Calorie Restrictions and Other Fad Diets

May 21, 2011 by Tatianna

 

Yesterday I wrote about Low-Carbohydrate Diets, today I wanted to take it a bit further and talk about other Fad Diets that are very popular but I am completely against them. The reason I am doing this is to help people understand that you don’t have to go to extremes to be in great shape.

 

Caloric Restriction Diet

A very popular way to loose weight is  Caloric Restriction Diets. Pretty much you have to calculate your daily Caloric Intake. It might sound funny but just those two words “Caloric Intake” make me want to go into hibernation for the rest of my life.

Most Diets you will try have a limited amount of calories per day. For your calories to be restricted it means your body will never get the full vitamin and mineral replenishment. Even a well balanced nutritional program may not effectively replenish the daily nutrient amounts we need. Why? Because most of the food we buy is several days old and even if it is Organic, when we cook it the nutrients are gone. ( That’s why I always recommend to steam your food lightly instead of cooking it all the way )

The body’s first priority is to create sufficient energy to carry on vital functions such as circulation, respiration and digestion. If you are not getting enough of a carbs, protein or fat your body will break down protein in the blood, liver, muscles and other tissues in order to maintain vital organ functions. To simply put it – the body will eat it self ( I always like to say that because it makes the picture a bit clearer for some people, but that’s pretty much what it is ).

Another thing to know is Low Calorie programs cause side effects similar to Low- Carbohydrate Diets, but with decreased caloric intake the medical side effects are more severe.

Of course If you are training for a body building competition, or football, or boxing etc, it is necessary to calculate your daily caloric intake under a professional supervision. But if you are an average person just trying to get into great shape and live a healthy life, calorie restriction is not something I would recommend.

 

Restriction of Food Groups

I think anything that has the word restriction in it, and it is not followed by the words junk food is already a red flag for me. Especially when it comes to restricting things such as fruit or protein. There is a lot of these types of diets floating around at the moment. The truth is these diets can bring results, but they will also come with consequences. And those results are the same results you can get from eating a well balanced diet. So which one do you think is easier?

 

If you do decide to go on a specific diet these are the questions you should ask before you proceed:

Does the program integrate physical activity?

Does the program account for personal preferences based on lifestyle?

How fast does the program encourage weight loss or muscle gain?

Does the program help change negative behaviors into positive?

What kind of professional support is provided?

What kind of maintenance program is provided?

 

Always ask questions, one of the biggest mistakes people make is they don’t ask enough questions, and they only begin to ask them when the consequences come.

The other day I saw a diet on TV where all you have to do they say, is eat cookies.  If you ask all of the questions I listed above, this diet program will not be able to answer them. Now draw conclusions is it a good Idea to just eat cookies?

I hope this post cleared up some questions you may have about diets.

Stay Healthy and Eat Well

 

Tatianna