Diets etiketine sahip kayıtlar gösteriliyor. Tüm kayıtları göster
Diets etiketine sahip kayıtlar gösteriliyor. Tüm kayıtları göster

27 Aralık 2008 Cumartesi

Zone Diet

Devised by Barry Sears and first introduced in 1995, the Zone Diet was made popular by celebrity dieters like Jennifer Aniston. "Although the diet does seem to work for many who have the willpower to stick with the program, research from Stanford and Tufts Universities have shown that study participants on the Zone fared no better than those on other popular diets including Weight Watchers, Ornish and LEARN, losing between 3.2 and 3.5 pounds in a year. Furthermore, many nutritionists believe that the weight loss experienced on the plan has nothing to do with hormone levels and is, rather, a result of eating fewer calories, carbohydrates and unhealthy fats. But one of the Zone's biggest flaws is that it claims that following the 40-30-30 plan may do a variety of things besides help you lose weight, from decreasing your risk of developing cancer, heart disease and other major ailments to improving athletic performance. Unfortunately, according to experts, there isn't much scientific research beyond the testimonials Sears himself has rounded up over the past decade to back up these claims. That means dieters looking to the Zone as a one-stop solution to all of their health concerns may be sadly disappointed.

Dr. Phil Diet

Drawing from his years of experience counseling overweight individuals, Dr. Phil's Ultimate Weight Loss Solution is loaded with behavioral modifications. While none of his strategies are particularly new, they are sensible and effective. For instance, he advises replacing negative self-talk with positive internal dialog, clearing your pantry of trigger foods that tempt you to overeat, and scheduling non food-related activities during times of the day when you're most tempted to overeat.

Some of his nutritional advice, though, raises red flags. After all, Dr. Phil is a psychologist, not a nutrition expert. Take, for example, his claim that crispy foods with sharp edges like taco or tortilla chips aren't only unhealthy but they can also lacerate your throat, which is another reason you shouldn't eat them. Most nutrition experts would undoubtedly call this nonsense.

To his credit, though, the foods he classifies as high-response, high-yield foods are mainly nutritious picks. He even discusses portions, advising you to split your plate into four quadrants and fill one section with protein, another with a starch and the last two with vegetables or a vegetable and fruit. Of course, why he uses such confusing language to differentiate the good foods from bad foods isn't clear, for aren't terms that any dietitian or nutritionist use and appear to be his own creations.

The most troubling part of his plan concerns his advice about supplements. For people who are what he calls weight-loss resistant, which means you're unable to lose weight despite continuous diet attempts and a regular exercise program, he recommends 13 supplements that he claims aid in weight loss. He even suggests supplements based on figure -- specific supplements are suggested for people with pear-shaped bodies while others are for people with apple-shaped bodies. This advice, though, is simply not credible and isn't backed by research, which may be why it's received harsh criticism from organizations like the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Cardio Diet

Stripped down to its core, the Cardio-Free Diet from trainer to the stars Jim Karas is basically a plan that recommends eating reduced calories and exercising three times a week. That in itself isn’t so bad, it’s when you drill down to the specifics that there are flaws.

On the nutrition side, the diet is basic and somewhat sound, though it’s often contradictory. For example, Karas declares that there are no forbidden foods on his plan, which would lead you to believe you can eat anything but perhaps in moderation. However, in the same chapter a few pages later, dieters are told to minimize or avoid processed carbohydrates, liquid carbohydrates (soda, juice) and salad dressings.

It’s the exercise portion of the book, however, where the most flaws can be found. On the very first page, the author admits that thousands of doctors, exercise physiologists and fitness experts praise the benefits of cardiovascular exercise. Yet according to Karas, all those decades of research is wrong. In fact, despite countless studies performed at hospitals and universities worldwide that show that regular cardiovascular exercise increases your endurance and aerobic capacity, strengthens your heart, reduces your risk of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension -- and burns fat and calories to boot -- the diet preaches that cardio not only doesn’t work, it also “kills your immune system” your internal organs and your entire weight-loss plan.

It seems that in order to differentiate itself from the rest of the diet plans that look strikingly similar, the book relies on theories that simply don’t ring true with any fitness organization or medical expert. They are also theories that the book simply can’t back up. Instead of citing actual studies -- or performing any studies on his own to prove his “cardio kills” theory before making such claims -- Karas refers instead to his own personal to back up his opinions instead.