Just last week I wrote about the hCG Diet, one of many fad diets that I wish would disappear. Now, to add to the ever-growing list of controversial diets, is Six Weeks To OMG: Get Skinnier Than All Your Friends. When the book, by the same name, came out right before summer, my immediate response was: “Oh my god—are you kidding me?” We can assume, of course, that the British author Venice Fulton (a pseudonym for Paul Kannah) meant to imply: “Oh my god—how well this works!”
Let me explain why I am opposed to this diet.
1. It recommends limiting fruit intake. This concept brought me back to the original days of Atkins, which I thought we had moved away from. Research has shown that fruit may help prevent certain cancers, lower heart disease, and strengthen the immune system. As a registered dietitian who has worked with hundreds of people who are trying to lose weight, I assure you that eating fruit has always been a successful part of their weight loss regime. Sure, if you eat too much fruit, you can take in too many calories, but the recommended two to four daily servings are not going to have that effect.
2. It suggests that carbs are carbs. Fulton argues that our bodies don’t know the difference between chocolate cake and an apple. Hmmm … interesting, but once again I must beg to differ. He seems to be looking strictly at calories, as if we are comparing a very small piece of chocolate cake to a very large apple. I prefer to look at the health benefits of foods and how they digest differently in our bodies. For example, a high-fiber bowl of cereal (more than 5 grams per serving) will definitely keep you fuller longer than a bowl of high-sugar cereal (more than 12 grams per serving), because fiber takes longer to digest. Unlike added sugar, more fiber can help stabilize blood sugars and keep you fuller longer. That helps to prevent overeating, which results in fewer calories consumed.
Read the full article here.
