South Beach Diet & Other Weight Loss

Alien asked:


Often when pregnancy is with us there are many friends and relations who offer advice and input as to what the best diet may be. One of them may be the low carb diet for pregnancy. This article attempts to inform you of things to consider before going down that particular road. Low carb dieting is not a new fad. Low-carb dieting has become a very visible part of our society. Low-carbohydrate diets are nutritional programs that advocate restricted carbohydrate consumption. Low carb diets are based on the principle that a diet low in carbohydrates leads to decreased production of body’s insulin, resulting in consumption of fat stores as energy source. Proponents of low-carb diets take this one step further. Some people do lose weight on low-carb diets, but the weight loss probably isn’t related to blood sugar and insulin levels to any extent. Low-carb diets are usually higher in fat. And fat takes longer to digest, which makes you feel fuller longer. Most low-carb diets reduce your overall calorie intake because they strictly limit the variety of foods you can eat.

Carbohydrates — including bread, pasta, rice, cereals, milk, most fruit and any sweets — usually supply over half of people’s daily calories. Many carbohydrate-containing foods — such as whole extra and fruits — are loaded with essential vitamins, minerals, fiber and other substances that promote health. Choose lean cuts of meat, and minimize salt and rich sauces during cooking. And while you do need carbohydrates, take in moderation. The mothers on the low-carb/high-fat diet did not display differences in body weight in comparison to the standard diet mice. Eat numerous times throughout the day. Mother mice were assigned either low-carb/high-fat or standard high-carb/low-fat diets approximately six weeks before impregnation.

If you are not allowed to go low-carb, but still need to control your weight, there are some options open to you. First of all, eat small but frequent meals. If you want a snack, instead of taking junk food or processed meats (which have a lot of calories, but significantly less nutrients), take salads, fruits, nuts and crackers. Choose lean cuts of meat, and minimize salt and rich sauces during cooking. And while you do need carbohydrates, take in moderation. One plate of pasta is good, three servings of it smothered in white sauce is not.

Most low carb diets replace carbohydrates with fats and proteins. All pups were weaned from breast milk onto the same standard high-carb diet into adulthood. There may also be times when cutting carbs is important during pregnancy. If you experience low blood sugar, pregnancy may worsen the situation. Sometimes constipation can result as a side effect of low-carb dieting. Because constipation can be a complication of pregnancy as well. take calcium along WITH magnesium so it can be properly absorbed. Take a multivitamin without iron. While eliminating “white” carbs, such as white bread, white rice and white pasta, is fine to do during pregnancy, incorporating whole grains, fruits and other natural carbs is essential.

Sometimes constipation can result as a side effect of low-carb dieting. Because constipation can be a complication of pregnancy as well, this is another reason to include enough dietary fiber (10-15 grams) in your daily meal plan, as well as consume at least 6 8 oz glasses of clear liquids each day.

Carolyn Sue asked:


Everyday we are bombarded with advertisements offering us weight loss products.  The enormous amount of diet plans to choose from can be overwhelming, to say the least.  There are 2, 310 pages if your type in diet plan on any given search engine.  There are calorie counter diets, low carb diets, lose weight like the celebrities diet plan, personality type diet plan, and the list goes on!  Although these diet plan pages seem awful convincing, that does not necessarily mean they work.  Furthermore, most of the diet plans are not clinically proven to help you lose weight. 

 

Most of the advertised diet plans fall into the YO-YO dieting cycle.    The YO-YO diet dynamics is as follows:

 

Diet – decrease in calories

Famine Response - Lose weight from lean muscle and fat which reducing metabolic rate and increases fat storage

Fall Off- fall off your diet plan and increase calorie intake

Feast Response - • Reduced metabolic rate, loss of muscle, regain weight from fat

Repeat – overweight, start diet again

 

Additionally, to help you understand the dynamics of  YO-YO dieting, I offer the following: 

Most diets are nutritionally inadequate and you will feel bad sooner or later.

Diets are too hard to follow and interfere with everyday living.

Results are too slow and lead to frustration and helplessness.

Most diet plans use unsafe ingredients and have negative side effects

(Ephedra, Ephedra Alternatives, other stimulants)

Diet plans actually slow your metabolism.

Thus the YO-YO effect.

 The foundation of a diet plan to work can be defined in three simple steps:  1: keep the muscles you have 2: burn the fat you do not need 3: lose the inches you do not want.  If your diet plan does not offer these steps as the foundation then your diet is not going to work, at least not for long and/or be detrimental to your long term health.

 There is an obesity epidemic in the United States today.  In 1980 35 percent of Americans were overweight to obese.  Today, 46 billion dollars later and hundreds of diets later, more than 65 percent of Americans are overweight.  Yet everyday, as indicated earlier we are bombarded with diet plans.  People are using these diet plans to no avail.  The weight loss business is a multi-billion dollar industry yet no one can lose weight!  

For more information about a diet plan that works visit Definitive Weight Loss