South Beach Diet & Other Weight Loss

Bertil Hjert asked:


Low carb diets, also known as low carbohydrates diets can be defined as dietary programs that limit intake of carbohydrates consumption for weight control. These foods are usually replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of proteins and fats.

People who want to cook low carb meals have some great options when it comes to creative cooking. You can go for large amounts of meals, poultry, fish, cheeses and different types of salad greens to make a good low carb diet plan.

This diet is extremely beneficial in losing weight in a short period of time. It is really exciting to know that you can close a good amount of pounds and also involve in to digging your teeth in to a good amount of exciting foods.

There are several tasty options under low carb meals that you can easily, plan for weeks together without having to repeat a particular food item.

For starting a low carb diet, you need to have a vision to lose weight. Experts feel that people with hyperinsulinemia are good candidates for the low carb diet. This diet is known to be the only effective and available treatment for hyperinsulinemia.

This is a disease that ultimately results in insulin resistance. It is also related to several symptoms and disorders. The condition is also known as syndrome X.

A low carb diet is also know for its positive effects on diseases such as high blood pressure, high triglycerides, hypoglycemia, high LDL cholesterol, anxiety disorder, panic disorder, digestive disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, binge eating, obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

If you are on a low carb diet, you must know that food items made from white flour and sugar are not allowed in low carb diet. Most of the fruits in this diet are prohibited. However, you still have a choice of eating certain fruits.

The number of carbohydrates per grams allowed on a daily basis varies from one person to the other. Some may require 25 grams or even less amount of carbohydrates in order to lose weight. There are others who can easily lose weight by consuming about 50 or 60 grams on a daily basis.

Here is a list of all the low carb food that you can enjoy. Remember that low carb diet is a high fat diet. So, when you feel hungry, you can eat a lot of fat to curb your hunger.

a) Meat

You can have almost all types of meat whether white or red. Make sure that you don’t eat liver. Also do not include any sort of filler or breading when meat is cooked. You should read label for carb info when using canned meat.

b) Seafood

You can indulge in fish and shellfish

c) Eggs

You can prepare eggs the way you want

d) Cheese

Only 4 ounce per day is allowed.

e) Fat

You can include mayonnaise, butter, cream and margarine in your diet.

f) Vegetable

Only low-starch green vegetables are allowed. Stay away from potatoes, carrots, peas and corns.

g) Fruits

Do not have fruits with high glycerin such as bananas, pineapple, watermelon and pineapple.

Paula Ryder asked:


A study published in March 2006 confirmed that a low-carb diet improves the symptoms of Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) (1).The authors of this study stated “a moderate reduction in dietary carbohydrate reduced the fasting and post-challenge insulin concentrations among women with PCOS, which, over time, may improve reproductive/endocrine outcomes.” Stripped of the “jargon”, what does this all mean? Since the root cause of PCOS in most cases is Insulin Resistance, a low-carb diet can help to improve your body’s response to insulin. With Insulin Resistance, the body becomes insensitive to the insulin it produces, leading to elevated circulating levels of insulin. This, in turn, causes hormonal imbalances, such as increased testosterone and other androgens (masculinizing hormones), associated with PCOS. A useful resource on PCOS and Insulin Resistance can be found at www.pcos.insulitelabs.com.

The hormonal imbalance leads to the PCOS symptoms many women experience with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome, such as irregular menses, infertility, excess facial and body hair, acne and brown skin patches and male-pattern hair loss. PCOS can prevent ovulation, making it impossible to become pregnant.

Elevated insulin levels also contribute to weight gain, as well as the formation of cysts on the ovaries, in part due to hormonal imbalances and also because the ovaries are highly sensitive to the influence of insulin.

Eating a diet low in carbs can lower your insulin levels and improve many symptoms of PCOS. The study also showed women who ate a low- carb diet reduced their triglycerides and testosterone levels, which are commonly elevated in women with PCOS. The low carb diet helped to decrease overall insulin secretion, improving Insulin Resistance.

Examine your diet today and start decreasing your carb intake gradually. The best way to get started is by cutting out high carb foods such as potatoes, bread, white rice, corn, pastries, cookies and tortillas.

A useful resource to check how many carbs are in certain foods is a carb counter, such as the one found at www.carb-counter.org. This is an excellent way to get started on improving your health. Long-lasting dietary changes are difficult to make, so don’t be hard on yourself if they don’t occur overnight. Just remember to get back on track after any setbacks and you will soon be pleased with the results.

(1) Douglas CC, Gower BA, Darnell BE, Ovalle F, Oster RA, Azziz R.,

Role of diet in the treatment of polycystic ovary syndrome.

Fertil Steril. 2006 Mar;85(3):679-88. PMID: 16500338

Aliza Adar Levine asked:


Most people usually think of all low carb diets to help lose weight. Some low carbohydrate diets have even gotten a bad reputation. People are often surprised to hear that are many health benefits to low carbohydrate diets that are actually important. Low carbohydrate diets have been designed by doctors for health reasons!

All carbs break down into glucose. Our bodies don’t excel when provided with high volumes of simple or refined carbohydrates. One reason for this is these products do not contain enough fiber and convert too quickly into simple sugars in the body. If you are unable to utilize this extra energy, your body will store it as fat and finally triglycerides.

Triglycerides are the result of excess glucose - sugar.The concept of good carbs or bad carbs simply refers to how quickly your body breaks the carbs down into sugar. If you are eating a lot of carbs and not exercising, your triglycerides are going to go up. The way to get your triglycerides down is to go on your choice of all low carb diets, and get some exercise.

Eating too many simple or refined carbohydrates interferes with our body’s natural carbohydrate

metabolism, leading to an increase in insulin output,a condition called hyper-insulinism and insulin resistance. Many health issues, including heart disease, may result.

Low Carb Recipe: Strawberry Crepes

oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup cottage cheese

4 tablespoons Stevia sweetener

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon orange peel grated

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Strawberry filling:

2 cups strawberries, washed, hulled and sliced

6 tablespoons Stevia sweetener

1 cup sour cream, or yoghurt

Prepare a heavy, 8 inch skillet or crepe pan with heated oil. Whip all crepe ingredients together in mixing bowl. Pour crepe mixture into skillet, making sure to cover the bottom evenly.

Cook until bottom is browned and top is set. Use a spatula to flip the crepe and brown the other side. Once done, transfer to a paper towel. Repeat this procedure with remaining

batter and oil.

Next, make your filling by combining strawberries with sugar substitute and sour cream, or yoghurt. Spoon about 1/4 of mixture on each crepe. Roll up and Add a dollop of sour cream to taste and garnish with remaining strawberries.

Yields 6 servings

Total Net carbs: 4 grams per serving

These Success tips should help dieting:

When cravings hit, substitute another activity for eating. Go to the gym or health club if possible, or dance, or walk around the block. Again, these Success tips apply to all low carb diets.