So I read somewhere that this week the Today Show was going to do a feature on popular diets.  I set my DVR so I would be sure not to miss it.

There were 3 segments, and you can watch them online at the Today Show Website. I will not go into full detail on each of the 3 segments, but basically it went like this:  3 women all in their 30’s, all around 180lbs and all wanting to lose around 20 lbs.  They each had a specific “goal” weight – but I am not sure how that was determined.

Each of the 3 women were assigned a separate diet plan. One was on Weight Watchers, one was on Jenny Craig and one was on a “personalized” plan (a supervised program designed by a nutritionist and doctor). The women were asked to follow their plan for 3 months.

Each program had its own twist:  Jenny Craig is based mostly on consuming pre-measured, pre-packed frozen foods. Weight Watchers uses a “points” system and they didn’t really specify what the personalized program entailed other than “eating better”. I could go on and on about what I dislike about pre-packaged foods & “points”, but that is not my point – at least not this time.

All dieters complained of portion size and compliance as major issues.   I question if any of them would have completed all 3 months if an interview with Matt Lauer had not been looming…

 

These 3 diet programs do have one important component in common: caloric restriction.

Caloric restriction is simply restricting your calories, or dropping the number of calories you eat per day. As you may know if you have read my previous rantings writings, I am not a fan of using caloric restriction as the sole tool for fat loss. So it was no surprise to me that none of the women reached their goal weight.

The Jenny Craig user lost the most with 18 lbs in 3 months (not too shabby), Weight Watchers took 12 lbs off user number 2 and the “personalized” program only amounted to 10 lbs lost to the third participant. 

Don’t get me wrong- these are not horrible numbers. They are just not great numbers. I have seen, and regularly do see, better.  I do not fault the dieters, I simply feel the programs themselves are inherently flawed.

I have a few big problems with all 3 of the programs. First is that none of the programs takes into account caloric composition.  Where do the calories come from? Carbs?  Fat? Protein? Who knows? In case I have not said this before- IT MATTERS! Fat loss will vary greatly when you have a diet comprised of Fruit Loops vs. a diet of chicken and broccoli- even with the same calories.  Your body is not a calculator. All calories are not created equal.

Fool Proof Fat Loss

Secondly none of the women exercised at all (as far as I could tell) until the second month.  I would also question the exercise programs they were doing based on the video – but something is better than nothing. Restricting calories without an appropriate workout program will lead to a loss of lean tissue or muscle.  This muscle loss ultimately means a slower metabolism.  A slower metabolism means you burn less calories per day, which means if you want to lose more weight, you need to drop calories further – which can again lead to more muscle loss. See where I am going with this? You cannot simply drop calories and expect your muscles to hang around.

So let me sum this all up. Not only is dropping calories (with no regard to caloric content) not a good idea, it is in fact a bad idea. Do calories count?  They sure do- but it is not the only factor effecting fat loss. Add to that poorly designed workouts (or no workouts at all) and you could be left with a lowered metabolism to boot. Not fun.

There are ways to do this right. To lose fat and gain muscle and look and feel great. You can do it without starving, and without pre-packaged foods or counting points.  Check out some of my previous writings for more tips, and if you have questions please contact me anytime.

 

Joshua Carter
http://carterfitness.com