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The problem with the low carb high fat diets vs the high carb low fat diets is that I never see a middle ground.
I rarely see the low carb and low fat combined diet being pushed.
Huh? The middle ground would be moderate carbs/moderate fat. I see this type of diet pushed all of the time (Weight Watchers).
And there are low carb/low fat diets (ie. Dukan) but they are not popular here because they are even more restrictive than Atkins. Most people want to take the path of least resistance.
There are two ketonegenic diet wiki articles. One refers specifically to that medical diet that's done to treat epilepsy (among othe things) and requires regular medical monitoring.
The other is the disambiguation, which links you to the low-carbohydrate diet that we're talking about here in this thread . The point of the low-carb diet is to put the body into an artificial state of near-starvation (aka ketosis), thus forcing the body to burn fat instead of carbohydrate.
The main concern the medical community has with commercially-published low-carb diets, is that they emphasize the consumption of fats. Eating unlimited, or an overabundance of fats, is not healthy. Yes, you will lose weight going low-carb. But you will also increase your risk for heart attack and stroke. (notice I said increase your risk..I didn't say you'll get a heart attack and stroke. If your risk factor before going low-carb is .02, and you go low-carb, you might increase your risk to .1. High-fat diets -are- a risk factor for heart attacks and stroke, whether the diet gurus want to admit it or not).
There is also a problem with the term "low carb." Different diet publishers have different ideas of what that means, and none of them are the same as the medical definition. What the Zone Diet says is "low carb" is not the same as what Atkins says is "low carb." There is no way of knowing which one of them is correct and in fact, none of them are correct. They're just trying to sell a book, or frozen foods, or seminars, etc.
It's very easy for someone who is obese, to seek out a diet that fits a pattern of eating they feel they can live with, and claim that it is the "right" way to diet. And that is because it's easy for someone who is obese, to lose weight, by making pretty much -any- change to their current pattern of eating, as long as that pattern includes eating -less- of things that are making them fat.
Whether that is eliminating all bread and sugar entirely, or simply eating 2 fewer corn muffins than the 6-pack they've been eating every day, and only having one spoonful of gravy on only half the mashed potatoes as usual, instead of 6 spoonsful on twice the amount of mashed...
Any reduction in "whatever you're doing now" is likely to cause some weight loss.
And so they will find the ice cream diet, because they love ice cream, and that diet tells them they can have as much ice cream as they like, but they have to eat no mashed potatoes at all, and no bread or macaroni of any kind. To them, this is a great trade-off. And they will lose weight, and they will heartily endorse the Ice Cream Diet as the one and only true way to lose weight.
There will be those who claim the creamed corn diet is the only way to lose weight - when in fact, the reason you're losing weight, is because you're bulking up on an indigestible food that passes right through you into the toilet a few hours later.
Still others will proclaim the Laxative Diet as the only true savior of the obese; you eat all you want, and take 4 laxatives every day.
See the pattern yet? People will flock to whatever diet they feel can accommodate the foods they aren't willing to give up. And although these diets -will- make them lose weight, none of them are particularly healthy and in fact some (such as the laxative diet) are dangerous.
The end result:
You can eat well, and exercise daily, and maintain a healthy weight.
Or you can get obese, find a diet that fits what you're not willing to give up, lose weight fast, be unhealthy, but proclam the diet as your savior, and gain it all back a year later when you have determined the diet was a success and you don't need it anymore.
Or you can get obese, and discover "eating well and exercising daily" and return to the healthy body you had before you became obese.
Ultimately, it comes down to eating well, and exercising daily. There is no magic pill, there is no secret diet that the doctors don't want you to know about. They keep telling you what you need to do, but people don't want to hear it.
Smaller portions, fewer carbs (notice - not low carb, just fewer than whatever it is you're stuffing in your face currently), fewer fats (see again - not low-fat, not fat-free. Just fewer than whatever it is you're stuffing in your face currently), more veggies, more exercise. In mathematical terms: Burn off more calories than you consume.
Wiki has those two articles but, a ketogenic diet, is a ketogenic diet (10% carbs or less). A low carb diet is a totally different thing and like you already said there are many different forms of "low carb" as "low" isn't a definitive word of an absolute number just means lower than regular diets that have a macro of 50-55% intake coming from carbs (general nutrition level).
And then the carbs level in the first phase of the Atkins diet is ketogenic and his book states that you should not be on that diet longer than two weeks without a medical check up. But people glaze over that if they even read the book at all.
People who want to lose weight need to find an eating plan that they can stick with for a lifetime. The stricter low carb diets are hard to stay on for an extended period of time. Excluding any food group will usually lead to failure in the long run.
People should concentrate on eating whole, fresh foods. Stay away from processed crap. Watch sugar intake and drink lots of water.
As one poster already suggested - I would like to see you try to eat 3000 calories of just veggies and fruit. For added challenge do more veggies In all seriousness though this diet would be loaded with a lot of great vitamins, minerals and micronutrients. This could do wonders for the metabolism - mixed with some exercise I would bet on this diet eventually leading to weight loss
As one poster already suggested - I would like to see you try to eat 3000 calories of just veggies and fruit. For added challenge do more veggies In all seriousness though this diet would be loaded with a lot of great vitamins, minerals and micronutrients. This could do wonders for the metabolism - mixed with some exercise I would bet on this diet eventually leading to weight loss
A person needs proteins, nutrients and minerals found in other food sources. Plus 3000 calories of anything is still 3000 calories.
I do not think anyone could stay on this eating plan for very long. Its a ridiculous idea that should not be promoted.
You can get proteins, nutrients and minerals from a plant based diet -- Legumes and nuts can provide protein needs - or wheat proteins like Seitan. 3000 calories is 3000 - but difficult to reach with this diet - an orange only has 60 calories -- 8 oz of seitan meat is 240 calories compared to 420 in the same amount of steak. I don't think this diet is that rediculous
You can get proteins, nutrients and minerals from a plant based diet -- Legumes and nuts can provide protein needs - or wheat proteins like Seitan. 3000 calories is 3000 - but difficult to reach with this diet - an orange only has 60 calories -- 8 oz of seitan meat is 240 calories compared to 420 in the same amount of steak. I don't think this diet is that rediculous
I think it is ridiculous because of it would have an incredibly high failure rate. Any 'diet' that is that restrictive would be difficult for anyone to stay on for any significant period of a time. Its one thing on paper, its another in execution.
Human beings like a variety of foods. You can try and train yourself to not eat entire food groups, but it would take a highly devoted and disciplined person to be consistent about it to make it a lifestyle change. Any diet that has a high failure rate in my opinion is ridiculous.
I think it is ridiculous because of it would have an incredibly high failure rate. Any 'diet' that is that restrictive would be difficult for anyone to stay on for any significant period of a time. Its one thing on paper, its another in execution.
Human beings like a variety of foods. You can try and train yourself to not eat entire food groups, but it would take a highly devoted and disciplined person to be consistent about it to make it a lifestyle change. Any diet that has a high failure rate in my opinion is ridiculous.
The point of eating lots of vegetables (and to a lesser degree fruits) is NOT that calories from them are magically less important than calories from anything else, but that they are low in calories relative to bulk, and so leave you feeling more full, more satisfied, and less hungry, than the same number of calories from more calorie dense sources.
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In all seriousness though this diet would be loaded with a lot of great vitamins, minerals and micronutrients. This could do wonders for the metabolism - mixed with some exercise I would bet on this diet eventually leading to weight loss
