Low Carbs for Just Two Days a Week Spurs Weight Loss

[Guest guest]

Can you diet for just two days a week? You might be able to drop more

weight if you cut back on carbs just two days a week.

British researchers found that women who essentially gave up carbs for two

days and ate normally the rest of the time dropped about 9 pounds on

average, as compared to the 5 pounds lost by women who cut back to around

1,500 calories every day, according to a new report presented at the

CTRC-AACR San Breast Cancer Symposium.

The study's lead author Harvie, a research dietician at the

Genesis Prevention Center at the University Hospital in South Manchester,

England stated that, " We came up with the idea of an intermittent low-carb

diet because it enables people to still have foods that are very

satiating. " " Also, there's a lot of evidence from other studies showing

that restricting carbohydrates has the same effect as restricting energy. "

Harvie and her colleagues were spurred to find a diet that would be easier

for women to follow because research has shown that obesity and the changes

it causes in the body increase the risk for breast cancer. " We know from

our research in animal models that losing weight has the potential for

reducing breast cancer risk, " Harvie said.

The researchers followed 88 women for four months. All the women were at

high risk for breast cancer based on their family histories. One third of

the women were put on a Mediterranean-type diet that restricted calories to

about 1,500 per day. A second group was told to eat normally most of the

time, but two days a week to cut carbs and also calories to about 650 on

those two days. The third group was also to cut carbs two days a week, but

there was no calorie restriction on those days.

At the end of four weeks women in both of the intermittent dieting groups

had lost more weight -- about 9 pounds -- than the women who ate low

calorie meals every day of the week -- about 5 pounds.

Women in the intermittent dieting groups also had better improvement than

daily dieters in the levels of hormones -- insulin and leptin -- that have

been linked with breast cancer risk, Harvie said. And, yes, this is

something you can try at home, Harvie said. You just need to dramatically

cut back carbohydrates two days a week and try to eat sensibly the rest of

the time, she added.

What that means, Harvie said, is that you can eat protein and healthy fats

on the two low carb days, but skip bread, pasta, root vegetables like

potatoes, carrots and parsnips to get to the 50g limit. The diet allows for

one piece of fruit on the low carb days. Other foods on the menu include:

nuts and green, leafy vegetables, peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, broccoli,

eggplant and cauliflower.

*Presented at the CTRC-AACR San Breast Cancer Symposium Nov. 2011 *

http://www.diabetesincontrol.com/articles/diabetes-news/11895-low-carbs-for-just\

-two-days-a-week-spurs-weight-loss

--

Ortiz, MS, RD

The Frugal Dietitian <http://www.thefrugaldietitian.com>

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