Diet from magazine - Opinions on it?

kw1452
kw1452 Posts: 113 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I know - magazines are terrible sources of information. And I usually ignor diet fads. But this one stuck out to me. I was just wondering if some people who understand nutrition and dieting could give me some honest opinions on this diet strategy.

The diet is not meant to last a long time - its meant to boost quick loss including water weight, which you quit after a short time when you are nearing your goals, and then you presumably resume healthy normal low-cal eating.

So it was developed by an MD. She has studied fast-loss diets in a lab and wanted to develope something that was easy for people to do at home. And she had two fad diets that both worked really well short term but had long term shortfalls, so she combined them to make up for shortfalls to boost weight loss without lowered nutrition/energy and skyrocketing hunger levels.

Day 1 you are supposed to drink three large smoothies and nothing else. Smoothies consist of protein, liquid (fat free milke or almond milk), 2-3 fruit, veggies, and you can have add-ins like agave, avacado, etc. No food, and lots of water.

Days 2-7, you eat a high protein diet. 13 oz of protein was recommended for my height and goal weight. Which is 4oz per meal plus a 1oz snack. And with that you can have unlimited fruits and non-starch veggies, up to 1 cup of starchy veggies, 2-3 servings of whole wheat, 4 servings of healthy fats (olive oil, nuts) and lots of water. And 1 glass of wine is ok.

Then you switch back to the smootie day, and repeat until you reach a goal weight. Testing showed up to 13lbs lost in a week. I understand that I probably wouldnt see that kind of drop, and this is probably not good for long term use.

This diet sticks out to me, though, because I have led a high-protein life before with great success. I was never hungry, and satisfied at every meal. I was eating too many cals, though, so I lost weight very slowly. I've never tried smoothies, but I hear about them all the time.

So - health nuts - what do you think? Any reasons I should not try this? Any health risks? Anything about this thats just bogus? I'd love to know so I can ignor it and just keep doing what im doing - but what im doing is soooooo freaking slow, so if I can find a boost I'd consider it.

Thanks!!

Replies

  • Pearsquared
    Pearsquared Posts: 1,656 Member
    I get bad feelings about "short-term" diets. What are you supposed to do when you're done?
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    Or you could just calculate the amount of calories you should be eating to create a deficit and then eat them, regardless of what day it is.
  • kw1452
    kw1452 Posts: 113 Member
    I already do that. Thats why I am on this site
  • Serah87
    Serah87 Posts: 5,481 Member
    Why not just eat at a deficit and exercise.

    If you are looking for fast results it just won't happen, slow and steady is the way to go.
  • PRMinx
    PRMinx Posts: 4,585 Member
    I wasn't trying to be flip but...I guess I was a little flip.

    Short-term diets are silly IMHO. At some point, you are going to have to manage a sustainable diet plan either to lose or, more importantly, to maintain. Wasting time on a short-term fix is exactly that....a waste of your time and energy.

    I do like higher protein diets. If that's of interest to you, you can change your macro goals on MFP. Since I've started lifting heavy, I've needed to focus on my protein intake. Mine is set at 40%, 30%, 30% (protein, carb, fat).
  • TheGymGypsy
    TheGymGypsy Posts: 1,023 Member
    What are you supposed to do if you go out with friends or to someone else's house for dinner? "Sorry, I can't eat this meal you made from scratch. I'm only drinking smoothies today."
  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
    Proxy diets are intended to create a calorie deficit without counting calories. You're eating or drinking various things, and the end result is a probable calorie deficit. The calorie deficit results in weight loss. Hurrah.

    MFP gets to the point immediately - the calorie deficit. So you don't need to follow a "plan" to trick yourself into it.

    If you want to do the diet because the meals are in some way appealing to you, and the diet provides sufficient macros and calories, fantastic. Go for it.
  • TheSlorax
    TheSlorax Posts: 2,401 Member
    So - health nuts - what do you think? Any reasons I should not try this? Any health risks? Anything about this thats just bogus? I'd love to know so I can ignor it and just keep doing what im doing - but what im doing is soooooo freaking slow, so if I can find a boost I'd consider it.

    Thanks!!

    not a health nut, BUT....

    1. I think it's a ridiculous plan and will not lead to lasting results.
    2. See #1.
    3. No, I don't think so.
    4. Um, everything. Basically it's a sensible (if overly depriving) diet with a couple smoothie days thrown in? Can you explain how this is supposed to work better than keeping track of your intake by weighing and measuring everything you eat and sticking to a reasonable deficit?
    5. Why is slow weight loss such a bad thing?
  • LB2812
    LB2812 Posts: 158 Member
    What are you supposed to do if you go out with friends or to someone else's house for dinner? "Sorry, I can't eat this meal you made from scratch. I'm only drinking smoothies today."

    Yep. Know someone who did just that. And then for dessert she had an apple with peanut butter and a few bites of the real dessert... my guess is she had about 600 calories of PB, half an apple, and a 100 of so calories of "bites"... I didn't really see the point. And no, the "diet" didn't last long!
  • LB2812
    LB2812 Posts: 158 Member
    It seems to me like you might lose on this diet just because you're restricting calories and eating high protein (so you're staying full longer). I personally would rather just try to make changes to do that long term, then bother with the alternating shakes plan.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I have no idea why it always seems like a good idea to make weight loss ridiculously complicated. Calories in/calories out, it's simple. You don't need to make special smoothies, eat high protein, or any of the other craziness that makes people feel like their taking charge of their diet.

    You don't kickstart weight loss. A kick in the *kitten* maybe to get on the right track but all these gimmicks are just setting you up for failure. If you want to lose weight and keep it off you have to learn to live in the real world.
  • Ready2Rock206
    Ready2Rock206 Posts: 9,487 Member
    If magazine diets worked then there wouldn't be a new one in every single issue.....
  • CallMeCupcakeDammit
    CallMeCupcakeDammit Posts: 9,377 Member
    Forget that. Read this. http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1080242-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants
  • mreeves261
    mreeves261 Posts: 728 Member
    Planning for short term is how many of us ended up over weight in the first place. How many of us have said, "oh I can start losing weight tomorrow, it'll take no time with (so and so's weight loss boosting diet) because I will lose 13 pounds in a week."

    How many of us did that plan, lost 13 pounds and found ourselves gaining that 13 pounds plus some back?

    Here's my issue - This is not TEACHING you anything. You are following a plan someone else has put together and not understanding WHY it is working. Since you are learning the WHY part of the equation you will 99% likely gain back anything you lose.

    Going from being over weight to being fit is NOT going to happen over night. Along the way you need to learn about things. For example, if I lift I need to eat more protein that day, if I run I need more carbs that day. I am losing weight, slowly, but I am doing it and learning how to not get fat again at the same time. For 39 years I've been over weight, I'd like to learn how to not spend the next 39 (if I am blessed to have that many) that way.

    Just my opinion though.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    There is absolutely no point to short term diets. Any weight you lose will simply be regained the second you stop. Furthermore, when you lose weight you lose both fat and muscle, but then when you gain it back it'll probably be mostly fat.

    And why would you want to lose water weight via diet???? Wouldn't it be easier to just sit in a sauna to do that?
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    So it was developed by an MD. She has studied fast-loss diets in a lab and wanted to develope something that was easy for people to do at home. And she had two fad diets that both worked really well short term but had long term shortfalls, so she combined them to make up for shortfalls to boost weight loss without lowered nutrition/energy and skyrocketing hunger levels.

    This is literally the classic fad diet intro.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    If magazine diets worked then there wouldn't be a new one in every single issue.....

    point
  • GRUNO
    GRUNO Posts: 98
    My main problem is that although the smoothies may technically contain the right number of calories and the right proportions of nutrients you likely won't be satisfied. Drinking liquids doesn't make me feel full the same way that eating real food does. And I seem to recall reading some studies in the past indicating that the act of chewing food is one of the ways your body signals your brain that you have eaten.

    The problem with this is basically the same as any other short term/fad diet: it's not likely to be sustainable long term.

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