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Pros and Cons of the "400 Calorie Fix" (as seen on Rachel Ray!)
Posted on Dec 7th 2009 11:00AM by Jonny BowdenFiled Under: Jonny's Take, Diet & Weight Loss
Recently I saw an Internet ad with this headline:
"Can you Really lose up to 11 pounds in 14 days eating meals like THIS?"
This was followed by a flash box (sequencing pictures) of delicious looking meals which included gravy, potatoes, dinner rolls and chocolate chip scones.
The ad was for a new book by the editors of Prevention Magazine called "The 400 Calorie Fix."
The ad went on to say that you could indeed lose all that weight eating meals like those pictured in the ad (which pretty much looked like your standard Las Vegas buffet fare) if you followed (in big red letters now) ONE SIMPLE SECRET!!!
"Is it exercise?" asks the ad. "No! Counting Calories, Carbs of Fat Grams? Nope! Staying Away from Forbidden Foods? No Way!"
So what is the one simple secret?
Eating three 400 calorie meals a day (plus snacks).
(Smaller meals aren't exactly a 'secret' to losing weight.)
Truth is, many people do not do well with calorie or carb counting and are unlikely to give up their favorite foods. Therefore, a recipe plan that tells you exactly what to eat for three 400-calorie meals a day could be useful to jump start weight loss. After all, most women in America will lose weight on 1200 calories a day, and even if the food isn't the absolute best (and believe me, it's not), a plan like this is still a step in the right direction.
But it's also true that some foods create their own cravings. (You're not going to have a lot of trouble passing up seconds of brussels sprouts, but with chocolate cake or pancakes, it's another story.) And if you're really going to try to keep calories at 1200-1400 a day (a very good goal for a lot of women who need to lose weight), you don't have a lot of calories to waste on bread, white potatoes and other carb-heavy foods that are included in these meal plans.
A better way to go would be to create your own meals while keeping calories down, protein and fat and fiber up, and processed carbs to a minimum. But let's be realistic -- not everyone is going to do that. In fact, not everyone knows how to do that. (You'd be amazed at how many folks still don't understand what protein and carbs are, let alone "good" sources of same!)
So this plan is pretty much like any generic bill in the Senate -- far from perfect, but a compromise between ideal and realistic.
On the bright side, maybe it will increase awareness of the fact that you can put a pretty decent meal together at under 500 calories.
And that's a lesson we'd all do well to learn.
For more information on health, weight-loss and anti-aging visit Jonny Bowden Solutions.
"Can you Really lose up to 11 pounds in 14 days eating meals like THIS?"
This was followed by a flash box (sequencing pictures) of delicious looking meals which included gravy, potatoes, dinner rolls and chocolate chip scones.
The ad was for a new book by the editors of Prevention Magazine called "The 400 Calorie Fix."
The ad went on to say that you could indeed lose all that weight eating meals like those pictured in the ad (which pretty much looked like your standard Las Vegas buffet fare) if you followed (in big red letters now) ONE SIMPLE SECRET!!!
"Is it exercise?" asks the ad. "No! Counting Calories, Carbs of Fat Grams? Nope! Staying Away from Forbidden Foods? No Way!"
So what is the one simple secret?
Eating three 400 calorie meals a day (plus snacks).
(Smaller meals aren't exactly a 'secret' to losing weight.)
Truth is, many people do not do well with calorie or carb counting and are unlikely to give up their favorite foods. Therefore, a recipe plan that tells you exactly what to eat for three 400-calorie meals a day could be useful to jump start weight loss. After all, most women in America will lose weight on 1200 calories a day, and even if the food isn't the absolute best (and believe me, it's not), a plan like this is still a step in the right direction.
But it's also true that some foods create their own cravings. (You're not going to have a lot of trouble passing up seconds of brussels sprouts, but with chocolate cake or pancakes, it's another story.) And if you're really going to try to keep calories at 1200-1400 a day (a very good goal for a lot of women who need to lose weight), you don't have a lot of calories to waste on bread, white potatoes and other carb-heavy foods that are included in these meal plans.
A better way to go would be to create your own meals while keeping calories down, protein and fat and fiber up, and processed carbs to a minimum. But let's be realistic -- not everyone is going to do that. In fact, not everyone knows how to do that. (You'd be amazed at how many folks still don't understand what protein and carbs are, let alone "good" sources of same!)
So this plan is pretty much like any generic bill in the Senate -- far from perfect, but a compromise between ideal and realistic.
On the bright side, maybe it will increase awareness of the fact that you can put a pretty decent meal together at under 500 calories.
And that's a lesson we'd all do well to learn.
For more information on health, weight-loss and anti-aging visit Jonny Bowden Solutions.
