For as long as I can remember, there has always been a debate about which diets work and which don't. The preoccupation, especially among women, to lose pounds and keep it off has resulted in a variety of diet pills, diet plans and work out programs. I believe that the secret to losing weight lies in understanding the basis of nutrition. Once we understand this, portion control should become a discipline we master. Unfortunately, our society lacks this fundamental knowledge resulting in a 33% increase of obesity in our country. Why should we cut out all the so called "bad foods" that most diets require us to do? What diet would work best for an individual? Is there any truth to the high fat low carb diet? Let us take a look.
High Carb Low Fat Diets - This diet was introduced by Dr. Dean Ornish in the 1980's. The premise of this diet is that fat should comprise no more than 10% or 15-25 grams per day. Why? The simplest reasoning is that fat in your diet becomes fat stored in our bodies. Also, fat provides 9 calories / gram but carbohydrates provide a mere 4 calories / gram. Therefore, we can eat large amounts of food by cutting out the fat grams.
Results - This diet is beneficial because it does reduce all the bad fats, i.e saturated and hydrogenated fats which then lower the risk of heart disease. The one thing devotees of this diet choose to ignore is that we can still gain weight even though we are eating a fat free diet. How? By eating LARGE amounts of fat free foods. If we don't consume adequate amounts of fat, we don not feel full so portion sizes begin increasing until we do feel full.
High Fat Low Carb Diets - Most popular example of this is the Atkins Diet. With a low carb diet, our bodies should turn to our fat reserves (fat pounds we want to lose) for energy. We are actually told to eat larger volumes of protein, ie red meat, eggs etc, but no fruits or vegetables that contain the dreaded carbs.
Results - Because we consume more fats, we feel full faster and longer so we tend to lose our appetites. Most importantly, because our bodies are now burning more fat, our sweet cravings become less and less. This is an extremely strict life style change. If we cheat, even a little bit, the pounds pack on quickly. Let's face it, how many of us want and can give up eating breads, pasta, fruit or veggies? If we do not follow this diet carefully, the high fat consumption can ultimately lead to obesity especially since we are now so accustomed to all those delicious fatty foods!
So, what do we eat in order for us to establish a life long healthy and nutritious diet that doest not promote weight gain at any level?
- Eat protein that will help us feel more satisfied. Unlike the Atkins Diet, include ONLY the lean proteins.
- Practice portion control when eating carbs. First start by cutting out all the refined carbs such as white bread, pasta, candy etc, which increase our blood sugar and insulin level which then causes weight gain. These types of carbs are also dense in calories. Instead, include whole wheat products and fruit. Remember, portion control.
- It is possible to eat moderate amounts of fat without gaining any weight. The fat to include in a diet are the unsaturated fats found in nuts, fish, olive oil, canola oil and flaxseed oil, to name a few. Not only do these add taste but also aid in helping us feel full faster thus, portion control.
