Living Low Carb (29 page)

WHAT IT IS IN A NUTSHELL

The diet and exercise program designed by the creators of the hit television show The Biggest Loser. Surprisingly smart, effective, and easy to follow
.

About The Biggest Loser

I’ll admit it—when I first heard the idea for the new television show
The Biggest Loser
, I thought it was a terrible idea for a television show. Weight loss as a spectator sport? That’s like watching paint dry.

Once the show had its debut in 2006 and I actually saw it, I revised my opinion—I now thought it was not only a terrible idea but
also
that it sent a terrible message to the general public. First of all, some people were losing 17 pounds a week, a completely ridiculous amount that could never be sustained and was only happening because some of them were weighing in at over 400 to begin with. Second of all: by the second week, folks were being “kicked off the island” if they “only” lost something like 12 pounds. Third of all, humiliation and embarrassment were key parts of the “entertainment,” and I thought the whole thing was pretty disgusting.

Well, that shows you how good I am at predicting television hits.

The show’s been a runaway success and has given birth to a number of spin-off cottage industries such as the book being reviewed here. Which, needless to say, I expected to hate.

I was wrong.

I still think some of what you see on the television show is unrealistic. But I’ve since tempered my opinion and come to realize that there are things about the show that many people find inspiring and motivating, not the least of which is the sense of community and accountability that’s encouraged, and that is so much a part of any successful weight-loss program. And as for the book—well, it’s surprisingly good. One might almost say terrific.

The Biggest Loser: The Weight Loss Program to Transform Your Body, Health and Life
turns out to be one of the best of the fitness and diet books around. Although it’s short on technical information (which you probably don’t need anyway), it’s a real example of a program that has incorporated what we’ve learned about controlled-carbohydrate eating into a really smart plan that many people will find very useful. Here’s how the authors characterize the diet:

The Biggest Loser diet is a calorie-controlled, carbohydratemodified, fat-reduced diet geared to help you burn pound after pound of pure fat—and do so without deprivation or loss of energy. What’s more the diet is high in protein. Protein has a hunger-controlling effect on the body—which is why higher-protein diets are so effective for weight loss and fat burning.

They got that right.

Let’s look at the specifics. First thing that got my attention was the calorie formula. I’ve long said that the “formulas” for how many calories you need are ridiculously overinflated. In the “old” days when I was the iVillage. com “Weight Loss Coach,” I’d hear from women all the time who were telling me they were following the guidelines for their weight and height that they found on various Internet sites and could never lose weight. When I questioned them further, I’d invariably discover that they were eating way too many calories. Typically the “guidelines” would tell a 150-pound woman to eat over 2,000 calories a day. No wonder she wouldn’t lose weight! Remember, even in low-carb, calories do count.

The calorie formula for the “Biggest Loser” program is—hold on to your horses—present weight times 7 (for weight loss).

Now I can almost hear you gasping “That’s so little!” Well, yes, it’s pretty low. But consider that for years nutritionists like me have been using the “target weight times 10” formula for weight loss, and consider that
this
formula uses your present weight—not your target weight—so they’re not far apart. For example, let’s say you were 180 pounds and your target was 130. By my formula (target weight × 10), you’d be aiming for 130 × 10 calories or 1,300 calories. By their formula (present weight × 7) you’d be aiming for 180 × 7 or… (drum roll, please)… 1,260 calories. Pretty similar, and, in my opinion, pretty on the money. (By the way, you’d be amazed at how much good food you can eat for that amount of calories.)

Note that these formulas do break down a bit at the extremes of weight. For example, if you’re 110 pounds and want to be 100 pounds, the formula isn’t that great. But most people following “The Biggest Loser” are not going to be fighting the last five or ten pounds on what is already a tiny body. For most people the formula is fine, and a refreshing change from the bloated calorie formulas that predominate in magazines and on the Internet.

The second thing I liked about the Biggest Loser program was the questions it asks you to answer. To wit: “Why do you want to lose weight?” (By the way, this isn’t a dumb question. It gets you thinking about goals, motives, and what’s really important to you.) Or: “What can I do this week to increase my energy?” All good stuff, all part of the kind of program that is about more than just following a diet.

And speaking of diet, it’s pretty darn good.

They have something called “The Biggest Loser Pyramid”; and let me tell you, it’s a heck of a lot better than the USDA version, even the new supposedly “improved” USDA Pyramid (
http://www.MyPyramid.gov
).

At the base of the pyramid are fruits and vegetables—4 servings daily. Next up, protein—3 servings a day. Next up, whole grains, 2 servings a day. And finally at the tippy top, a “discretionary” 200 calories to be “spent” on things like fats, oils, spreads, sugar-free deserts, reduced-fat foods, or condiments and sauces.

Okay, it’s not perfect. We could do with more vegetables, some people could lose the grains, we probably don’t need the sugar-free deserts—but look, this is not a strict “low-carb” plan: it’s a smart, sensible plan for the masses that is a huge—repeat huge—improvement over most of the dietary advice that’s routinely given. And it still manages to incorporate some of the principles of low-carbing.

I particularly like the list of foods to avoid, which include everything that would be a low-carber’s nightmare: white bread, white pasta, white potatoes, pastries, potato chips—you get the idea. And a lovely mention of the entire category of “appetite-stimulating foods,” the definition of which everyone reading this book already knows from experience!

There’s a terrific section called “how to structure your meals.” Example: for breakfast, ½ protein serving, 1 whole grain serving, 1 fruit. For dinner, ½ protein serving, ½ whole grain serving, and 3 vegetable servings. That kind of thing. Since a lot of the questions I routinely get on my Web site have to do with practical tips like how to put a meal together, I think this section of the program addresses a big need, and does it quite well.

The exercise section, needless to say, is exemplary.

The Biggest Loser: Who It Works for, Who Should Look Elsewhere

Since the greatest successes on “The Biggest Loser” have been with people who are seriously overweight, it’s likely that the seriously overweight will be exactly the group this book will appeal to. That’s the market the show has staked out. Of course, the usual caveats apply—many people who are seriously overweight have many other “co-morbid” conditions, such as high blood pressure. I would not suggest undertaking this rigorous an exercise program without clearing it with your health practitioner. Remember that on the TV show, everyone has medical clearance and there is a doctor around at all times.

JONNY’S LOW DOWN
  

I like this book a lot. Strict “low-carbers” may find fault with the fact that it’s hardly an orthodox low-carb plan, but it’s a perfect example of what I wanted this book to highlight—diet and nutrition programs that weren’t necessarily “strictly” low-carb in the “Old School” sense, but had nonetheless adapted successfully many of the principles of healthy low-carb eating. This book fills the bill perfectly
.

Particular kudos for the highly motivating quotes from successful participants on The Biggest Loser television show, which should serve to inspire many a reader. And more kudos still for paying attention to the psychological and motivational aspects of weight loss. You can’t go wrong with this book
.

Five stars
.

4. T
HE
C
ARBOHYDRATE
A
DDICT’S
D
IET

R
ACHAEL
H
ELLER
, M.A, M.P
H
, P
H
D,
AND
R
ICHARD
H
ELLER
, M.S., P
H
D

WHAT IT IS IN A NUTSHELL

Those with a sense of humor call this plan “Atkins with dessert.” You eat two protein-and-vegetable meals a day and one “reward meal,” during which you can eat anything you like. On most variations of the plan, there are no snacks
.

About the Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet

The Hellers are pretty much responsible for adding the term
carbohydrate addict
to the popular lexicon. They define carbohydrate addiction as follows: “a compelling hunger, craving or desire for carbohydrate-rich foods; an escalating or recurring need or drive for starches, snack foods, or sweets.” Sound familiar? It does to a lot of people. Rachael Heller certainly recognized herself in that description. And she discovered the principles upon which the diet is based quite accidentally, through a fortuitous experience in her own life.

At the time of her discovery, Rachael weighed 268 pounds. She had had a weight problem all her life, weighing more than 200 pounds by the age of 12 and more than 300 pounds by age 17. She spent the better part of 20 years on diets, on liquid fasts, in Overeaters Anonymous, you name it. She became a psychologist largely because she wanted to learn about the psychological causes of overeating. Her own eating was, to put it mildly, out of control.

One day, because a medical test that had to be done on an empty stomach was postponed from morning to late afternoon, Rachael found herself not being able to eat until early evening. At dinner, she ate everything in sight, then got on the scale the next day and found, to her astonishment, that she had lost 2 pounds. Equally important—and somewhat surprising—was that on the day of the test, when she
didn’t
eat breakfast or lunch, she
also
wasn’t particularly hungry. She tried the same routine the next day—no breakfast, no lunch, no hunger, big dinner—and boom, off came another pound.

She continued to experiment and add refinements to the diet (which thankfully included putting breakfast and lunch back into the mix), and ultimately lost 150 pounds, which she has kept off to this day. It was out of this experience that the Carbohydrate Addict’s Diet was born and the theory behind why it works was developed.

As with many low-carbohydrate diets, the theory centers around the activity of insulin, but with a slightly different twist. As we know from elsewhere in the book you’re reading right now, there are many people who oversecrete insulin in response to food (particularly carbohydrates), and many who eventually become
insulin-resistant
, meaning that their cells no longer “pay attention” to the insulin in their bloodstream. This leaves them with elevated levels of blood sugar and of insulin (a situation that can easily precede diabetes and certainly precedes other health problems). We also know that elevated insulin
prevents
fat burning and
encourages
fat storage. The Hellers hypothesize one more chain in this link, which is critical to the understanding of the carbohydrate “addict.” According to the Hellers, too much insulin in the bloodstream prevents the rise of the brain chemical serotonin. (Make sure you read Jonny’s Lowdown for a discussion: in my opinion, this is a misreading of the science.) Serotonin is the neurotransmitter that is intimately connected with feelings of satisfaction (antidepressants like Prozac and Zoloft work by basically keeping serotonin hanging around in the brain). If serotonin levels fail to rise, which is what the Hellers hypothesize in this scenario, the carb addict will not feel satisfied and will attempt to satisfy the gnawing hunger by again consuming carbs, which of course will spark another release of insulin, and the cycle will start again. “The repetition of this cycle,” say the Hellers, “forms the physical basis of what we call carbohydrate addiction.”

Meanwhile, of course, the carb addict will get fatter and fatter.

According to the Hellers, a normal person can eat a carbohydrate-rich meal and be satisfied for four or five hours, whereas carb addicts, with their impaired carbohydrate-insulin-serotonin mechanisms, might feel hungry again in a couple of hours, or even less, and find themselves with a craving for more sweets.