The Diet Consciousness among Women - Essay Example

Women’s Health; Diet Introduction: Women have always been excessively conscious about the impact of food they in-take upon their health. The diet consciousness is rising among men in similar fashion. People opt for the kind of food that would give them sufficient energy to cope with the challenging tasks of the mechanical life and enrich their looks all the same. This has resulted into the identification of various diet plans, which are considered to be supportive in losing weight while maintaining the mental and physical health of an individual. Some diet plans have to be followed for a fixed duration, others are designed for a lifetime. This paper discusses some diets that are being increasingly recommended for weight loss by the dieticians and nutritionists: Atkins Diet: The founder of Atkins diet – Dr. Robert C. Atkins says that he has proposed “the amazing no-hunger weight-loss plan that has helped millions lose weight and keep it off.” (Kennedy, n.d.). Atkins diet has been designed in such a manner that it follows the “ketosis principle” in that it burns excess body fat. This is achieved by taking-in food that has a highly suppressed amount of carbohydrate while that of protein is enlarged. Human body develops excess fat as a result of high insulin levels that are produced by the excessive in-take of carbohydrates. The high amount of insulin in the blood raises sugar levels considerably and the unused energy is stored as fat, ultimately contributing to the development of obesity. With reduced carbohydrate intake, the body relies on secondary source of energy i.e. stored fat. Within a couple of days, results show up in the form of weight loss and improved body figure. Atkins diet comprises four stages, namely the “Induction stage, Ongoing weight loss stage, Pre-maintenance stage, and Maintenance stage.” (Kennedy, n.d.). The Induction stage lasts for 2 weeks and foods to be taken are defined at the start of the stage. The person can take absolutely none of a food that was not included in the plan in the start. However, once the Induction stage is over, a little leniency is offered in terms of leverage of food. In-take of carbohydrate increases in successive stages. The metabolism ultimately gets attuned to function in a way that regulates the weight despite normal in-take of carbohydrates and fat. South Beach Diet: South Beach diet was introduced by Dr. Agatston in the 1990s, who wanted a change in the conventional low-fat diet plans so as to make them more satisfying to the food cravings. (Real Women’s Fitness, 2010). South Beach Diet focuses upon in-taking the appropriate amount of carbohydrates and fats instead of making the diet altogether free of them. South Beach diet comprises three phases with their respective milestones and schemes. Phase 1 is the most intensive and lasts for fourteen days. The individual takes meals thrice a day. The diet is free of bread, rice, pasta and such other sources of carbohydrates. Phase 2 insists upon making a controlled in-take of carbohydrates in the form of pasta and fruits. Their amount can be increased depending upon the way an individual’s body reacts to the change. Third phase fundamentally depends upon the self-control of the individual who has to adopt a particular diet particular to his/her metabolism for the whole life with all the information he/she has gathered during the first two phases. The Zone Diet: The Zone diet stresses upon the reversion to the dietary trends followed in ancient times, that involved excessive reliance upon natural products including fruits and vegetables and use of junk foods is extremely restricted. Zone diet has a particular formula. Dr. Sears based the Zone diet upon the 40/30/30 formula, which means 40% carbohydrates, 30% fats and an equal percentage of proteins. (Robinson, n.d.). Following the Zone diet, an individual has to in-take more and frequent meals with less intervals between successive meals. However, meals have to be limited in carbohydrates and fats. Zone diet encourages taking frequent snacks because this practice boosts the metabolism and at the same time, ensures reduced production of insulin because of reduced carbohydrate in-take. Although the diet is based upon such plans that promise results, yet Zone diet is often criticized for depriving the food of fun and taste since it prohibits the sue of junk food completely. The Weight Watchers Diet: The weight watchers dietary plan is based on diet that is low in fat and calories. There are two basic types of dietary plans that fall in this category; points plan and core plan. (dietweightloss.co.uk, 2010). The first type of plan lays limits for the individual with respect to points allotted on daily basis. One can only take in food whose points equalize the defined limit at the maximum. Points are assigned to individual food components by the designer of the plan who makes use of a formula to calculate the number of calories associated with different portion sizes of the eatables. Weight watcher diets plans are meant to address groups. People can join the groups to follow the plan. Number of points allowed to be eaten in one day is revealed by the leader of the group. The group leader is fully educated on the recommendable number of calories in a day that would ensure loss of weight in an individual. Weight watcher plans can also be followed online in which case, points are calculated for various eatables and drinks by a calculator instead of a group leader. Points recommendable for an individual are calculated by the group leader or the calculator keeping in view the gender, agility, initial weight and current height of the individual. Therefore, points for the same diet can vary from person to person. Also, points allowed per day can be increased or decreased in number depending upon the activity level of the person following the plan. In the core plan, one is provided with a long list of low fat low carbohydrate foods. It depends upon an individual what food he/she opts for. Also, in the core plan, there is no point system and one can eat as much as one wants. However, there are limits with respect to number of meals in a day. One can take a maximum of three meals per day while following the core plan. Ornish diet: Dr. Dean Ornish suggested a diet called as Ornish diet that was named after him. Ornish diet is a kind of diet that names certain types of foods that are strictly prohibited for one who wants to loose weight. The idea fundamentally revolves around cutting the in-take of fat. Ornishdiet is indeed, an extremely low fat diet. Rest, the individual is allowed to eat and drink anything on earth up to his/her satisfaction. Foods prohibited in the Ornish diet are “all fats, oils, nuts, seeds, avocados, refined carbohydrates (including sugar, white rice, and white flour).” (EveryDiet.org, 2010). In addition to the foods strictly disallowed, there are others that are not recommended for a person on a weight loss program. Those foods include meat (red or white) and fish. Other than these foods, everything is allowed. However, it is a fact that one is not left with much except for fruits and vegetables if one abstains from foods particularized by the Ornish diet. In this way, one makes excessive use of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the diet becomes naturally healthy. Ornish diet is not meant for a specific length of time. Instead, it has to be followed throughout the life in order to draw maximum benefit from the dictations of the Ornish diet. References: dietweightloss.co.uk. (2010). The weightwatchers diet and weight control. Retrieved from http://www.dietweightloss.co.uk/weightwatchers.htm EveryDiet.org. (2010). Ornish Diet. Retrieved from http://www.everydiet.org/diet/ornish- diet Kennedy, S. (n.d.). Too Good to be True? Retrieved from http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ans/psychology/health_psychology/TheAtkinsDiet.htm Real Women’s Fitness. (2010). A Review of the South Beach Diet. Retrieved from http://realwomensfitness.com/womens-weight-loss/a-review-of-the-south-beach- diet/ Robinson, T. (n.d.). Eating in the Zone--A Revolutionary Diet Choice. Changing Shape. Retrieved from http://www.changingshape.com/resources/articles/the-zone- diet.asp Read More