Wholesome Mommy :: by the Centsible Sawyer

Summer is just around the corner and that means everyone around me is doing their best to lose a little weight before they have to put on that dreaded swim suit!

The trouble with diets is that no one knows which ones works and everyone who has ever “dieted” has experienced the dreaded “plateau” at least once.  And, then their is the question of how you eat a balanced diet and still lose weight.

So the USDA and American Heart Association say  a healthy diet is one with lot of fiber and most importantly low in fat. But I want you to know:

The Low Fat Diet is a Big Fat Lie.

It’s a fairly long story and one that you can read in a number of places including here, here, and here. But in a nutshell a man by the name of Ancel Keys put forth the hypothesis that eating animal fat leads to heart disease. Unfortunately, his sloppy (and cherry-picked) data really didn’t prove anything (not to mention the fact that he didn’t look at any other factors like sugar or refined flour intake, lifestyle, exercise, etc.). But he was able to get the American Heart Association on board (an organization that depends on cash donations from people like the margarine and vegetable oil companies), and somehow convinced the people on the street that his theory was fact.

We are in the midst of an obesity epidemic that started around the early 1980′s, and that this was coincident with the rise of the low-fat dogma. (Type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease, also rose significantly through this period.) They say that low-fat weight-loss diets have proved in clinical trials and real life to be dismal failures, and that on top of it all, the percentage of fat in the American diet has been decreasing for two decades. Our cholesterol levels have been declining, and we have been smoking less, and yet the incidence of heart disease has not declined as would be expected (1).

Have I peaked your interest?  If you want to know more about how your body NEEDS fat to lose weight and why, I recommend you read the articles here and here.  Those are great starting point to wrap your head around why low fat isn’t the way to go if you are trying to shed a few (or a lot) of pounds.

Okay, So Low Fat is Out, What SHOULD I eat?

A no-fail weight loss diet must be balanced. It’s actually quite difficult for many people to lose weight by eating unlimited fats as the late Dr. Atkins once suggested. A single gram of fat contains almost two-and-a-half times more energy than a single gram of carbohydrates, assimilates into the blood at a rate close to 98%, and contributes to weight gain just like carbs, only two-and-half times faster.

A high-carbohydrate diet, such as the Ornish diet, is just as fattening – many times more so – than the high-fat Atkins Diet. It is also a big no-no for health reasons because it shoots blood sugar, insulin, and triglycerides levels sky-high. Adding insult to injury, it may cause wasting of the bones and muscles because it lacks primary proteins by design. Even more damage results from its lack of the fats essential for assimilating fat-soluble micronutrients.

High-protein diets, such as the Paleo diet, are contra-indicated for most people past middle age (40+) because dietary proteins consumed in excess may cause gastric disorders, such as indigestion, heartburn, ulcers, gastroparesis, and other similar conditions.

Unlike these three extremes — high fat, high carb, or high protein, the most effective approach for weight loss contains all three nutrient groups in balanced physiological proportions, just as much as your body needs for its normal function, while, at the same time, allowing for sustained weight loss.

A no-fail diet must be simple to prepare, so you spend as little time in the kitchen as possible. If you really want to lose weight without failure, salivating over foods and recipes while cooking is not helpful. Neither is a lot of Food TV watching.

This is particularly true for people with pre-diabetes and type 2 diabetes — upwards of 80% of persons with adiposity — because even seeing pictures of food stimulates the release of first-phase insulin, which, in turn, incites hunger, appetite, and sugar cravings.

That is why any weight loss diet that comes with an accompanying cookbook or TV show is double jeopardy. First, it tricks you into believing that it works, and second — it sabotages itself. So don’t fall for this commonplace mistake assuming that you can pave your way out of obesity with gourmet meals and exciting menu.

Need More Tips?

These tips came from The Healthy Home Economists post titled, “The 12 Rules of Safe and Effective Weight Loss,” written by Konstantin Monastyrsky.  I recommend this short read if you are looking for ways to loss weight while eating a balanced diet that will give you the energy you need and keep you looking young.  You can find the whole article here.

Okay, Now Your Armed With All the Right Tools. But Losing Weight is Still HARD WORK. 

Yep, I’m not minimizing it.  Losing weight the healthy way takes time and will power.  Lots of it.  And, let’s not forget exercise plays a big part in it to.  You’ve got to use that energy up.  Don’t forget that every day things can provide exercise too… like planting a garden, doing yard work, cleaning the house, or even just parking further from your office or the store before walking in.

I’ve got a fun little give away for those of you who are trying to lose a little {or a lot} of weight thanks to Nakano.

Nakano Rice Vinegars provide a powerful flavor punch to all those fruits and veggies I’ve been telling you to eat!  Here are some tips:

• Splash Nakano Rice Vinegar over fresh sliced tomatoes along with a little drizzle of {healthy fat} olive oil.
• Eat more Salmon – high in Omega 3 fats {another healthy fat your body NEEDS}  Try this for Asian Salmon that uses Nakano Rice Vinegar.
• Use Nakano Rice Vinegar to make your own {healthy} salad dressings.  Store bought salad dressing often have a bajillion ingredients that are bad for you … including the dreaded high fructose corn syrup.  No time to make your own?  Just a dash of Nakano Rice Vinegar and a drizzle of healthy fat olive oil make a quick dressing for salad.

One lucky reader will win this gorgeous cherry 7 piece salad bowl set along with a variety of Nakano products, coupons, and a $25 gift card to the sports store of their choice (Dick’s, Sports Authority, Etc). What a great package for someone who is looking to kick start their real food “diet.”

Here’s what you need to do to enter (each is worth one entry – please comment a separate time for each entry to be counted)  You can do one or two or as many things as you want: