Professional Documents
Culture Documents
NTR 302
Dr. Bruckbauer
A significant percentage of Americans want to lose weight, and there are plenty of varied
ways for them to do so. New diet programs pop up in the media frequently. It may seem
overwhelming to the average dieter to try to figure out which diet is right for them. Do they all
guarantee results? Which one is the best? In this paper, we will look at three different low-
carbohydrate diets, the ZonePerfect Nutrition Program, the Atkins Diet, and the South Beach
Diet, as well as a recent fad diet called the Big Breakfast Diet. We will investigate how each diet
The ZonePerfect Nutrition Program is based on a 40/30/30 eating plan, meaning that 40%
of calories should come from carbohydrates, 30% of calories should come from protein, and 30%
of calories should come from fat (1). The current recommended intake for carbohydrates is 45%
to 65% of total calories, so the ZonePerfect Nutrition Program advises a lower intake of
carbohydrates than is currently recommended. The current recommended intake for fat is 20% to
35% of total calories, so the ZonePerfect Nutrition Program advises a percentage of fat that is
within the range recommended. Therefore, the Program provides dieters with an appropriate
amount of carbohydrates along with relatively high amounts of protein and fat. According to the
ZonePerfect website, a high intake of protein helps provide satiety, the feeling of fullness after
eating, and helps maintain lean muscle mass (1). Like protein, fat consumption helps with
satiety (1). Eating a meal rich with protein and fat will keep a person feeling fuller longer than
eating a meal with mostly carbohydrates. In addition, the high intake of fat allowed by the
ZonePerfect Program allows for a person to consume many varied fat sources, upping their
chances of reaching adequate levels of essential fatty acids (1). The 40/30/30 eating plan is the
The goal of the ZonePerfect Program is to keep dieters feeling fuller longer. Research
seems to prove the effectiveness of the Program in achieving its goal. Researchers took a group
of people and fed them a diet with the ratio 50/15/35, meaning that 50% of their calories came
from carbohydrates, 15% from protein, and 35% from fat. After two weeks, half of the group
was switched to a diet with the ratio 50/30/20. Obviously, in this diet, much more of the calories
were coming from protein. All dieters were given a controlled amount of calories at an amount
determined to maintain their weight. Meanwhile, dieters kept track of how full they felt and how
hungry they felt. The dieters on the low protein diet had low satiety ratings and high hunger
ratings while the dieters on the high protein diet had high satiety ratings and low hunger ratings.
Later in the study, the dieters were allowed to take as much food as they needed to keep them
full. The dieters on the high protein diet steadily decreased the amount of food they ate, resulting
in weight loss (1). It seems clear from this study that the ZonePerfect Nutrition Program does
keep dieters feeling fuller longer, helping them feel fuller while eating fewer calories and helping
The Atkins Diet is also a high-protein diet, but it is much more restrictive of
carbohydrates than the ZonePerfect Program. The Atkins Diet promises dieters to “lose up to 15
pounds in the first 2 weeks and that’s just the beginning” (2). The Diet includes a series of four
chronological phases. The first phase is called Induction (3). The Induction phase serves two
purposes: to change the body’s metabolism from burning primarily glucose for energy to burning
primarily fat for energy and to initiate weight loss (3). In this phase, dieters eat only 20 grams of
carbohydrates per day (3). If a person gets 50% of his calories from carbohydrates (as is
carbohydrates per day as recommended by the Atkins Diet is an extreme reduction! Presumably,
by limiting the amount of carbohydrates a dieter consumes, the Diet forces the body to burn
other fuel sources for energy, one of the main sources being fat stores. This leads to rapid weight
loss in the first two weeks of the Diet. The second phase is called Ongoing Weight Loss (OWL)
(4). In the OWL phase, the goal is to achieve an amount of carbohydrates that will maintain
weight loss while providing adequate energy controlling hunger (4). Essentially, foods are
gradually added back into the diet while dieters keep track of the amount of carbohydrates
consumed daily (4). This phase is similar to the Induction phase with the addition of more
carbohydrates and more acceptable foods (4). Next, dieters move on to the third phase, called
Pre-Maintenance, when they are within ten pounds of their goal weights (5). In this phase, dieters
continue to add more foods to their diets as well as more carbohydrates until they reach their
carbohydrates a person can consume while neither gaining nor losing weight (5). During the Pre-
Maintenance phase, weight loss may be slow, so this phase may take several months (5). The
fourth and final phase is called the Lifetime Maintenance phase. In this phase, goal weight is
maintained when dieters eat in accordance with their Atkins Carbohydrate Equilibriums
discovered in the Pre-Maintenance phase (6). Should a dieter stick to this number, his weight
should stay within a five pound range of his goal weight (6). In summary, the Atkins Diet begins
with a dramatic restriction of carbohydrates, after which dieters slowly add back foods and
Like the four phases of the Atkins Diet, the South Beach Diet has three phases (7). Phase One
lasts for two weeks, and it focuses on eliminating sugar and refined starches (7). Therefore, foods
high in added sugars like snack foods and foods high in refined starches like white bread are cut
out in this phase. The goal of Phase One is to “eliminate cravings for sugar and refined starches -
and to jump-start your weight loss” (7). If Phase One achieves its purpose, dieters will find their
cravings for unhealthy sugars and carbohydrates significantly weakened at the end of two weeks.
Because dieters are eating less sugar and fewer carbohydrates, they will lose weight quickly
during Phase One. The next phase, called Phase Two, is the longest phase of the South Beach
Diet. In Phase Two, dieters start adding back “good carbohydrates” to their diets; they can eat
things like whole-grain bread, fruits, and vegetables (7). Lasting from the end of Phase One until
dieters reach healthy weights, most weight loss occurs in Phase Two. The final phase is Phase
Three. When dieters reach their goal weights, they begin Phase Three, which is how they should
eat for the rest of their lives (7). In Phase Three, dieters may eat any kind of food, but they
should be careful to utilize the principles learned in Phase One and Phase Two (7). Phase Three
helps dieters maintain their weight losses for the rest of their lives. The South Beach Diet is
comprised of three phases, each of which becomes progressively less and less restrictive of
carbohydrates.
While the ZonePerfect Nutrition Program, the Atkins Diet, and the South Beach Diet are
about what you eat, the Big Breakfast Diet is about when you eat (8). The Big Breakfast Diet
was conceived by Dr. Daniela Jakubowicz (8). On the Big Breakfast Diet, dieters eat a large
breakfast of 600 calories before 9:00 a.m. and 600 calories split between lunch and dinner
(source 8). According to Dr. Jakubowicz, eating a large breakfast kick starts your metabolism
(8). This means that it may actually aid in weight loss to eat a lot in the morning! Dr. Jakubowicz
also postulates that because of the body’s natural circadian rhythms, carbohydrates are digested
more quickly in the morning, meaning that fewer carbohydrates are stored as fat (8). For this
reason, the Big Breakfast Diet is much less restrictive than low-carbohydrate diets. In fact,
dieters can eat ice cream for breakfast as long as they eat foods with protein and fiber with the
ice cream (8). The protein and fiber consumed in the morning helps dieters stay full even when
they eat fewer calories during lunch and dinner (8). The Big Breakfast Diet is simply what the
name says; it encourages a large breakfast and a smaller lunch and dinner.
So, does the Big Breakfast Diet really work? The answer is that the Big Breakfast Diet
probably does work, but perhaps not for the reasons suspected. There is not enough research to
conclusively support Dr. Jakubowicz’s hypothesis that circadian rhythms make it so that the
body burns carbohydrates more quickly in the morning (8). It seems too unknown to decisively
state that dieters on the Big Breakfast Diet lose weight because of when they eat. However, Big
Breakfast Dieters do lose weight, but it is probably because of the caloric restriction (8). Dieters
consume 1, 200 calories per day on the Big Breakfast Diet, which is a large restriction from the
average daily intake of 2, 000 calories (8). At this rate, most dieters would be eating 800 fewer
calories than they burn daily. Over the course of a week, dieters would eat 5, 600 calories fewer
than they burn, which would equal about a 1.5-pound weight loss. In conclusion, the Big
Breakfast Diet is less supported by research than the ZonePerfect Nutrition Program, the Atkins
Diet, and the South Beach Diet. Nonetheless, it may help dieters lose weight merely because it
For the dieter, the question becomes, “Which diet is best?” Dr. Malcolm Robinson,
protein, and carbohydrates. The dieters received either 20% or 40% of calories from fat, 15% or
25% of calories from protein, and 65%, 55%, or 45% of calories from carbohydrates.
Researchers collected measurements from participating dieters for two years. At the end of these
two years, there were “ no differences between any of the assigned diets and degree of weight
loss, rate of ultimate weight increases later in the study, or any similar clinical parameter” (9).
What appears to matter is not what percentages of calories come from fat, protein, and
carbohydrates but how many total calories are consumed, regardless of from which
macronutrient. It seems from this study that any diet will do the trick as long as it restricts caloric
intake.
What about those average dieters who want to lose weight without obeying a specific
guidelines. Holicky simplifies weight loss with an equation: fewer calories in plus more calories
out equals weight loss. Dieters can achieve weight loss through a reduction in caloric intake or
an increase in physical activity or a combination of the two. Holicky suggests that if dieters want
to lose a pound per week, a reasonable goal, they should reduce caloric intake by 500 calories
per day (10). Most snacks are around 200 calories, so in order to achieve a 500 calorie decrease,
dieters could cut out one snack per day and burn 300 calories through going on a run or walk. Or,
dieters could replace high-calorie foods, like snack foods, with low-calorie foods, like fruits and
vegetables. Obviously, the how-to of dieting is pretty simple; dieters should shoot for calorie
outputs that exceed their calorie inputs. Unfortunately, dieting is not easy, and no program can
1. “The ZonePerfect Nutrition Program.” ZonePerfect. 2010. Abbott Laboratories. 16 Mar. 2010
<http://zoneperfect.com/nutrition-program>.
<http://www.atkins.com/Program/ProgramOverview.aspx>.
<http://www.atkins.com/Program/Phase1/ObjectivesofInduction.aspx>.
4. “The Objectives Of Ongoing Weight Loss.” Atkins. 2010. Atkins Nutritionals. 16 Mar. 2010
<http://www.atkins.com/program/phase2/ObjectivesofOWL.aspx>.
<http://www.atkins.com/program/phase3/ObjectivesofPre-Maintenance.aspx>.
<http://www.atkins.com/Program/Phase4/ObjectivesofLifetimeMaintenance.aspx>.
7. “How The South Beach Diet Works.” South Beach Diet. 2010. Waterfront Media, Inc. 17
8. Zelman, Kathleen M. “The Big Breakfast Diet.” Healthy Eating & Diet. 2010. WebMD. 17
9. Robinson, M. A Diet by Any Other Name Is Still a Diet. Alternative Therapies in Women’s
10. Holicky, R. Weight Loss Solutions. Parapalegic News. 2009 Nov; 63. 36-7.