I found out recently that the same person has now been doing a different diet and it appears to be working very well. The diet is Medifast and it is self described as "individually portioned, calorie- and carbohydrate-controlled, and low-fat." The diet is also ketogenic by keeping the person continually in a mild state of ketosis. It is also fairly calorie restricted, with total intake not much over 1100 calories per day! That is around half of my basal metabolic rate. The plan includes 6 very small meals a day and 5 of them are pre-packaged by the Medifast company(cha ching!). It is working for him and he has lost between 3 and 4 pounds a week for the last 6 weeks. Once he loses a bit more he will transition off Medifast and go to a more Paleo diet I think, but I believe an extra intervention was needed to jump start this process or maybe even do most of the heavy lifting(pun intended).
A couple of interesting notes from what I read about the program:
- They suggest to limit caffeine to 3 servings a day. Even that limit sounds like a lot.
- Alcohol is similarly restricted from their getting started guide. This is something I mentioned/suspected in my post as well. Alcohol, from their experience, can slow weight loss. "Even one drink per day (including low-carb versions) can slow down your weight loss." Might be a good lesson there and it shows it isn't all about the calories. According to Dr Eades, "...alcohol shuts off the process of ketosis...".
- They suggest cutting back on exercise by half and avoiding starting an exercise program if you aren't already working out. This seems sensible to me, especially if exercise is chronic cardio, which is option at all times, even for the lean! Unfortunately nearly everyone equates exercise with low intensity, long duration cardio. Even the Paleo for Athletes book is really Paleo for Endurance Athletes. I think a once a week, Body By Science style workout would be fine and possibly beneficial, but I am not expert. I don't see a big deal with waiting the suggested 3 weeks to begin this, however.
I am not crazy about a few things about the diet. It is packaged food, contains a lot of soy(from what I understand....also cha ching!) and is low fat. I am also not big on several small meals, preferring to go 1-2 meals a day most days myself. All that considered I think there is something to be learned from this. A calorie restricted, ketogenic diet can work for those struggling with the battle of the bulge, including those who have tried Paleo and it didn't work for them. I think a whole food diet that is calorie and carbohydrate restricted but with some healthy fats would also work just as well. Harder to make money of that, unfortunately.
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6 comments:
I think this (Medifast) may be what the coach of the Maryland Terrapins is using to lose weight.
I think it was Dr. Eades that has said even low-carb won't work if you are simply eating too much. I am finding that I only see any results when I restrict intake (i.e., intermittant fasting).
I think the Eades' 6 week cure book addresses this by limiting both carbs and calories. Sometimes people have such severe metabolic disorder that some calorie restriction is necessary.
Many of my friends have had great success going Paleo. The one individual whose weight loss has stalled (he did lose initially), is not adhering as much as he thinks he is, and I think this is a big problem for many: he still drinks 1-2 glasses of whiskey each night, and uses a lot of artificial sweeteners.
I think for these individuals, it takes a long time operating at high compliance before their insulin really normalizes. Until then, caloric restriction may have to play an essential roll in any weight loss.
I've said it in the past....and I still believe;
STRICT adherence to protocol for 3-4 months is crucial. For some it might have to be 6 motnhs for everything to reset. There are just not many individuals that can comply for that long. Alcohol abstinence is key for leaning out.
I choose not to, because I like my red wine too much. I'm ok with my 11% bf. When I lay off the wine for 2-3 weeks, I get that shredded ripped look, I suspect my bf drops to 8 or so.
Marc
Sounds like the Cookie Diet to me!
Actually, it sounds like Nutrisystem. My wife simply COULD NOT sustain it.
It's expensive
The food tastes like dung
You are constantly faced with eating out
The food almost seems plastic
I urged her to eat a more Paleo style, which has worked for her, and, most importantly, can be sustained for a lifetime.
Tom
Medifast is a low carb, low fat, low calorie diet where you eat 5 pre-packed meal replacements for a limited time period (i.e. until you hit your desired weight) plus one "lean and green" meal which can consist of 6-7 ounces of virtually any meat, health vegetable like asparagus and health fat like olive oil or real butter. As you reach your desired weight, you transition to (and eventually drop the pre-pack meals altogether) a maintenance phase where you re-introduce healthy foods and practices. The way I like to look at it is (for me as an example) for the 18 weeks it took for me to lose my weight and fat @ approx 3lbs per week that consisted of weight I gained from over-eating, poor choices like breads and candy and cakes and sodas and cereals; for those 18 weeks I was resetting my body, my brain even so that once I go to the maintenance phase at 135 LBS. and a new start I can begin to make healthier choices for my diet. So now I can eat a healthy fat, low carb, portion controlled diet that allows me to maintain weight and health. For some people like myself it takes a Medifast or Nutrisystem like plan to help with the initial weight loss and it is that time period where you don't have to think about what you eat and just follow the plan - losing the weight and beginning to feel better that you become more motivated to get involved in making the right food choices that will be sustainable for a lifetime. In other words,some of us are like drug and alcohol addicts. We just need that cold-turkey drastic change to help us wake up, reset our image and our choices. Then, once we are back to a health weight and body image - we can make all the right - long term choices for our bodies and lives that will sustain this new (or renewed) image.
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