Weight Loser Blog » Diets

Restaurant Diet Menus Lying to Us?

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 06:09:52 +0000

An Independent study conducted recently found that the diet menus in restaurants actually contained many more calories and fat than what was actually advertised. They tested 23 meals from a number of restaurants such as Chili’s, Applebee’s, Macaroni Grill, and a few others. The study found that 78 percent exceeded the fat limit listed and 69 percent had more calories than what was advertised! Outrageous!

I don’t know about you, but I love places like Chili’s and I love to eat healthy…but this makes you think twice about getting diet food at restaurants.

Check out the full story at ABC News:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/story?id=4909235&page=1

The Zone Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:37:50 +0000

The Zone diet is a diet popularized in books by biochemist Barry Sears. It advocates consuming calories from carbohydrates, protein and fat in a ratio of 40% / 30% / 30%. Some nutritional experts, including some of Sears’ former colleagues, have criticized his conclusions from the scientific evidence, contending that he has distorted or exaggerated the meaning of much of the basic research. They point out that no direct studies to verify his conclusions have been performed.

Other Top Diets

Western Pattern Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:36:57 +0000

The Western pattern diet (also called Western dietary pattern or the meat-sweet diet) is a dietary habit chosen by many people in developed countries, and increasingly in developing countries, characterized by high intakes of red meat, sugary desserts, high fat, and refined grains. It also typically contains high-fat dairy products, high-sugar drinks, and eggs.

The term is used to describe this pattern of diet in medical literature, regardless of where the diet is found, and is contrasted with diets which have higher levels of fruits, vegetables, poultry and/or fish.

Other Top Diets

Weigh Down Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:33:37 +0000

The Weigh Down Diet advises using spirituality to avoid overeating and has sold more than 1.2 million copies. Since that time she has written Rise Above and a devotional book called Exodus.

Shamblin teaches that there are two very different needs in each person; a need for food and an emotional need. According to Ms. Shamblin, people should only eat when they feel real, physical hunger and stop when full; prayer and Bible reading will fill emotional needs instead of food. Overeating is equated with greed. A core principle of the Weigh Down Diet, when people feel an urge to snack but are not experiencing true physiological “hunger”, Shamblin encourages participants to read the Bible instead.

Other Top Diets

Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD)

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:31:47 +0000

Very low calorie diet (VLCD) is a diet with very or extremely low calorie consumption per day. It is defined medically as a diet of 800 calories per day or less. VLCDs are formulated, nutritionally complete, liquid meals containing 3350 kJ (800 kcal) or less per day. VLCDs also contain the recommended daily requirements for vitamins, minerals, trace elements, fatty acids and protein. The VLCD products are usually a powder which is mixed with water or another low calorie liquid.

Because of the extremely low calories per day, a VLCD diet cannot be used by children no matter how obese.

A VLCD should never be undertaken without medical supervision.

Vegan Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:30:26 +0000

Veganism is a philosophy and lifestyle that seeks to exclude the use of animals for food. Vegans endeavor not to use or consume animal products of any kind. The most common reasons for becoming a vegan are ethical commitment or moral convictions concerning animal rights, the environment, human health, and spiritual or religious concerns. Of particular concern are the practices involved in factory farming and animal testing, and the intensive use of land and other resources required for animal farming.

Various polls have reported vegans to be between 0.2% and 1.3% of the U.S. population, and between 0.25% and 2.24% of the UK population.

Vegan diets (sometimes called strict or pure vegetarian diets) are a subset of vegetarian diets, which are credited with lowering the risk of colon cancer, heart attack, high blood cholesterol, high blood pressure, prostate cancer, and stroke. Properly planned vegan diets are healthful and have been found to completely satisfy nutritional needs in every stage of life, including during pregnancy and lactation. However, poorly planned vegan diets can be low in levels of calcium, iodine, vitamin B12 and vitamin D. Vegans are therefore encouraged to plan their diet and take dietary supplements as appropriate.

Other Top Diets

The Subway Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:23:36 +0000

The Subway diet involves replacing two meals each day with subs from the Subway restaurant chain. It gained publicity during the 1990s as part of an advertising campaign by the chain. Dieters can choose from the “Eight Under Six” section, which contains subs with 6 grams of fat or less. Jared Fogle is credited with starting the diet when he successfully lost a lot of weight by eating the subs daily. He became famous because of his story and now works to help others lose weight following the same diet plan.

When Fogle was a junior in college, he weighed in at around 425 pounds. He worked selling adult videos, where he got no exercise, thereby achieving his excessive mass. His roommate, a pre-med student, became concerned with Fogle’s health and encouraged him to schedule a visit with his doctor. Upon visiting the doctor, he learned that his health was in serious danger if he did not start losing weight fast. After trying unsuccessfully many times to lose weight, Fogle wanted to try something new. He came across a Subway restaurant near his college apartment and decided to give the sandwiches a try. He walked 1.5 miles each way and stopped eating breakfast and started replacing lunch and dinner with subs from the restaurant. He also ate baked potato chips, which are offered at Subway, and drank diet soda. After years of consuming nearly 10,000 calories a day, Fogle cut his daily caloric intake down to approximately 900 calories. The drastic changes made in his diet helped him to shed 245 pounds in just a year. Eating Subway sandwiches helped Fogle to finally lose a significant amount of weight.

Not long after his incredible weight loss, Fogle ran into a former college dorm mate who barely recognized him. The man, named Ryan Coleman, wrote an article in the Indiana Daily Student about his weight loss. The article was discovered by a reporter for Men’s Health magazine who included the diet in an article titled “Crazy Diets that Work”. It was then discovered by a Chicago Subway owner, Bob Ocwieja, who went to Richard Croad, the creative director at Subway’s Chicago advertising agency with the diet idea. The two men thought that it had some potential and decided to promote it. Croad and the owner of his ad agency, Bary Krause, sent an intern looking for Fogle, and after finding out that he did exist and his story was true, they decided to go to the Subway marketing director to see about promoting the diet nationally. The marketing director disliked the idea and told the men that the diet would flop. He felt that a fast food chain promoting healthy eating would not go over well in the American market. Croad and Krause decided to run a regional advertisement to test the idea, paying for it themselves.

Other Top Diets

Stillman Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:22:29 +0000

The Stillman Diet was created by Irwin Maxwell Stillman, M.D. in 1967. It’s an early form of the high protein and low carbohydrate diets. It differs from low-carbohydrate diets such as the Atkins Plan in that it is also a low-fat diet.

It’s an extreme ketogenic diet used for rapid weight loss.

The diet includes lean beef, veal, chicken, turkey and fish. Eggs and non-fat cottage cheese are also included as are spices, tabasco sauce, herbs, salt, and pepper. Condiments, butter, dressings and any kind of fat or oil are not permitted. Tea, coffee, and non-caloric soft drinks can be consumed, but only in addition to the 8 daily glasses of water required. It’s also recommended that dieters eat 6 small meals per day instead of 3 large ones.

Much of the early weight lost in the diet is previous water retention. Once the dieter returns to eating carbohydrates, some weight gain usually occurs due to a return of some normal water retention.

Other Top Diets

Sonoma Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:20:20 +0000

The Sonoma Diet was developed by Connie Guttersen and is a derivation of the Mediterranean diet. The diet plan consists managing portion sizes and eating approved foods centered around 10 items known as the “power foods”. According to the creator of the diet these foods were chosen for their nutritional value and intense flavors. The power foods are:

* Whole grains
* Almonds
* Bell peppers
* Tomatoes
* Broccoli
* Grapes
* Spinach
* Blueberries
* Strawberries
* Olive oil

Similar to the Atkins Diet, Zone diet and South Beach Diet, the Sonoma Diet has three distinct stages known as waves. The first phase which lasts 10 days is the most restrictive phase with the smallest number of foods allowed with the smallest portion sizes. During this stage sugar intake is greatly reduced. During the next wave a wider variety of foods are allowed and weight loss slows to a more gradual pace. Wave two continues until the target weight is reached. Wave three is known as the maintenance stage with a wider range of foods being allowed including the occasional dessert.

This diet is not classified as a low-carbohydrate diet or low sugar diet. People following the diet are allowed to eat whole grains, breads and cereals during all three stages of the diet. The plan does recommend avoiding white flour, saturated fats, and recipes with additional sugar. One of the tools used to teach portion management is plate size. For breakfast the diet recommends using an 18 cm (7 inch) plate and for lunch and dinner a 23 cm (9 inch) plate is recommended.

Other Top Diets

Slimming World Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:19:30 +0000

Slimming World is a British company which runs over 5,500 weight loss classes a week across the UK. Adults who are seven or more pounds overweight may join a local Slimming World class and pay a weekly fee to attend classes. In 2007 the cost on joining was £10 and the weekly charge £4.50. Slimming World calls its diet plan “Food Optimising.”

Classes are led by self-employed consultants. In October 2007 there were over 2,500 Slimming World consultants running groups across the UK. At each class members are weighed and the loss or gain is shared with the group. At no time is a member’s actual weight mentioned. During classes members also share tips, experiences, and ask for advice. Prizes are given for the “slimmer of the week” and “slimmer of the month.”

Other Top Diets

Consultants do not have quotas to meet for total weight loss among their membership.

Slimming World was founded in 1969 by Margaret Miles-Bramwell, who serves as chairman. Caryl Richards has been managing director of the company since 2001. Slimming World has 215 employees in its head office.

Shangri-La Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:18:37 +0000

The Shangri-La Diet is a book by Seth Roberts, then an associate professor of psychology at UC Berkeley and presently emeritus professor. The book outlines a method of natural appetite suppression that can lead to substantial weight loss.

Roberts developed the Shangri-la diet (perhaps more accurately referred to as a weight-loss method because it doesn’t involve a specific eating plan) in his own attempts to lose weight. He believes that traditional weight loss methods ignore a vital physiological element: the body’s set-point. This is a theory that says the human body attempts to attain a certain weight at any given time, and will increase or decrease hunger to attain that weight. In the book Roberts says: “The bigger the gap between your set point and your weight, the more hungry you will be”. Traditional diets fail because the participant lowers their weight without lowering their set point which, combined with the fact food intake is dramatically reduced during dieting, means the participant becomes extremely hungry as the body attempts to climb back to the weight it thinks it should be.

The Sex Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:17:42 +0000

A sex diet is a lifestyle which maximizes the health benefits of regular sex. It is not technically a diet in the sense of a food-based regimen, but colloqually one in the sense of a system meant to increase health.

Properly performed, sexual activity may cause a number of health benefits, such as decreasing depression and boosting immunity. Sexual activity provides exercise, encouraging weight loss, and promoting cardiac health. Some scientific studies show that intimacy is a factor in determining lifespan, and some informal studies have shown that frequent sex can improve intimate relationships.

There is controversy about the necessity of monogamy in attaining the health benefits of sex and/or intimacy.

Some sex-diets involve a routine of partner-supported exercises designed to tone muscles and improve flexibility. Another type of sex-diet focuses simply on improving the experience of sexuality by extending and amplifying the orgasmic response.

Advocates, including the President of the American Academy of Clinical Sexologists, have noted the science behind the fitness and relationship benefits of the diet. Kerry McCloskey, author of The Ultimate Sex Diet estimates that a half hour of sex burns about 200 calories. However, the actual weight lost in this diet is hard to calculate.

Other Top Diets

Scarsdale Medical Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:16:21 +0000

The Complete Scarsdale Medical Diet is a low-carbohydrate, low-calorie weight-loss diet system and accompanying book by Scarsdale, New York physician Dr. Herman Tarnower and Samm Sinclair Baker. The Scarsdale Medical Diet is still popular today.

Rice Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:15:21 +0000

The Rice Diet is a program specializes in the prevention, treatment and reversal of obesity, hypertension, diabetes and congestive heart failure. The diet consists of fruits, grains, vegetables, beans, and olive oil with small amounts of non-fat dairy and seafood (& lean meats), which is what patients are directed to eat when they return home both for continued weight loss and maintenance. On completion of the program, resources are available for participants to continue with a healthy lifestyle, and to maintain the improved health gained while on the residential program. It is crucial that the rice be brown rice. White rice has the fiber and nutrients stripped from it vitamins are often put back in but the fiber is lost. Part of what makes the diet work is the fiber in the brown rice.

Rastafarian Diet

admin — Sun, 25 May 2008 02:13:29 +0000

Ital or I-tal is food approved of in the Rastafari movement. The word derives from the English word vital, with the initial syllable replaced by i. This is done to many words in the Rastafari vocabulary to signify the unity of the speaker with all of nature.

Early adherents adopted the dietary laws of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. Though there are different interpretations of ital regarding specific foods, the general principle is that food should be natural, or pure, and from the earth. Rastas therefore avoid food which is chemically modified or contains artificial additives (e.g., colour, flavourings, and preservatives). Some also avoid added salt in foods. In strict interpretations, foods that have been produced using chemicals such as pesticides and fertiliser are not considered ital.

In common with religions such as Judaism, Islam, and Ethiopian Christianity, Rasta prohibits the eating of pork. Some Rastas also avoid eating shellfish because, in common with pigs, they are considered to be scavengers. Most Rastas avoid the consumption of all red meat, many do not eat fish or those fish over 12 inches in length, and some are strict vegetarians.

Stricter interpretations also avoid food that has been preserved by canning or drying and even prohibit the use of metal cooking utensils, something that Ayurvedic diet followers also avoid. Foodstuffs such as grass and other herbal remedies are permitted within this diet. In this case, only clay and wood cooking pots, crockery, and cutlery are used. The few adherents of ital follow the strictest interpretation; some Rastas do not adhere to them at all.