The Food Hourglass, The 17 Day Diet and The Secret of Slim People
A large part of the Dutch population is overweight. For those who want to tackle those extra pounds, there are three popular diet books on the market. We take a critical look at each method, provide comments and discuss the latest insights about weight loss.
1. The secret of slim people
There are those people who seem to maintain their weight effortlessly, yet they always eat cakes on birthdays. How do they do that? weight consultant Mieke Kosters wondered. She looked at their eating habits and discovered that they are very conscious of maintaining their weight. They regularly turn down something, or don’t eat everything they want. Slim people don’t see this as a sacrifice, but as something good for them. Kosters is quite confrontational. She compares overweight people to toddlers, who now want that bar of chocolate because they have worked hard or are a little sad. But… she’s right. Becoming slim means choosing: do I want to eat something now, or do I want to be slim later?
Emotion Eaters and Eternal Dieters
In her book Kosters flawlessly exposes the thinking patterns and excuses of the ‘fat’ reader. You have emotion eaters, who eat chocolate and chips when no one is around and they are tired, sad or angry. You have the eternal dieters who divide everything into ‘forbidden fruits’ or ‘healthy but not tasty’. And then there are the people who cannot refuse food that is offered to them or is present in their environment.
Kosters concludes that slim people take control themselves. Anyone who is overweight should do the same. She gives a lot of tips and advice to make the right choices in difficult situations. Too bad she gives examples of daily menus with calories at the end of the book. That just undermines the whole message ‘Don’t die, but develop a slim diet’!
+ Thinking differently ‘automatically’ leads to a different way of eating. This produces a lasting effect.
– Through the daily menus at the end of the book it seems like yet another diet plan.
Read more about ‘The secret of slim people’
2. The Food Hourglass
‘Already sold more than 150,000 copies!’ reports the sticker. And that’s a lot, for such a thick (376 pages!) diet book. What is the meaning of the Food Hourglass? By eating healthy you stay young longer and you lose weight. Not really new of course, but the Flemish doctor and researcher Kris Verburgh does give it a new twist. He has the Food Hourglass developed as a variant of the well-known Wheel of Five.
At the top of the hourglass is what he thinks we should reduce: bread, candy, milk and margarine. At the bottom are the nutrients of which we can actually use more: vegetables, fatty fish, soy products, fruit and oil. He also recommends oatmeal and soy milk daily; you must love that…
In between oatmeal porridge?
In short, according to him, eating comes down to fewer carbohydrates (bread, pasta and rice), not too much protein and a lot of healthy fats and vegetables. The recommended daily menu consists of oatmeal porridge (from soy milk) with fruit juice and fruit at breakfast, fatty fish with vegetables and mushrooms at lunch and in the evening, for example, a salad with chicken, vegetables and legumes. For in between, Verburgh recommends fruit, dark chocolate, sometimes (again) oatmeal porridge and lots of water and green tea.
It all seems very well substantiated, by the many references to science and by the extensive explanation, complete with chemical images. But the critical reader is left with many questions. Why does Verburgh not recommend cereals, but oatmeal porridge every day? Why is he such a supporter of soy products and dark chocolate? All that is not really clear.
+ The recommended diet is rich in fiber, vitamins and healthy fats.
– The menu is very different from a standard eating pattern. That takes getting used to and will be difficult if you eat together with others. The rationale for the diet raises many questions.
3. The 17 Day Diet
Many people want to lose their pounds quickly, and that’s where it comes into play the 17-day diet handy in. A 17-day diet sounds too manageable. But unfortunately; there are many vipers in the grass. First of all, it means 17 days on a stick. With only lean meat, fish, eggs, yogurt, fruit, vegetables, very little fat and hardly any carbohydrates. The American GP Mike Moreno is correct when he says that such a crash diet is less harmful than was long thought. The dreaded yo-yo effect, in which strict dieting would have a lasting lowering effect on the metabolism, has never been conclusively demonstrated. The metabolism and energy consumption do decrease, but that is mainly due to the weight loss itself (your body literally becomes ‘smaller’) and the decrease in muscle tissue.
After 34 days some muesli
That doesn’t change the fact that his plan is super strict, and difficult to follow. And don’t think you’re done after 17 days. The title of the book is misleading, as there are no fewer than four 17-day cycles. After the first 17 line days, 17 days follow in which the ultra strict days may be alternated with slightly less strict days. This is followed by 17 days in which the occasional potato or a little muesli is allowed. And then another 17-day cycle follows, to keep the new weight as well. Because in this Moreno is realistic: it makes no sense to follow a strict diet and then let the reins loose again. Permanent weight loss also means permanent attention. He advises being strict during the week and giving yourself a little more on the weekend.
It’s a typical american book, full of American examples and written in American style. That should suit you. Just as it should suit you to be strict for the rest of your life, and only be allowed to eat more on weekends. That won’t be feasible for most people.
+ A very strict diet that will quickly lead to weight loss.
– Most likely the effect is not permanent.
Sources):
- Plus Magazine
