Download Fad Weight Loss Diet Evaluation

FSN 210
Annika Newman
Responses to Fad Diet Questions
1) The South Beach Diet
a) The South Beach Diet tries to follow a balance of lean proteins, carbohydrates that
they label as “good,” and healthy fats in order to provide nutrient-dense foods in the
diet as well as foods rich in fiber. The South Beach Diet is broken up into three
phases, intended for rapid weight loss, long-term weight loss, and a healthy lifestyle
respectively. This diet can be accessed online at www.southbeach-diet-plan.com or
through the book The South Beach Diet by Arthur Agatston.
2) Because the South Beach Diet is broken up into three stages, calories consumed per day
can vary greatly, from around 1200 kcal to 2000+ kcal, depending on the stage and the
individual following the diet.
a) The diet does provide at least 1200 calories for a female and at least 1500 calories
for a male if the individual desires. The diet is focused more on the types of food
(lean protein, etc) than the individual is eating rather than the amount. Of course
there is exceptions to this, but the focus is more on the types of food. In general,
however, both males and females should exceed 1500 and 1200 kcals each day
respectively.
b) As my daily recommendation for calories is approximately 2100, the South Beach
Diet is much lower in calories. Particularly in the first two weeks of the diet (stage
1), the calorie intake recommendation can be as low as 800-900 calories under my
recommended intake to maintain my body weight.
c) Since one pound of body weight is equivalent to about 3500 kcal, and lets say I was
800 kcal under my recommendation each day, it would take me just over 4 days to
lose a pound of body weight. I calculated this by dividing 3500 kcal by 800 kcal,
which resulted in 4.375 days.
3) According to my one-day analysis of the first stage of the South Beach Diet, I would
consume about 178 grams of protein in one day. That is 356% of what I am
recommended to eat each day. Therefore, it would exceed my RDA greatly.
4) According to my one-day analysis, I would consume about 702.91 calories from fat.
This is about 40% of calories from fat, which is much higher than the 35% that is
recommended as a maximum percentage of calories from fat.
5) According to my one-day analysis, I would consume about 92 grams of carbohydrates,
which is slightly less than the 100 grams of carbohydrates per day. My DRI goal is
338.36 grams of carbohydrates per day, which means that under the South Beach Diet, I
would be getting roughly a quarter of the amount of carbohydrates that are
recommended for me specifically.
6) I would consume about 16 grams of dietary fiber each day, which is only about half of
my recommended 35 grams each day. Ironically, after evaluating a typical days worth of
foods recommended by the South Beach Diet that stresses fiber-rich foods, I am greatly
lacking in my recommended fiber intake for one day.
7) According to my one-day analysis, the South Beach Diet somewhat meets my vitamin
needs. In many vitamins, such as vitamin A, B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin D, and Folate,
I have greatly exceeded my daily recommended amount. However, in other vitamins
such as vitamin E, I am lacking by as much as half of my daily recommendation. I
exceeded the UL for Niacin by approximately 2 mg, but was 80% or above for all the
other vitamins.
FSN 210
Annika Newman
8) The South Beach Diet does a fair job at meeting my mineral needs. Calcium, magnesium,
and potassium are below 80% of my daily recommendations. There was no excess of UL
in any of the minerals based on my one-day analysis.
9) Being a vegetarian, it would be extremely difficult to fit this plan into my diet. The South
Beach Diet stresses lean proteins as one of its top components, and I only eat fish, eggs,
and dairy products as my animal-source protein. I also added a good amount of food
that was recommended from the South Beach Diet’s website and the overall amount of
calories was around 400 calories under what I need to maintain my body weight with
my activity level. However, because I did my one-day analysis only on stage one of the
diet, I would be interested to see if stage three, which focuses more on a lifestyle diet,
would work better to supply me with enough carbohydrates as well as overall calories.
In addition, being a Freshman at Cal Poly, I am extremely limited in my choices when
eating on campus, and I would find it difficult to maintain the South Beach Diet while
still using my meal credits each day.
10) The physical activity component of the South Beach Diet essentially stops at
recommending exercise as an important component of a healthy lifestyle and it is
important to speed up ones metabolism. There is no official amount of exercise that is
advertised under this diet, however.
11) Arthur Agaston, MD, is a leader in Cardiac Disease Prevention and created the South Beach
Diet. It does not appear that he is a Registered Dietitian, but he does have some credentials
given that he has a Master’s Degree and has spent many years studying nutrition’s effect on
cardiovascular health.
12) According to the South Beach Diet’s official website, there are good carbs and fats, and the
key to successfully losing weight is to choose the best of each. Thus, those who follow the
South Beach Diet should be consuming plenty of fish, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains,
and nuts. In contrast to the typical American diet, the South Beach Diet is lower in carbs and
higher in protein and “good” fats. The diet is supposed to eliminate cravings of “bad” fats
and carbs, allowing for less empty calories and an overall healthier diet. They claim that
avoiding “bad” foods is one key to losing weight.
13) Although the South Beach Diet seems to be more balanced than some other common fad
diets going around in popular culture today, I would not recommend it to others. The labeling
of foods as “good” and “bad” is not what I believe to be the solution to weight loss. The body
needs more carbohydrates to derive energy from and function properly than this diet allows
for in the typical day. In addition, the consumption of fruit is not seen as necessary,
particularly in the first stage of this diet. However, fruit contains many crucial vitamins and
minerals that are necessary for the body to function properly. However, one thing that I will
say that makes this diet somewhat effective is the elimination of many empty calories,
allowing the individual to focus their daily food intake on nutrient-dense foods that will meet
many nutrient needs. In the avoidance of empty calories, followers of the South Beach Diet
are left with a net calorie intake that is much less than their recommended intake in order to
maintain weight. Thus, hypothetically speaking, ignoring some factors that stunt weight loss,
the individual will lose weight over time as they are consuming less calories than they are
burning off. If I were to alter this diet, however, I would put less stress on proteins and more
on carbohydrates, as my one-day analysis showed an excessive surplus of protein yet a lack
of needed carbohydrates.
FSN 210
Annika Newman
14) I would never be able to follow this diet for the rest of my life. I believe that if you have a
love for a certain “bad” food, or what the South Beach Diet labels as bad, you should still be
able to eat that food, as long as you do so in moderation. In addition, because I am a
vegetarian, it would be difficult to follow a diet than emphasizes lean proteins as a main
component of the diet. I consume much of my protein through dairy products, or
complementary proteins through nuts, grains, etc. I do not struggle with my weight and I
believe I am doing a good job of eating empty calorie foods in moderation. I don’t think my
health would be affected too greatly, unless the lack of carbohydrates over time affects my
energy levels. Overall, I would never voluntarily choose to follow this diet for the rest of my
life.