Expert: Todd Bublitz, RCEP - 8/10/2004

Question
I'd appreciate your opinion on the SBD. I started it a 5 days ago and feel so much better - more energy. Think I've lost a few pounds, bunt energy is the real difference.

Any advice or comments on it?

Answer
Kerry,

Any fad diet should be avoided, in my opinion.  Anything but a well-balanced, lower-calorie diet has the ingredients for failure.  What are all these people on low-carb diets supposed to do when their low-carb diet ends?  If they go back to their old eating patterns they are destined to gain weight again.  I believe people should start their weight loss with the same diet plan that they will need to maintain their weight loss.

Studies and the National Weight Control Registry confirm that the slower you lose weight, the more likely you are to keep it off.  The National Weight Control Registry (NWCR) followed 629 women and 155 men who had maintained a minimum weight loss of 30 pounds for an average of 5.5 years and over 95% of these people did NOT use a low-carb diet (low-carb diets have been around for 25 years).

Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter had a good review of the SBD.  This article goes into much more detail than would be possible here:
http://healthletter.tufts.edu/issues/2004-05/southbeach.html

Here is an article about the NWCR:
http://xnet.kp.org/permanentejournal/sum03/registry.html#


Best of luck.

Todd