The Laguna Beach Diet

Brooks Carder

Description

This book presents an eating and exercise plan for sustained weight loss, along with the science that backs it up. It conforms to the principles of the Mediterranean diet, yet is also adapted to the cuisines of Asia and Mexico, representing the ethnic diversity of Southern California, where the Laguna Beach diet originates. Recipes for simple, delicious meals are included with tips on how to stay with this eating style when dining out or ordering in.

Sujets

• Santé et bien-être
• Diététique
• diététique
• Nutrition
• Fitness
• Laguna Beach
• Health
• Diet
• Mexican cuisine
• Laguna Beach, California
• Asian cuisine
• Mediterranean diet
• Weight Loss

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 15 mars 2008
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781591205289
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE
LAGUNA
BEACH
DIET
THE
LAGUNA
BEACH
DIET
The Healthy Alternative for Weight Loss, Vitality, and Long Life
BROOKS CARDER, PH.D.
The information contained in this book is based upon the research and personal and professional experiences of the author. It is not intended as a substitute for consulting with your physician or other healthcare provider. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should be done under the direction of a healthcare professional.
The publisher does not advocate the use of any particular healthcare protocol but believes the information in this book should be available to the public. The publisher and author are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the suggestions, preparations, or procedures discussed in this book. Should the reader have any questions concerning the appropriateness of any procedures or preparation mentioned, the author and the publisher strongly suggest consulting a professional healthcare advisor.
Basic Health Publications, Inc.
28812 Top of the World Drive
Laguna Beach, CA 92651
949-715-7327 • www.basichealthpub.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carder, Brooks.
The Laguna Beach diet : a scientist's guide to painless and sustainable weight loss / by Brooks Carder.
  p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-59120-528-9
1. Reducing diets. I. Title.
RM222.2.C365    2008
613.2'5—dc22
2007052180
Copyright © 2008 by Brooks Carder
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.
Editor: Cheryl Hirsch
Typesetting/Book design: Gary A. Rosenberg
Cover design: Mike Stromberg
Printed in the United States of America
10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1
Contents
Acknowledgments
Prologue
1.  There Is a Better Way: Why the Laguna Beach Diet?
2.  The Weight Thermostat and the Epidemic of Obesity
3.  Combating the Obesity Epidemic: What Works and What Doesn’t
4.  How to Find the Path and Stay on It
5.  Monitoring Your Progress
6.  The Mediterranean Diet and Health
7.  Eating in Restaurants
8.  Some Thoughts on Cooking
9.  Recipes
Epilogue
Selected References
About the Author
Acknowledgments
A number of people were invaluable in the writing of this book. Without my wife Fran’s success on the Laguna Beach Diet, I would never have even thought of writing such a book. Without her powerful support, I never would have finished it.
My friend Alice Rost, an excellent writer herself, edited and reviewed each chapter as I wrote, providing both expertise and encouragement. Her feedback made this a much stronger book.
It was in a conversation with my friend and colleague Pat Ragan that the idea of this book was born. Pat and I have written several articles and a book together. Pat would have been a co-author on this one, but as a Vice President of a large corporation, he simply did not have time to do it. Nevertheless, he did make a major contribution to Chapter 5 . This was like old times for me, as we took many of the tools and principles we used in business, and applied them to the Laguna Beach Diet.
My current editor, Cheryl Hirsch has done an amazing job. Not only has she improved the style, but she has also made significant contributions to the content. When I first saw her comments, I wondered why I was the one writing this book. At the same time, she provided plenty of encouragement.
Finally there are hundreds of scientists, beginning with the late Ancel Keys, who provided the building blocks for this work. I am grateful to them, not only for providing material for my book, but for providing knowledge that is crucial to the health and well-being of all of us.
Prologue
I F YOU HAVE BEEN TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT for years without sustained success, you should read this book. If you want to lose weight but do not want to go through the unpleasantness of calorie deprivation and low-fat diets, you should read this book. If you are happy with your weight and want to stay there, you should also read this book, but it is a bit less urgent. You can finish whatever else you are reading first.
The book has three essential ingredients: First is my personal experience with failure and success at weight loss. Second is my reading of the scientific literature that helped me understand the reasons for my current success and previous failures. This reading convinced me that the experiences that my wife and I have had are in no way unique. Third is my expertise with cooking healthy and delicious food that powerfully supports the process of losing weight and improving our health.
This book describes a method for weight loss that is:
•  Powerful. I have lost over 12 percent of my body weight and my wife has lost over 15 percent.
•  Sustainable. My wife and I started this process more than three years ago.
•  Adaptable. It requires no difficult deprivation, and no peculiar eating regimen.
•  Science-based. The book discusses the science that indicates that this is the most effective method for sustained weight loss.
•  Healthy. Not only does your weight go down, but the process also improves cardiovascular health and reduces the likelihood of type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer, and perhaps even Alzheimer’s disease.
•  Fun. The food is delicious. The book explains how to cook the food and how to find it in restaurants. Success at losing weight is also fun.
It is daunting to write a book on weight loss when there are already hundreds of them out there. On the other hand, most of the methods that these books recommend have no scientific evidence to verify their effectiveness. Testimonials alone mean nothing to me. The more of them I see for a particular product or process, absent of science, the more suspicious I am.
THIS IS NOT A “DIET” BOOK IN THE USUAL SENSE
Let me make clear at the outset that I have problems with the word “diet.” Its meaning is frequently misinterpreted. Dictionaries provide at least two meanings: 1) it is the particular selection of foods you eat, or 2) it is a manipulation of your eating regimen, usually involving restriction of calories, fat, or carbohydrates, adopted with the intention of weight loss. The word “diet” derives from the Greek diaita , which means “way of life.” Eating 1,200 calories per day or a low-carb regimen may be a diet, but it is not an enjoyable way of life in my opinion. The diet I propose is.
This is a “way of life” book. While I cannot guarantee that it will decrease your weight and improve your health, I can assure you that groups that live this way have far less obesity, heart disease, and diabetes than the current population of the United States.
SCIENCE IS THE ULTIMATE ARBITER
The only way to really know if a diet works is to run a controlled study. In a controlled study, a group of people are randomly assigned to either the test diet or to a control diet. Scientists then measure the differences between the groups, using proper statistical tests. Without random assignment, the comparison is not valid. For example, the most motivated dieters might all end up in the test group and the least motivated, in the control group.
While failure of a single study does not prove that the particular diet does not work, it leaves us with no evidence that it does work. If a number of studies fail to show an effect, we can be more convinced that the process is ineffective, although it can always be argued that we just did not apply the program properly. If there are no published studies, we need to ask why. Were the studies done but not published because they were not successful? There is just no way to know. Of the popular commercial weight-loss programs, Weight Watchers, LA Weight Loss, and Jenny Craig, only one, Weight Watchers has been tested in a controlled study. While the results were positive, they were far from impressive. The average weight loss after two years was 3.2 percent of body weight. However, 27 percent of the participants dropped out of the study.
And yet we are bombarded with ads promoting these programs. I am constantly disturbed by claims that are not supported by scientific evidence. I am a scientist and a businessman, not a prophet. I want to make a contribution to setting the record straight. I know that this will be an incremental process. I hope that this book will have enough impact to move us forward a bit.
Sustained weight loss is a difficult proposition at best. No one has found a method that will work for everyone. There are no guarantees. Now I could guarantee that if you eat 1,200 calories each day and exercise moderately, you will lose weight. I would probably be safe to also guarantee that you cannot sustain this regimen. That is the problem with most weight-loss diets. They create loss but the loss cannot be sustained.
The diet I propose may not work for you. You may not lose weight, and if you do, you may not be able to sustain it. But my review of the scientific literature suggests that it is the one with the best probability of success. Even if it were not the best, the food is really good, and that would probably convince me to go with it.
Certainly nearly everyone would agree that most of us need to eat less saturated fat, less refined carbohydrates, more whole grains, and more fresh fruits and vegetables. One aspect of the approach I am recommending, based on the principles of the Mediterranean Diet, makes it very different from most weight-loss diets. The diet includes an abundance of olive oil. Research indicates that this is critical to the success of the program. The most controversial aspect of the process I propose is that you do not directly attempt to limit calories. The book provides my reasoning about why this is the proper