Home of the Little-Known Blogger

17 July 2008

On Dieting

A new study being published in the New England Journal of Medicine followed 322 people over two years trying three different types of diets. The big winner in over-all weight loss and cholesterol improvement: Atkins.

Now, women tended to lose more weight on the Mediterannean diet (a peer reviewer said this demonstrated that women were more experienced at complex diets; I wonder if it doesn't just demonstrate that there are metabolic differences between men and women?), and a fat-restrictive diet was better for diabetics controlling blood sugar. Overall, however, this demonstrates what I've been telling people for years--it's not just a simple matter of counting calories. Insulin is what puts the calories in your fat cells, and carbohydrates are what stimulate the release of insulin.

Update: Fox News reports

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hmmm. But I don't want to diet at all!!! :( I just want to eat in a generally healthy way and stay generally active and eat chocolate whenever I want! And keep baking cookies! :O

Gnostic Paladin said...

Heh... Well, BAKING cookies is just fine. It's EATING cookies that's bad for you!
Besides, "dieting" doesn't necessarily mean "eating less." If you are eating, you are "on a diet;" the question is, "how GOOD is your diet?"

I personally recommend "The Zone Diet," which incorporates a more moderate version of the Atkins principles... you can literally eat anything on the Zone--it's more a matter of how MUCH you eat, and what you eat it with.

Anonymous said...

Well, I MUST eat everything I bake!My cookies are irresistable (wish you could try one)! It hasn't made me (or Hubby) overweight, thankfully. Is it REALLY that bad for me? Home baked goodies have to be better than pre-packaged stuff from the store! Plus, I stay far away from fake butter and fake sugar!

Anyway, Seems like Atkins and The Zone and such take alot of research and learning and will power, which many people aren't willing to invest, even if it is beneficial. My bgf lost ALOT of weight on Atkins, but she gained it all back. :(

I just thought I would be ok if I eat my fruits and veggies and make good dinners... and stay aways from to much convience food and junk. But no limits on chocolate! lol.

You know, my kids LOVE apples and bananas and eat them every day! They are crazy! Usually they eat at least 2 apples a day!

Gnostic Paladin said...

Well, home-made with real ingredients is ALWAYS better than the stuff bought at the store... and two apples a day is GREAT!
However, the more carbohydrates you eat in any given day, the more likely you are to gain bodyfat. Atkins is actually a very simple plan, but it does take some willpower--especially in the beginning.
The important thing to remember is that it isn't bodyWEIGHT that's necessarily important; it's bodyFAT.

Anonymous said...

Well, I believe what you say about weight/fat is right. Maybe that is part of the reason why I am a weakling. :( Probably there are plenty of people who aren't overweight, but still have too much fat. Now I feel depressed! :(

You got me thinking anyway!