Apr 24, 2008 11:00 pm US/Eastern
Health: Cheap Diet Tricks
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
In health, cheap diet tricks are quick and easy ways to lose weight by using the best parts of some popular fad diets. Medical Reporter Stephanie Stahl has the slimming details.
Cabbage soup, lemonade, grapefruit are just a few of the more popular fad diets.
"Many of us love to follow fad diets because they do produce quick weight loss," said Lisa Drayer, a Nutritionist with Women's Health magazine.
She says fad diets aren't always so healthy, but there are ways to pick out the good parts.
Kimberly Davidow focuses on portion control. She lost eight pounds in three weeks on the Box Diet, carefully controlling and measuring a days worth of food into one container.
"Less tempted to cheat if you just stick to, ya know what is in the container," said Kimberly.
"This is a great way to control calories," said Lisa.
She also says any smart diet plan should include some protein, like nuts to help control hunger.
Another popular fad diet is reversing meals like having cereal at night and dinner for breakfast.
"The reality though is that many of us are not hungry for a big meal. Ya know lets say a big chicken breast and pasta in the morning," said Lisa.
But eating more for breakfast and less at night allows you to burn more calories through the day.
One of the most popular diet fads is to fill up on liquids, guzzle that water. While that might not be so satisfying or safe, there is one way to make a liquid work.
"Research has shown that individuals who consume a broth based soup before a meal end up consuming fewer calories overall," said Lisa.
And then there's the No White Diet, sugar and flour are banished by many dieters.
"Gave up all white breads and white pastas and took off 35 pounds," said Kenny Lewandowski, a local dieter.
He lost the weight in just two months, but he didn't have to give up on pasta altogether. He switched to whole wheat.
Don't get too carried away with the no white diet because there are some really good whites like cauliflower.
When it comes to whole wheat, there's now a big variety of whole wheat pasta, bread and crackers, the carbohydrate of choice these days.
And research shows whole grains improve weight loss because they're loaded with fiber and take longer to digest, helping to control appetite.
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