Posted on 08/02/2010 4:35:00 PM PDT by fightinJAG
The fascination with low-carb versus low-fat diet continues; the latest news comes from a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine released today that found that people on both diets lost about the same amount of weight over two years. However, the low-carb group had an edge in raising HDL (good) cholesterol and lowering diastolic blood pressure
The study looked at 153 people who were randomly assigned to a low-carb diet, and 154 to a low-fat diet. The low-carb group limited carbohydrate intake to 20 grams per day for the first 12 weeks, then gradually increased fruits, vegetables, whole grains and dairy foods until they reached a desired weight. The low-fat group kept daily calories to 1,200 to 1,500, and fat to 30% of their diet.
Both groups also took part in a two-year behavioral program that focused on how to manage relapses, self-monitoring, and an emphasis on moderate physical activity.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
The methodology of this is lame. You CANNOT simply assume that calories of, say, an apple, are the same as calories from a pear. Foods are not interchangeable. Moreover, who was the control group? What did they eat?
I have two cardiologists at Cedars-Sinai. Both like the Arkins diet.
I hear prune juice and Ex Lax works pretty good for a short term diet.
I swear by a modified Atkins diet. Like most people, I keep wanting to take off a few pounds here and there, and the most effective way for me, and healthy/slow way, is to cut out pasta, bread and rice, eat a ton of veggies and berries and nuts, eggs, cheese and meat. My bloods have never been better. I know it’s counterintutive but it seems to work with me. Maybe it has to also do with the way I metabolize foods.
Is that the one where you can't eat anything solid, but can have all the beer you like?
I have been on the Atkins Diet for years, with an annual of exception of Thanksgiving through Valentine’s Day! I keep my carbs between 20 and 30 grams a day and don’t worry about fat or calories.
My cholesterol is at 167 with 102 triglycerides and LDL=96, HDL=50
My blood glucose=85
With those numbers I will remain on this diet for a while longer. I do eat veggies. I don’t eat grains or starches. I can make a tasty low-carb ice cream and a wonderful low-carb cheesecake.
Hehe ... I’m the typo queen. :>
But isn't that exactly what the 'calories in must equal calories out' crowd has always claimed: '3,000 calories of butter is the same as 3,000 calories of oatmeal'?
Or do I hear the goalposts screeching ...
The new Atkins diet book includes more veggies. I’ve lost 30 pounds. I have more energy, and it isn’t hard to stay on.
I’ll have to get that.
I’m not really losing that much weight right now. But falling on Feb. 11 and suffering a skull fracture and a vertabrae fracture hasn’t really done much for my desire to move around. I walk 100 yards and my hips feel like they’re being split apart. However, it does keep the water weight off. My fingers swell if I have just a small amount of starch, i.e. bread or pasta.
So, I’ll stay on it. Also, I may not go off it during the holiday period, just the holidays themselves. I did not like the way I felt this past holiday season.
I went on a no carb diet to lose weight. I ate eggs and sausage for breakfast, an apple and cheese for lunch, and meat and salad and/or veggies for supper. I lost 30 pounds in 7 weeks (my goal) and my total cholesterol went from 210 to 165. The best part is you never go hungry. If you get hungry you eat as much as you want. Portions are not an issue but I found myself eating much less anyway. If you try it don’t forget to supplement with potassium for at least the first two or three weeks.
i have one of those stupid bodies that apparently manufactures too much cholesterol, so im on a non statin med that has lowered it, but im afraid to go back to my atkins habits for obvious reasons, that im afraid to intake any cholesterol...
dammit...
After I had a heart scan, the doc said the best diet is the hunter and gatherer diet - sounds like what you are doing. Atkins with extras.
You seem very knowledgeable and experienced,yet my experience with low carb was very different. I was hungry almost all the time and lost energy,maybe I couldn’t eat enough protein to satiate me? I missed my potatoes,it never felt like I had enough to eat. By the way,I am not obese,think average sixty year old woman,not slim,not obese,but could lose a few pounds.
Was I doing something wrong? Maybe not eating enough protein? The other thing is that the idea of having to take a potassium supplement makes me suspicious. If it’s really healthy,wouldn’t it supply everything one needs?
I’m just trying to understand,’cause I didn’t have a good experience with it. I lost weight but was very uncomfortable.
Any advice is appreciated.
My first guess is that you didn’t eat enough protein. You can have unlimited quantities of meat. Don’t try and count calories.
This diet seems sensible. It’s pretty much hunter-gatherer.
http://www.thedietsolutionprogram.com/
The proponent advocates cutting out all refined sugar and flour. She doesn’t even recommend whole grain bread - just sprouted grain and rice bread. You can use Stevia, honey and other natural sugars in moderation. But no artificial sweeteners.
One recommendation is using coconut oil for frying at high temps. Never tried that and the diet nazis had such a cow over that, the movie theaters stopped popping corn in it. Have to get some.
There is a book for about $50 which I haven’t purchased yet, but may down the road. Although I kind of have the idea just from the video and info at the website.
Atkins does work, but it’s hard for people who prefer vegetables and fruits in large proportion to meats.
Do Tell !
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