Diet

We've probably all found ourselves, at one time or another in our lives, wanting to lose someweight. Whether you're trying to take off some pounds gained during the holiday season,
preparing for a summer trip, or simply looking for a way to feel more fit and healthy, trying tolose weight is rarely a bad idea.
This is the most obvious starting point, yet one that is commonly overlooked. Most people, whenthey're trying to lose 10 pounds, think of things like cutting out junk food and avoiding snacks.
While this is no doubt important, it is not necessary to starve yourself if you're looking to lose 10
pounds.
The most important things to consider in terms of your diet are balance and proportion. If youwant to lose 10 pounds for good, you're going to have to think in terms of your overall eatinghabits. By changing your eating habits permanently for the better, the weight you lose will staylost.
Your daily intake of food should include a well balanced proportion of protein, carbohydrates,and vegetables. Variety is the key to this. Ask yourself: can you name more than 3 vegetables
that you eat regularly and enjoy? Or more generally: how many different "meals" do you makefor yourself during an average week? Most people in answering these questions will realize thatthere's not as much variety to their diet as they may of thought.
When trying to lose 10 pounds, you also have to try to be in tune with your body as much aspossible. You probably don't realize, unless you think about it, how little you adhere to yourbody's needs. Most people eat roughly the same amount at the same time every day. While thisis convenient, it doesn't necessarily sync up with what you need. Ask yourself: are you alwayshungry when you eat? Do you stop eating when you're full, or do you eat all of whatever you'vemade?
These simple changes in dietary habits can work wonders, and render you goal of losing 10
pounds less daunting than it probably seems.

Some Tips To Lose 10 Pounds Although

Although some people find themselves dealing with more serious weight problems, most people
who want to lose a little weight are relatively healthy. If you want to lose 10 pounds, there's a
good chance that those pounds were gained very slowly of the course of many months - the
weight doesn't represent a problem as much as a few times during the past year where you
overindulged (usually the holidays) and failed to make up for it. Here are some tips to lose those
10 pounds:


Pick Your Time


Weight loss involves very personal issues for most people, and is closely related to their self
esteem. It is crucial that you attempt to lose 10 pounds at the appropriate time - at a time where
you otherwise feel good and satisfied with your life. If you try and lose 10 pounds during a
period of time in your life where you have a lot of stress or other distracting things going on, you
drastically increase your chances of failure, which will only make things worse.


Change Your Diet


Try as much as possible to balance your diet. This doesn't mean that you have to starve
yourself -- rather make a point of getting no more the 30% of your calories from fat. Eat more
fruits and vegetables and try to add as much variety to your diet as possible. Try new things,
and new meal ideas.


Keep Track Of Your Progress


The problem with dieting for many people, especially in the early stages, is that even if the diet
is working they can't see any results. It's hard to really notice if you lose 1 pound. For this
reason it's important that your track your progress, so you can have a good sense of the
accomplishments you've made. By calculating how many calories you've eaten and how much
you've burned through exercise each and every day, you can track how many calories (and
ultimately how much weight) you are losing.


Do It With Friends


A great and fun way to help you stick with your plan is to undertake your project of losing 10
pounds with a friend. Not only will you be able to provide support for each other and track each
other's progress, but you'll be able to engage in fun exercise activities together.


Make Your Plan Realistic


It's important that you set achievable goals for yourself. For example, with just some basic
changes in your lifestyle and eating habits, you can lose 1 pound a week. There's no need to be
in a huge rush to lose weight, and trying to lose weight quickly often requires a regimen that is
difficult to keep up. For most people, it is healthier to lose weight slowly than with drastic dietary
changes.
Many people would like to lose 10 pounds, and almost anyone can if they follow the advice
above. By avoiding a "quick fix" and sticking with long term healthy choices, you'll find your
project to lose 10 pounds will leave you not only thinner, but healthier and feeling better about
yourself

how to burn calories and stay fit...............forever

burning calories=Drink ice water

For anyone trying to lose weight, this question is bound to raise a lot of excitement. Surelylosing weight cannot be such a simple issue, can it? Well, the answer is YES!You can actually lose calories by drinking ice water. Your body loses calories in the process ofwarming this ice water to the body temperature. Now any enthusiast, must surely be thinking, ifwe can lose weight by drinking ice water, can we lose a large amount of calories if we drink lots
of ice water? Well, to answer this question we have to look at some simple calculations.
First of all we need to distinguish between calories and Calories. Calories (i.e. with a big c) areused to denote the amount of energy that is contained in food. Where as calorie with a small c is
used to denote the energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degreeCelsius.
Another interesting fact is that it takes, 1 Calorie to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. So when you are drinking a 140-Calorie can of cola, you are in factingesting 140,000 calories in your body. This is the same when you burn say 100 Caloriesworking out, this means that you have actually burned 100,000 calories.
The main purpose of telling you that the definition of calories is based on the rising of temperature is to tell you an interesting fact. We have just seen that when our body raises the
temperature, it burns calories, so when you drink ice cold water your body loses calories in raising that ice cold water to body temperature.
Now let us get the math right. Our body temperature is at 37 degree Celsius.
The temperature of ice cold water can be safely said to be 0 degree Celsius.
There are 473.18 grams in 16 fluid ounces of water.
It takes 1 calorie to raise 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius.
So, if your body raises the temperature of 473.18 grams of water by 37 degree Celsius it burns17508 calories.
But this is calorie with a small c. It actually denotes only 17.5 calories. You might be thinking that losing 17.5 Calories doesn’t count much compared to the calories we intake.But, you are not going to drink just one 16 once glass of water are you? Even if you stick to the recommended minimum of 8 glasses of water you will end up burning 70 Calories in a day and that too by doing practically nothing. You can also increase the water intake if you want to shed
a few extra pounds. Well, although it is definite that drinking ice cold water helps you to burn calories you should not try to replace it with exercise. You should continue with all the weight reduction methods that you already on to. You can just boost up your effort by drinking ice cold water.

Best Diets to Lose Weight

Some thing tasty and yummy and yet you lose weight……

All the best diet plans are based on restrictions on carbohydrates, fats and high calorie products. During diet plans you can take fruits, green leafy vegetables, roughages and foodstuffs having less calories.

Top Diet Plans:

The Cabbage Soup diet has been used by dieters for years. This diet includes many versions but the simple one is that if you eat cabbage soup when you are hungry it will fill you up and will help you stay on low calorie diet. While you are on cabbage soup diet you must not take oily, fatty foodstuffs. This diet has very low calories. Therefore cabbage diet is among the best diets to lose weight.

The Sonoma diet was first prepared by Dr. Connie Gutterson. This diet includes antioxidant vegetables, juicy fruits like blueberries, spinach, whole grains and little almond oil. You can even add a glass of red wine. Sonoma diet is also approved as one of the best diets to lose weight.

Slim Fast diet is very helpful in controlling hunger for more than four hours. Slim fast diet is balanced, nutritional and rich in calcium and proteins. The Slim-Fast Diet plan is planned for dieter to take six times in day. You can add fruits, yogurt and cottage cheese. Fresh vegetables, meats and nuts are also a part of slim fast diet. It is not only diet cautious but also gives you a good flavor and taste. It can be considered as the best diet plan to lose weight especially for teenagers.

Negative calorie diet is less of a diet and more like diet helper. It consists of a list of foodstuffs whose net calorie account is less than total calories taken to digest them. These include high roughages, low fats, fruits and vegetables. Roughage is key content of negative calorie diet. The calorie output here is negative thus it will help losing weight.

writer/the diet guy

How Can the 3 Day Tuna Diet Really Help You Slimming and Lose Weight?

Losing weight and slimming your body is one of your main goals for this year. You have promised yourself that you will finally lose your extra pounds off. You want to try some low calorie diet or the newest crash diet in town. Are you ready? Most importantly, would it really help you in your slimming goal and lose your extra weight off?

Let's start with the 3 day tuna crash diet. Maybe you have heard of the 3 day tuna diet and how it can make you lose 10 pounds to 15 pounds quickly. You can be that desperate to lose your weight off, but before jumping into the 3 day tuna diet, there are some important things you should really know about.

The three day tuna diet is one of today's favorite crash diets. Many people assume that there is no health risk with short diets just like the 3 day tuna diet. However, low calorie diets usually have adverse effects on your body's metabolism. By using this kind of diet you may later gain weight, and probably put back more weight than you actually lost.

This is not a healthy diet since it starves your body. You only get about 978 calories per day. Low calorie diets will put you in starvation mode during the first day. You will know it after beginning the three day tuna diet. You will feel sluggish, feel cold no matter how many blankets you have, and even some people dream of food dancing right in front of them when they wake up. These symptoms are indications that your body is in a starvation mode.

The 3 day tuna diet is nearly close to a very low calorie diet or VLCD for short. The three days duration is just an illusion. You will truthfully be on and off this diet for one month.

The three day tuna diet involves eating foods that are not balanced and will not help you lose weight permanently. This diet only allows you some small amounts of fish and chicken, some peanut butter, a few vegetables and an apple for dinner. If you follow all that, then you can get ice cream too, which is not really a healthy diet.

A large portion of the three day tuna diet are made up of refined carbohydrates which have very little nutritional value or none at all. When you eat very low calorie foods that has some bread and sugars in them, then your food cravings are essentially increased because there is more production of insulin when we eat these carbohydrates.

Low calorie diets like the 3 day tuna diet will only give you food cravings. After the three day diet, you are most likely to end up eating unhealthy foods during the rest of the week, since you are free to eat anything you want. Studies made in the 1970s have shown that on average, the 3 day tuna dieter will eventually gain up to eight pounds a few weeks after finishing the diet. The 3 day tuna diet may help you lose some pounds at the start but in the end you will most likely gain back the weight you lost or may gain back even more.

JOE Golson

Diet Programs - The Basics

hich diet program is best for you ? Please read the diet program reviews below to help you decide.

Atkins Diet Program
The Atkins diet program is based on the principle of switching your body to burn fat instead of

carbohydrates to obtain energy. It is a life change rather than a diet program, as in order to keep the pounds off you need to stick to the recommended way of eating.

The main difference to other diet programs is in what you are allowed to eat ie eggs, meat including beef, pork, turkey, chicken, duck, wild game, veal & lamb also fish such as shellfish. Fats are also permitted ie butter, olive

oil & mayonnaise, certain cheeses are also permitted.

You must drink lots of water, only de-caffinated coffee & will need to take vitamin supplements including minerals.

You must also exercise every day, no need to do a marathon however, a brisk walk will suffice. You are encouraged to eat enough to satisfy your appetite but you must not overeat.

You must not drink alcohol. You must not cheat; it takes 2-3 days for the body to switch from burning carbohydrates (in the form of glucose) to burning fat, so if you cheat you are back to day 1.

You cannot eat the following:

Sugar in any form, corn syrup, honey or maple syrup.
Milk or Yogurt - a limited amount of cream is allowed.
Fruit & fruit juice.
Flour products (bread, pasta, crackers etc)
Grains or cereals.
Beans and legumes.
Starchy or high sugar vegetables such as potatoes, yams, corn, peas, parsnips, beets & carrots.
Sweet condiments such as most ketchups, bbq sauce & balsamic vinegar.
French dressing & thousand island dressing.
Cottage cheese, farmers cheese & other fresh cheeses.
Nuts & seeds.

Diet Program Pro's
Lots of popular foods are permitted & you can have snacks between meals. No need to starve and are
encouraged to eat when hungry.

Diet Program Con's
Must stick to diet for good to keep off unwanted pounds. No breaks or cheat days allowed. May not be suitable if you can't go without coffee or alcohol.

South Beach Diet Program
Similar to the Atkins diet prgram in that it changes the way you eat whilst still allowing plenty of popular foods such as meat, fish & eggs but you can also eat cheese & vegetables.

You can have 3 meals a day & even 2 snacks a day. You can also have dessert & diet soda. You are not allowed any alcohol for an initial 2 week period but after that you are allowed to drink wine. After an initial 2 week start

where what you can eat is limited you can start to phase some of your favourite foods back into your diet. Its all about eating "good carbs" instead of "bad carbs".

Diet Program Pro's

Based on a healthy way of eating rather than a diet. Many of your favourite foods are probably still
allowed. Some alcohol ie wine is allowed.

Diet Program Con's
You may find the first couple of weeks particularly hard due to what you can eat being limited.

Zone Diet Program
Developed by Barry Sears a biochemist, the Zone Diet is about controlling your insulin level through a balanced diet of carbohydrates, proteins & fat, also known as the 40-30-30 diet (40% carbohydrates,

30% Proteins 30% fat). Once again it is a way of living rather than just a diet with 3 stages geared to make you lose weight, control hunger & have more energy. It is based on consistent insulin levels with the supplementation of high dose fish oil.

The Zone diet encourages eating regularly throughout the day & eliminates many jink foods such as sweets & chips.

The "Zone" refers to being in a physiological state in which hormones, governed by the food you eat, are in a zone which is neither too high nor too low.

Diet Program Pro's
Balanced diet rather than cutting out foods you may enjoy.

Diet Program Con's
The reasoning behind the diet can be quite technical & therefore many people may disagree about its merits.

Mediterranean Diet Program
Not a diet as such but simply a way of eating for hundreds if not thousands of years followed by people of countries bordering the Mediterranean such as Greece, Southern Italy, parts of North Africa & the Middle East.

It is well known that people from these areas have a lower incidence of heart disease; this is believed to be due to over half of their fat intake being from monounsaturated fat (mainly from olive oil) as opposed to saturated fat, prominent elsewhere. Saturated fat is known to raise cholesterol levels.

The basic diet followed is one that has a low consumption of red meat, low to moderate consumption of sweets, fish, eggs & dairy products except cheese & natural yogurt, a high consumption of fresh fruits & vegetables & a higher consumption of breads, pasta, rice, potatoes & couscous. Water & red wine (in moderation) are taken with meals.

Diet Program Pro's
Not a "fad diet" but a traditional way of eating with known health benefits.

Diet Program Con's
None as such apart from if you are unable to obtain fresh fruit & veg.

Weight Watchers Diet Program
There are 2 main diet programs for you to follow; one a points system where all foods are allocated points according to their calorie, fat & fibre content. You are allowed to use up (or consume) a set number of points per day. The other diet program is a no points system which allows you to eat from a range of wholesome foods without having to count the calories.

The weight watchers diet program can be followed online as well as offline through regular local meetings where you will get not just tips & guidance but the support & encouragement of fellow weight watchers.

Diet Program Pro's
On the points system you can eat what you like as long as you stick to the number of points.

The meetings can help to keep you motivated.

Diet Program Con's
Offline meetings may not be practical for you. The points system may leave you feeling hungry.

john mac

How To ChooseThe Right Weight Loss Diet For You

Some people prefer to lose weight with the support and guidance of a structured weight loss program. However, there are many weight loss programs available today and it helps to know a little about each one in order to decide which weight loss diet program is right for you.

Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet is perhaps the most famous of all of the low-carbohydrate diets which gained attention in recent years. The main principle behind the Atkins diet is that the reason for weight gain is the consumption of starches - such as rice and potatoes, refined carbohydrates (carbs) - such as breads and pasta, and sugars - such as fruit juices. Another primary principle of the Atkins diet is that fats pose no harm to health and that a diet high in protein and fat, yet low in carbohydrates will force the body to burn fat and give you more energy and minimal hunger while trying to lose weight.

The first 2 weeks of the diet involves eating only pure proteins and fats. The allowed proteins include eggs, poultry, fish and meats. The allowed fats include olive oil and butter. Additionally, only a limited quantity of carbohydrates is allowed in the form of vegetables such as broccoli, salads and asparagus. Foods such as breads, potatoes, grains or other starchy foods are not allowed.

Once your desired weight loss goal has been achieved, you are allowed to increase your carbohydrate intake by 5 grams a day. Because there are no portions of food to measure or weigh - apart from making sure you don't go over 20 grams of carbohydrates a day, the Atkins diet is a relatively easy diet to follow. However, because so many foods are left out, it is not suggested that the Atkins Diet be a life-long diet program.

Zone Diet

After the success of the Atkins Diet, came the Zone diet which was made popular by Barry Sears. The central principle behind the Zone Diet is consuming the perfect balance of foods between fats, proteins and carbohydrates. On the Zone Diet, 40% of the caloric intake comes from carbohydrates, 30% from protein and another 30% from fats. Although many people view the Zone Diet more balanced than the Atkins Diet, it is more complicated to follow because the quantities of food have to be precise. Additionally, the blocks of food which are allowed throughout the day are between 600-800 calories - which is quite small for many people and may leave some feeling hungry throughout the day.

Jenny Craig Diet

The Jenny Craig diet program was started by a woman named Jenny Craig to teach dieters how to change their lifestyles and make sensible choices about their eating habits. Unlike other diet programs, all foods in moderation are allowed. However, the Jenny Craig diet includes an emphasis on whole-grain foods, vegetables, fruits, lean meats and low-fat dairy products.

Additionally one of the main features of the Jenny Craig program is that dieters receive one-on-one consultations from health care consultants who provide them with tips on portion control and other weight loss advice. Dieters also receive a menu and pre-packaged foods from the company. Pre-packaged meals include a variety of breakfast, lunch and dinner foods.

Another important aspect of the Jenny Craig diet program is that it promotes an active lifestyle which encourages participants to slowly increase their activity levels through planned and fun physical activities.

Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers was founded by Jean Nidetch as a support group for dieters. Today, Weight Watchers has one of the largest followings in the world. On the Weight Watchers diet, foods are given points based on how many grams of fat, calories and fiber they contain. Each person is given approximately 18-22 points per day of food points that they can consume. However, the exact number of food points is dependent on how much weight a person would like to lose.

Like the Jenny Craig program, no food is restricted on Weight Watchers as long as the dieter doesn't go over the number of food points that are allowed. Another commonality that Weight Watchers shares with Jenny Craig is that there is an optional support system where dieters can meet and get support from each other and group leaders.

South Beach Diet

The South Beach diet is a diet which was developed by Dr. Arthur Agatston for his heart patients. The main principle behind the South Beach Diet is to teach dieters the right balance between nutrition and weight loss. It teaches that there should be a balance between carbohydrates, proteins and fats in the diet. Some of the proteins that the diet emphasizes are fish, poultry, lean meats, legumes and nuts. The kinds of fats that are encouraged on the South Beach diet are Olive Oil and Canola oil.

And while carbohydrates are not seen exactly in the same light as the Atkins diet, a number of carbohydrates are eliminated in the first 2 weeks of the diet. Some of the carbohydrates that are eliminated are pasta, bread, cereals and grains, potatoes, fruits, baked goods and similar foods. In the second stage of the diet, however, these foods are slowly added back into the diet. Moreover, after achieving desired weight loss, the South Beach diet expands to include three servings of whole-grain a day.

All diets revolve around one simple principle: in order to lose weight, you must expend more calories than you consume. If you eat less calories than your body requires, you will lose weight. Whether you do it by choosing one of the diets mentioned here or you design a program of your own, is up to you. However, a sensible weight loss program is one where you will remain committed and can balance healthy eating habits with exercise.

The main proteins allowed on the diet are chicken, fish and turkey breast, while some of the allowed carbohydrates include vegetables such as spinach, kale and beans.

When considering a weight loss program, choose a diet that is not only healthy but features foods that you enjoy. Whichever diet you choose, try to stick with it. Yo-yo dieting should be avoided at all costs as it bad for your health and put you at risk for heart disease.

parricia zelkovsky

Facts About Diet Pills

Do you really want to shed some weight off yourself? Are u being called an overweight or obese in the language of medical community? Are prescription diet pills the answer for your situation? In the following article we will try and find out the answer of these questions and also some facts about prescription diet pills. There a several prescriptions that doctor prescribes on an every day basis. Some of them are stimulants that rev up your metabolism while some works as appetite suppressants. There are some prescription diet pills that work as both. Diet pills are very attractive stuff if one wants to lose weight, especially if one had tried several other predictable and conventional weight loss methods to lose that extra weight from your body but didn't gain any success. There are hundreds of diet pills brands and weight loss products available in the market today. While surfing the Internet we might see hundreds of links claiming to lose weight. Magazines are stuffed with ads of products that claim unbelievable weight loss results. With so many choices it becomes really impossible to check what's what and which products are based more on marketing hype rather than true effectiveness. So, please stay alert and be very careful! Even the most natural-sounding diet pills or weight loss supplements can be useless for weight loss, or dangerous, or both. There are no fears that some of these products offer the potential for real weight loss benefits. Unfortunately, sometimes unfounded or exaggerated claims lead to confusion for the consumer. Having adequate information about the efficacy and safety of weight loss products is a paramount in making a well-informed decision.

There are two types of prescription diet pills:

• Prescription-only diet pills
• Over-the-counter (otc) diet pills

PRESCRIPTION-ONLY DIET PILLS

Prescription only diet pills are the diet drugs. This medicine regulated by the Food and Drug Administration agency (FDA). FDA also monitors very closely their side effects. They may be advertised and prescribed for weight loss under certain condition and in certain pill-dosages. Many well-known and famous brand names come in this category of diet pills, which includes brands like Meridia (Sibutramine), Xenical (Orlistat), Adipex, Bontril, Didrex, Phentermine and Tenuate. Prescription only diet pills are designed and developed principally for those suffering from serious obesity i.e., with a BMI [Body Mass Index] of more than 35. Diet and weight loss drugs are not a cosmetic answer to weight loss, neither are they projected to substitute conventional diet and weight loss programs. It should be noted that those overweight and obese people who fail to lose weight on orthodox diet plans should not switch to these diet pills as a simple reply to their weight problems leaving all other contemporary methods. Instead they should carry on with their weight loss diet and work on improving their motivation to lose weight and exercise with using these prescription diet pills.

OVER-THE-COUNTER DIET PILLS AND WEIGHT LOSS SUPPLEMENTS

The OTC diet pills and weight loss pills field is perhaps the fastest growing sector of this industry of weight loss pills and diet pills. However, these diet pills are classified as food supplements rather than diet drugs, and are relatively unregulated. These types of diet pills are tested and examined by FDA. They are not subject to the same advertising, dosage or labeling requirements as prescription diet pills. Although many diet pills and weight loss supplements of over-the-counter diet pills type contains ingredients with powerful properties resembling amphetamine and even though some of these diet pills have been associated with serious side effects including serious heart attacks and death, there is no compulsory reporting procedures for these diet products. OTC diet pills remain an unknown quantity. But still there is a small confusion in medical world regarding diet pill. Some experts consider that many OTC diet supplements and weight loss pills are safe diet pills in reality and not that prescription diet pills.

To be very frank there is 50-50 chances in the effectiveness of these diet pills. When used under proper medical supervision in combination with an accurate diet and exercise program, diet pills can be effective at least in the short term. In the short term because, the body adjusts remarkably quickly to many diet pills, so the benefits may quickly wear off. If diet pills are not used in conjunction with a proper weight loss program incorporating proper diet and exercise, they are not likely to be effective and helpful. In fact, some pills may even disturb your system causing weight gain.

Most diet pill companies are engaged in intensive researches in trying to discover or invent one genuine solution to the problems of overweight and obesity. They have worked intensively on amphetamine-type diet pills, now they are researching on diet pills that work in the brain to suppress appetite, or in the intestines to inhibit the amount of fat and calories digested. So the day is not very far when this world will be free of over weighted ness.

writer

Kim parker

The Zone Diet - What is it and Can it Help Me

The Zone Diet works on the principle that 100,000 years ago, we were meat eaters, and our metabolism is designed to handle the demands of a meat-based diet.

Madonna, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Aniston swear by the results of the Zone Diet, which was created by Barry Sears, PhD. The Zone Diet contains 40% carbohydrate, 30% protein, and 30% fat and is known as the 40-30-30 plan.

As the food industry evolved, more carbohydrates have been introduced into our daily diet, thus causing an imbalance in our metabolism to burn fat. The reason for our extra weight can also be attributed to the many grains and starches in our diet (pasta, rice, breads, and potatoes). The Zone Diet's approach calls for a return to the diets of our ancestors where meat, fruits, and vegetables are the main dietary foods.

The Zone Diet suggests that you need the right ratio of carbohydrates to proteins and fats in order to control the insulin in the bloodstream. Too much of the hormone (insulin) can increase fat storage and inflammation in the body (conditions that are associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease). Sears asserts that by using the Zone Diet, you are actually optimizing the body's metabolic function. Through the regulation of blood sugar, you allow your body to burn excess body fat.

Although you are not prohibited from any particular food group, it is best to avoid food with high fat and carbohydrates such as grains, starches, and pastas. The ideal sources of carbs are fruits and vegetables and for monounsaturated fats olive oil, almonds, and avocados are recommended. The Zone Diet claims to use food as a drug for overall good health, weight loss and prevention or management of heart disease and diabetes.

Sears says that you can test to see whether you are 'hormonally' correct by eating following the Zone diet and see how you feel four hours later. To simplify the Zone Diet, fill one-third of a plate with low-fat protein, and then two-thirds with fruits and vegetables.

Celebrities and some health experts say that the Zone's recommendations do not stray far from the USDA's (United States Dietary Association) dietary guidelines and therefore are advocates of the Zone Diet. Others argue that the Zone Diet has flawed ratios but Sears argues that the Zone diet is a low-glycemic-load diet that has adequate protein. .

A critic of the Zone diet such as the AHA (American Heart Association) classifies the Zone Diet as high protein and does not recommend the Zone Diet for weight loss. They contend that the Zone Diet has not been proven effective in the long term for weight loss. The AHA issued an official recommendation warning against diets like the Zone Diet. They believe that the Zone Diet is hazardous as it restricts the intake of essential vitamins and minerals present in certain foods. The AHA also contends that the protein ratio in the Zone diet is too high even if the minimal fat ratio is good. Robert H. Ecker M.D of the A.H.A. finds the Zone Diet's theory on insulin flawed and argues that there is no scientific proof that the hormone insulin plays a big role in weight regulation.

writer
diet guy