e-HEALING
Weight Loss Facts
Low Fat Foods DON'T WORK.
You cannot lose weight using Low Fat Diets. Low fat foods have been popular for more than 15 years, but yet our society is getting more overweight as each year passes. This fact alone should tell you that eating a purely low fat menu is not the answer to losing weight.
Low Calorie Diets DON'T WORK.
You won't lose weight using a Low Calorie Dieting Plan either. In fact, eating low calories is the worst thing that you can do to your body, since that will only slow down your body's fat burning engine and ruin all chances of losing weight (low calorie diets may allow a few pounds of weight loss for the first few days, but then after that all weight loss comes to a halt --- known as a dieting plateau). You can never get slim by starving yourself.
Low Carb Plans DON'T WORK.
You'll probably find it extremely difficult to get slim using a Low Carb Dieting Plan. Low carb diets have recently become popular over the last couple years, but the problem with low carb menus is that they are too strict and TOO HARD TO FOLLOW for average people. Low carb menus tend to rob your body of too much energy (carbohydrates) and make it nearly impossible to remain on the program for very long. This is why so many dieters find it difficult to follow a strict low carbohydrate menu.
What about Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig Dieting Plans?
Weight loss programs such as Weight Watchers (and Jenny Craig) usually involve slower dieting progress over a longer period of time, since such programs generally promise only 2-3 pounds of weight loss per week. Also, programs such as Jenny Craig usually involve buying special meals and/or dietary supplements during the initial phases of the program. While some people may like these types of dietary programs, we prefer a dieting plan which focuses on faster weight loss, such as the Accelerated Fat Burning Program.
South Beach Diet and the Atkins Low Carb Plan
The Atkins Low Carb Diet is based on eating very few carbs (especially during phase 1), and we believe that it's one of the strictest weight loss plans on the market, and it's probably one of the hardest to follow low carb programs ever created. There is no mistaking this program for anything other than an extremely strict low carb plan which will sap your energy very quickly, since it only allows 80 carb calories per day during the first phase. That's less carbs than you'll find in a decent sized apple. This program is not for the faint of heart.
The South Beach diet is also a fairly strict low carb program (during the first phase), though perhaps not quite as strict as the Atkins program. ...But we also believe that the South Beach plan is too strict to be practical for everyday dieters, since it's no picnic either -- and it has the potential to sap your energy during phase 1 with the severely reduced carbs. For example, we've observed that the higher carb foods (on the South Beach menu) are severely limited in portions during the first phase of the diet -- and this prevents a normal amount of carbs from being eaten during the first phase.
In fact, the only foods which dieters are allowed to eat in "unlimited portions" (during phase 1) are protein foods and super-low-calorie vegetables. For example, the South Beach menu allows unlimited lettuce during phase 1 --- but yet it limits the portions of "tomatoes" and "onions" and "peanuts". Additionally, the "sweet snacks" which are allowed on the South Beach menu are limited to a mere 75 calories per day during phase 1.
Can you believe that? Only 75 calories of sweet snacks per day? That's almost ridiculous. So although the South Beach plan allows so-called "sweet snacks" -- they are limited to just 75 calories per day (that's less calories than a typical cookie contains). So although the South Beach program is not as strict as the Atkins diet, it's our opinion that both diets are fairly strict -- and we believe that both are difficult to follow for average dieters. Plus, both diets seem to have no "end" in sight -- since both the Atkins plan and the South Beach diet never allow dieters to return to a normal carb lifestyle (where carbs don't have to be closely watched).
These 2 diets do gradually allow more and more carbs to be eaten as time goes by of course, but even after 6 months dieters are still told to watch their carb intake to some degree each day. So it's a major lifestyle change which is required by these diets, and many dieters will find it difficult to never be able to enjoy carb filled restaurant meals which can be eaten completely "as served". So overall we think that both diets are not very practical for average dieters, since we believe that most people will find it difficult to modify their entire lifestyle forever. We therefore strongly recommend against using the South Beach and Atkins programs.
The Zone Diet vs. Jenny Craig Weight Loss
The Zone Diet is based on the theory of 40/30/30 -- which means that 40% of calories should be from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fats. This program was created by Barry Sears, and a well known book was published about this diet called "Enter the Zone". So when a dieter eats a meal which is "40/30/30" -- then it's referred to as a "Zone Favorable" meal. This author of this diet claims that if you make all meals "Zone Favorable" then your body will have reduced insulin levels, which will lead to weight loss and fat burning. We do not agree that eating a 40/30/30 meal (Zone Favorable meal) is the best way to reduce insulin levels.
Also, another thing to remember is that it's incredibly difficult to follow the Zone Diet because everything must be calculated "precisely" at every meal (and most people will find such calculations very tedious). We believe that the average dieter will find this program way too difficult to use for any serious length of time, and therefore we do not like the Zone Diet program.
Believe it or not the makers of this diet have even created their own line of Zone Favorable Food products (such as Zone bars, Zone Shakes, and other Zone products for dieters). But of course, such products cost much more than average food, so the average dieter may find that buying such products is not economical. This is yet one more reason why we do not recommend using this program.
The Jenny Craig weight loss program is a bit more traditional and simple, though it probably costs a bit too much for the average person (and also it's a little too basic in its principles). This entire diet seems to be based on eating fewer calories while exercising more, which is a very old concept. With Jenny Craig you get assigned your own weight loss expert (nutrition counselor) who will help to keep you motivated each week so that you'll remain on the diet. This is possible because Jenny Craig has many weight loss centers throughout the world, and if dieters live close to a facility then they can choose to meet with a nutrition consultant "in person". Or, if dieters do not live near a facility then they can choose to meet with their nutrition counselor "via telephone" each week.
...But regardless of whether you meet with your nutrition consultant via telephone or in person -- you'll still have to buy Jenny Craig's expensive "pre-packaged" meals. That's the downside of this diet program, since you have to continually buy Jenny's pre-packaged meals (which are expensive). From everything we have seen these pre-packaged meals seem to be lower calorie versions of normal meals, so they don't seem to be anything to earth shattering or special from our perspective. So with Jenny Craig you'll basically be eating fewer calories (smaller portioned meals) and exercising more while meeting weekly with a nutrition counselor (who will keep you motivated so that you don't quit the diet). Overall we don't think that it's smart to use the Jenny Craig program, since any diet that requires you to continually spend money for "special meals" is not a good choice in our opinion.
When we compare the Zone Diet to Jenny Craig we find that both programs have too many negative qualities to recommend -- though the Zone Program is probably just a tad better in our opinion. But overall we strongly recommend against both of these weight loss programs.
The Sonoma Diet vs. Atkins and South Beach
The Sonoma diet has 3 phases (which it calls "waves") --- and these are sort of similar to the various phases of the Atkins and South Beach phases. In fact, phase 1 of the Sonoma Diet is called the "Induction" phase, and it seems to serve the same general purpose as phase 1 of the Atkins and South Beach programs too (which is to eliminate certain types of processed foods, sugars, and some other foods too). For example, phase 1 of the Sonoma diet (the INDUCTION phase) lasts 10 days, and the purpose of this phase is to eliminate sugar based carbs, processed foods, certain types of fats, and other types of foods such as fruit. This is sort of similar to how the South Beach program uses it's first phase to eliminate sugar, fruit and processed foods too. Also, the Atkins program has a similar type of "induction phase" which serves the same "general" purpose more or less.
Then, the Sonoma diet has a second phase (wave 2) which is used to re-introduce some types of foods back into the diet, and this is similar to how the South Beach plan has a second phase which re-introduces certain types of carbs (such as fruits) back into the diet also. Actually, it's kind of a coincidence because the Atkins diet also has a phase where it allows certain types of carbs (such as fruit) back into the diet.
Finally, the Sonoma diet has a third phase (wave 3) which is used when a dieter finally reaches their goal weight and wishes to "maintain" that weight for the rest of their lives. This is the phase where the dieter is expected to make the Sonoma diet a "lifestyle", and this phase allows more liberal food choices too. It's interesting to note that this is similar to how the Atkins diet has a final phase which dieters use when they reach their "goal weight".
....And this is also similar to how the South Beach diet has a final phase which serves to turn the diet into a permanent lifestyle when they reach their goal weight. So even though the foods are very different on the Sonoma diet -- it still seems to have many of the same "general principles" as the Atkins and South Beach diets to some degree (at least in our opinion anyway). Of course, we're not saying that its the same as the Atkins and South Beach plans of course (since there are some major differences between the Sonoma Diet and the other 2 diets) -- but we're saying that many of the same "general principles" appear to be similar (such as the various phases, and what those phases are used for).
Our opinion: We do not recommend using the Sonoma Diet for the same reasons that we do not recommend using the Atkins or South Beach programs. We think that such a diet is too difficult to follow for average dieters since the menu is a permanent lifestyle change which does limit certain types of foods, and the first phase is likely to sap your energy if you're not careful.
Good Carbs versus Bad Carbs...
The word "carbs" is everywhere these days, and there are many diets which are either "for" carbs or "against" carbs. The public is getting confused about all this confusion over carbs, and nobody seems to really understand what to do when dieting these days.So we'll explain the simple truth about carbs and what it takes to begin losing weight immediately.
A "carb" is just a short hand way of saying "a carbohydrate" which is a special type of calorie which contains extra energy, which is why you'll feel more energetic when eating foods which are rich in carbohydrates. For example, if you eat a bag of candy or a piece of cake then you'll feel very energetic afterwards, because these are foods which are rich in excess carbs. The truth is that not all carbs are fattening, because there are different types of carbs -- there are "good carbs" and there are "bad carbs" too. However, if you are overweight (or if you're one of those people who has been overweight since childhood) then it's 99% certain that your daily foods contain too many bad carbs -- and not enough good carbs.
Sugar is a type of bad carb, and most people think they know how to avoid sugar. But the truth is that sugar has MANY different forms which are very hard to spot in foods. ...And this is why you'll never lose weight until you learn to eat good carbs only. For example, most people falsely believe that eating foods sweetened with honey are somehow healthier than eating foods sweetened with sugar --- but in reality honey is just as fattening as sugar. In fact, honey is filled with the same fattening carbs as sugar.
This is true because honey (and other bad carbs) cause your blood sugar level to rise sharply after a meal (which is why you'll feel energetic after eating a honey based meal). This causes you to gain weight because when your blood sugar rises then your body is forced to over-produce a hormone called "insulin" (because insulin is needed to help process excess blood sugar). ...And when your body produces too much insulin then fat storage will occur. But if you eat good carbs (instead of bad carbs) then your blood sugar level will not skyrocket after each meal, and thus you can burn fat and lose weight much easier. Plus, you'll feel energetic all day on a more even level, without the "highs" and "lows" that most overweight people experience.
So to begin losing weight you need to change the types of foods that you eat each day, and you can do this by learning about the Fat Burning Foods included in our new online diet:
http://www.fatloss4idiots.com/GetDiet.html
Best Diet: Food Combing
Part II
