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Weight Watchers As A "Backup Diet" If You Are On Fat Smash, Eat To Live or South Beach

If you've picked Fat Smash or Eat To Live Or South Beach as your "diet", the thing that is SO important to having a "back up" diet like Weight Watchers or counting calories is because sometimes you just don't feel like eating vegetables or eating anything that resembles "healthy".  You know you should, but you just don't.  All the positive self -talk and all that you do to avoid eating pasta or pizza or a cheeseburger just isn't going to happen.  You just don't care.  Your mind goes on automatic pilot and you head straight for the nearest comfort food.  And unfortunately, sometimes you stay there for DAYS.  One choice after another becomes pizza, more white bread, dessert and so on. 

Until you get back to your Fat Smash Diet regimen, or Eat to Live or South Beach, or whatever you've chosen, you have to have a way to "portion control" the really bad trajectory of crazy comfort foods because the reality is, it happens to everyone.  If you have a "back up" diet and you're incorporating diet fusion for those days that no matter what anyone says, you're not going to pick the salad, you're just hungry for white bread and you're going to have it, you'll be able to monitor yourself and frame the "bad days" with a semblance of control. 

If you count Weight Watchers Points, you know that 2 slices of pizza is 12 points, and if you have a white bread sandwich at dinner, you'll count the points again.  If you have some method -whether it's points or calorie counting or whatever -to be able to hold yourself accountable, you will not eradicate all the effort you put into the Fat Smash or other plant based/vegetable diet you did.  And when you "come to", when you get back on the more nutrient dense road, you won't have an extra 10 pounds to fight.  This is why you have to have a "portion control" back up plan. 

What Is Your Backup Diet?

The Limitations Of The Glycemic Index: Dr. Joel Fuhrman Argues For A "Micronutrient Index"

In an earlier post on the Glycemic Index and NutriSystem we published some notes from Dr. Laurie Rothman on the subject. And we mentioned that we wanted to get Dr. Joel Fuhrman's take on it as well. We got it, and here it is. It is a dissenting view, and we work to present a wide array of views and approaches. This is also an interesting perspective on the dominant approach to fight metabolic syndrome and diabetes. Joel is essentially arguing against what most MD's are telling their patients. He also takes a swipe at our "Diet Fusion" idea- arguing that this is just "watering down" the ideal diet. We agree and just point out that "Diet Fusion" is methodology, not a diet. And this methodology leads to a very high level of micronutrient intake over time.

Glycemic index Versus Micronutrient Index-- No Contest 

By Joel Fuhrman, M,D.

In diabetes research the glycemic index (GI) of carbohydrates has long been recognized as a favorable aid  for diabetics to control blood sugar.  The same is now often the case in lipid research as it has been demonstrated that high glycemic diets, rich in white flour, refined sweets and processed foods are unfavorable to both glucose levels and lipid parameters.

Authors and writers who advocate a high protein (meat-based) diet, hang their hat on the low glycemic index of animal products to explain the advantages of a diet rich in animal products and lower in vegetation.  This view oversimplifies the multi-factorial nuances of nutrition and results in a distorted understanding of nutritional science.

Ranking food on glycemic index alone ignores many other factors that may make that food favorable or unfavorable.  Because a carrot has a higher glycemic index than a slice of bacon does not make the bacon a better food for a diabetic or heart patient.  There are other more important nutritional considerations besides the glycemic index, including the toxicity, micronutient density and fiber in the food.  .

A good example of such nutritional nonsense is when Barry Sears of the Zone diet, warns against the consumption of lima beans, papayas and carrots because of their glycemic index and Atkin’s excludes or limits those carbohydrate containing fruits and vegetables with proven powerful anti-cancer benefits.

The studies that have looked at the negative effects of a higher glycemic diet are always diets that are low in nutrients and fiber, with lots of processed grains and sweets.  Obviously this diet-style is not unhealthy merely because the diet has a high glycemic response.  Processed foods are also low in fiber, phytonutrients and anti-oxidants and rich in those toxic acrlyamides; they are disease-promoting foods and one of their features is that they have a high glycemic index. 

When a diet is rich in high nutrient containing, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and fresh fruits the disease-protective qualities of these foods and the weight-loss benefits overwhelm any insignificant drawback from the high glycemic index of the carrot. Even though the entire diet taken as a whole happens to have a low glycemic index, eating lot of high micronutrient containing vegetables is the most effective way and the healthiest way to lose weight because it removes food cravings and the drive to overeat. The high phytochemical index is the main factor curtailing overeating, not the glycemic index of this diet.  

Recently, a systematic review was performed of published human intervention studies comparing the effects of high- and low-GI foods or diets on appetite, food intake, energy expenditure and body weight. In a total of 31 short-term studies.  The conclusion was that there is no evidence that low-GI foods are superior to high-GI foods in regard to long-term body weight control.   More carefully performed research done recently compared the exact same caloric diets one with a lower and one with a higher glycemic index and demonstrated that lowering the glycemic load and glycemic index of weight reduction diets does not provide any added benefit to energy restriction in promoting weight loss in obese subjects.

The important point to remember is that a diet with a high micronutrient density already has a favorable glycemic index, but it also is low in saturated fat, high in fiber, rich in phytochemicals, and naturally alkaline.  In other words, instead of focusing on one aspect alone consider all the positive features of what makes a diet-style disease protective.  When you do this all popular diets look just second-rate and this fusion idea is just watering down the healthiest and most effective diet-style to be politically correct.  Eat For Health results in people losing weight more effectively than gastric bypass and it is the most effective weight loss methodology ever recorded in the medical literature.

Joel Fuhrman is a board certified family physician specializing in nutrition and the author of Eat To Live and Eat for Health.  Visit him at  www.drfuhrman.com

 

REFERENCES

Grundy SM, Cleeman JI, Merz CN, Brewer HB Jr, Clark LT, Hunninghake DB, et al. Implications of recent clinical trials for the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III guidelines. Circulation 2004;110:227-39.

American Dietetic Association. Hyperlipidemia medical nutrition therapy protocol. Chicago: American Dietetic Association, 2001.

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force. Behavioral counseling in primary care to promote a healthy diet: recommendations and rationale. Am J Prev Med 2003;24:93-100.

Sarter B, Campbell TC, Fuhrman J. Effect of a high nutrient density diet on long-term weight loss: a retrospective chart review.  Alt Therapies in Health and Medicine 2008;14(3):51-53.

Why It Does Not Cost More To Eat A More Healthy Diet

We have a great conversation going on with Dr. Joel Fuhrman with this blog, and he wanted very much to share the story of one of his clients, Rebecca, who started his program at 500 pounds and has lost over 300 pounds. It is a very long and detailed story and we are going to blog about bit by bit. It is very interesting.

We asked her a series of questions about her whole experience, but one question I wanted to ask because people ask us this all the time:

Is your new way of eating more expensive than what you used to do? Was there a lot of cost to manage?

"No, I find it’s actually less because of the highly dense nutrient foods you consume, you satisfy your hunger with less food. My prior way of eating food was expensive, as it did not fill me up so I ate a lot of it; got very little nutrients BUT lots of excess calories which gave me lots of excess poundage!

For example, a typical drive-thru value meal super-sized at the time was almost $5.00—I could and would easily eat 2 of those meals and STILL be hungry and buy more snack foods like pretzels and chips! However, with Eat To Live, I could go into a grocery store salad bar and for the same $10.00, get a pound of salad with lots of greens, some chick peas, a few raw sunflower seeds, purchase 1-2 pieces of fruit, and get a bottle of water---AND still have 2-4 dollars back in change!

But the best part was, I would feel full—actually I ate half the salad for lunch and saved the other half for my dinner. So, eating this way is much more cost efficient, not to mention, I think I saw my family physician just 4 times during those 4 years, because I needed a physical each year for work. So, there, even more money saved eating this way because your body just gets so pumped up with so many crucial nutrients that you just don’t sick and you save money on doctor visits!"

What is interesting about this part of her story is the idea that when you eat a more nutrient dense diet- more greens and vegetables, these things help you feel full. They help you feel full because your body is getting the nutrients it needs. After Eat To Live, Dr. Fuhrman wrote a two book set called Eat For Health, which introduces the MANDI points system which makes it easy to quantify the levels of nutrient dense foods. This way of eating does not have to be expensive and it can be very easy.

Fitbottomed Readers:

Welcome to PEERtrainer--we highly recommend buying a copy of Eat For Health, and the link above takes you to a page where you can buy the book for a $15 discount, plus you get a portable food scoring guide for free. 

Doing South Beach And Weight Watchers Together- What A Doctor Often Recommends

I wrote about a conversation I had with friends recently and started to think about how different diets could work together. I wanted to find out what diets were best for short term as well as the long term. I knew she tends to recommend Weight Watchers, South Beach and now Eat For Health. So I asked Laurie what she thought about this question and what she has done in her practice:

"I have found that South Beach diet is as successful as any other diet...if it is followed it is very successful. However, most people have difficulty sticking to any diet for very long. I oftern recommend doing South Beach and Weight Watchers together. I like South Beach for the types of foods that everyone should be eating and Weight Watchers for helping teach portion control. 

Even w/South Beach diet, it is possible to overinduldge in "good" or "healthy" foods. If one would go from South Beach to Weight Watchers then the food choices open up to include almost anything on the planet...just in smaller quantities. I like that South Beach keeps food choices to healthful ones. It is a particularly good diet for those with metabolic syndrome."

What is interesting about this comment is that it seems like many people have simply viewed Weight Watchers as a tool for portion control or support. I am going to have Laurie take a look at the changes they are making with the new Momentum Program.

It does look like in addressing some of the past weaknesses of their program they get a side benefit of better competitive position vs South Beach. Given the perception of South Beach as something that is hard to stick to, it would be interesting if WW was able to essentially make a SB type diet doable for the long term. We will keep you posted!

And if you have any experience with doing these two diets together- or any other combination of diets, let us know in this discussion thread. I am also interested in learning more about the South Beach Diet being especially good for metabolic syndrome. This is not the first time I have heard that.

Eat To Live Diet, Eat For Health: Review, Observations, Success, Doing It With Weight Watchers

Tip Of The Day readers know that I talk about Dr Joel Fuhrman a ton. We met him a couple years ago and really saw first hand his passion for promoting proper nutrition as a tool to lose weight, and also improve your health. In his words "Nutrition Is The Prescription." He showed us, and continues to show us, how certain foods can help you lose a lot of weight but also improve your health. He promotes nutritional excellence as another tool, alongside drugs, to help people regain their health.

Eat To Live

So it was great to see Alanis Morisette publicly credit Joel and his book Eat To Live as helping her lose 20 pounds, get more energy and feel better physically. The diet of my family- my husband, and two kids- was permanently changed after meeting him. We incorporate his ideas in every aspect of what we write on PEERtrainer. We also show how adopting his focus along side diets like the new Weight Watchers Momentum program can make their good diet a ton better.

When Joel came out with this book, he really was attacked by the medical community. I remember showing the book to a very senior doctor/ healthcare executive in New York City. His response to Joel's work was to literally question his medical credentials.

This man (let's call him Ben) started to surf the internet to find out if Dr Fuhrman really was a doctor, if he really graduated from medical school. What Joel was saying in Eat To Live ran so counter to what the medical establishment was saying that he was branded a quack by many. For Joel to focus on the role of nutrition in health, not just drugs was heresy. And we know from history that heretics get burnt at the stake.

But Mehmet Oz did not think Joel was a quack, and has publicly backed him every step of the way. Joel gave us a copy of his book for feeding children "Disease Proof Your Child"- it is on my desk and the very first quote of "praise" on the back cover is from Mehmet Oz. Here is the quote:

"Dr. Fuhrman reveals the success to long-term, sustainable health using diet choices for growing up smart and growing old happy. Take your doctor a copy!"

It is very important to note that these words written by Dr. Oz challenge the assumptions most of us have. We assume that diets can't work in the long run, and we assume getting fat and sick is part of aging. Dr. Fuhrman is begging us to reconsider those assumptions.

Eat For Health

In April of this year we were sent a copy of Eat For Health, which is Joel's new book that is a bit easier to follow than Eat To Live, is not a strict vegetarian diet, and introduces MANDI points system. This system assigns point values to foods in terms of their nutrient density. It is a very important tool and we immediately had a way of quantifying the level of health promoting foods in our diet. I now use this alongside Weight Watchers Points in an approach I call "diet fusion."

But what was interesting and important is that the entire first chapter of the book is Joel defending himself from the medical community. He has found some excellent and very well respected voices in the community to vouch for him and he does an excellent job in his defense. 

He has incredible success stories from people who he has helped improve their entire cardiovascular profile, cure lupus, prevent having to undergo dialysis, help asthma, migranes, high blood pressure, sarcoidosis, psoriasis etc etc.

We actually lent our copy to a doctor friend of ours, someone who recommends diets to her patients. Here is what she had to say about "Eat For Health":

"Last month, my friends lent me Dr. Joel Fuhrman's book, Eat for Health. Dr Fuhrman has it 100% right. Let me say that again - he has it exactly right. We are all trying to figure out a way to not do what is right, how to get around it. We think that we want to keep eating the over-processed, high calorie, nutrient poor food. He says stop eating the garbage. Eat the good stuff. You will lose weight, get healthier and feel better. 

Dr Fuhrman Makes Optimal Eating Easy To Implement

He comes out and says what we all know is true, but don't say or do. He states the obvious: eat more vegetables and fruits. Eat more fiber. Eat less animal products. The result is that you will be healthier and lose weight. He gives easy to implement strategies for how to do this. Why didn't someone think of this sooner and why isn't it a national phenomena?"

Weight Watchers Now Moving In Joel's Direction

It is really important to point out the struggle Joel has had with the medical community and really highlight his leadership role in bringing them around to a greater focus on nutritious foods. So I was extremely interested in the last couple weeks learning the details of Weight Watchers new momentum program.

I read on their site and in other places that they were adjusting their points system to focus not just on fiber but also in the water content of food. Which means a lot more plants. Now they don't seen to be focused on his MANDI points idea yet which promotes massive greens as part of the daily diet. But they are going in the right direction.

And I was able to get confirmation of this from my mom, who is now on the new Momentum Program. She was able to give me some feedback of their program and did confirm that they have moved away from dairy and low calorie nutrient poor foods towards plant based nutrition. I cannot say for sure that Joel was responsible for this, but I am sure he was a strong influence.

Stronger Diet Recommendations- Some Books, DVD, Free Tools

We don't give diet advice in our Tip Of The Day and other coaching programs, but we do strongly emphasize that people look at certain things. We pretty much insist you own a copy of either Eat To Live or Eat For Health. (Click on the titles for the exact amazon links.) We also highly encourage you to check our Weight Watchers new Momentum program if you feel like you need the extra push. They also now focus a lot on the mental aspect of weight loss and no matter what you do, you are going to want to take their free online weight loss readiness assessment. Very very cool tool.

The role of nutrient density in diet and health will be playing a bigger and bigger role. Weight Watchers is now the clear leader among the large diet delivery companies, and expect to see Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem follow suit with healthier, more plant-based options. The practical aspect of healthy dieting is a focus of Joel's new DVD where he shows you recipe after recipe.

More Changes In The Future

The role of organic food will probably come into the mix of actual diet plans. I remember sitting in on a conversation between Joel's marketing team and a senior statesman in the health care industry. This gentleman was enthusiastic about the focus on nutrient density, and dramatically reducing the levels of animal protein in the diet. As a Phd level scientist he also thought that the protein in milk, casein, was wreaking particular havoc among people and might be a contributing factor to breast cancer. 

This is a big debate right now and there is a lot to figure out. But some influential people have some strong opinions on this subject, and it will be interesting to see how this debate evolves. Even Weight Watchers seems to be tiptoeing away from a heavy dairy emphasis, emphasizing foods like avocado and hummus instead of lowfat cheese. This is based on feedback we are getting from people in their new program.

The other big thing the senior statesman said was the importance of organic food. This man has a masters in Physical Chemistry in addition to having done Phd work in Nuclear Physics and run several health companies. A unique perspective. And he was adamant about eating organic food, going on in detail about the organic garden he had set up in his country house. Given that this was the man who introduced us to Joel, we listened carefully and took what he said very seriously.

Continue This Discussion in the PEERtrainer Community....

Video of My Experience With Eat To Live and Eat For Health