We live in a world of extremes. For those who want to follow the Rambam’s sensible way of living, the middle path – in terms of diet and exercise – seems elusive. In the last few years, we have been treated to low carbs, high protein, low fat, low sugar, no sugar, high carbs, etc. It’s as if the quick fix is the only way to achieve our goals. But the statistics are telling us that most people who are trying these radical approaches to diet are not really achieving anything at all, and certainly, not anything permanent.

Let’s look at the facts. Ninety-eight percent of people who are following an organized diet plan based on some kind of book or program, but without making any other lifestyle changes, will fail. Yes, many will lose pounds while on their programs, but a few years down the road, they will either weigh in at close to their starting weight or even more.

The Western world is obsessed with weight loss. In the United States alone, individuals and companies are spending more than $30 million per year on weight loss products and programs. Yet the amount of people overweight or obese continues to rise.

Remember the low-fat diets with which we were bombarded a few years ago?  Everything on the supermarket shelf was marked in big, bold print “Low Fat” or “No Fat.” Yet Americans continued to get fatter.

Dr. Atkins caused a revolution, all right. Everyone stopped eating things that were good for them, lost weight until they could no longer stand the food choices, and ended up eating every carbohydrate in sight – in addition to steaks, eggs, cheese, and burgers.

Reverse Results

Physical fitness gained great popularity following the 1972 Olympics. By 1978, according to U.S. News and World Report, America was in the midst of “fitness mania.” But it was also around this time that obesity rates began the rise which continues to this day. Yes, there is a genetic predisposition for many, which makes them more prone to being overweight, and some people do have a naturally faster metabolism, but basically, weight gain works like this: if we consume more fuel than we burn, we get fat.

Does this happen from the occasional binge, the extra slice of pizza or the extra scoop of ice cream? Not really. Weight gain is actually a slow and gradual process. Let’s say you eat 2,300 calories a day and use only 2,000 (approximately). This means that you are left with 300 extra calories every day that turn into extra pounds every few weeks. Driving instead of walking twenty minutes every day equals a weight gain of five pounds per year. Drinking a single can of Coke every other day will add another four pounds annually.

As you see, it’s just a few extra grams a day and a few pounds a year, but that’s enough to create the epidemic which includes a wide range of disease and illness, and that kills 325,000 per year in the United States alone.

It is no accident that just about the time that this epidemic started, the low-fat and no-fat phenomena began. People erroneously assumed that just because their food was lower in fat, they could consume as much as they wished. Not true! You can get fat on brown rice and whole wheat bread if you eat enough of it, let alone reduced fat cookies, frozen yogurt, and dietary cakes. These foods tend to have higher sugar content and can even be higher in calories than their non-dietetic fatty counterparts. (The American Heart Association has recently adopted this position.)

Carbs

In our eternal search for the perfect diet, carbohydrates became the latest culprit. It is estimated that up to 20 percent of Americans are participating in a low-carbohydrate diet for weight loss or maintenance.  In these diets, carbs are shunned, while protein consumption is encouraged.  The two most popular low-carb diets are the Atkins Diet and the South Beach Diet.

Does it work?  The National Weight Control Registry is a long-term study of individuals eighteen years and older who have successfully maintained a thirty-pound weight loss for a minimum of one year. Currently it has about 4,500 members. An analysis of the diets of close to 3,000 people listed in this registry found that fewer than 1 percent who had maintained at least the thirty pounds of weight loss for a year or more followed a low carbohydrate diet (with less than 24 percent of the daily calories from carbohydrates). Because so few dieters following Atkins were found in the registry, which includes only long-term dieters, researchers concluded that very low-carb diets do not offer any weight loss advantage over the long term.

Health Risks

There is no diet worth going on if it compromises your health. Whether it is Atkins, Sugar Busters, Protein Power, South Beach, or any other variation on the high protein theme, there is more scientific evidence than ever that a diet high in fat and animal products is strongly linked with heart disease, prostate cancer, breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases.

“Even if you manage to lose weight and keep it off on an Atkins diet, you may be mortgaging your health in the process,” says Dr. Dean Ornish, author of Eat More, Weigh Less.”  Some late research has now shown that a high-protein diet also prevents maximum absorption of calcium into the system, leading to osteoporosis. Additionally, people with even slight abnormal kidney function can be harmed by high-protein diets. Liver disease and gout are now found to be more common in those doing the high-protein, low-carb thing.

Low-carb diets tend to be very unbalanced and prevent the consumption of necessary vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.  If all carbs are bad, then the consumption of basic foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains becomes minimal.  This is what deprives the dieter of essential vitamins, minerals, and nutrients.

For previous columns, click HERE.

Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a LIFESTYLE FITNESS COACH with over 10 years of professional experience. He is the co-director of the Jerusalem-based weight loss center Lose It! together with Linda Holtz M.S. and is available for private consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or by email at [email protected].

(Alan Freishtat – YWN)