Do Vitamin Supplements Make You Hungry Articles & Resources

What can you eat? In phase one, which lasts anywhere from two weeks to six months, you eliminate almost all carbohydrates except for a few helpings of salad greens, broccoli and zucchini. This means no bread, pasta, rice, baked goods--or fruit. You are, however, allowed to eat as much red meat, poultry, fish and fatty foods, like heavy cream, as you want. The only fats Atkins considers bad are trans fats, found in processed foods and commercially baked sweets like donuts. Once you've lost enough weight to begin the ongoing phase (usually after two weeks), you gradually add back into your diet small servings of nutrient-dense carbs, like a quarter cup of blueberries, until you discover the maximum number of carbs you can eat while still losing weight. When you finally reach your goal weight you're allowed whole grains, and you can even splurge on the occasional cookie or piece of cake, as long as you stay beneath your carb threshold. Atkins dieters are advised to take daily multivitamin and mineral supplements.

The pros: The Atkins plan is effective--at least in the short term. A recent study found that low-carb diets result in slightly greater weight loss after six months than a more traditional low-calorie, low-fat diet. And since countless companies have jumped on the low-carb bandwagon, with products such as Iow-carb pancake mixes and breads, it's getting easier to stick to the plan.

The cons: The weight won't necessarily keep coming off. After 12 months, Iow-carb and low-calorie dieters lost the same amount of weight, indicating that the Atkins-style dieters' loss had leveled off or they had regained some of the weight. But it's the long-term health effects of such a high-fat diet that really concern nutritionists. By eliminating so many fruits and vegetables from your diet, you're missing out on important nutrients that come from whole foods rather than supplements, says Brock. In addition, the lack of fiber in the Atkins diet may affect colon health and cause constipation, and the National Kidney Foundation warns that a low-carb, high-protein diet may increase the risk of kidney stones and bone loss. The American Heart Association is concerned about the plan's high dose of saturated fat, which clogs arteries and can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Recent studies have not found a link between higher cholesterol or heart disease and Atkins-style diets, but those studies were short-term and looked at only a small sampling of people.

THE SOUTH BEACH DIET

What's the deal? Think of the South Beach diet--created by Florida cardiologist Arthur Agatston, .--as "Atkins lite." The main difference between the two? Instead of lumping all fats together, South Beach shuns saturated fats (found in red meat and butter and permitted in Atkins) in favor of monounsaturated fats like olive oil. The South Beach plan is also more liberal about carbs, allowing you to eat "good" carbs, which take longer to digest and are more filling, and restricting "bad" carbs, which send your blood sugar sky-high, making you crave even more (see sidebar "Why Am I So Hungry?"). Agatston rates foods according to the glycemic index, which measures how much certain foods increase your blood sugar compared with a similar quantity of white bread. For example, a baked sweet potato rates a 63, while a baked white potato scores a 158. Other high-fiber low-glycemic carbs include asparagus, peanuts and peppers. Agatston recommends taking a multivitamin daily.

What can you eat? As with Atkins, during the strict two-week induction phase, you abstain from pasta, bread, rice, potatoes, fruit, sugar and alcohol. After that you choose the good (high-fiber, low-glycemic) carbs over the bad, says Agatston.

The pros: If you're tempted to try a low-carb diet, this one provides a healthier range of foods than Atkins. "I think South Beach is definitely an improvement over Atkins," agrees Brock. The diet trains you to make intelligent food choices, so you'll learn important lessons in nutrition even if you go off it. And the book includes many easy-to-follow, tempting recipes.

The cons: As with any diet, losing weight is easy, keeping it off more difficult, warns Alice H. Lichenstein, ., of Tufts University. "Most people will go from one diet to another without making changes they can sustain," she says.

THE ZONE

What's the deal? "Think of food as a powerful but tasty drug that you take at least three times a day," says Barry Sears, the creator of The Zone diet. By combining a precise percentage of fats, carbohydrates and proteins in every meal and every snack, Sears claims you can stabilize your blood-sugar levels, which will cure your cravings. This will help you lose weight, live longer and perform at your peak mental state, he says.

What can you eat? In this diet, almost everything is allowed--as long as the snack or meal follows the magic formula of 30 percent monounsaturated fat, 30 percent lean protein and 40 percent complex carbohydrate, and stays within the limit of 500 calories per meal and 100 calories per snack. "At each meal you divide your plate into three equal sections," explains Seam. "On one third of the plate put some low-fat protein, like white-meat chicken or fish, that is no bigger and thicker than the palm of your hand. Fill the other two thirds to overflowing with fruits and vegetables, and then add a dash of monounsaturated fats, such as slivered almonds or guacamole." Foods that are restricted include egg yolks, fatty meats, potatoes and corn.

The pros: No single food group is eliminated on this diet, so it is more likely that you will be getting all your nutrients without having to take supplements. And if you can stay on it, you will certainly lose weight, admits Brock, since the calorie count per day remains very low.

The cons: You practically need a . to stick with The Zone, because everything you put in your mouth should fit the 30/30/40 formula. "Constant micromanaging is a real turn-off; no one wants to be that meticulous forever," says registered dietitian Keith Ayoob, ., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Several companies across the country will deliver Zone-ready gourmet meals and snacks to your doorstep so you don't have to do the math or preparation yourself. But at around $30 a day, convenience doesn't come cheap.

DEAN ORNISH DIET

What's the deal? In the 1990's, before "low-carb" became a weight-loss mantra, the low-fat diet prescribed by Dr. Dean Ornish was all the rage. "Fat has nine calories per gram, and proteins and carbohydrates have only four. So if you eat less fat, you reduce the number of calories you consume even if you eat the same amount of food," Ornish explains. He believes a healthy diet for weight loss has lots of fruits, vegetables, legumes and grains. The optimal diet would exclude meat and other animal products. Ornish also advises you to skip simple carbohydrates like white flour, white sugar and alcohol, which lack fiber and don't fill you up as much as complex carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

What can you eat? Oils and fatty meats are no-no's, while poultry, veal, rice, potatoes and sugar are restricted. You don't have to be a vegetarian to stick to the Ornish diet, but it helps, since he stresses the importance of low-fat, nutrient-dense beans, legumes and vegetables. A typical dinner might include fillet of sole, red beans and dirty rice, a green salad, grilled asparagus, and fruit for dessert.

The pros: A low-fat diet works, at least according to recent studies that found the majority of obesity patients who maintained a long-term weight loss cut fats, not carbs. Such a diet has been proven to lower cholesterol and help clean out the arteries and has been used successfully by many heart patients to avoid bypass surgery. In addition, unlike low-carb diets, this one includes an abundance of vitamin-rich fruits and vegetables.

The cons: "To stick with this diet to the letter, you have to do a lot of cooking, because there are very few prepared foods allowable on the plan," points out Lichtenstein. "So it really restricts where you can go out to eat." Ayoob points out that a diet so low in fats can be difficult to maintain long-term.

WEIGHT WATCHERS FLEXPOINTS

What's the deal? Rather than demonizing fats or carbs, Weight Watchers focuses on portion sizes, a balanced diet and behavior modification. "We believe that there's no good reason to severely limit an entire category of food, especially if it means eliminating nutrients you can't get anywhere else," explains Maria Walls, ., senior nutritionist at Weight Watchers. In the FlexPoints program you are allotted a certain number of points each day depending on your weight (for instance, a 150-pound woman would get 22 points per day), plus an extra 35 points each week. You decide whether you want to save the bonus points for a Saturday-night blowout at the steakhouse or nibble them away with a 5-point snack each day. You can earn extra points by exercising, and members attend support groups, either in person or online.

What can you eat? Whatever you want, as long as you stay within your point allotment for the week. Some typical point values: One slice of cheese pizza from an 18-inch pie is 6 points, a three-ounce chicken breast is 3, a cup of melon pieces is 1, and a green salad without the dressing is 0. Weight Watchers encourages its members to eat five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, and because many vegetables are 0 points, it's a good way to fill up without using up all your points.

The pros: Nothing is taboo. If you want a Twinkle, you just have to make up for it by eating less later in the day. "The best thing about this diet is its flexibility--you can adapt it to your cultural, personal and lifestyle preferences, which makes it easier to maintain in the long run," says Lichtenstein. Research has shown that it's easier to stay on a diet when you have support, so the meetings can be a helpful tool, says Ayoob.

The cons: Keeping track of points takes some effort, and unlike the other diets, in which the only required investment is the price of the book, Weight Watchers costs money (up to $30 to register, then around $12 per support-group meeting). Marisa Cohen has written for Glamour, Self and Parenting magazines.

why am I so hungry?

Ever notice that the more sugary and starchy food you eat, the more you crave seconds? Here's why: Refined sugars and simple carbohydrates such as white rice get converted into glucose very quickly, which is almost immediately absorbed into your bloodstream, That sudden spike in blood sugar sets off an alarm in your pancreas, which starts pumping out the hormone insulin to help control the blood sugar. Sounds good, right? The only problem is, the insulin works so well that it sends your blood sugar plummeting. Then an SOS goes to your brain asking you to eat even more sugary and starchy foods to bring your blood sugar back up.

However, when you eat complex carbs--fruits, vegetables, whole grains--your body breaks them down more slowly, so the glucose is absorbed gradually and you avoid instant .C.

The Best No-brainer Diet Tips

Diets may differ on the details, but these basic tips will see you through most weight-loss programs,

* Choose whole grains over refined carbs. Whether low-fat or low-carb, each diet agrees that there's a hierarchy among grains. Stick with unprocessed, high-fiber grains like bran instead of white bread, and brown rice instead of white.

* Make sure you're getting omega-3 fatty acids, which protect against heart disease and depression and can be found in fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and trout, in flaxseed, or in supplements.

* Get physical: No matter which diet you choose, it's only half the equation. You need to add physical activity to burn calories, even if it's just a 20-minute walk a day.

* Water, water everywhere: Drinking six to eight glasses of water a day helps keep you hydrated and doesn't add calories.

* Fresher is better: "The faster a food becomes stale, the better it is for you," says Agatston, who points out that hydrogenated oils, the worst kind of fat are what gives foods like Pop-Tarts a tong shelf life.

* There's a reason it's called a beer belly: Alcohol adds empty calories to your diet and may weaken your willpower. Moderate consumption is okay, especially if you choose wine. which has some health .C.