My idea is that we pick one deluded journalist each day or each week and let them have the benefit of our collective wisdom - you never know how small things like this may start to stem the tide of media ignorance.
What about it? Any takers??
Being a man of action
I have selected today's target who wrote the following piece of drivel (and my emails and her reply are also included);
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?...id=482260&rfi=6
"Fad diets: Expert says good old food pyramid remains the healthiest option
By Tara Kowaleski , Staff Writer 06/02/2004
tara_k~newsitem.com
COAL TOWNSHIP — With the many health risks of obesity today, people are looking for ways to lose weight — and in that quest, they try all kinds of diets.
While fad diets are “in” — Atkins, South Beach and Weight Watchers are three of the most popular currently — a dietitian at Shamokin Area Community Hospital urges people to save their money. She says the old, reliable “food pyramid” is still best.
Dietitian and Food Manager Maribeth V. Mrozek says fad diets are a waste of money, and they have no long-term benefits. In fact, nine out of 10 people will “relapse” when they are no longer dieting, she says.
“These diets are OK for short-term weight loss, maybe to get that extra boost, but in the long run, you will gain back all the weight you have lost,” she said.
And, she says, watch out for false credentials from so-called “experts.”
“When looking at the books and videos of the diets, most of the authors have a Ph.D. or Dr. after their name,” she said. “They may be doctors, but that doesn’t mean they had an ounce of a nutrition course. Those with R.D., on the other hand, are registered dietitians.”
Another downside of fad diets is the currently popular elimination of carbohydrates, especially in the Atkins diet. “It is never safe to totally exclude a macronutrient (protein, carbohydrates, fat),” says Mrozek, “But it is, however, safe to limit the intake.”
Here’s the skinny on today’s top diets.
n Atkins Diet
The Atkins Diet — The science of the Atkins Diet involves the body metabolizing carbohydrates first and then eliminating them, which in turn burns fat. The idea is to be able to eat all the protein and fat one wants, and still shed pounds. Sugar and carbohydrates are the nutrients to stay away from.
After a stringent regimen during the first few weeks (including no more than 20 grams of carbohydrates a day), dieters can gradually increase carbohydrates back into the diet and ease into a diet low in trans fats, sugars, refined flours and processed foods. There are four phases of the Atkins Diet:
• Phase 1— The introduction phase, which is supposed to “kick-start” the body into switching its metabolism to one that primarily burns fat for energy.
• Phase 2 — The dieter moves on to ongoing weight loss.
• Phase 3 — Said to be the most crucial phase, dieters are accustoming their bodies to eating a certain way, thus preparing for permanent slimness and creating new, healthier lifetime eating habits.
• Phase 4 — Dieters achieve success through relieving weight problems.
But if dieters don’t stick to it the rest of their lives, they’re headed straight back to their old weight, Mrozek said. And who wants to be on a “diet” for life?
According to Mrozek, this diet is the worst out of the top three.
n South Beach Diet
The South Beach Diet — The science of the South Beach Diet claims not to rely on low-fat or low-carb, but rather teaches a person how to rely on the right carbohydrates and the right fats. South Beach has three phases:
• Phase 1— In this initial phase, a person eats normal-sized helpings of meat, chicken, turkey, fish and shellfish. Plenty of servings of vegetables, cheese, eggs and nuts are allowed, along with three balanced meals a day, mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks and a dessert after dinner, with water being the prominent choice of quenching thirst. But as with Atkins, for the first 14 days, there is no consumption of bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, or baked goods allowed, not even fruit. They all will be introduced in two more weeks. No candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, or sugar for two weeks are allowed, either.
• Phase 2 — You won’t be able to see the changes right away, but during the first phase dieters totally change their body chemistry, including the way their bodies react to the foods that made them overweight in the first place. Cravings are supposedly gone at this phase, and they are supposed to stay away for as long as people stick with the diet. (Again, for life?)
• Phase 3 — According to the South Beach Diet book, “This is the stage that lasts the rest of your life. When you get to this point, the eating plan seems less like a diet and more like a lifestyle.” People can eat normal-sized portions of normal food, and will not only have changed their body chemistry, but also blood chemistry, to the long-term benefit of the cardiovascular system.
Mrozek says, “The South Beach Diet is nothing more than a modified Atkins diet. It is a little safer, but still for the short-term goal.”
n Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers — Out of the two diets already mentioned, this is the only one in which there is some calorie counting, called “flex points.” Each person is assigned a target daily number of food points. According to this plan:
• You can eat the foods you love as long as you hit the points target, which is based on your weight.
• You earn activity points by exercising, and you can swap them for food.
• There is also a reserve of 35 flex points to spend throughout the week, however you like.
Grocery shopping with this diet is easier, too. There is no reason to go to the store and buy $100 worth of food that isn’t necessary, that you never tried before and may not like.
With the Weight Watchers program, there is also an opportunity to attend meetings for support from other dieters. Studies show that more women lose weight when joining a group, because it gives them support rather than going solo. Even Mrozek, whose support is solidly behind the Food Guide Pyramid, says this diet seems more sound. “Weight Watchers seems like a more sound diet because it is balanced and does not omit any macronutrients, as does the Atkins,” she said.
n Diet pills
More people are relying on not only diets, but also on weight-loss pills, hoping to find a “quick fix” without doing all the dieting and exercising.
Mrozek says beware.
“Most, if not all, diet pills are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration,” she warns. “The supplements even found in most GMC stores are not FDA-approved.
“If you are considering taking an herbal weight loss pill, do it under your doctor’s permission, or at least let him or her know what you are taking,” she urges.
n Food Pyramid Diet
Food Pyramid Diet — Mrozek’s diet of choice encompasses every food, with guidelines on how much of each is recommended for each body type. The pyramid is meant for everyone age 2 and up, and offers practical advice to enjoy the diverse array of foods available in today’s marketplace.
With no special food buying and no monthly fees, this diet fits into people’s everyday lifestyle. With five food groups, there are many kinds of foods that promote a healthy way of living. To lose weight and stay healthy, all you have to do is eat at least the lowest number of servings recommended for each food group daily and enjoy just a little bit from the pyramid tip, which contains the fattiest (and tastiest) items.
“Moderation and 30 minutes of exercise per day, along with eating the recommended calorie intake, are the keys for healthy weight loss,” Mrozek says. Not surprisingly, “This includes watching the fast-food intake and (frequency of) dining out,” she says.
The basis for the food pyramid is limiting fat intake, increasing the intake of fruits and vegetables, controlling portion sizes, eating at regularly scheduled meals, limiting snacking, choosing low-calorie, low-fat snacks and moderate exercising (walking for 30 minutes every day), or whatever your body can handle.
“Being on a diet or watching your caloric intake should not cost any money, meaning you shouldn’t have to purchase any special products to assist with weight loss,” Mrozek insists. “Moderation, a decrease in overall caloric intake and increase in activity should be the plan.”
Adding milk to your daily diet might not be a bad move either. Including calcium-rich milk to a weight loss plan does more than just keep bones healthy — it may be key to a healthy weight-loss strategy. Some research shows that calcium may make it easier to lose weight.
A calcium-rich eating plan — one which includes at least of three servings of milk a day — seems to provide the nutritional support people need for healthy, effective weight loss. In fact, research suggests that milk may help promote the loss of body fat while maintaining more muscle, which is important when dieting. That means drinking three 8-ounce glasses of low-fat or fat-free milk every day to get the calcium your body needs.
Safe weight loss is when a person loses about 2 pounds a week. The average healthy calorie intake for women is between 1,200-1,500 per day; for men, 1,800-2,000 calories a day. “If you cut down about 500 to 1,000 a day (for people who are not on a diet) you will lose 1 or 2 pounds by the end of the week,” Mrozek said.
n Overweight problems
Realizing you are overweight can be traumatizing, but in the end will spur you to action, preventing you from suffering some fatal effects. When obesity sets in, health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, an increased risk of stroke, cancer, a decreased oxygen level and an increase in blood pressure can have serious consequences.
The Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a chart used by most physicians to determine the severity of obesity. In women, allow 100 pounds for the first 5 feet of height, and then add 5 pounds for each inch thereafter. (If you are 5 feet 7 inches, you should weight around 135 pounds, give or take 10 percent). For men, allow 106 for the first 5 feet, and then add 6 pounds for every inch thereafter.
Those who want to see a dietitian typically need to take these steps, Mrozek said:
• A family doctor will write a referral form to see a dietitian.
• On the first visit, the dietitian will collect all information on what the person is eating.
• The dietitian will set up an individualized nutritional care plan. “Because some people work overnight or second shift, I give them an individualized plan for them to follow,” Mrozek said. When you work at a desk job or work overnight, there are tips for better eating, Mrozek says, including packing your lunch (maybe a salad) instead of ordering out, drinking water instead of soda, Kool Aid, Gatorade or Hi C.
• The dietitian and patient will set up goals together.
n No magic bullet
While everyone seems to want a “magic bullet” that will make weight loss effortless, there is no such thing, as the nutritional community is pointing out. For Mrozek and other diet professionals, good old-fashioned sensible eating, combined with exercise, is the best, if not the only, plan to follow. Fad diets are still just that — fads.
“The only way to lose weight, in a healthy way, is to use the Food Guide Pyramid and to make some limitations in the way you consume food, while exercising for 30 minutes a day,” Mrozek said.
What a surprise.
(Before starting any diet or taking diet pills, professionals urge you to see your doctor for approval). "
My email;
Hi Tara,
I wanted to drop you a line (or two) about your absurd story;
"Fad diets: Expert says good old food pyramid remains the healthiest option"
Your "expert" Maribeth V Mrozek claims that we should be careful about whose advice we accept in deciding what is a healthy balanced diet - I couldn't agree more. She goes on to say this advice can only come from registered dieticians - not doctors, and then launches into an attack on reduced carbohydrate programs especially that promoted by Dr Atkins. The fact that Dr Atkins and other highly qualified doctors such as the Eades (Protein Power) have personally helped thousands of patients recover their health and lose weight, and millions more through their books doesn't make them respected leaders in this field? We are left in the dark as to whether your "expert" has any credentials at all to be giving us advice.
She says that low carb programs only work in the short term and unless you stick to them for life your weight will return. She neglects to tell you that this is the case for ANY diet. Maribeth also conveniently refuses to acknowledge studies which show the reason the reduced carb way of life is so successful is that it far easier to follow in the long term than the low fat high carb regime she promotes.
Finally she says that all we need to do is follow the "Food Pyramid Diet" to achieve our weight loss goals and that fad diets should be avoided. Tara the Food Pyramid is the ultimate fad diet. You may not be aware but this was first promoted in the early eighties (long after Atkins and other experts pointed the way to good health). It was designed not by doctors (or Maribeth's revered dieticians) but the US Department of Agriculture in conjunction with lobbyists of various agriculture and industry groups who wanted to see there products favorably represented (strangely enough this included the sugar, corn and vegetable oil producers). You may be aware that since this "expert" dietary advice was adopted levels of obesity have tripled and there has been an explosion in the rates of type 2 diabetes (which used to be known as "late onset diabetes" but is now regularly diagnosed in children).
Ironically, Maribeth is also critical of the "fad" Weight Watchers diet which promotes eating according to .... the Food Pyramid.
Tara, if you do just a little research into this subject you will find that reduced carb way of life has been promoted for more than 150 years, and that many scientists say that it reflects the diet that on which humans evolved over the last two and a half million years (before the advent of the agricultural age a mere 10,000 years ago). Hardly a "fad".
It is easy to follow and obtain all the essential nutrients and fibre - in fact considerably more than the Food Pyramid and current "expert" dietary practice provides.
So please, before you write another word on this subject read what the real experts are saying, take a look at the latest studies which validate what Atkins and the Eades have been telling us for so long. And in the interests of putting the current health crisis behind us, let us dismiss the low fat high carbohydrate food pyramid as the ultimate fad diet failure that it is.
Regards,
Malcolm Scott
PS. I am not an "expert" but I am 'qualified' to talk about this!
I am a 47 year old male who lost more than 50 pounds on the low fat calorie counting "food pyramid" style diet about 10 years ago, but like a lot of people, I found that it is both very hard to lose weight on such a diet (I had to reduce my calories a lot and ended up convincing myself that it was "good" to go to bed hungry) it was also very hard to keep the weight off under such a regime (I lasted about 2 years which I understand is above average).
Since then I had pretty much convinced myself that in order to keep my weight in check as I aged and my metabolism slowed - I would have to totally give up some foods such as cream, cheese, peanut butter etc because "the experts" told me that my struggle with my weight was due to not only the amount of calories but the percentage of fat. (I had long since given up sugar in coffee and drank only skim milk and low fat yoghurt for similar reasons).
In December last year I decided things were getting out of control (I weighed 250 pounds - I am 6'1"). I started my strict low fat low calorie diet again - but also started reading books and information on the net as I thought there had to be a better way. I read an article about "The Paleolithic Diet" and whilst I found this interesting it did not explain why it worked so I looked further. Finally I was lucky enough to be given the book "Protein Power" and quite literally it was a revelation for me. The doctors Eades explained very clearly why someone like me who had no weight problems until my mid to late 20s would now start to have problems. And they explained a simple and very healthy solution whereby I could lose weight by simply reducing my intake of carbohydrates while ensuring an adequate level of protein and healthy fats.
I have lost 52 pounds so far. I feel fantastic. At no stage have I had to go hungry. I feel mentally sharper. I have actually gained muscle mass (which means I have lost more than 52 pounds of fat). I now eat meat, fish, cheese, peanut butter, avocados along with a large amount of low carb vegetables and fruits with no calorie counting (at much higher calorie levels than my previous diet) - and still lose weight. I have no doubt I will continue to live this way long after I have completed the weight loss phase because it is so easy and because it makes me feel so good.
NONE of those things were true about my experience losing weight the low fat food pyramid way
But don't take my word for it, do your own research.
Tara's reply;
"Malcolm,
I respect your opinion. I have done months of research. I have been on the Atkins and South Beach diets and they do not work . ( For me at least). After talking to Maribeth about the Food Pyramid, I lost weight. Using the food guide pyramid, you don't have to go to sleep hungry. Every doctor/ dietitian will say women and men take in so many calories. How you eat it is up to you. Consistent exercise (about 30 min.) is also required. Excluding carbs is not the best idea, since those people who have tried Atkins, and were satisfied at some point with the weight they lost, developed liver damage. (Another story I am working on).
Maribeth is not against the Weight Watchers diet, she said it is a more sound diet because you can eat anything, just count calories and not go over a limit. (Shamokin Hospital even holds weight watcher meetings).
I know some diets have been around for years, but things change over time, and these glorified diets cost loads of money. You buy the book and the food its almost 100 dollars, where as the food guide pyramid you can do your normal grocery shopping and still loose weight.
As for the authors of books and diets, many doctors are not dietitians, they probably never had an ounce of a nutrition course, and they could be missing out on a lot.
Dietitians can do something doctors can't. Provide a diet that is solely yours. ( Some people work over night, Maribeth will make a diet for them so they can follow and be healthy).
I will be doing another article on this type of subject. I will look into your avenue of thinking for the next article, sometime in the near future. With graduations, and other stories I am working on it won't be until the third week in June.
Thanks For writing!
I will keep in contact with you when I start obtaining information."
My quick response;
"Hi Tara,
Thanks for your quick reply.
I am a little confused. You say that you have done months of research. If that is the case you will have spoken to a great many people like me, for whom a reduced carb way of life has delivered weight loss and other health benefits that they could not obtain while desperately trying to follow the kind of diet your "expert" dietician recommends. You will know that all of the reduced carb programs encourage exercise to assist weight loss and to enhance this healthy lifestyle. You will also have found that for the price of a paperback book thousands of people have changed their lives - and I don't know about you, but I call the meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, cheese, fruit and nuts these diets recommend "normal grocery shopping" - so why are these things not presented in your story?.
You say that Atkins and South Beach did not work for you - I would need a little more detail about how long you adopted each program, and your menu before I could advise you as to the possible reasons for this but I would be happy to oblige. Everyone makes a few mistakes when they first start (I did) - quite often because it is difficult to put aside all the bad advice so called diet experts have been pushing for so long.
I'm sorry if I said that Maribeth was against the Weight Watchers program. Looking back at your story I see that it was you that described Weight Watchers as another "fad" diet.
Finally you say "Excluding carbs is not the best idea, since those people who have tried Atkins, and were satisfied at some point with the weight they lost, developed liver damage. (Another story I am working on)."
Let me say I have spoken to hundreds of happy people enjoying the low carb way of life, and I have not heard of anyone who has suffered any kind of liver damage as a result, but I am always interested to read peer reviewed scientific studies into this way of life so I look forward to you sharing this research with me.
Regards,
Malcolm"
Email a journalist today!
w-carbing?
I'm eating between 1600-1800 calories a day and losing between 1-2 pounds a week. At this 
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