If you're confused about how to lose weight, it's no wonder. Everywhere – from infomercials to best-seller books to hand-made signs nailed to telephone poles – you're promised: Lose Weight Now With The (pick one):
- Natural Pill Diet
- No Carb Diet
- Fat Substitute Diet
- Cabbage Soup Diet
Does it really matter how you lose weight as long as you lose it? It most certainly does.
All the above diets promise rapid weight loss, but they overemphasize one method – usually a particular type of food, contradicting the guidelines for good nutrition. Often you will experience weight loss, but it's fluid loss from your body. Once your body gets rehydrated with water, the weight will come right back on!
Some Known Hazards
Some popular diets have more serious health possibilities than you might realize. For example:
Low Fat/Fat Substitute Diet:
According to a statement by the American Heart Association, fat substitutes are not an effective way to lose weight. Reduced fat foods or foods made with fat substitutes often have the same amount of calories, or even more calories than the full-fat product.
"It's the calories, not the carbohydrates," that contribute to weight gain, says Robert O. Bonow, M.D., past-president of the American Heart Association. "America is gaining weight because people are eating more calories than they can burn and getting less exercise."
Low Carbohydrate/High Protein Diet:
Studies show that this type of diet can increase your risk of kidney stones and an increase your risk of bone loss – in just six weeks. Additionally, high-protein foods can also be high in fat, which can raise blood cholesterol levels, and increase your risk of heart disease and certain cancers.
Eating too few fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, might lead to constipation due to lack of dietary fiber. Following a high-protein/low-carbohydrate diet might also make you feel nauseous, tired, and weak.
"Scientific studies do not demonstrate that high-protein diets without concomitant decreases in caloric intake result in sustained weight loss or improved health," states an AHA science advisor. "Most Americans consume more protein than their bodies need. Extra protein is not used efficiently by the body and may impose a metabolic burden on the kidneys and liver."
Low or No Starch Diet:
Many foods high in starch, such as whole grain bread and pasta, brown rice, oatmeal, bran cereal, beans, fruits, and some vegetables (like potatoes and yams) are low in fat and calories. They only become high in fat and calories when eaten in large portion sizes or when covered with high-fat toppings like butter, sour cream, or mayonnaise. Foods high in starch (also called complex carbohydrates) are an important source of energy for your body. They are also high in dietary fiber.
Cabbage Soup Diet:
No food burns fat – and that includes strawberries, celery, and grapefruit. Even though caffeinated foods increase your metabolism (how your body uses calories), the effect is short-term and doesn't cause weight loss. In addition, focusing on one particular type of food keeps you from getting all the nutrients your body needs.
Natural Pill Diet:
Just because a product is "natural" doesn't make it safe. Some herbs and natural products are unsafe to use; some are dangerous for those with certain medical conditions; others have negative interactions with medications. Check with your healthcare provider before using any weight loss pill or product.
Dairy-free Diet:
Some people, thinking that dariy is high in fat, eliminate it from their diet. Low-fat and nonfat milk, yogurt, and cheese are just as nutritious as whole milk dairy products, but they are lower in fat and calories. Dairy products have many nutrients your body needs. They offer protein to build muscles and help organs work properly, and calcium to strengthen bones. Most milk products and some yogurts are fortified with vitamin D to help your body use calcium.
No Meat Diet:
Eating lean meat in small amounts (two to three ounces) can be part of a healthy weight-loss plan. Meats contain cholesterol and saturated fat (the least healthy kind of fat), but they also contain healthy nutrients like protein, iron, and zinc. However, these important nutrients and others can also be obtained from carefully planned vegetarian meals. If you choose to eliminate meat from your diet, make sure you eat plenty of the following foods:
- Iron: cashews, spinach, lentils, garbanzo beans, fortified bread or cereal
- Calcium: dairy products, fortified soy-based beverages or fruit juices, tofu made with calcium sulfate, collard greens, kale, broccoli
- Vitamin D: fortified foods and beverages including milk, soy-based beverages, fruit juices, or cereal
- Vitamin B12: eggs, dairy products, fortified cereal or soy-based beverages, tempeh, miso (tempeh and miso are foods made from soybeans)
- Zinc: whole grains (especially the germ and bran of the grain), nuts, tofu, leafy vegetables (spinach, cabbage, lettuce)
- Protein: eggs, dairy products, beans, peas, nuts, seeds, tofu, tempeh, soy-based burgers.
Research shows that people who follow a vegetarian eating plan, on average, eat fewer calories and less fat than non-vegetarians. They also tend to have lower body weight relative to their height than non-vegetarians. Choosing a vegetarian eating plan with a low-fat content may be helpful for weight loss. But vegetarians – like non-vegetarians – can make food choices that contribute to weight gain, like eating large amounts of high-fat, high-calorie foods or foods with little or no nutritional value.
Red Flags
The American Dietetic Association has identified Ten Red Flags That Signal Bad Nutrition Advice:
- Recommendations that promise a quick fix
- Dire warnings of dangers from a single product or regimen
- Claims that sound too good to be true
- Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study
- Recommendations based on a single study
- Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations
- Lists of "good" and "bad" foods
- Recommendations made to help sell a product
- Recommendations based on studies published without peer review
- Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups
The safe – and successful – way to lose weight is to exercise and eat smaller portions of a well-balanced diet. |
