Low-Carb Diets - A Mysterious Disappearing Act

Have you noticed the quiet disappearance of the low-carb diet craze? For me, it couldn't have left fast enough. Atkins and other high-protein diets that claim to provide rapid weight loss have been around for some time and the nation's obesity numbers are still growing. If low-carb is so great, why are we, as a nation, still the most obese? Because Low-carb, High-carb, or any diet for that matter -- don't work.

In addition to not working, there are negative effects to low-carb/high-protein diets, such as: bad breath, constipation, and low intake of disease-preventing phytochemicals and antioxidants from plant foods -- especially fruits, vegetables, beans, brown rice, whole wheat breads and high fiber cereals. In the long term the negative effects are more significant: increased risk for kidney problems, higher cholesterol levels, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

But it makes me wonder what the next trend will be -- the dairy industry was promoting three servings a day to help lose weight for a while. This came from a study that shows calcium may aid in weight loss. Aren't we already supposed to be getting 2 to 3 servings of dairy a day anyway? Seems I learned that back in Nutrition 101.

Here's some useful research: not eating breakfast is associated with an increased risk of obesity. In addition, those who eat four times or more a day have a 45% lower risk of being obese. Many dieters skip breakfast and eat less all day.

So I propose a new trend: stop dieting, eat often, and never skip breakfast! This is easier than dieting, starving, weighing and measuring. You may find time for more important things. Join me, won't you?

Here are some tips to ensure healthy, safe, and permanent weight loss:

1. Eat when you are hungry, stop when you are full (if you don't know how this feels, start tuning into your body). This is called "intuitive eating", something we all knew how to do when we were young children.

2. Be sure to have some protein with every meal to balance the carbohydrate and stabilize blood sugar (do not cut out carbs - they are not the enemy!).

3. Eliminate "good" and "bad" from your vocabulary when discussing food, eat what you enjoy, but follow tips 1 and 2 above.

4. Do not go on another diet -- ever -- unless you want a slower metabolism and more weight gain.

5. Exercise! It has so many benefits and weight loss is a side effect of doing it consistently.

6. Get support when you need it. You do not have to be alone in your quest to lose weight. Enlist the help of friends, family, or a health and fitness professional to keep you going.

Learn more about overcoming dieting and incorporating intuitive eating into your life with my special report, "6 Simple Steps to Guilt-Free Eating" by visiting HealthierOutcomes.com HealthierOutcomes.com
Gillian Hood-Gabrielson, MS, ACSM, is the owner of Healthier Outcomes, a nationwide coaching practice specializing in healthieroutcomes.com/whatisintuitive.html intuitive eating and fitness coaching. Her passion is helping women get their lives back by breaking free from diet prison and overcoming emotional overeating.