[spice2621]

Thanks for the info....take care!

[spice2621]

You always have great info...your the best!

[sahmof4]

GOSH HA,HA, I HAD NO IDEA THEIR WERE SUCH NUTTY DIETS OUT THERE !! GOOD GRIEF WHO COMES UP WITH SUCH NONSENSE !! THANKS AGAIN SUSAN FOR SUCH GREAT INFO.

[susanpesek]

From MSN




By Laurie Pawlik-Kienlen for MSN Health & Fitness

The key to losing weight—and keeping it off—is to find the eating plan that fits your personality and lifestyle. To help, we've rounded up expert opinions on the pros and cons of the 10 most popular diets in America.
"All the popular diets can help you lose weight because they provide almost identical calorie intakes," says nutritional biochemist and author Shawn Talbott, Ph.D. "But different people may do better on different diets because of personal tastes. For instance, if you love bread, don't even think about trying Atkins … because it won't work."
Here's a look at the 10 most popular diets in America:
Jenny Craig
Tasty, ready-made meals and snacks—"Jenny's Cuisine"—are perks of Valerie Bertinelli and Queen Latifah's favorite diet (which is similar to NutriSystem). Amy Hendel, health expert and author of Fat Families, Thin Families (Benbella Books, 2008), sums it up: "No thinking, just eating."
Pros: Jenny Craig is a balanced, calorie-controlled diet with weekly consultations in person or by phone.
Cons: Jenny's Cuisine gets expensive (though a short-term stint could teach portion control). "Average people aren't under the same scrutiny as the celebrities who lost tons of weight, so the pressure to stay on track is decreased," says Hendel. In addition, participants may tire of the prepared meals and may not learn how to count calories outside the program.
Mediterranean Diet
Rather than focusing on calories, this healthy eating plan revolves around veggies, whole grains, olive oil, nuts, fish, poultry, and dairy—with limited red meats and moderate wine consumption.
Pros: The home cooking emphasis makes it inexpensive and easier to track fats, cholesterol, and sodium, says Hendel. Plus, these flavorful foods don't trigger feelings of deprivation. Nutritionist Haruko Oyama of Montefiore Medical Center says this diet is connected to numerous health benefits, such as decreased risks of cardiovascular disease, and possibly diabetes and Alzheimer's.
Cons: "The effect of the Mediterranean Diet on weight loss specifically hasn't been as widely researched as the health effects," says Oyama. Plus, people could take the freedom to eat healthy fats a little too far—and overdo it.
Zone Diet
You won't overdo it if you stay in the Zone: one gram of fat for every two grams of protein and three grams of carbohydrates, meant to balance hormones and control hunger.
Pros: New York City-based nutritionist and personal trainer Ariane Hundt says, "This diet promotes fat loss, reduces inflammation, increases energy, reduces cholesterol, and has anti-aging benefits." Plus, nutritionists generally favor healthy, balanced meals.
Cons: "The fat, protein, [and] carb groups are a little simplistic," says Hendel. "We need some calcium from dairy every day, and we need to separate grain-based carbohydrates from fruits and vegetables (the Zone counts them as one). And, limiting grains can be difficult to do over the long term. Most Zone-committed eaters seem to be highly motivated, physically active people who can afford the home-delivered meals."
Weight Watchers

This diet giant also sells its own pre-made meals plus books and magazines, and recently introduced the new Momentum program, replacing the traditional Flex and Core plans. Momentum revolves around the POINTS system and offers strategies for overcoming temptations. Diet coach Laurie Beebe, R.D., says, "Weight Watchers is effective because people can stay on it for years and keep the weight off."
Pros: Regular meetings offer information-driven discussions, weigh-ins, tools such as food tracking journals and activity calculators, and encouragement—plus Weight Watchers provides online support. Beebe confirms that the portion control, controlled calories, and accountability help people lose weight.
Cons: Each meeting costs about $10 (depending on your area), tools cost extra, and the POINTS system doesn't necessarily reflect the nutritional value of food.
Volumetrics
In this plan, nutrient-dense foods full of fiber, vitamins and minerals are encouraged (such as veggies, fruits, broth-based soups, nonfat milk, etc.), while energy-dense foods are in the no-fly zone (cheeseburgers, cookies, packaged foods, etc.).
Pros: It's a healthy, inexpensive way to lose weight. "Diets often fail because people feel hungry," says dietician Jodi Greebel, author of The Little Black Apron: A Single Girl's Guide to Cooking with Style and Grace (Polka Dot Press, 2007). "Volumetrics encourages large quantities of nutrient-dense foods, which fill you up. This plan also encourages food journals and exercising—two keys to permanent weight loss."
Cons: "Volume alone may not satisfy your taste buds," says Hundt, potentially leaving you vulnerable to those tempting fat, sugar, and salt cravings.
The Flat Belly Diet
Liz Vaccariello, editor-in-chief of Prevention magazine, co-wrote the book about this female-focused, Mediterranean-style diet. The claim: Eating monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) at every meal will flatten bellies without exercise. Meals are capped at 400 calories, foods that lead to bloating are discouraged, and participants are told to eat every four hours.
Pros: "Eating a specific number of calories regularly will help maintain energy levels, stabilize blood glucose levels, and prevent hunger," says Susan Kraus, a clinical dietitian at Hackensack University Medical Center. "Plus, the recipes are tasty, which keeps dieters satisfied."
Cons: Research doesn't prove that diets target specific body parts, and health experts aren't crazy about de-emphasizing exercise.
Weigh Down Diet
Satisfy your cravings here! "This diet focuses on portion sizes and hunger cues, which are very important for weight loss," says Greebel. All foods are allowed in this Higher Power–based diet; eating is motivated by the body's physical needs.
Pros: Kraus says dieters are encouraged to become more spiritual, stop obsessing about food, and take more responsibility for their eating habits.
Cons: Greebel points out that it's difficult to lose weight if you're not watching what you eat, even if you're careful with portion sizes. Kraus adds that people might need a more specific, structured plan to lose weight successfully.
South Beach Diet
If you need structure, here's one of the strictest diets on the market. Cardiologist Arthur Agatston's diet is divided into three phases: Eliminate Cravings, Lose Steadily, and Maintain. Strict guidelines about reduced-fat dairy, lean proteins, veggies and healthy fats are part of every phase.
Pros: "The core of this diet is a heart-health promoting, balanced diet that most people can follow if they don't mind the rules," says Hendel.
Cons: Dr. Jan Evans, R.D., of Richmond, Va., warns, "The first two phases are unhealthy, unbalanced, and not only cause fluid loss [and] dehydration, but can cause ketosis and electrolyte imbalance. The diet is too restrictive in the first two phases, and lacks essential nutrients."
Atkins Diet
Exercising is essential for losing weight—and so is eating a balanced diet. Similar to the Scarsdale diet that rose to fame in the late 1970s, the Atkins plan focuses on increased protein intake and limited carbohydrates.
Pros: "These very low carb diets can quickly and dramatically shed pounds," says Hendel. "Water weight goes first, then fat."
Cons: Low-carb diets have a bad rap in the medical community because of the potential long-term health effects of excess protein: high cholesterol, kidney abnormalities, cancer risks, unhealthy metabolic states, and osteoporosis. Atkins now includes more plant-based foods than when it was first introduced, though many nutritionists still deem it unhealthy. "Most people simply cannot sustain eating this much protein," Hendel says. "I've also smelled the sweat and breath odors of people on long-term high-protein diets, and it's a bit offensive."
Sugar Busters Diet
This low-carb eating plan is similar to Atkins, but not as intense.
Pros: "This diet steers clear of sugar-laden processed foods," says Hundt. "Natural foods—lean proteins, good fats, vegetables and whole grains—are emphasized, resulting in balanced blood sugar levels, increased fat burning, and a healthy lean body."
Cons: A potential drawback of this low-carb diet is increased protein consumption, which may have negative health effects in the long run. Steering clear of sugar is an excellent way to lose weight, but choosing a healthy balance of proteins, carbs and fats is also important.
And, here's one bonus eating plan to chew on:
The Maker's Diet
This diet is based on Biblical and scientific principles. It encourages dieters to observe God's dietary laws and attack the three I's: insulin, infection and inflammation. Fasting, supplements, cleansing agents, and kosher practices are promoted—making this diet less appealing to the general population.

[spice2621]

Great info...thanks!! You are great!

[susanpesek]

By Tracey Minkin
..... So, which diets really work -- and work safely? To find the weight-loss programs with that golden balance of nutrition, calorie-control, motivation, and activity, Health harnessed a panel of experts to put more than 60 well-known diets to the test and narrow them down to the top 10. Here's the list:
• The Structure House Weight Loss Plan (Fireside)
Don't recognize this plan? That's because for more than 30 years its author, Gerard J. Musante, PhD, has been working quietly and very successfully running the actual Structure House, a Durham, North Carolina-based residential treatment center for obese adults. That's a lot of time spent with patients and a lot of attention paid to the broad factors that affect weight loss -- particularly the relationship people have with food.
But can an excellent residential program transfer to an effective at-home plan? The answer, according to our experts (meet them at right), is a resounding "yes," which is how this below-the-radar plan grabbed highest honors from its better-known rivals.
With top-shelf scores on every aspect of healthy weight-loss, Structure House won an "outstanding!" ... helps dieters learn to put their lives in balance."
Health Library

• MayoClinic.com: Keep the weight off permanently
• MayoClinic.com: Feel full on fewer calories

• The Step Diet (Workman Publishing)
We all know that walking 10,000 steps a day can really make a huge difference healthwise. But now we also know that the diet inspired by this fundamental, healthy approach to movement and activity is a big winner. And it even comes with a pedometer, a device that studies have shown can be a huge motivator for staying active and losing weight.
Our panelists agree that establishing a lifestyle regimen that combines intentional walking with spur-of-the-moment step-building (parking farther away, taking the stairs) is a healthy, all-ages, all-levels-of-fitness diet prescription. "This is more about calories burned than calories cut," Health's Frances Largeman-Roth says. Health.com: 5 tips to keep office snacking from derailing your diet
The nutritional approach of the Step Diet, ...: Cut food intake to 75 percent of what you currently eat. "This plan is for people who like things simple," nutrition expert Christine Palumbo says. "Simply cut back on what you normally eat." With suggestions (not hard-core regimens) for making healthy meals and a food diary for building mindfulness, this plan can work well for dieters who like to have daily control and choices.
Our panelists also noted that the cut in calories combined with the steady increase in activity can lead to a safe, healthy rate of weight loss and a naturally active lifestyle. "This is a doable, concrete approach to adding daily physical activity and losing pounds," dietitian and fitness expert Samantha Heller says.
• Weight Watchers
It's a classic for a reason. It works.
And over the years, this gold-standard weight-loss program that harnesses the power of group support to help motivate dieters has kept up with science, not to mention changing lifestyles. For this aspect, Weight Watchers earned the highest motivational marks .... plan's overall healthy weight-loss pace and exercise component.
... maintaining its meetings-based system, has added an online version for those dieters who, in the words of panelist Largeman-Roth, "aren't into group hugs." .... choose from two distinct weight-loss approaches. The first, Weight Watcher's famous points-based Flex Plan, which is packed with major education on making wise and healthy food choices, gets kudos for providing both motivation and a simple framework for success. The second, the Core Plan, focuses dieters on eating nutritious, satisfying foods--without counting calories.
The Weight Watchers program offers strategies that will work for every dieter. And the support specifically for men was a real bonus, as was the ability to get tasty, already-prepared (and points counted) meals at your local grocery store.
• The EatingWell Diet (The Countryman Press)
This new entry into the field in 2007 has built beautifully on the latest understanding of the broad approach necessary for effective weight loss. Author Jean Harvey-Berino, PhD, RD, developed the fundamentals of the EatingWell Diet at the University of Vermont, where she chairs the department of nutrition and food science. The focus on behavioral changes--including finding and facing eating triggers, eating and shopping mindfully, and cultivating regular, joyful exercise habits-t-loss-rate criteria ... a pound a week. This kind of steady weight loss is the real thing, the kind that stays off." Another nifty extra: a Diet Food Diary that includes a calorie-count chart.
• The Volumetrics Eating Plan (Harper Collins)
Nutritionist Barbara Rolls, PhD, has tapped into a fundamental human quality: We like to feel full. ...And her Volumetrics plan explains how low-density foods like fruits and vegetables, as well as soups and stews, fill you up without overloading you with calories.
This diet scored highest for its safe weight-loss-rate and nutritional components because it's "based on sound nutrition principles and overall healthy food choices," judge Samantha Heller says. And our panelists found the plan's 150-plus recipes appealing.....
• The Best Life Diet (Simon & Schuster)
Bob Greene is forever linked with superstar (and dieter) Oprah Winfrey. And his high-profile guide, which offers a sane, healthy approach to overall lifestyle changes, earned consistently high marks from our experts. Roshini Rajapaksa, MD, who looked at the motivational elements of each diet, was impressed by the realistic goals embraced by the Best Life plan, as well as the weekly menus and recipes offered on its Web site (which also features message-board support groups, a good source of dieting motivation).
Best Life has three phases that each dieter is encouraged to embark upon at his or her own pace, a strategy that leads to slimming, nutritional eating and increased physical activity. Dietitian Christine Palumbo gave this staged approach a perfect 10: "For people who like to ease into lifestyle changes in order to get used to them oh-so-gradually," she says, "this is a good bet."
Greene doesn't advocate keeping strict track of calories, which may make the Best Life more challenging for rule-loving dieters, yet panelists applauded his holistic approach to healthy eating. "He's emphasizing healthy foods in reasonable portions," nutrition expert Maureen Callahan says.
"Dieters shouldn't feel deprived on this plan," Health's Frances Largeman-Roth says. "However, the fact that this diet doesn't have 'magic' foods or promise rapid results may make it less attractive to dieters looking for a silver bullet." And that may be its best recommendation of all.
• The Solution (Collins)
"This program excels at helping people figure out why they're overeating," Callahan says, "and that's what's going to keep the weight off." Squarely facing the emotional and behavioral underpinnings of overeating, dietitian Laurel Mellin's method is based on The Shapedown Program, a successful weight-management plan she created for overweight children and adolescents in the late 1970s. Mellin views obesity not so much in terms of diet and exercise but as another expression of the interaction of mind, body, and lifestyle. And The Solution, designed for dieters of all ages, targets five root causes of weight problems: unbalanced eating, low energy, body shame, setting ineffective limits, and weak self-nurturing skills.
The food aspects of this program center on four "light" lists--grains, proteins, milk foods, and fruit and vegetables. .....of perfect 10s in all nutritional aspects.
• You: On a Diet (Free Press)
"No wonder Dr. Oz is Oprah's favorite doctor!" Palumbo raves, hailing the friendly diet book that is the centerpiece of the "You" docs Mehmet C. Oz and Michael F. Roizen's mini-empire of healthy lifestyle guides and products (including a very interactive Web site). This diet, Palumbo adds, "teaches and motivates about weight (and waist) loss with a sense of good humor and fun."
Indeed, the book offers a lot of education amidst the menu plans, which include recipes for Stuffed Whole Wheat Pizza, Grilled Peanut Shrimp with Sesame Snow Peas, and Sweet Beet and Gorgonzola Salad. Panelist Samantha Heller praised its easy-to-understand nutrition information, while Dr. Rajapaksa gave points for its good explanations of how the body works. The weight-loss trajectory centers on cutting about 500 calories per day, and panelists liked the easy calculations that help readers figure out their own calorie needs.
Palumbo also credited the plan with adding to the healthy (but not terribly exciting) 30 minutes of daily walking some equally valuable recommendations of stretching, metabolism boosting, muscle building, and strength training. Added benefit: Illustrations show how to do the exercises sans a trip to the gym.
• The Sonoma Diet (Meredith Books)
There's an undercurrent of celebration in this best-selling diet that continues to inspire with delicious recipes using staples of Mediterranean eating: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, olive oil, fish, and nuts.
Dietitian and PhD Connie Guttersen's plan opens with a strident 10-day jump-start phase called "Wave One," designed to purge habits of eating sugar and highly processed foods, which judges Maureen Callahan and Samantha Heller caution may be a little too calorie-restrictive for some beginning dieters. But subsequent phases--active weight loss and maintenance--garnered high marks from our panel. Exercise is encouraged but not actively prescribed, a missed opportunity... portion control, a hallmark of long-term, sustainable eating habits. "This diet teaches you to eat slowly and savor your meals," judge Palumbo says.
• The Spectrum (Ballantine)
... softens his program by moving along four separate paths to health--nutrition, exercise, stress management, and personal relationships.
Our panelists liked the plan's holistic approach,... Ornish has tempered his tough stance on fats to a more sustainable level, but one panelist feels he's still too strict. "There's no reason not to eat nuts, seeds, and avocados; use maple syrup and honey; or have a glass of wine, periodically," panelist Heller says. ....
Judge Palumbo awarded Ornish's plan some of her highest scores. "This 'diet' plan addresses the lifestyle diseases of the 21st century," she says, "such as diabetes, certain cancers, and cardiovascular disease. ....

[mistyc]

what great information you really got it all don't you thnks

[spice2621]

You are too wonderful...have a great day!