Dieting

DIETING IS THE #1 CAUSE OF WEIGHT GAIN (or more accurately FAT gain) . . .

AND . . . IT IS A MAJOR CAUSE OF OBESITY.

Further . . .

"Dieting not only slows down the metabolic enzymes, but leads to emaciation of muscle cells, bloating of fat cells, accumulation of toxic fat in the tissues, and fatigue. The more rapid the weight loss, the higher the risk of heart complications from muscle loss as well." (Dr. Ali, Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide,  p767.)

AND, perhaps not surprisingly, . . . the National Academy of Sciences has called obesity the commonest form of malnutrition. 

Julia Ross writes this about dieting in her excellent book The Diet Cure:

"America is on a killer diet. You are probably one of the millions of Americans who are cutting more than calories to fit into the thin-body ideal. Despite the fact that dieting has a mere 2 percent long-term success rate, its lure continues to be irresistible. We are dieting more frequently, more radically, and at younger ages every year. In 1964 a Harris poll found that 15 percent of adults were dieting. By 1992, 70 percent of women and 50 percent of men were dieters, as were 80 percent of seventh grade girls. Unfortunately, low-calorie dieting does not add up to permanent weight loss but to starvation. Your body can't tell the difference between Jenny Craig's prepackaged meals and concentration camp fare. The consequences of depriving yourself of food are always the same, whether the deprivation is voluntary or not. . . The World Health Organization (WHO) has . . . through its experience with worldwide starvation. . . established that starvation begins under 2100 calories per day." pp16-17

In addition, Dr. Sheri Lieberman reveals in The Real Vitamin and Mineral Book that in eleven published diet-plan books (including the F-Plan, Scarsdale, Pritikin, Richard Simmons, I Love New York, I Love America, Atkins, Stillman, Beverly Hills, Carbohydrate Cravers and California Diets) NONE provided 100% of the now out-dated RDA's (Recommended Daily Allowance) for thirteen vitamins and minerals.

Even more surprising, as Julia Ross - who is executive director of a clinic that treats eating and weight disorders - writes in her book Diet Cure, "One of our nutritional consultants has been doing very detailed diet analysis for years. She has never found any diet, including the rich and healthy diets of superathletes, that contains 100% of the essential nutrients at even the most minimal (R.D.A.) levels."  (This is confirmed by at least two university studies.)

Unfortunately, as Richard Passwater and others have warned, because declining health does not show up right after a sub-optimal meal, it is very hard for the average person to make the connection between cause and effect of suboptimal nutrition.

So, again, EXTREME DIETING CAUSES:

AND WORST  OF ALL EXTREME DIETING CAUSES SLOWED METABOLISM 

The following diets work initially:

BUT ALL eventually fail for essentially the same reasons: they alter and/or destroy metabolism, CAUSING LOSS OF LEAN MUSCLE ALONG WITH FAT. LEAN MUSCLE INCLUDES BONE, LIGAMENT, TENDON, CARTILAGE, AND CONNECTIVE TISSUE. LEAN MUSCLE IMPROVES IMMUNE SYSTEM FUNCTION.  AND LEAN MUSCLE REQUIRES MORE CALORIES THAN FAT TISSUE JUST TO MAINTAIN ITSELF.

Julia Ross gives tips on how to "undiet" in her book The Diet Cure. These tips include a variation of our rule #1: Start every meal and every snack with a satisfying amount of Best Protein and Good Fat, then add Carbohydrates, starting with most favorable (or non-starchy vegetables which are unlimited).  This means you can stop counting calories, and even fat grams. And as Ross says, 20 grams or more of protein per meal will reduce your interest in empty carbohydrates and make you alert and strong. In addition, and as Ross admonishes: Do NOT skip meals, especially breakfast - and eat at least 25% of the day's calories for breakfast. 

AND MOST IMPORTANT:

DO NOT UNDER EAT.  Ross cites the reason for this key tip: Dr. Wayne Galloway, an expert in Third World malnutrition as well as eating disorders, describes patients who had dieted so often that they were gaining weight on 700 calories per day. [Perhaps you know someone like this? We do]. When he raised their intake above 1500 calories (with 25% taken in at breakfast), they finally began to lose weight and gain energy. [Ross's] clients thrive on 2500 calories per day [although they also address nutrient depletion, hormonal irregularities, food allergies, yeast overgrowth and glandular imbalances].