We try to support a lot of diets here, and believe that there isn't one diet that is right for everyone. You have to find what fits your lifestyle and personal tastes, so that you will be able to stick to your diet for the long haul.
That being said, we also try to let people know if a particular diet seems like a fad, scam, or unhealthy in the long run. This particular diet is not one that I personally would try, or recommend. Also, their supplements contain things I personally would not put in my body, organic or not.
Here are a couple of articles I've found about the Warrior Diet, including some general information on spotting scam/fad diets:
From Margaret Loeper Vasquez, licensed dietitian and public relations director for the Massachusetts Dietetic Association.
Quote:
The Boston Herald; 7/6/2003; Nissman, Cara
Byline: Cara Nissman
So you're staring at yourself in the mirror, sucking in your gut and starting to hope the stormy weather doesn't let up in time for your pal's beach barbecue debauchery next month. Looking for a quick way to lose a few pounds?
You're not alone. More than 60 percent of U.S. adults are overweight or obese and more than two-thirds of all Americans are trying to lose or keep off weight, according to a 2002 Federal Trade Commission report that challenged several claims by weight-loss ads.
In desperation, people often turn to fad diets that promise to melt pounds quickly. But the programs, which range from fasting to limiting consumption of a particular food group or item, can seriously deprive the body of necessary nutrients.
`You'll be amazed at what people will try," said Margaret Loeper Vasquez, licensed dietitian and public relations director for the Massachusetts Dietetic Association.
Local dietitians warned against the following diets and others with similar restrictions.
THE RAW FOODS DIET
Popeye probably would dig this diet, considering he eats spinach straight from the can. But he'd feel weak if it were all he ate.
A diet that limits you to mostly raw foods - meaning mainly fruits and vegetables - can deprive you of the protein and many vitamins and minerals you need, said Elizabeth Metallinos-Katsaras, professor of nutrition at Simmons College's School for Health Studies.
"It excludes whole groups of foods," she said. "You can't eat anything high in protein, even beans. You can't eat lentils raw. And you're excluding any food with B-12."
And some nutrients, such as iron, are better absorbed when many vegetables are cooked, Loeper Vasquez said.
THE APPLE CIDER VINEGAR DIET
Who would chug vinegar as if it were tequila? You might cringe at the thought, but this diet has been around for decades. Proponents claim vinegar speeds up your metabolism, but dietitians argue the diet is simply an excuse for businesses to hawk their vinegar pills to those who dislike the taste of the stuff.
"There's no evidence that supports the idea that it has any effect on the metabolism," Metallinos-Katsaras said.
THE WARRIOR DIET
Ori Hofmekler, founder of the fitness magazine Mind & Muscle Power - but not a licensed dietitian or nutritionist - says his plan, "The Warrior Diet" (Dragon Door, $26.95), speeds metabolism by limiting people to just fruits and vegetables all day and then allowing them to gorge on a large dinner at night. He said a National Institute on Aging study on mice that found health benefits to fasting and gorging bolsters his weight-loss theory.
"In the past, hunters, warriors and wild animals alike intuitively and instinctively chose this eating style to optimize their strength and ensure their survival," he said in a press release.
Licensed dietitian Caitlin Hosmer said the NIA research is interesting, but that Hofmekler's claims are a bit far-fetched.
"It may be true that stressing out the cells and not exposing them to food all the time may be a beneficial thing for their health over a long time," said Hosmer, who manages the nutrition consultation service at Brigham and Women's Hospital. "But it's still a stretch to get to weight loss. It's very common to jump off preliminary research and try to extrapolate magic answers."
Loeper Vasquez said eating small well-rounded meals throughout the day is a better way to ward off diseases and prevent weight gain.
"If you're eating so much at the end of the day, you'll have a higher risk of gastrointestinal reflux," she said. "We're not warriors any more. We're not doing the physical activity of warriors today. You can't make those correlations."
Hofmekler could not be reached for comment.
Lying to be thin
People shouldn't feel embarrassed about falling for a fad diet, said Simmons College professor Elizabeth Metallinos-Katsaras.
"I think a lot of people are susceptible," she said. "It's natural to want to do something fun, something painless. But none of these diets have demonstrated that they can keep the weight off."
Several dietitians suggested reasons to steer clear of weight-loss programs:
- The diet focuses on a food group or simply a handful of foods.
- The cited scientific evidence isn't directly linked to losing weight or hasn't been tested on human beings.
- The person behind the diet lacks credentials in nutrition.
- The program boasts many testimonials, which may be contrived.
- A claim that seems too good to be true may be, especially if the company is urging you to buy their product.
Daniel Katz, MD, mentioned the Warrior Diet in an article published in O (Oprah's magazine) which was about fad diets and how to spot a scam. This article contains a lot of helpful information about diets in general, so I'll post the whole thing
Quote:
How to spot a diet scam from a mile away: fat! No fat! Sugar! Protein! Fruit only! Food combining! Enough already! David L. Katz, MD, busts the bogus claims of some of today's best-known weight loss programs. (Your Body).
O, The Oprah Magazine; 1/1/2003; Katz, David L.
AN ASTOUNDING 65 PERCENT OF AMERICAN adults are overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. No wonder it's a seller's market for fad diets, which come in many flavors: Atkins advocates a high intake of fat; the Zone pushes protein and restricts carbohydrates. Sugar Busters claims low-fat diets don't work. There's the blood type diet, the warrior diet (fast all day, binge at night), the vats-of-cabbage-soup diet. How can you tell which highly touted weight loss plan is sound and Which isn't? To avoid wasting time and money on a diet that won't hold up for more than a few weeks -- and may damage your health--Look for these red flags:
Defiant claims of a renegade genius.
Watch out for a diet guru who professes to understand nutritional science but rejects it, contending that prevailing views on weight control are misguided. Posing as an unconventional genius who perceives truths mere mortals can't see is an easy way to get attention. Conventional wisdom is indeed wise--and hard earned, the product of painstaking research and long-term observation.
Dis-counting calories. Beware of any regimen suggesting that the key to weight loss lies not in controlling calorie intake but in tinkering with the body's level of a single hormone or chemical, such as insulin (Atkins, Sugar Busters, Carbohydrate Addicts) or eicosanoids, a class of hormone-like substances involved in many body processes, especially the production and prevention of inflammation. (In the Zone, they're called super hormones.) In reality, the regulation of weight involves the complicated interaction of many hormones and chemicals. It also rests on a simple truth: You gain weight when you take in more calories than you use up. If a fad diet works, it's because the dieter lowered her calorie intake. For example, the Zone diet leads to weight loss not because of a magic combination of proteins and carbohydrates but because the diet provides 1,100 calories a day for the average person, a level that usually leads to a weight loss of one to two and a half pounds a week. An initial burst of pound shedd ing on these diets is mainly from potentially harmful water loss.
Enticing testimonials. Ads for fad diets generally offer convincing quotes from highly satisfied customers. These are as easy to obtain as they are meaningless. The quotes may come from the brief period of peak satisfaction. How do these folks feel six months later, when the weight is likely to have come back? The ads don't say.
The promise of a quick fix. Fad diets promise--and may even deliver--rapid weight loss, offering a short-term solution to a permanent problem. The tendency to gain weight will not go away after a few weeks of eating only grapefruit or bacon. A diet so unbalanced that you can't stay on it for more than a few weeks or months without feeling awful is of no use for lifelong weight control. And the lack of balance can hurt your health. Extreme high-protein, low-carb diets can lead to vitamin deficiencies, a loss of bone density, and other problems.
What to do after you've protected yourself against squandering time, money, and perhaps even your health on nutritional nonsense? Keep the constant company of your common sense and learn the skills and strategies you need to eat well despite the challenges of modern living--skills such as controlling hunger, balancing pleasure from food with pleasure in health and weight control, interpreting food labels so you can stock a pantry and fridge with healthful brands and products, making ingredient substitutions that add nutrition without subtracting taste, avoiding social pressure to overeat, and making physical activity an everyday part of life.
When you consider a new food program, first check to make sure it has none of the red flags listed above. Remember that any weight control program that doesn't include physical activity isn't a good one. If you're a parent, consider whether it's a way of eating you would endorse for your kids. If it's not healthful enough for them--offering an abundance of vegetables, fruits, and whole grains--it's not healthful enough for you! Ask yourself whether you'd feel comfortable and confident eating this way for the rest of your life. If not, it's an on-again, off-again diet, and these simply don't work.
David L. Katz, MD, is associate clinical professor of public health and medicine at Yale University School of Medicine and author of The Way to Eat (Sourcebooks).
soontobegoneforgood , 05-21-2004 09:07 AM
StarPrincess , 05-21-2004 01:38 PM
I guess I just needed to hear it from someone else!
warriorchick , 07-04-2004 12:07 PM
MichelleRae , 07-04-2004 02:51 PM
Suzanne 3FC , 07-04-2004 03:08 PM
