In this the second half of the stall series, I deal with what should be the reaction of those who aren’t losing inches or pounds for more than 4 weeks. Note: these are not for those that had a bad week or didn’t lose in the last two week.

Here’s a synopsis on what to try:
1. Take your measurements (make sure you are in a stall)
2. Start a food diary (Fitday, SparkPeople)
3. Evaluate what you are eating
4. Tweak exercise – “try 5″
5. Cut out certain groups (dairy, aspartame, caffiene, newly tried food groups)
6. Post your menu’s at online support group sites
7. Fasting diet (Fat Fast or Stillman’s Diet) for those with extreme metabolically resistance

Duration : 0:6:0

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As a practicing cardiologist Dr Arthur Agatson was getting more and more frustrated when his patients failed to lose weight. They were faithfully following the standard, low-fat American Heart Association diet on his advice, with no results. He noticed that, not only didn’t they lose weight, but their blood chemistry did not improve. The results he was looking for was an increase in HDL (good cholesterol) and a decrease in LDL (bad cholesterol). Eventually, he developed a new diet specifically for his patients, which later became the basis for his best seller book, The South Beach Diet, which was first published in April 2003. The South Beach Diet was on the New York Times best seller list for more than 96 consecutive weeks, and in excess of 8.5 million copies have been printed. The book was listed as #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list for 38 weeks.

Like many other so-called “low carb” diets, the South Beach Diet assumes that many of us are addicted to carbohydrate-rich foods. The South Beach Diet is very similar to the Atkins Diet. They are so similar that many people believe the South Beach Diet is just a revised version of the Atkins Diet. The first phases for both diets are designed to get rid of the body’s addition to carbohydrates. Where the Atkins Diet has four phases, the South Beach Diet only has three, with a single phase replacing the second and third phases of Atkins. The last phases of both diets, again, are very similar. Since greater variety of foods are introduced earlier on in the South Beach Diet Plan, dieters tend to lose weight at a slightly slower pace than those on Atkins, but many find the South Beach Diet easier to follow because it is less restrictive.

This diet focuses heavily on balancing the blood sugar levels, and as such, the Glycemic Index plays a very important role in this diet. The Glycemic Index is a ranking system for carbohydrates based on their effect on blood sugar. On the South Beach Diet, carbohydrates are selected using the Glycemic Index tables; the lower the ranking the better. This also leads us to one of the South Beach Diet’s major differences from the Atkins diet. The South Beach Diet allows most carbohydrates (preferably only those high in fiber, like multi-grain bread and wild rice), while these products are typically just too high in carbohydrates for an Atkins follower, even on the maintenance phase.

Another area where the approaches of Atkins and Agatston differ quite drastically is on the healthy intake of fats. Atkins followers are encouraged to ingest saturated and monounsaturated fats in the first phase, and then gradually reduce the saturated fat content of meals during later phases as more carbohydrates are introduced. Dr. Agatston advocates mostly monounsaturated fats, like those found in olive oil, nuts and oily fish like salmon, throughout his diet. You will not find butter, bacon or anything fried in the South Beach meal plans, whereas they are positively encouraged during the first Atkins phases.

One of the benefits of the South Beach Diet over many of its competitors is that Kraft Foods entered into an alliance with Dr Agatston. Together they launched a whole range of South Beach Diet convenience products, which covers breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert and even snacks. Examples of the convenience food on offer include breakfast cereal, meal replacement bars, frozen pizzas and frozen entrees. Dr Agatston once stated “My goal is to help change the way America eats, and these great-tasting, nutrient-rich products from Kraft are convenient, making it easier for people to follow The South Beach Diet – whether for a healthy lifestyle or weight loss.”

As with many of the other popular diet books on the market, it is very difficult to find specific scientific proof for the South Beach Diet. Some aspects of the diet may have been scientifically studied and reviewed, for example the benefits of monounsaturated fats, or the benefits of regulating your blood sugar. In general though, it is safe to say that the South Beach Diet is based on sound principles, and can offer you a well-balanced and sustainable way of life.

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I want to lose weight. I want to lose weight quick. How many calories should I eat to lose weight? That answer depends on many factors, there is no magic number, if you will. A person’s daily recommended caloric intake for weight loss will depend on such factors as height, current weight, fat to muscle ratio, etc. However, there are some general rules of thumb that do apply.

If you are wondering, “How many calories should I eat to lose weight?”, a great place to start is to find your personal BMR (basal metabolic rate). There are many BMR calculators available online that will do these calculations for you. This calculation will give you the number of calories you will need in order to maintain your current weight. From here, you can decide at what rate you would like to lose the weight and subtract calories from this number. To lose one pound, the body must be deficient of 3500 calories. A person can deduct these calories either through exercise or by deducting calories from their daily food intake. By simply cutting 250 calories from your diet each day when figuring how many calories should I eat to lose weight, and walking moderately for 30 minutes five days per week, you can lose at least one pound per week.

Cutting at least 250 calories from your diet each day should not be difficult. If you are a soda drinker, a great way to cut out those calories is to skip a can of soda per day. Sodas are full of sugar and chemicals and are com plete empty calories. This means that they only do harm to your body. Sodas have absolutely no nutritional value. Skipping the fast food line is also an easy way to cut the unwanted calories and fat from your diet when deciding on how many calories I should eat to lose weight. It is common knowledge that fast food is laden with fat and unneeded calories. Instead, opt for fresh salads, small amounts of proteins, and small amounts of complex carbohydrates like brown rice. If you do splurge for fast food, order the smallest burger on the menu and remove the top half of the bun. Instead of greasy fries, order a side salad, and instead of a soda, opt for water instead.

As you can see, “How many calories should I eat to lose weight?”, is a question without a simple answer. There are many theories floating around out there that do not force a person to count calories, but most of these theories lead to fad dieting, which is unhealthy and unproductive.

The good news is that it is fairly simple to calculate how many calories you need to consume in order to lose the weight in a healthy manor. As long as you remember that you need to delete 3500 calories in some way, shape or form from your body to lose a pound, you can easily figure what foods are worth eating and which ones you need to steer clear of. Once you learn to eat in moderation and exercise regularly, the weight will start to come off. Weight loss is not a crap shoot, it is simply science.

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I have recipes books and have pulled the websites, but am looking for some actual recipes that you have tried and made yourself that worked out well. Thanks!

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With the popularity of low-carb diets today, most of us have at one time or another considered cutting carbs. In this series of articles we have discussed ‘low-carbing’ and whether or not it’s right for everyone.

In this article we’re going to talk about carbohydrates and how they are stored in the body. Does a large supply of excess carbs make us fat?

Many people believe that only dietary fat will lead to body fat. False! Actually, eating more calories than your body needs to perform daily activities and daily metabolism is what causes body fat. It is as simple as putting 20 gallons of gas in a 15 gallon gas tank…..the excess must go somewhere. In the case of human nutrition, the excess is stored as fat.

Just as excess protein can be stored as body fat, excess carbohydrate can be stored as body fat. Unfortunately for the American public, our consumption of simple carbohydrates has skyrocketed over the last ten years! Too many of us took the popularity of the low-fat and fat-free diets as an excuse to fill up on empty carbo-calories. After all, it’s okay to eat the entire package of licorice since it’s all fat free….right? Again, False!

Carbohydrates that the body cannot use are stored as body fat, plain and simple. Carbohydrates usually are ingested in the forms of polysaccharides (starches), disaccharides (sucrose and lactose) and monosaccharides (glucose and fructose). Essentially what occurs in the digestive process is a breakdown of the polysaccharides and disaccharides to the monosaccharides. The primary site of digestion is the small intestine, where the monosaccharides are then absorbed into the blood. Of the three monosaccharides, glucose is of most importance to human physiology. This is called blood sugar. Fructose and galactose are converted to blood glucose either in the intestinal wall or the liver.

A high-carbohydrate meal will lead to a rapid increase in the blood sugar level, usually within an hour. Naturally, the higher the food is on the glycemic index (refined sugars), the higher the blood sugar level will rise. The maintenance of a normal blood sugar level is very important for proper metabolism. The human body regulates blood sugar levels by a hormone called insulin. The rises in blood sugar levels stimulate the pancreas to secrete the hormone insulin into the blood. Insulin then facilitates the uptake and utilization of blood sugar by various tissues in the body, most notably the muscles and adipose tissue.

The fate of blood sugar is dependent on many factors, with exercise being one of the most important.

1) Blood sugar may be used for energy, particularly by the brain and other parts of the nervous system.

2) Blood sugar may be converted to either liver or muscle glycogen. Liver glycogen may then be later converted to blood sugar. Muscle glycogen is, for the most part, locked into the muscle cell once it enters, where it is converted to energy.

3) Blood sugar may be converted to and stored as fat in the adipose tissue. This situation occurs when the dietary carbohydrate, in combination with caloric intake of other nutrients, exceeds the energy demands of the body, and the storage capacity of the liver and muscles for glycogen.

4) Some blood sugar also may be excreted in the urine if excessive amounts occur in the blood, because of rapid ingestion of simple sugars.

So, what happens if we don’t consume enough carbohydrates? Because the carbohydrate stores in the body are rather limited, and because blood sugar is normally essential for optimal functioning of the central nervous system, it is important to be able to produce blood sugar or glucose internally if the stores are depleted by starvation or a zero-carbohydrate diet. This process is called gluconeogenesis, meaning the formation of glucose. In this process, protein is converted to glucose, and fat is converted to glucose by breaking down glycerol in the liver. The by-products of carbohydrate metabolism, lactate and pyruvate, may also be converted back to glucose in the liver.

With this understanding of how carbohydrate is metabolized in the body, it is clear that low-carb or no-carb diets may lead to decreased levels of energy.

Low-carb diets, however, have been proven to take off the weight. In some cases, weight loss has been dramatic when the subjects abruptly switched to a no-carb diet. Such rapid weight loss is attributed to water loss. Low carbohydrate intake depletes liver and muscle glycogen (stored sugars) and water molecules linked to these sugars. This depletion triggers a drop in body weight.

Especially during the introduction phase of a low-carb diet (2 weeks), the dieter is encouraged to eliminate virtually all carbohydrates from the diet. Even a slight intake of high glycemic foods during this phase would cause immediate weight gain by rebuilding glycogen stores.

Because carbohydrate is the body’s preferred fuel source, this first phase of the diet would most certainly challenge exercise enthusiasts.

So, is the low-carb lifestyle right for you? Maybe. We hope that this series of articles has helped you understand low-carb diets and their potential impact on the body.

SOURCE: (International Sports Sciences Association; Frederick C. Hatfield, Ph.D.; 2001)

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The South Beach Diet is one of the most popular diets in decades. All over the world, people are taking off weight by stripping carbs and, in the process, learning to eat healthier meals. One of the true beauties of South Beach is that it teaches you a whole new way of eating for a healthier, happier lifestyle. Eating healthy the South Beach way requires an adjustment in your cooking styles, too, though. Once you learn to cook low-carb, you’ll find it easier to maintain your new weight and your new healthier lifestyle. Here are some tips to help you put it all together.

1. Invest in a good cookbook.

The third phase of the South Beach diet is a lifetime maintenance plan that lets you eat a wide variety of healthy foods. If your recipe repertoire was based on high-fat meals with creamy sauces and processed foods, you’ll need to build up a stock of new recipes. The South Beach Diet book is a good start. It contains a lot of easy to cook recipes that will get you started on building a new repertoire of healthy meals. You’ll also find dozens of South Beach cookbooks on the market that will give you some ideas on the best ways to put your new-found food savvy to use.

2. Think fresh!

Processed foods are the very antithesis of healthy low-carb eating. Even processed meats are packed with fillers that add in carbs and calories without offering anything in the way of nutrition. Try to shop the outside aisles of the supermarket – fresh fruits and veggies, meats and dairy – and avoid all the filler meals in between.

3. Learn simple cooking methods.

Learning to cook the South Beach way is surprisingly simple – a lot simpler than the techniques you probably use for cooking now. Steaming, poaching, braising, roasting and grilling involve very little prep time. If a recipe calls for dredging in flour or dusting with breadcrumbs, throw it out. You’ll learn a whole new appreciation for real, whole foods when you cook them simply.

4. Color your plate pretty.

A healthy plate is full of vibrant, brilliant colors. When you prepare a plate for yourself, think in color. Deep green, dark orange and bright red vegetables are low in healthy carbohydrates, minerals and vegetables. White potatoes, rice and breads are not. Your best bet is to eat your veggies when they’re at their peak of color – before overcooking robs them of their minerals and vitamins.

5. Spice it up!

Spices are a great way to brighten up flavors in your foods. There’s a whole world of spices at your fingertips, and learning to use them can really wake up your plate and your palate. Learning about the spices used in various regional cuisines can help you turn a meal from bland to POW with just a few shakes of the spice bottle. Some spices and spice combinations to try are:

Curry isn’t just for Indian food anymore. A sprinkle of curry (use a light hand!) can really wake up the flavor in a fresh fruit salad, especially when you add a dab of vanilla.
Cinnamon is an unusual and delicious spice addition to chicken dishes.
Lemon grass oil adds a tart edge to salads and vegetables. Just a dash added to the olive oil when you sauté chicken also brightens the flavor and really wakes up your taste buds.
Rosemary gives everything an earthy, sharp flavor that is the perfect foil for poultry and pork.

6. Add a little garnish to your life.

Garnishes are more than just pretty things on your plate. Fresh herbs, slices of fruit and strips of raw vegetable are more than a treat for your eyes. They add a healthy balance to your diet as well. Choose edible garnishes – a slice of lemon can be squeezed over fish or chicken to brighten flavors, for instance.

The most important things to remember about cooking low-carb for the long term are these:
Skip the white foods. They’re almost always processed
Cook simply. Cooking low carb is usually quick, easy and uncomplicated.
Use olive oil for dressings and sautéing.
Get colorful. The more color there is on your plate, the healthier your meal will be.

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