Progressive Wednesday

I’m not lovin’ it: Choose

April 25th, 2007 by Progressive Wednesday

Editor’s Note: We do not endorse any of the diets mentioned in this section. We write only to describe our personal experience, as results will vary from person to person. Of course, before starting any weight-loss or exercise program, you should consult a physician first.

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Weight loss programs. Weight Watchers, Atkins, Nutrisystem, Medifast, Pritikin, Eat, Drink and Be Healthy, South Beach, Jillian Michaels, Jenny Craig, Sonoma Diet. These are just a relative few. Americans spend over $40 billion-with-a-b on books, products and programs to help them lose weight. But how on earth are you supposed to decide on which one, if any, to spend your increasingly hard-earned cha-ching? As “Diet Wars” showed us, sticking to any one can be difficult, and often the weight comes back on as quickly as it came off. To keep it off requires more than a diet; it requires a change of lifestyle. And that’s what we’re all about here at Progressive Wednesday, changing our ways to make things better.

But what diet is best? The debate is still as strong as Samson on anabolic steroids and will likely never be settled. It all depends on who you ask, what you believe, and what you think you can stick to. All I can offer is good sense and my own personal experience.

Through all our research, the most sensible criteria for choosing a diet plan came from Baptist Memorial Health Care. To determine if a commercial diet program is safe and maintainable, ask these questions:

1. Does the diet exclude any of the major food groups?
2. Does the diet exclude any certain foods that may be “bad?”
3. Is a “quick fix” promised versus a gradual weight loss?
4. Is a diet of less than 1200 calories per day recommended?
5. Does the program exclude behavior modification and exercise components?

If the answer to any of these is “yes,” it’s probably not healthy or easily maintained.

In my own experience, I found the South Beach Diet to be the most effective. After three months on the diet I had gone from 285 pounds (remember, I’m 6’7”) to around 240 pounds. By limiting my carbs to whole grains and natural sugars and most of my fats to the polyunsaturated variety, I’ve been able to keep about 25 of those pounds off. Recent studies by the Harvard School of Public Health found that there was no association between low-carb diets and cardiovascular problems, as was previously believed. Though the diet maintains that it is a “good carb” rather than a “low carb” diet.

None of these diets will work if you don’t stick to them, so pick one, stay with it, and get healthy. Now it’s time for some exercise.