Alex Smith
Professor Kerr
EN 101-23
November 20, 2011
Dieting By Choice
Dieting is a common form of taking care of ones’ body. Almost everyone diets in some form, whether it’s simply watching the sweets or just trying to regulate how much food a person eats in a day, it’s all a form of dieting. People diet for many different reasons, some for looks or self-confidence, and others for more health related reasons like for decreasing chances for strokes, heart attacks, and some cancers (Anderson). Whatever the reason for a persons’ dieting, at one time or another, a question has to be presented, what is the best diet? This can be a difficult question to answer because there are tons of different kinds of diets with different effects that work better for some than for others. Considering dieters as a whole, dieters generally follow one of three diet plans, a calorie conscious low fat diet, a strict no or low carb diet, or a dietary supplement pill described by doctors. There is no denial that exercise is an important part to any healthy lifestyle (“Exercise Is Part of a Healthy Lifestyle for Longevity”). The watching what to eat part of dieting is the undetermined factor. Out of the three general diet plans, each has its’ own pro’s and con’s but overall the best diet plan to lose the weight, keep the weight off permanently, and maintain a healthy lifestyle is a calorie count low fat diet.
Calorie counting attacks the problem of eating more than the body burns off (“Calorie Counting”). If a person burns off 2500 calories a day and is eating 3500 calories a day, anyone can look at that situation, do the math and realize that things don’t quite add up for that person. The goal in weight loss is to burn off more than you put in so flipping those numbers around would be ideal. There are different ways to do this. One way, demonstrated by Helen M. Davidson author and researcher for the article “Negative Calorie Diet” states, “The Negative Calorie diet believes that this entire process of digestion uses many calories, and so by eating foods that are low in calories, and take longer to digest, the body will actually be using more calories than are taken by processing the foods” (Davidson). Another way is limiting the quantity of food consumed along with eating foods that are low in fat. Joan Salge Blake, a professor at Boston University, explains “fat serves up more than double the amount of calories per gram (9 calories per gram) as compared to carbohydrates and protein (4 calories per gram each), cutting back on fat, theoretically, will provide you with more caloric trimming for your efforts” (Blake). A low or fat free diet can offer other health benefits besides lowering calorie intake, it can help reduce a persons’ risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol (Blake).
For many people, a low fat, low calorie diet just doesn’t strike their fancy. Just because a food is lower in fat or fat free does not mean it is lower in calories (Blake). “Also, a diet too low in fat can also cause you to come up short with some important dietary nutrients, such as the mineral zinc, some B vitamins, and certain essential fatty acids that your body needs” (Blake). Addressing the negative calorie diet, most of the foods that are negative calorie do not provide the proteins and fats needed to maintain a healthy life style (Davidson). The main problems concerned with low calorie and fat reduced diets is that this type of dieting depletes the body of the nutrition it needs, so someone might be losing weight, but how healthy are they?
Looking a bit deeper into this malnourishment, a dieter must look at his or her goals and improvise. Negative calorie foods are a quick, healthy way to lose weight (Davidson). The key word in that sentence is quick. People want the fastest ways to shred the pounds, but that doesn’t mean that those ways are the healthiest. The purpose of losing weight is not to lose it then gain it right back. The goal is to keep the weight off. The improvising comes into play when dealing with malnourishment. The more negative calorie foods that a person eats might help that person lose the weight quicker, but probably no one wants to eat only those foods for the rest or his or her life. Eating proper portions of foods helps keep the weight off (Venuto). Eating a balanced diet while watching the calorie and fat intake, is the best way to keep the pounds off for good. Anne C. Poinier, MD of internal medicine, states “Eat a healthy diet that is low in fat and high in carbohydrates and fiber” (Poinier).
Another form of dieting, the carb-free diet, has been a popular and effective form of dieting for many people. A no carb diet plan generally includes watching some food intake - just not very strictly. Possibly the best known example of a no carb diet is the famous Atkins Diet. The Atkins diet has no calorie counting, a high intake of proteins and fats, but practically no carbohydrates (“Atkins Diet Definition”). Low or no carb dieting can be very effective. Carbohydrates are one of the main causes of obesity (“No Carb Diet”). By effectively reducing carbohydrates from ones’ diet, the body will begin to burn off the excess body fat and begin to shred the pounds. This type of dieting can be a relief for many people because of the no calorie restriction and the fact that the only thing the dieter can’t eat is carbs. The low or no carb diets do promote high volumes of proteins and fats. Carol Johnson, Ph. D, a registered dietitian and professor at Arizona State University states “High protein and high fat, combined with low carbs, is one of the most popular routes, akin to Atkins.” (Hatifield). Additionally, excessive intake of simple carbohydrates has been associated with conditions such as insulin resistance, Metabolic Syndrome and Syndrome X (Insulin Resistance).
Many studies contradict the benefits of no carb diets. Not having enough carbohydrates in a persons’ body can allow for reduced muscle mass (“Weight Loss Tips”). When muscle mass is depleted, the body naturally burns a lesser amount of calories, therefore by not eating carbohydrates, the body burns less calories on its own, otherwise known as a slower metabolism (“Weight Loss Tips”). As previously noted, the Atkins Diet appeared to have many appeals, one of which was the lack of restriction to what a dieter can eat, basically anything but carbohydrates. Professor Fredrick J. Stare, Ph. D., founder of Harvard’s Department of Nutrition, addresses the Atkins diet, “The Atkins diet is nonsense… Any book that recommends unlimited amounts of meat, butter, and eggs, as this one does, in my opinion is dangerous. The author who makes the suggestion is guilty of malpractice.”(“Nightmare”). Eating too much of anything is bad. People need to watch their daily calorie intake and monitor their portion control (Venuto). Dieting is a habit, and long term effects need to be considered. When the Center of Disease Control and Prevention investigated no carb dieting, they were able to conclude with multiple studies that no or low carbohydrate diets are not likely to produce permanent weight loss, and may contribute to severe health problems (“Low Carbohydrate Diets”).
A relatively new phenomenon in the dieting world is the diet pill. Diet pills come in multiple forms, ranging from herbal supplements, prescription, and over the counter drugs (“Discovery Health”). Every diet pill is different, each with its specific effects and aspired target to help control weight loss (“How Do Diet Pills Work?”). Diet pills each claim to have certain benefits. The pills work by either giving the dieter an “energy boost” or controlling appetite (“How Do Diet Pills Work?”). Appetite can be controlled in different ways. A person normally eats until they consider themselves to feel full. That full feeling is controlled by two things, the stomach and the brain. Some diet pills address the mind and make the stomach feel like it is full, this keeps people from overeating. Another way the pills keep you from eating is they require the dieter to drink a lot of water which also makes the stomach feel full (“How Do Diet Pills Work?”).
Diet pills are an unnatural form of dieting which disrupts the body’s normal patterns. Diet pills can cause dependency both physically and emotionally ("Diet Pills: The Pros and Cons of Diet Pills"). People don’t gain weight because of a lack of some pharmaceutically created substance and using them as a form of diet can ultimately be destructive to the body by altering normal biochemistry and metabolic function ("Diet Pills: The Pros and Cons of Diet Pills"). For some people in immediate danger of potentially fatal health conditions, such as heart attack, kidney failure and diabetes, as a result of obesity, diet pills may provide a quick solution to their weight problem and help them to prevent the more serious conditions (“How Do Diet Pills Work?”). Despite this apparent benefit, without the development of a healthy, balanced diet, based upon appropriate caloric intake, adequate protein and essential fiber and nutrients, the “pill” dieters are invariably destined to fail and regain their lost weight and then some as soon as they discontinue the use of the diet pills ("Diet Pills: The Pros and Cons of Diet Pills").
The ultimate goal of any diet plan is to lose weight or to maintain a healthy weight based upon appropriate intake of good quality protein, carbohydrates and fat. With childhood obesity in the United States at an unprecedented level of seventeen percent, or nearly twelve and a half million, the importance of learning to eat a healthy diet has never been greater (Childhood Obesity in the United States). Whether an individual follows a calorie counting, low-fat diet, a low or no-carb diet, or takes diet pills, the ultimate goal is the same – to lose weight. For many people, the result of losing weight justifies the methodology, however, diet and weight loss are not that simple. The true goal for most people that lose weight is not only to lose the weight, but also to keep the weight off and to do so in a healthy manner. Proper dieting is not just an effective means of improving appearance, but can also be essential in the cure and prevention of certain diseases. Sebastian Hammer, MD, PhD, from Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands states from a recent study "It was very striking to us to see how a relatively simple intervention such as a very-low-calorie diet effectively cures type 2 diabetes mellitus," (Very Low-Calorie Diet).
The rapid weight loss that many attain by following a low or no-carb diet can have great appeal, however, the ability to maintain such a diet for the long term can prove not only difficult, but nearly impossible to many people. Proper carbohydrates are essential for providing energy and healthy brain function. Without the restriction of fat consumption, most dieters that follow this program will ultimately produce damage to their hearts and liver, negating the benefits that any weight loss might have attained. Diet pills, an invention of modern science, may prove effective in producing the desired weight reduction in high risk patients, but the long-term use can not only disrupt the normal biochemistry, but also develop a dependency both physically and chemically on the prescription drugs in order to maintain the desired weight loss. Additionally, losing weight with diet pills and not addressing any other factors won’t correct poor dietary choices that can result in nutritional deficiencies and associated diseases. The only effective and healthy choice for both immediate and long-term benefits of diet is that of the low-fat, calorie counting diet. There are essential fats that the body needs, and these are allowed and recommended in a low-fat diet. The avoidance of unhealthy fats and excessive levels is vital in the prevention of cardio-vascular disease, stroke and high blood pressure. Calorie counting basically comes down to portion control. Learning not only what to eat, but also how much will not only help people develop a healthy weight, but it will also contribute to the proper function of vital organs such as the brain, kidneys, liver and heart. When a diet is to be considered, it is beneficial to recognize that it is not a temporary process, but rather a lifestyle, and based upon current research, low-fat and calorie counting is the way to go.
