The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet Is A Reasonable And Healthy Plan
Written: Jun 17 '01 (Updated Aug 06 '01)
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Pros: Satisfying portions, no forbidden foods
Cons: Not enough emphasis on the benefits of exercise
The Bottom Line: This diet may be based on false premises, but that does not diminish the effectiveness of the diet.
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| Kris.'s Full Review: Carbohydrate Addict's Diet |
The Basis of the Diet
According to the Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet, some people become addicted to sugar because of it’s effect on insulin levels. You can control the addiction and lose weight by eating foods that are high in carbs only once a day.
Critique
As with most low-carb diets, their claims about the importance of controlling insulin during weight loss are greatly overblown. Most people maintain healthy insulin and blood sugar levels without manipulating their diet (exceptions being people with certain diseases like diabetes or hypoglycemia). Carbohydrate Addict's does not mention the real reason for weight fluctuations: caloric balance (calories eaten vs. calories burned). Caloric balance has repeatedly been proven to be the single most important factor in weight loss.
Despite the inaccuracies, you can expect to lose weight. When planning the diet, they put together a rather sophisticated plan that will make you adjust your caloric intake to the proper levels. You don’t count calories, but you will add snacks and salads to fine-tune the number of calories you eat.
How Fast Will You Lose Weight?
They recommend you lose no more than 1% of your weight per week. A person who weighs 200 lbs would aim for 2 lbs per week, while a person who weighs 150 lbs would only lose 1.5 pounds per week. This is a reasonable recommendation, and you can expect much of the weight loss to be fat rather than muscle or water.
The Diet
First, let me define the different types of meals:
--Reward Meal: You can eat any food you want, but your plate must be “balanced”. This means 1/3 of your plate is meat/protein, 1/3 is low-carb vegetables, and the other 1/3 is a carbohydrate rich food (this includes desserts). Part of the reason people can adhere to this diet long-term is that you know, every day, if you have a craving you can satisfy it at the Reward Meal. They suggest eating low-fat most of the time, but allow you to give into your cravings when you want. Chicken strips, french fries, cake… nothing is off limits.
--Complementary meal: You must choose recommended foods from lists (rather large lists, thankfully). You eat one serving of meat, plus 2 cups of vegetables.
--Complementary Snack: Same as a Complementary Meal, but ˝ the size.
--Salad: A normal sized salad with 2 tbs salad dressing. This can be replaced with an additional 2 cups of vegetables if you wish.
You begin with the Entry Plan, which allows two complementary meals and one reward meal each day. Depending on your goals and weight loss during the previous week, you will look at a chart that tells you to follow Plan A, B, C, or D the next week. These are all variations of the Entry Plan, with small adjustments to the number of meals, snacks, and salads. This is the best part of the Carbohydrate Addict' s Diet in my opinion – they continuously adjust your meal plan to ensure a slow and steady weight loss.
You should note that you must eat your Reward meal within 60 minutes (due to insulin-related stuff that I don’t think matters anyway… but I digress). If you go to a restaurant, be wary of the drinks and appetizers. If you start too soon your time run out before all of your food has been brought to you.
Drinks
You are allowed an unlimited amount non-sugary drinks such as diet sodas, unsweetened tea, seltzer, and black coffee. Only one cup of coffee with cream is allowed, due to the carb content. Sugary drinks, fruit juices, alcohol, and milk should be saved for your Reward Meal.
Exercise
There is no structured exercise program. They briefly mention that all people should engage in moderate physical activity for well-being, but they put no real emphasis on it. Your diet will be the primary route to lose weight.
Conclusions
This diet may be based on false premises, but that does not diminish the sensibility and effectiveness of the diet. You are allowed adequate portions and a wide variety of foods, and since you can give into cravings every day you should be able to stick to the diet for the long haul.
If you lose weight without exercising, you will lose muscle. Your metabolism will slow down because you have less muscle to burn calories (that’s the last thing you need when you want to lose weight, right?) Therefore I would strongly recommend that you add some exercise (aerobic, weights, or both) even though Carbohydrate Addict's does not require it.
Recommended:
Yes
Food Variety Restrictions A wide variety of allowed foods
Restrictiveness of Portions Satisfying
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