Diet Reviews

Low Carbing It Again to Cut Weight Fast

So, it’s after the holidays and I really, really indulged this time. Too much. Waaaay too much.  After a week of work, I returned to the grind by waking up at the crack of dawn and finding that none of my work pants fit me.

I ended up having to wear an awful pair of sparkly pants that I never would set foot in if I were able to fit in any other of my “big girl” pants.  Even my largest size I’ve allowed myself to buy did not fit me. They wouldn’t even button at the waist – a sure sign that I needed to go on a very serious diet and lose weight very quickly.

The diet I almost always turn to when I need to simply cut weight really fast is the low carb diet. My body really responds to these types of diets because I’m normally such a carbaholic that my body just goes into total calorie burn mode when I totally cut them out.

In my mind, the low carb diet is among the easiest to follow. I find I don’t have to be so militant about totally cutting fat and calories down with the low carb plan because my body is burning off everything I eat due to such low carb intake anyway.

I also find that, while I do crave carbs and could probably benefit from a carb cutter or some similar supplement from time to time, I am not hugry a lot on this diet because I’m able to eat in quantities that are satiable to me.

Other diets, where you eat more of a balanced diet and include carbs and fruits and desserts, I feel deprived because the portions are so teeny.  I can actually eat things like brats with mustard and burgers with cheese, and big chicken salads with dressing that’s not fat free.

I get to feel like I’m indulging, but really I’m still keeping that carb burn up and not adding too many excess carbs to burn, so my body is still using up all the fuel I’m giving it and starting to burn off the stores of fat since I’m depriving it of the “gas” that is carbs.

I’m only on day three so far of my almost carb-free diet, and I can already tell a difference in the way my clothes are fitting. My pants are still tight, but at least I can button them.

It’s True : Emotions Reflect Our Diet

A new book has come out that really focuses on the connection between what we eat and the moods we tend to inhabit the majority of the time. While there is of course the occasional anomoly (ie, people who eat great and still are miserable all the time), it is largely true that when it comes to our emotions, we really are what we eat.

The new book is called the Happiness Diet. It focuses on foods that it says can help to boost mood, fight off anxiety and generally help you to avoid depressed moods and depression in general. In short, eating a certain way can definitely help make your happiness factor go way, way up.

While it supposedly doesn’t focus much on the exercise component of well being and happiness, it does focus on the fact that most Americans eat a diet that is simply the worst possible thing they can do to help their mood.

Our diets now primarily consist of overly processed foods. These foods by their very nature tend to be high in fat, salt and sugar. They are also loaded with unhealthy preservatives and chemicals to extend their shelf life. Not to mention they contain trans fats, which are cheaper fats with longer shelf lives that really clog our arteries.

These foods burn off quickly and leave us craving more – more junk!  They usually contain large amounts of carbs as well, which is the worst thing we can eat when we are dieting since simple carbs tend to burn off very quickly leaving you quivering with hunger.

The book recommends you eat things that satisfy you, and are minimally processed. It’s a different book, because it doesn’t necessarily advocate going all low fat on everything. In fact, it encourages you to enjoy some full fat items so that you can get your healthy fats in the diet as well as some satisfying feelings that you are eating things that will “stick to your ribs”.

Overall, you may be eating more calories than on other diets, but the thought is that you will lose weight because the ‘whole’ foods you are eating are more satisfying, leading you to intake less food overall.

Very interesting theory! I certainly like it better than starving on fat free, nutritionless foods!

The Paleolithic Diet Gaining Ground

Have you heard of the new trend toward eating like our ancestors from thousands of years ago? It’s basically being called both the paleolithic, or cave man diet. It is named after the period of history where man pretty much subsisted on only the foods that are “allowed” on this diet.

The foods that are allowed are primarily vegetables and meats. But you aren’t allowed to have any refined carbs, grains, sugars, not a lot of fruit, and basically not a lot of carbohydrates. Sound an awful lot like other diets out there? That’s because it really is, with the new spin on it to add the removal of processed foods.

All of these new diet trends are really just spinds on diet regimens that are already out there. What’s to like about the paleo or paleolithic diet?  Well, it does remove a lot of the processed garbages out of your diet. It also loads you up on lean proteins while excluding the heavier, fattiers cuts of beef and concentrating instead more on chicken, turkey and fish, which are all very lean protein.

There are also some nuts allowed on this diet. The diet really focuses on eliminating the processed stuff, which is good for you. The big draw of this and similar diets is that you don’t have to focus so much on calorie restriction, but are instead encouraged to eat as much as you want until you are full.

The rub of course, is that you can only pick from a limited menu. But aren’t people who tend to eat the same foods all the time typically thinner than others? Yes, that is true. However, variety is sometimes the spice of life, is it not?  That may be the only thing you really miss on this diet.

The nice thing is that you do get to eat until you’re full, which seems like the natural thing to do, so that is part of this diet that I think is really appealing. For me personally, I hate to be hungry when dieting and if your sole way of losing weight is dropping calories, then you will be starving a lot.

The Juicing Diet

Consuming more fruits and vegetables is definitely beneficial to your overall health.  Most of us don’t eat enough of this food group proportionately to the rest of our diet.  These two facts are well established and well publicized in many health articles.

Fruit and vegetable smoothies increase our intake of this food group in a quick and palatable manner and that is a wonderful thing.  Juicing your fruits and vegetables, according to television and internet advertisements, makes the body better absorb larger amounts of the nutrients.

They state that you will get more beneficial enzymes, better immune boosting, more antioxidants and even boost your metabolism by juicing your fruits and vegetables.

Smoothies and juices made from fresh fruits and vegetables are certainly a healthy drink.  The juicer enthusiasts state that juices are healthier than the solid form of these foods.  According to a newspaper article written by Michael Rozein, M.D. and Mehmet Oz, M.D., juicing your fruits and vegetables actually reduces the fiber of these foods and boosts the sugar content.

The doctors’ article states that juicing traps the pulpy fiber that is so beneficial to us when the juice is extracted.  They recommend just eating your fruits and vegetables whole, as a solid food.

The sugar content of these healthy fruits and vegetables is increased by the juicing process, according to their article.  This would be a concern for anyone on a carbohydrate restricted diet for weight loss.  More importantly, for a diabetic, who has to really modify their sugar intake or they will have serious health consequences, juicing their fruits and vegetables is not the way to eat them.

This doctors’ article refutes the claim that juicing fruits and vegetables gives them any special powers to absorb more readily in your digestive system or boosts their nutritional value in any way.

They recommend enjoying a good smoothie in moderation.  For the majority of the time, they recommend eating these same foods whole to get the optimal benefit for your health.  This way, you get all the fiber and the filling nature of the entire fruit itself, without the heavy calories that can sometimes come with smoothies.

What is the Paleo Diet?

I have to admit, when I saw the name, I thought of a plant based diet, or vegetarian. I guess because the name sort of sounds like the word plant.  But when I really thought about it, that was silly, because they were really naming this diet out of a period of time where humans ate certain foods in the hunting and gathering age of man.

This was the time when men and women did not have access to such processed and unhealthy foods as we do today. Foods were simple, stripped down. Even the way they cooked their foods was minimal because they only had one way to do it – with fire. They probably didn’t salt the heck out of their meats, they probably ate it right from the animal, barely cooked.

They also ate a lot of their veggies and fruits raw. They basically consumed a very minimally processed diet, whereas today we consume a ton of processed, over cooked foods that have a lot of the nutrients cooked out or processed right out of them.

The meats that are focused upon in the paleo diet are leaner meats, not the fatty variety or processed variety like sausages and bacon.  They are lean cuts of beef, chicken, venison (deer meat, which is actually pretty healthy for you), and fish (which is always excellent for you).

The other foods that you should eat are fruits and vegetables, minimally processed of course. Notice how they do not want you to totally shun carbs. They instead focus on unprocessed, whole foods that are naturally low in fat and which give natural, all day energy.

The low carb diet on the other hand, can leave people feeling groggy, depressed and with a total lack of energy because there are no raw foods with high carb content and fiber content that gives them that full satisfied feeling as well as quick body fuel for the day.

This is kind of the way my husband and I eat, so I thought that was amusing, because we do find that we feel our best when we eat this way. It may not be the best way to strip off the weight very quickly, but it’s a great way to slowly lose weight as well as to make sure you have a lean physique over the long term.

It’s way easier to stick to than a traditional low carb diet too, because you still get those carbs in there, they’re just natural and fiber filled.

Dreamfields Pasta : Low Carb But Gives Gas

So I told you about two weeks ago that I had purchased some Dreamfields low carb pasta and was anxious to try it. Dreamfields is a company that makes pastas that are supposed to have a lower glycemic impact – significantly lower – than normal pasta.

The product says it does this by sort of wrapping the pasta in a protective carb blocker shell, so that the carbs do not release into the blood stream quickly like they do with normal pasta, and they do not make the blood sugar go sky high right away.

In order to gain this benefit though, you must not overcook this pasta. You must only cook it for the time allowed on the packaging, and also not reheat it the next day, or apparently the technology that allows it to be low carb does not work.

So I cooked it the nine or ten minutes it said to cook it, and my husband and I enjoyed it with a stir fry – an asian type dish with a peanut sauce and veggies. 

The pasta tasted just like any other spaghetti pasta I’ve tried. It was good, what can I say!  It filled us both up and we thought we’d have a new product to use that would conform to our somewhat low carb living style.

However, about 6 hours after we ate it, we both go gas really bad. It wasn’t even the kind that stinks, it was just really uncomfortable and felt like we were really having trouble digesting something.

We were both surprised, because it didn’t occur until several hours after we ate the Dreamfields spaghetti pasta – when we would have thought we were home free from any side effects it may have, as many other low carb foods do.

I really liked the taste though, and would encourage anyone to try it and see if it was just us that had the gassy aftermath. Maybe that doesn’t happen to everyone. I wish it would have worked for us

What is the Dukan Diet?

I’m surprised that there is all of the sudden so much media surrounding a diet that I literally have NEVER heard of. I like to think I keep on top of things, but apparently this fad diet has flown way under my radar – the Dukan Diet.

Why is the Dukan Diet getting so much attention now?  Well, while it has been a well known and very popular diet over in France, kind of like the French version of the Atkins or South Beach, or even the Zone Diet here in the US.  Kate Middleton, Britain’s princess to be, is reportedly on the Dukan Diet to lose weight fast for her upcoming nuptials.

Here is what I have gathered of of the Dukan Diet. Like many other diets that are said to cause quick weight loss, this diet is supposedly unsustainable because it blocks you from eating entire food groups most of the time. I’ve tried this route many times, and believe me, it’s never easy and it gets tiresome really fast.

Your body just needs variety, and most people have a really hard time eliminating entire food groups for extended periods of time. Sure, it’s easy at first, but after a while, your body almost rebels against you and craves the very thing you’re not allowed to have.

The Dukan Diet goes in weekly cycles. Some days, you are allowed to have dessert and wine, but most days your carbohydrated intake is severely limited, and fruit is pretty much just out of the question – which I have a huge problem with.   Hopefully the least this diet does is suppress hunger so you don’t realize how starving you are.

Fruit not only keeps things moving along because of its high fiber content, but it also contains countless minerals and vitamins and other nutrients which keep you looking and feeling great. Just because of it’s carb content, it should never be eliminated from your diet.

The Dukan Diet also involves drinking a lot of water. I think drinking a lot of water is always a good idea, but that is something that has always been easy for me since I always seems to be thirsty.  However, high water intake is challenging for some people. 

If you are one that feels that way, you should really try to get in the habit of drinking it all the time. It helps flush the body of toxins, and also refreshes and hydrates you, and helps keep your energy up.

The Dukan diet is divided into six different phases, much like the Atkins diet is.  It allows and disallows certain food groups during these phases.  I worry when fruits and veggies are limited, as this can really make your energy levels fall, and it can really stagnate the whole digestive process.

The Dukan Diet is named after it’s creator, a French doctor named Pierre Dukan.  The book has sold millions of copies.  I guarantee this is a fad diet. It is an unsustainable way of eating, from all I’ve read about it.

Raw Foods – What They Can Do For You

Raw food diets have been around since the 1900′s and they are associated with detoxification diets and vegetarian diets.  There are many variations of raw food diets yet they all have a common theme.

Basically, all raw food diets have this in common.  They all have a very large proportion of the individual’s intake as unprocessed, uncooked and, very often, organic food.

Raw food diets are based on the concept that there are great health benefits from eating primarily raw plant foods.  Since the process of cooking usually leeches many of the nutrients from our foods, food in it’s raw state is more nutrient rich.

While, in it’s strictest form, a raw vegan will eat just uncooked plant food, there are other varieties with raw food diets.  Raw food diets can also include raw milk, raw cheese and yogurt, certain kinds of fish and meat and nuts and seeds.

Among people who adhere to raw food diets there are these different types.  Raw vegans eat only unprocessed raw plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, sprouted grains and legumes.  Then there are vegetarians who consume raw food but include dairy.

There also are those who have a raw animal food diet.  With this diet, special care must be taken with the source of your food to decrease the risk of harmful bacteria.

The principles behind the raw food movement are many.  One concept is that cooking destroys digestive enzymes.  Another reason for raw food enthusiasm is to avoid preservatives and chemicals used in processing foods.

Avoidance of heated fats and proteins is considered necessary on a raw food diet as they consider this to be carcinogenic to your body.

Food preparation can take some time and planning for certain items such as rice and grains.  They require soaking overnight or sprouting.  Some raw food dieters will get involved with dehydrators, blenders, food processors and juicers while others prefer to keep their diet simple and avoid all of these extra kitchen appliances.

Obviously, items like raw fruits and vegetables are simple.   Some raw food enthusiasts accept freezing and others frown on this practice.

Critics of raw food vegan diets cite examples of deficiencies particularly in the area of calcium, protein, Vitamin D, iron, zinc and calories.  Other concerns with the raw food diet include a higher possibility of food poisoning in raw foods as opposed to cooked foods.

That probability is greater in raw eggs, meats, fish, sprouts, spinach and other raw plant foods as well.  Each one of us can determine whether a raw food diet is for us when weighing the pros and cons.  Raw food diets are high antioxidant, high fiber, and low in fats and calories.

What is the “17 Day Diet”?

The 17 Day Diet created by Dr. Mike Moreno has become very popular and has had lots of publicity lately.  The diet is unique in the 17 day cycles of approaches to dieting for weight loss.

There are 4 distinct, 17 day, diet cycles.  One of the more appealing characteristics of this type of diet would be the variety since every 17 days you are changing what you are eating.  The worst part of most diets is the rut of eating the exact same restricted foods all of the time.

According to Dr. Moreno, the first cycle of  the diet is meant to amp up your weight loss, to cleanse and burn fat rapidly.  The second 17 day cycle is supposed to reset and activate your metabolism.

In cycle 3, the focus of the diet is to achieve good healthy eating habits.  By the fourth cycle, Dr. Moreno uses a combination of cycles one through three and allows, on weekends, enjoyment of your favorite foods.

Besides avoiding boredom, one of the biggest problems with most diets, Dr. Moreno strives to reset your metabolism through metabolic confusion by changing your approach to dieting every 17 days.

Along with the 17 Day Diet program there is an exercise routine to be done that lasts for 17 minutes.

For added convenience with the 17 Day Diet, you can even have your meals delivered through a prepared meal delivery program by BistroMD.  This company works in partnership with the 17 Day Diet to deliver a meal plan directly to you.

If you opt to have your meals delivered, ther isn’t the worry of calorie counting, portion control or cleaning up after cooking.  Your meals are shipped at the beginning of each week and you can customize your order to have foods to your taste preferences.

All of the foods presented will be allowable within each 17 day cycle.  Foods avoided through all of the cycles are sugar, processed and non-low carb and fried foods and foods encouraged are healthier and leaner with lots of vegetables.

Jennifer Hudson and WeightWatchers : Dynamic Duo

When I see pictures of how Jennifer Hudson looks, it’s actually just amazing. And no, I’m not getting paid for or endorsing WeightWatchers products or their programs, I’m just simply making a statement at how bowled over I am by her amazing transformation.  This is a great example of what healthy dieting can do for you. Notice I emphasize the word “healthy”.

Jennifer looks healthy, and she actually looks like she shouldn’t lose any more weight or she may actually start to look a little too thin for her frame. But wow, can you see what a difference some weight loss makes in some people?

Many times people who already have attractive faces just look plain weird when they drop some weight (like Randy Jackson, sorry my man, but he actually had a nicer looking face when he had more weight on, some people just look better with rounder faces for whatever reason).

However, Jennifer Hudson is a woman who always had a beautiful face, and now it’s just as beautiful as it was before. Sort of like Valerie Bertinelli and Kirsti Alley. Both of those women also had beautiful faces both before and after they lose a ton of weight.  I guess some people’s faces can just get away with anything!

Jennifer Hudson started being a spokesperson for WeightWatchers a few months back. We saw her go to smaller and smaller sizes, and now in her featured pictures both in stills and on the TV screen, we see that she looks vibrant and healthy, all while losing a substantial amount of weight.  That’s a pretty good thing for WeightWatchers, who has always had a pretty loyal following anyway.

But we all need a little extra willpower, even if we have a program to follow. That’s why I like to not only follow a prescribed diet of calorie reduction, less fat and increased fiber intake, I also like to make sure I supplement my diet with a good appetite suppressant like a Hoodia gum or some other type of natural appetite suppressant when I’m first dieting.

It’s hard enough to get your body used to eating blander, sometimes less appealing and smaller portioned food when it’s used to indulging in high fat, high salt and high sugar foods all the time.

Taking a natural hunger suppression supplement really has helped me through those first few grueling days as my tummy and my psyche are getting used to being on a regimen again.