Can low carb dieters eat all they want, and still lose weight?Written by Tanya Zilberter, PhD
"The Atkins Nutritional Approach counts grams of carbohydrates instead of calories... If you are losing weight, there is no need to concern yourself with counting calories. " Source: atkins.com You might be doubtful and chances are that mainstream diets are reason. Of course you couldn't avoid opinions like below Q&A posted by Health Care Reality Check: Q: Can a person eat unlimited calories, and still lose weight, as long as they severely restrict carbohydrates? A: No, she can not. The basis of ketogenic diets, such as Atkins Diet, is a severe restriction of carbohydrate calories, which simply causes a net reduction in total calories. Since carbohydrate calories are limited, intake of fat usually increases. This high fat diet causes ketosis (increased blood ketones from fat breakdown), which suppresses hunger, and thus contributes to caloric restriction. -- Ellen Coleman, RD, MA, MPH Is this a correct answer? Let's first discuss whether it's a correct question. Or, rather, is this real question so frequently asked by dieters. In my experience, this in fact sounds a little bit different but this makes ALL difference. This is what real dieters ask: Q: Can low carb dieters eat all they want, and still lose weight as long as they only eat allowed foods? A: Yes, they can. The basis of ketogenic diets, such as Atkins Diet, is a restriction of carbohydrate-containing foods in favor of fat and protein containing foods, which causes state of ketosis resulting in significant decrease in appetite. Since appetite decreases, most of low carb dieters consume significantly less calories WITHOUT INTENTIONAL CALORIE RESTRICTION. Is there scientific evidence? There is. Study #1 by: Bassett Research Institute in Cooperstown, NY and Durham (N.C.) Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Reported: Proceedings of North American Association for Study of Obesity, Oct. 29, 2000, Long Beach, Calif. Who participated: 18 obese men and women with 30 or more pounds to lose. Average calorie intake before study: 2,481 calories a day Method: Dr. Atkins' Book, "New Diet Revolution" used as instruction for dieters. Results: 1. Calorie intake during most restrictive induction phase (when only 20 g of carbohydrates were allowed) was 1,419 calories a day on average and weight loss was more than 8 pounds on average. 2. Calorie intake during ongoing weight-loss phase (when carbohydrate intake is being increased gradually, by 5 g a day) dieters ate an average of 1,500 calories a day and lost an additional 3 pounds in two weeks. 3. The calorie reduction was attributed almost completely to carbohydrate abstaining. Intake of fat and protein remained practically same as before diet. 4. After 6 months on Atkins diet, 41 overweight people lost an average of 10% of their weight. Most dieters lowered their cholesterol by 5%, but there were a few whose cholesterol increased. 5. 20 out of 41 dieters continued program, and kept lost weight off for more than a year. Study #2 by: Harvard School of Public Health. Reported: American Association for Study of Obesity, October 16, 2003 Who participated: 21 overweight volunteers. Two groups were randomly assigned to either lowfat or low-carb diets with 1,500 calories for women and 1,800 for men; a third group was also low-carb but got an extra 300 calories a day. Method: All food was prepared at a restaurant in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Note that most earlier studies including above Study #1 simply gave out diet plans. So in this study, dieters were given dinner and a bedtime snack as well as breakfast and lunch for next day, which made setting a carefully controlled one. Foods were mostly fish, chicken,
| | Are Weight Loss Supplements Right For You?Written by Tom Worsley
Are Weight Loss Supplements Right For You?By Tom Worsley The debate about whether supplements for weight loss are healthy or not will go on and on for years to come. There are good and bad points to using weight loss supplements. One of bad points is that once you stop taking them you gain everything back that you lost to begin with. Most doctors will tell you that weight loss supplements are not necessary and that only a good controlled diet along with daily exercise is only thing one needs to lose weight. This is true. however with today's working society with 2 parents working and trying to raise children at same time who has time for exercise? Who has time to plan good nutritional meals? I know first hand what this is all about. My wife is probably around 60 pounds over weight. Now before we go any further I would just like to say that I love her just as much now as I did when we first met. Her weight does not bother me. She is a beautiful person both inside and out. But I know inside she is hurting. And for last several years she has struggled with her weight almost daily. And biggest problem as I mentioned above is time. Time to prepare good quality nutritious meals both for her self and children. Time to do sufficient exercise in order to burn off calories.Our schedule is chaotic to say least. She works from 9:00 AM till 5:00 PM. I work from 3:30 PM till 12:00 AM . When I'm not with kids she is with kids. Only on weekends do kids have both parents home at same time.
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