don't play a numbers game, experts say, just eat your vegetables
by mary duenwald
ow-carbohydrate diets are everywhere, and the glycemic index has become the trendiest new concept in weight loss. dr. atkins' "new diet revolution," "the south beach diet," "the zone" and even "the idiot's guide to weight loss" teach readers that all carbohydrates are not alike and that the way to judge which are good and which are bad is by how fast they are digested.
carbohydrates with high glycemic index values - potatoes, white rice, bagels and many breakfast cereals, for example - are digested quickly, causing a rapid rise in blood sugar. whole oats, apples, beans and other carbohydrates with low index values are digested more slowly. choose low index carbohydrates over high, the books advise, and your blood sugar will hold steady. theoretically, that keeps hunger at bay and makes it easier to lose weight.
scientists have yet to conduct the long-term studies that could confirm whether eating carbohydrates low on the glycemic index actually helps people lose weight. but short-term studies offer some evidence for this. and other research suggests that low-glycemic index diets may protect against diabetes and heart disease.
the american diabetes association, the american heart association and the experts who determine the federal government's dietary guidelines do not advise people to consider the glycemic index of the foods they eat - in part because the science behind the concept is incomplete, and in part because they consider it too narrow an aspect of diet to focus on.
nevertheless, the gathering evidence in support of low-glycemic index eating has lent new validity to a bit of age-old nutritional wisdom: a healthy diet includes plenty of vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains and nuts, and relatively few sugary foods and drinks and refined starches.
I'm sure you know this already but now to include the fat in nuts and seeds such as walnuts and almonds, olive oil, fatty fish, flax oil, avacodoes, etc. is prooving to be very beneficial. There are people in the medditerrian that eat 40% fat (mainly in the form of olive oil) and maintain healthy weight and low rates of heart disease. The key is the type of fat and the fact they eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.
When I cut out the junk food and don't stress eat, I can maintain a healthy weight on a moderate fat diet that includes those foods.
I agree that exclusionary diets are bogus. Our bodies are designed to thrive on fat, carbs, and protein. But I think bodies are different some people eat low fat and high carb and drop weight. Others eat high protein and high fat and drop weight. The trick still I think is eating the right kinds of foods and lots of fruits and vegetables in variety, variety, variety.
Consequently, people began to believe that 25 percent was a low fat diet when, actually, it's not. So, if you haven't lost much weight at 25 percent, I'm not surprized.
As far as I know, I haven't lost any weight, and am not interested in doing so (why would I, when I'm healthy and all my values are in the low-normal range?!). It's still fascinating to me that there's so much publicity (and funding) into Diets (vs eating a healthy, balanced diet), with weight loss as an end goal, rather than on moderate daily exercise, with fitness as the aim.
Well, it might have something to do with the fact that people didn't stick with low fat diets and, instead, ate at McDonald's.
I think it had more to do with the problem of "Gee, it's "low-fat...BRING IT ON". For example, I knew many people on "low-fat" diets who would eat an entire box of Snack Wells cookies because, hey, they're low-fat! :chuckle
I think people forget that it doesn't matter WHAT you are eating, if you eat 5000 calories a day and are relatively sedentary, you are probably NOT going to lose weight, whether its 5000 calories of vegetables ( ugh, that'd be a LOT of veggies ), 5000 calories of "low-fat" , or now 5000 calories of low-carb.
Many people just don't want to face the fact that the only way to get good, lasting results is balance and moderation...forever (cue the scary horror flick music)! Its a HARD thing to do, and we want easy!
I think people forget that it doesn't matter WHAT you are eating, if you eat 5000 calories a day and are relatively sedentary, you are probably NOT going to lose weight, whether its 5000 calories of vegetables ( ugh, that'd be a LOT of veggies ), 5000 calories of "low-fat" , or now 5000 calories of low-carb.
ow-carbohydrate diets are everywhere, and the glycemic index has become the trendiest new concept in weight loss. dr. atkins' "new diet revolution," "the south beach diet," "the zone" and even "the idiot's guide to weight loss" teach readers that all carbohydrates are not alike and that the way to judge which are good and which are bad is by how fast they are digested.
), 5000 calories of "low-fat" , or now 5000 calories of low-carb.
Tweety, BSN, RN
36,127 Posts
I'm sure you know this already but now to include the fat in nuts and seeds such as walnuts and almonds, olive oil, fatty fish, flax oil, avacodoes, etc. is prooving to be very beneficial. There are people in the medditerrian that eat 40% fat (mainly in the form of olive oil) and maintain healthy weight and low rates of heart disease. The key is the type of fat and the fact they eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.
When I cut out the junk food and don't stress eat, I can maintain a healthy weight on a moderate fat diet that includes those foods.
I agree that exclusionary diets are bogus. Our bodies are designed to thrive on fat, carbs, and protein. But I think bodies are different some people eat low fat and high carb and drop weight. Others eat high protein and high fat and drop weight. The trick still I think is eating the right kinds of foods and lots of fruits and vegetables in variety, variety, variety.