Dear Trish and David:

Hi, I enjoy reading your articles in Capital. My question is how do you feel about the Zone diet? Also one of your articles said it takes longer to process fat and protein than a high carb meal. Also are frozen veggies with mixture of broccoli, carrots, and corn good to eat at lunch everyday or is that too many carbs if you are not regularly exercising?…

Thanks,

Cathy

Dear Cathy,

As Personal Trainers, and Nutritional Counselors, Trish and I are often asked about the best "diet" to use for weight loss. Simple question, complex answer.

We recommend to our clients NOT to engage in either "specificity" or "deprivation" diet programs. In other words, we feel that diversity and moderation is key in most human endeavors… losing weight being no exception.

We all know that the challenge is not only taking weight off, but KEEPING it off. That’s one of the primary reasons why diets just don’t work long-term. A life-style change is absolutely necessary. That being said, let’s take a look at a few of the more popular diets, and list their strong and weak points.

The Atkins diet program does produce weight loss. Unfortunately, when you have a carbohydrate heavy meal, you immediately came out of ketosis.

If you believe that you can give up breads, pastas and other carbs for a long period of time, the Atkins diet does work. There is strong opinion that long term engagement in a high protein diet could be damaging to some of your internal organs. There are also other medical risks.

The book "Zone Diet" was written by Dr. Barry Sears and quickly became an international diet best seller. The principle of the diet is simple, eat so the proportions of meals are 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fats. However, the application is tremendously complicated! It requires a very strong (extreme) focus on your meals.

If you have a personal chef, full time nutritionist or have lots of time to prepare meals, the Zone is a sensible program. Otherwise, it is just TOO complex.

This program is based on the need of combining foods in certain ways. By eating food in a manner that is less straining on the body, you could have more energy and a healthier body. The type of food you eat is restricted to certain times of day. You only eat fruit in the morning, and try to combine carbs with carbs and protein with protein. Fresh veggies can be eaten with any meal but not with fruit. It DOES include an exercise component… that we really like!

Timing is critical… you need a stop watch to keep track of elapsed time.

This is probably the most unusual of the diet plans circulating around.

The basic idea is that Type O's are the dominant, hunter/caveman type (yeah, that’s ME!) that require meat in the diet, Type A's are docile vegetarians, and Type B's are dairy/eaters. The difference in your blood types prescribes what foods you should eat. This Blood Type diet has become a dietary lifestyle for many people.

Interestingly, through part of her training based on Far Eastern HOLISTIC approaches to health and fitness, Trish has employed these principles very effectively. However, David being the Guru of Pizza, Cheeseburgers and Dairy Queen, her application is at best inconsistent. Unfortunately, there is very little scientific evidence to back up the premise that your blood type affects your choice of diet and weight loss (AND Cheeseburgers taste SO good!).

This diet program is based on consuming a formulated milk based drink instead of a meal. You buy Slim-Fast premixed in a can or add your own milk. There are also meal replacement bars. You eat or drink their meal replacement for 2 meals a day, and have a "sensible" meal once a day.

If you really love milk, and can see yourself "drinking" lunch and breakfast for a long period of time, the Slim-Fast plan might be for you. The taste takes a little getting used to. We don’t enjoy having two liquid meals a day, and it can reek havoc on your digestive system.

In principle, the Weight Watchers plan is one of the most reasonable, and effective, approaches to weight loss and management. It does require some "number crunching", but after you understand the process, it’s not too cumbersome.

Their prescribed program includes meetings for support, and formulas where you add up your daily "points". By assigning a "point" value to different types of foods, Weight Watchers helps you control the amount of calories and fat you eat. The call it their "1 2 3 Plan". They let you eat almost anything you want, as long as you don't exceed your daily point total. By using their "1 2 3 Plan" you restrict your caloric intake, you will lose weight. Many people do get tired of counting food portions and keeping track.

Support on a weight loss program is important. It seems the people who need this support the most don't show up. People who lost weight showed up for the weekly "weigh-ins" and support meetings. However, if you "fail" (violate the program) you will probably skip the meetings.

It has become very apparent that what one puts IN the body is only a small piece of the puzzle. What the body DOES with food is most critical. This is where exercise, and other life-style changes come in.

Trish and I are not doctors. The information provided is based on our own experiences, the experiences of our clients through the years, and just plain common sense. Be sure to check with your medical practitioner BEFORE starting any new program!

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