I confess that since purchasing the skirted bathing suit I have embarked on the first diet of my life. I am not a dieter by nature. Self-deprivation isn't in me. I like my little indulgences - going out for ice cream with the girls or having a glass of wine with Kevin on the deck. I'm not about to eat rice cakes and cottage cheese for four months. That's why the Twinkie Diet fascinates me.
In short, "For 10 weeks, Mark Haub, a professor of human nutrition at Kansas State University, ate one of these sugary cakelets every three hours, instead of meals."* During that time he lost 27 pounds and reduced his bad cholesterol. In addition to the Twinkies and other junk food he took a multivitamin and drank a protein shake daily.
I'm not about to eat Twinkies every day - chocolate cupcakes, maybe... This wasn't a highly scientific, controlled medical study. It was just one man's project. What it demonstrated is that the key to weight loss is calorie reduction rather than food content. I'm not advocating a lifestyle of eating nutritionally deficient foods, but what this seems to suggest is that reducing calories will result in weight loss regardless of what you eat.
That explains why there are so many diet programs out there. I'm reasonably sure that if you researched any "fad" diet you'll discover that to lose weight a typical women needs to restrict her caloric intake to about 1600 calories a day; a man needs to limit it to about 1800 calories. I checked Jenny Craig's website. They state "Your personal consultant will help you determine your optimal calorie level based on your age, height, current weight, gender and your activity level. Our lowest calorie level is 1200 calories per day, based on the latest Dietary Guideline recommendations."
My personal diet plan is simple and cost about $25. First, I had to acknowledge that if I couldn't lose weight by burning more calories I was going to have to lose weight by not consuming as many calories. Heading into the summer with two kids and my crazy life I wasn't going to start going to the gym every day. I knew I didn't have a fortune to spend on prepackaged foods like Jenny Craig or MediFast. After a little online research I chose the Flat Belly Diet.
Why? Well, partly because my mother had a stroke and ultimately died from a heart attack. There is some connection between abdominal fat and increased risk for these diseases. A Wall Street Journal article dated May 3, 2011 stated, "In the study, which pooled data from nearly 16,000 patients with heart disease, the researchers found that the bigger your waistline, the higher your chances of dying in the months and years after a heart attack or major heart procedure."
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704569404576299440848946156.html)
I thought a flatter belly might not only improve my health, but allow me to buy a bathing suit with out a "tummy minimizer". I ordered "Flat Belly Diet! Pocket Guide" ($8) and "Flat Belly Diet!Family Cookbook"($17) from Amazon.com. I added a dollar sticker book for Danielle so that I could get Free Super Saver Shipping. I skipped the "Four Day Anti-Bloat" portion of the diet and jumped right in. I also downloaded a free app for my Iphone, My Net Diary.
In essence, this is a 1600 calorie a day plan, based on a Mediterranean diet. It includes olive oil and nuts over foods containing saturated fats like butter and bacon. Having read a lot before embarking on this I understood that the MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acid) component of the diet plan wasn't a magic bullet. However, as my Mom used a pound of butter a week I also thought it might overall be a healthier way to eat.
* http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
I'm not about to eat Twinkies every day - chocolate cupcakes, maybe... This wasn't a highly scientific, controlled medical study. It was just one man's project. What it demonstrated is that the key to weight loss is calorie reduction rather than food content. I'm not advocating a lifestyle of eating nutritionally deficient foods, but what this seems to suggest is that reducing calories will result in weight loss regardless of what you eat.
That explains why there are so many diet programs out there. I'm reasonably sure that if you researched any "fad" diet you'll discover that to lose weight a typical women needs to restrict her caloric intake to about 1600 calories a day; a man needs to limit it to about 1800 calories. I checked Jenny Craig's website. They state "Your personal consultant will help you determine your optimal calorie level based on your age, height, current weight, gender and your activity level. Our lowest calorie level is 1200 calories per day, based on the latest Dietary Guideline recommendations."
My personal diet plan is simple and cost about $25. First, I had to acknowledge that if I couldn't lose weight by burning more calories I was going to have to lose weight by not consuming as many calories. Heading into the summer with two kids and my crazy life I wasn't going to start going to the gym every day. I knew I didn't have a fortune to spend on prepackaged foods like Jenny Craig or MediFast. After a little online research I chose the Flat Belly Diet.
Why? Well, partly because my mother had a stroke and ultimately died from a heart attack. There is some connection between abdominal fat and increased risk for these diseases. A Wall Street Journal article dated May 3, 2011 stated, "In the study, which pooled data from nearly 16,000 patients with heart disease, the researchers found that the bigger your waistline, the higher your chances of dying in the months and years after a heart attack or major heart procedure."
(http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704569404576299440848946156.html)
I thought a flatter belly might not only improve my health, but allow me to buy a bathing suit with out a "tummy minimizer". I ordered "Flat Belly Diet! Pocket Guide" ($8) and "Flat Belly Diet!Family Cookbook"($17) from Amazon.com. I added a dollar sticker book for Danielle so that I could get Free Super Saver Shipping. I skipped the "Four Day Anti-Bloat" portion of the diet and jumped right in. I also downloaded a free app for my Iphone, My Net Diary.
In essence, this is a 1600 calorie a day plan, based on a Mediterranean diet. It includes olive oil and nuts over foods containing saturated fats like butter and bacon. Having read a lot before embarking on this I understood that the MUFA (monounsaturated fatty acid) component of the diet plan wasn't a magic bullet. However, as my Mom used a pound of butter a week I also thought it might overall be a healthier way to eat.
First, the food is delicious and easy to prepare. Kevin says these are some of the best tasting meals I've ever made. I like it because it doesn't involve deprivation. I can still go out for ice cream (frozen yogurt) or have a glass of wine if it fits within my 1600 calories. There is chocolate on this diet, but not Twinkies.
I have lost 8 pounds since May 24th and I've eaten well. I hope that I have managed to maintain a healthy cholesterol level as well as other important health markers. In this instance I think I may have struck a balance that works for me - reducing calories without sacrificing flavor or spending a fortune.
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