will not do this. Instead we will counteract this by talking positively to ourselves. Say that it will not ruin everything and then let's get back on track. Talking this way will make us feel better and help us refocus on our goal.
2. Ask why the lapse happened and learn from the experience. We will turn this slip into a learning experience. We will know why and learn what triggered the situation. This way, next time the same situation comes up, we will be ready to meet and resist it.
3. Refocus again and next meal time, get back on track and eat healthy instead of saying we will start tomorrow.
4. Talk to the support system. Family and friends will be a good source of help. Let us tell them what happened and why it happened. Then let's tell them that we have learned from this situation and what we plan to do so we can avoid any slips.
5. As the last step, let us keep things in perspective. We will concentrate on the positive changes we have made. We will remember that slips are learning opportunities and that if we haven't made progress, we would not have slipped. We will understand that lapses are part and parcel of lifestyle change.
What are the situations where we could lapse? We must identify these as they may disrupt our routines on when and how much do we eat and exercise. What are they? Here they come: Eating in restaurants, stressful situations, emotional triggers like anger and boredom, vacations, holidays and social events.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
1. Talk back to negative self-talk. The first thing some people do in a relapse is blame themselves. We will not do this. Instead we will counteract this by talking positively to ourselves. Say that it will not ruin everything and then let's get back on track. Talking this way will make us feel better and help us refocus on our goal.
2. Ask why the lapse happened and learn from the experience. We will turn this slip into a learning experience. We will know why and learn what triggered the situation. This way, next time the same situation comes up, we will be ready to meet and resist it.
3. Refocus again and next meal time, get back on track and eat healthy instead of saying we will start tomorrow.
4. Talk to the support system. Family and friends will be a good source of help. Let us tell them what happened and why it happened. Then let's tell them that we have learned from this situation and what we plan to do so we can avoid any slips.
5. As the last step, let us keep things in perspective. We will concentrate on the positive changes we have made. We will remember that slips are learning opportunities and that if we haven't made progress, we would not have slipped. We will understand that lapses are part and parcel of lifestyle change.
What are the situations where we could lapse? We must identify these as they may disrupt our routines on when and how much do we eat and exercise. What are they? Here they come: Eating in restaurants, stressful situations, emotional triggers like anger and boredom, vacations, holidays and social events.
For more information on diabetes and the disclaimer, please visit:
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