Different Types Of Diet
What diets have you tried before? Please share...
1) Jennifer Hudson Diet -
2) Dash Diet Guidelines -
3) Dr. Oz 10 Day Diet -
4) Simple Menu Heart Healthy Diet -
5) Vegan Diet Foods List -
1) HCG Diet -
2) Low Carb Diet -
3) Diabetics Diet -
4) Cabbage Soup Diet -
5) Baby Food Diet -
6) Mediterranean Diet -
7) Gluten Free Diet -
8) Detox Diet -
9) Raw Food Diet -
10) Acai Diet -
11) Three Day Diet -
12) Lemonade Diet -
13) Vegetarian Diet -
14) Blood Type Diet -
15) Special K Diet -
16) High Protein Diet -
17) Cookie Diet -
18) Low Calorie Diet -
19) Alkaline Diet -
20) Paleo Diet -
21) Grapefruit Diet -
22) Atkins Diet -
23) Liquid Diet -
24) Low Fat Diet -
25) South Beach Diet - 409 words
26) Macrobiotic Diet - 381 words
Atkins Diet and Low Carb Diets
I have personally tried low carb diets and Atkins diet and these diets made me lose weight very quickly. However not only did I lose body fat weight, I also lost muscle weight. I had very obvious muscle and fat loss because I can visually see my reduced muscle mass in the mirror.
This certainly isn’t healthy. Furthermore, the more muscle mass that you lose, the less toned your body shape is. The end result is that you will end up thin and yet looked flabby with lose skin.
The frustrating part will be that after you are off the low carb or Atkins diet, you will very probably gain back all the weight that you have loss and even more. This is because your muscles are active and they continuously burn calories. Since you have less fewer muscle mass now, your body’s metabolism or capacity to burn calories slows down tremendously.
In other words, when you put on weight again, you are putting on body fat instead of muscles if you do not exercise. You will be fatter and less healthy than before you went on the low carb or Atkins diet. To compound matters, because of lesser muscle tissues resulting in lower metabolism and thus lesser calories being burnt, you are going to get fatter.
Since then I have stayed off both low carb and Atkins diet. Both types of diets are almost similar as they require you to cut down drastically on your consumption of carbohydrates. Atkins diet went a step further by advocating almost no carbohydrate consumption for 2 weeks before adding some carbs to your meals gradually thereafter.
Besides losing muscles, how safe are low carb diets?
Low carbohydrate diets for weight management are far from healthy, given their association with ketosis, constipation or diarrhea, halitosis, headache and general fatigue to name a few.
Doctors warn that the diet increases protein load on the kidneys and alters the balance of acid in the body. This also results in loss of minerals from the bone stores and affect bone strength. Doctors go on to say that, “Our most important criterion should be indisputable safety and low carbohydrate diets currently fall short of this benchmark.”
Dr Atkins, the creator of the Atkins diet died in 2003 after he was alleged to have slipped on an icy road and hurt his head fatally. However his medical report stated that he had a history of heart attack, hypertension and congestive heart failure.
Were Dr Atkins medical conditions related to his low carbohydrates diet is anybody’s guess. Do you want to take the risk by going on a low carb diet? I don’t think I will. If I ever want to lose weight again, I will rather go on the proven method of healthy eating and regular exercises instead of jumping on any fad diets without doctor's instructions.
Combining Atkins Diet With Exercise
Exercise is beneficial to body, mind and soul. It has many major benefits, even at limited levels. It not only burns fat but it boosts your metabolism and increases circulation. Daily exercise helps your body eliminate toxins through sweat glands and lymph systems. It is especially important to all low-carb weight loss programs because it regulates blood sugar levels.
Physical exercise is essential for Atkins diet success. Without exercise, your body isn’t configured to process carbohydrates successfully. Research has shown that sedentary individuals have extreme insulin reactions to even moderate amounts of carbohydrates. This means that exercise doesn’t only help you lose weight, it will help you keep it off too. Exercise will teach your body how to process the carbohydrates in your diet. When you exercise regularly, you’ll be able to eat more carbohydrates over time because your body will use them efficiently.
There are two basic types of exercise: aerobic exercise and anaerobic exercise. The best regimen combines these two forms each week.
Aerobic exercise’s primary goal is to increase your heart rate. This causes your body to consume more oxygen and it gives all of your cells a fresh supply of oxygen. If you’ve been without physical activity for a while, many of those cells have been deprived. Aerobic exercise will regenerate them and help you feel better in times when you aren’t exercising.
If you’ve been inactive for a while, it may take some time to get used to your new aerobic workouts. You may want to get some advice from your primary care doctor or a professional aerobics instructor. Make sure to start slowly to give yourself time to adjust to your new movements. It’s essential that you learn how to stretch and warm up correctly in order to avoid muscle strain. Some good beginning aerobic activities include walking, golf, tennis and dancing. These activities won’t cause a lot of strain on your body, but they will get your heart moving. Start slowly and set small goals for yourself. For example, if you are starting a walking program begin by walking four blocks. Then increase your training to five blocks, then six. Your body will respond well to the exercise…after all your body was meant to move!
Anaerobic exercise includes any activity that isn’t technically aerobic. Most of the exercises in this category build muscle mass. Weightlifting and strength training are examples of anaerobic exercises. Working out with weights is an important part of losing weight. As you lose fat, you’ll need to replace it with muscle in order to stay lean. Don’t be afraid of working out with weights. You won’t need to become a bodybuilder. Weight bearing exercises like isometrics and resistance training will help improve your bone density, your posture and your fat burning potential.
If an exercise program is not part of your weight loss efforts, you are setting yourself up for failure. Make a commitment to incorporating exercise into your weight loss efforts and you’ll see the results immediately.
Sacred Heart Diet
The Sacred Heart Diet - Cabbage Soup Diet (as I call it before) has many benefits when continued at a moderate pace and is safe and regular exercise and healthy eating. I've personally tried this diet during the late 90's in it's seemingly bland state. I'm glad that it was reintroduced to be by my aunt who swears by it, with an enhanced recipe.
You can reduce the risk of heart disease and diabetes through the program of weight loss of power of the Sacred Heart. However, it is recommend that you follow the diet of the Sacred Heart for the long-term use.
7-day Sacred Heart Diet :
Day 1:
You can have fruit except for bananas during the first day. More advisable are watermelons and cantaloupes, since they have lesser calories than other fruits. It is recommended to have only fruits and soup today.
Day 2:
You can have all the vegetables on the second day. Have cooked, fresh, raw, or canned veggies till you are full. Do no go for peas, corn, or dry beans. Try having more green leafy vegetables. You can also eat a baked potato along with butter in your dinner. However, do not have any fruits on the second day.
Day 3:
You can eat all sorts of vegetables, fruits, soup and other soups on this day, but do not go for any baked potatoes.
Day 4:
Have skim milk and bananas on the fourth day of your diet plan. Drink as much milk as possible along with the soup. Eat minimum 3 bananas today.
Day 5:
This diet plan recommends having tomatoes and beef on its fifth day. Have a can full of tomatoes or up to 6 tomatoes and 10-20 ounces of beef. Try eating the soup at least once during the day.
Day 6:
You can eat as much vegetables and beef as you wish on day 6. Do not go for baked potatoes and have 2 to 3 steaks if you wish. Today, again have the soup at least once.
Day 7:
On the seventh day of your schedule, eat vegetables, brown rice, and unsweetened fruit juice, until you are full. You can also go for cooked vegetables in your rice. Also have the soup today.
Drinks that are allowed during the implementation of the Sacred Heart Diet include tea (herbal as well), cranberry juice, unsweetened juices, lots of water, coffee, and skim milk.
The recipe for the diet soup goes as follows:
* 1 or 2 cans of diced, stewed, or whole canned tomatoes
* 3 large green onions for taste
* 2 cans of green beans
* Few teaspoons of beef bullion for taste
* 1 pkg. chicken noodles
* 1 bunch of chopped celery
* 2 green/red/yellow/orange peppers
* ¼ or ½ shredded cabbage
You can season your soup with parsley, pepper curry, salt, Worcestershire or hot sauce, and bullion. Cut the vegetables into small or medium sized pieces and cover the soup with water. Boil for 10 continuous minutes and then reduce to simmer. Cook the soup until all the vegetables are soft but not mushy.
The Atkins Diet Basics
I've met a lot of people who have jumped on the Atkins bandwagon and there has been a lot of hype as a result. But what are the basic principles of the Atkins diet?
The Atkins diet is based on a theory of why we get fat. According to Dr. Atkins, the over-consumption of carbohydrates and simple sugars leads to weight gain. The way your body processes the carbohydrates you eat have more to do with your waistline than the amount of fat or calories that you consume. In his book, Atkins outlines a phenomenon called “insulin resistance.” He theorizes that many overweight people have cells that do not work correctly.
When you eat excess carbohydrates and sugar, your body notices that sugar levels are elevated. Insulin is released from the pancreas in order to store sugar as glycogen in the liver and muscle cells for extra energy later on. However, your body can only store so much glycogen at once. As soon as your body reaches its limit for glycogen storage, the excess carbohydrates are stored as fat. This happens to everyone who eats too many carbohydrates.
However, insulin resistant individuals have an even harder time of using and storing excess carbohydrates. The more insulin that your body is exposed to, the more resistant it becomes. Overtime, the pancreas releases more insulin and cells become insulin resistant. The cells are trying to protect themselves from the toxic effects of high insulin. They create less glycogen and more fat.
As a result, insulin resistant individuals gain extra weight. The carbohydrates get converted into fat instead of energy. Other side effects include fatigue, brain “fog” (the inability to focus, poor memory, loss of creativity), low blood sugar (which can leads to hypoglycemia), intestinal bloating, sleepiness, depression and increased blood sugar. There is much more than weight at stake when you are insulin resistant.
The remedy for people who are insulin resistant is a diet restricted in carbohydrates. The crux of the Atkins diet is a limitation of carbohydrates in all of its forms. The foods restricted on the Atkins plan include simple sugars (like cookies, sodas and sweets) and complex carbohydrates (like bread, rice and grains). Even carbohydrates that are considered healthy, such as oatmeal, brown rice and whole wheat bread, are restricted on the program.
The diet has you restrict your carbohydrate intake to less than 40 grams a day. This will put your body in a state of ketosis. While in ketosis, your body will burn fat as fuel. According to Dr. Atkins’ research, the ketosis state will also affect insulin production and it will prevent more fat from being formed. Your body will begin using your stored fat as an efficient form of fuel, and you’ll lose weight.
Another benefit of the Atkins plan is that ketosis will end your cravings for carbohydrates. If you’ve been living on a carb-heavy diet, you may have found that you simply cannot get enough carbohydrates. With carbohydrate restriction and ketosis comes a reduction in carbohydrate cravings. People who have been on the Atkins diet for some time report that they do not crave carbohydrates as they once did.
Although the initial phases of the Atkins diet are rather strict, the program teaches you to restore balance to your diet in the long run. People who use the diet slowly reintroduce minimal amounts of carbohydrate into their eating until they find a comfortable balance between their health and carbohydrate use.
The basic principles of the Atkins diet have been adapted to many other low-carb diet plans. However, Atkins popularity still remains strong as one of the most effective low-carbohydrate solutions for those who are insulin resistant.