South Beach Diet.....again.

Great thread!

I, too, have good news. This diet--not a diet, but more of a sensible set of eating guidelines--has changed my life.

I started at 179, about 9 weeks ago or thereabouts. This morning I'm at 155; I've lost 24 pounds. My girlfriend as lost about 10 (on 127 originally); the diet doesn't seem to have been as effective for her. (BTW I'm a little short Italian dude at 5'6".)

I've made the switch to diet drinks, and I lay off the junk. I look better, younger, and my clothes fit. I tuck in my shirt daily, and it's comfortable. My pants are loose, the belt is on the tightest loop, etc.

I don't feel the need to nap anymore. My energy level throughout the day is high and constant.

I'm very grateful to have done this, and feel great. I've never eaten better, or been more content with body/looks etc.

Just my $0.02. Keep it up, gang!

 

hahahah... I'm a short (5-7) Italian dude too... how's the lack of pasta working out?

 

How about eat less and excercise. That is the best way to lose weight and keep it off.

Trust me, I'm a scientist.

Dom

 

Dom, you're not the only scientist here (Sandia Labs). FYI, the South Beach "Diet" works for people like us, too .

--Mike

 

My concern with these diets are the long term health risks, specifically renal problems, cancer, and cardiovascular problems.

I think a well balanced diet with excercise is a much better approach, but very difficult to do.

Does anybody remember Jared from subways? I remember looking into his diet. The subways subs that he ate amounted to a total caloric intake of about 1500 calories IIRC. In addition, he also instituted an excercise program. If we all cut back our diets to 1500 (or even 2000) calories and exercised, we would be a much healthier nation.

There is alot of info in the medical literature about caloric restriction and lifespan in multiple species (do a medline/pub med search). As a society, we are wealthy, food is easy to get anywhere, and as a result we eat too much.

I am guilty as charged. I eat way too much, love fast food, and exercise way too little. This is bad for the short term, but especially bad for the long term.

I hate it when people get their medical research from the web, since anybody can make a web page and pretend they are experts. Here are a few references from peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2004 Mar;28(3):357-62. Caloric restriction and body weight independently affect longevity in Wistar rats.

Toxicol Sci. 1999 Dec;52(2 Suppl):35-40. Caloric intake and aging: mechanisms in rodents and a study in nonhuman primates.

Exp Gerontol. 2003 Jan-Feb;38(1-2):35-46. Calorie restriction in rhesus monkeys.

Carcinogenesis. 1993 Aug;14(8):1693-6. The effects of patterned calorie-restricted diets on mammary tumor incidence and plasma endothelin levels in DMBA-treated rats.

Toxicol Sci. 1999 Dec;52(2 Suppl):41-8. Calorie restriction in nonhuman primates: effects on diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk.

Dom

 

Your right. Alot ofmodern medicine does disagree. I know, i'm a doctor. The real problem is almost no Doctors are trained in nutrition. Most of that knowledge comes from dieticians and alternative medicine. We are indeed dying from lifestyle diseases now. Plague type illnesses are gone in America. We are now just killing ourselves and our diet is the primary thing killing us. Throw out almost every notion you have had from the past and you'll be healthy. Examples: Drink milk, eat meat. These were the mantra during the 50s. Just watch nature and it will guide you. Here is a good example. We are 99.9% genetically identical to chimpanzees. The natural deduction is that our diets should be similar and to this day I have never seen a chimpanzee eat a portorhouse. They eat mostly raw fruits and vegetables. As their digestive tract is setup for that.

 

Nuts are great for you, especially raw. They have poly un-saturated fats in them. Good fats. Saturated fats(animal fats) are bad. People that know very little about nutrition will tell you things like Avacodos and nuts are bad because they have fat in them. That is very old thinking. We now know the difference between the two fats. Here's a good test. If you are unsure whether a fat is good for you, rub it on your fingers. If it sticks and is hard to get off(animal fat), it will stick to your insides just as bad. Feel saflower oil or olive oil and you can wip them off with a paper towel. Your body stores and uses them differently. When I am on a strict diet, my mainstays are lots of nuts and lots of Avacodos and I loose wieght fast. It is nearly impossible to gain weight from those two things, or just about any other fat found in plant life. Good luck Ryan.

 

Thank you very much Alan!