Mitra
09-02-2008, 05:30 AM
Dr Mike's blog today (Two eggs per day keeps the belly fat away (http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/weight-loss/two-eggs-per-day-keeps-the-belly-fat-away/)) looks at a study that found having a couple of eggs for breakfast helped people on calorie controlled diets to lose more weight. As he says, the information probably won't be something that's directly useful for most of us here, but could help those of us who feed other family members who don't want to go completely LC.
I’m glad that the researchers used a real world setting for this study instead of performing it in a metabolic ward where calories could be monitored closely. Even though data from these types of studies tend to be more exact, they don’t tell what happens in real life when people simply go on a diet and monitor themselves. Anyone can lose weight on the Auschwitz diet if they are in Auschwitz, and I’m sure any studies of such a diet would show pretty spectacular results. But who cares? No one is going to go on that diet even if it does produce spectacular results. For a diet to be effective it must be one that people can follow on their own without a team of people monitoring, encouraging and recording every bite.
This egg verses bagel study is helpful because it shows once again that limiting carbs - even a little - while adding fat and protein helps to bring about more weight loss, and more weight loss in the right place, which is around the waist. Most readers of this blog I would imagine are low-carbers, and this information, though interesting, won’t provide any new or exciting ideas for helping to accelerate weight loss. But, based on the comments I get, many readers have family members or friends whom they know would improve on a low-carb diet, but can’t get that person to try a low-carb diet thanks to all the negative press, ignorant doctors, misguided friends, etc. This study shows a nice way to ease them into a low-carb diet without a lot of fuss. Show them the paper, then tell them to go ahead and follow their low-fat diet but eat a couple of eggs for breakfast. The decreased hunger and increased weight loss along with the stable lipid values (should they get them checked) should go a long way toward persuading your friends and/ or loved ones that they should maybe edge a little further down the low-carb road.
I’m glad that the researchers used a real world setting for this study instead of performing it in a metabolic ward where calories could be monitored closely. Even though data from these types of studies tend to be more exact, they don’t tell what happens in real life when people simply go on a diet and monitor themselves. Anyone can lose weight on the Auschwitz diet if they are in Auschwitz, and I’m sure any studies of such a diet would show pretty spectacular results. But who cares? No one is going to go on that diet even if it does produce spectacular results. For a diet to be effective it must be one that people can follow on their own without a team of people monitoring, encouraging and recording every bite.
This egg verses bagel study is helpful because it shows once again that limiting carbs - even a little - while adding fat and protein helps to bring about more weight loss, and more weight loss in the right place, which is around the waist. Most readers of this blog I would imagine are low-carbers, and this information, though interesting, won’t provide any new or exciting ideas for helping to accelerate weight loss. But, based on the comments I get, many readers have family members or friends whom they know would improve on a low-carb diet, but can’t get that person to try a low-carb diet thanks to all the negative press, ignorant doctors, misguided friends, etc. This study shows a nice way to ease them into a low-carb diet without a lot of fuss. Show them the paper, then tell them to go ahead and follow their low-fat diet but eat a couple of eggs for breakfast. The decreased hunger and increased weight loss along with the stable lipid values (should they get them checked) should go a long way toward persuading your friends and/ or loved ones that they should maybe edge a little further down the low-carb road.