South Beach Diet & Other Weight Loss

Ethan Miller asked:


The Dr. Atkins low-carb diet thumps traditional diets in weight loss research. The study by Ben-Gurion University of the Negev pitted the low-carb diet against Mediterranean and low-fat diets. Low-carb was declared the winner in helping the most people lose the most weight.

The research produced even bigger news. The low-card diet improved cholesterol levels more than the other diets.

The study lasted for two years, which was much longer than most diet studies. In addition, 85% of the 322 people who began the test stuck with the plan for the entire two years.

Most of the participants in the study were men and both men and women get roughly equal amounts of exercise. The average weight loss for people in the low-carb group was 10.3 pounds at the end of the two year study.

The Mediterranean diet group come in a close second as the average weight loss per person was 10 pounds. The low fat dieters finished in third place with 6.5 pounds of average weight loss.

The low-carb diet provided a big surprise for researchers when it was found that the diet also provided an important reduction in the level of cholesterol. That included an improvement in the ratio of total cholesterol to HDL. HDL is considered the “good” cholesterol.

The diet study was done in a controlled environment in Israel. The participants were employees of an isolated nuclear-research company. There were few sources of food nearby, so the study group took all of their meals in the facility’s cafeteria. To maintain control of the study appropriate foods for each diet were identified by colored dots. Participants had their choice of foods marked with the color of their diet plan

The low-fat diet was designed to allow consumption of no more than 30% of calories from fat. In addition it restricted the intake of calories and cholesterol. It controlled that intake by focusing the diet on low-fat grains, vegetables and fruits.

With the Mediterranean style diet the food emphases was on poultry, fish, olive oil and nuts.

The low-carb diet plan limited consumption of carbohydrates, but set no limits for calories or fats. It was suggested that participants in that group choose from vegetarian sources of fat and protein.

Someone with total cholesterol of 200 and an HDL of 50 would have a ratio of 4 to 1. The American Heart Association recommends an optimum ratio of 3.5 to 1. A low ratio reduces the risk of hardening of the arteries. For those on the low-carb diets the ratio declined by 20%, 16 for the Mediterranean diet and 12% for those on the low fat diet.

Research published last year shows a low-carb diet wins again when it comes to blood pressure. It was found that overweight women on the Atkins low-carb plan had slightly better blood pressure and cholesterol readings when compared with women on the Zone diet and Ornish diet.

Yes, anyone who is serious about losing pounds, maintaining good cholesterol and controlling blood pressure, can have high hopes with the Atkins low-carb diet.

Michael Clark asked:


If you are into following fad diets then you may have heard of the flat belly diet already. If not then you are in for a pleasant surprise because this diet has a lot of perks that many people will be interested in. It is simple to follow, but does take dedication for it to work properly. So let’s get to it, what is the flat belly diet?

This diet is the brain child of the popular prevention magazine. It has been received really well by lots of people. Its method and plan is great for those looking for something different from the usual diets people read about.

There are people that the flat belly diet has really worked for. There have been amazing success stories that are a very good thing for the creators of this diet. If you are looking for the basics of what this diet is all about then let me explain.

The diet starts out with four days of an anti bloat jumpstart to get you ready for the following month. It then provides you with four weeks of meal plans that are very strict but are necessarily for the flat belly diet to work.

These include 3 meals every day that come to a total of 400 calories. You then are able to have one 400 snack of your choice each day your on the diet. A unique part of the diet includes the Sassy Water which the diet says to have at least once every day. If you really want to make this diet work there is an exercise program included in the book to help get you going.

This diet is supposed to be losing weight on a low fat diet because the good fats you eat kill off the bad fats in your stomach. The weight not only comes off easier it also stays off better. The best part about this is that you don’t feel like you are on a diet. You get to eat a wide variety of foods and can eat enough throughout the day to not feel hungry.

You can have snacks like chocolate pudding with bananas and graham crackers as well as eating real food like grilled mushroom and roasted pepper burgers. There are other great snacks you can have to.

There are several foods that contain these good fats that are proven to kill off the bad fats in your belly.

These include these five food groups are oils, chocolate, nuts and seeds, olives, and avocados. You simply need to eat one serving from any of these groups at a meal. All meals should be around 400 calories, enough to curb your hunger but not to stuff yourself. What other diet gives you a tasty snack to eat like this?

A key feature of the Flat Belly diet is its focus on eating healthy and boosting your energy. This diet allows you to eat 1600 calories a day which is a lot more than most diets allow you to eat. This diet will continue to grow as it just makes sense.