GM Diet

GM Diet Most Common Fad Diet

Thought of writing an article on GM (General Motors) diet came in my mind few days back during the innocuous conversation at one of my relative. She followed the GM diet and lost few Kgs and was praising the diet. I kept listening to her and thought of sharing the first hand knowledge. Before starting, let me overview the General Motors Diet. The 7 days plan goes as follows: Day 1: Only fruits except banana Day 2: Only vegetables with a cooked potato for breakfast. Day 3: Fruits and Vegetables (No potato and No banana) Day 4: Bananas and Milk. Day 5: Beef or Chicken or pulses, lentils, soya preparations for those who are vegetarians and tomatoes. Day 6: Beef and vegetables Day 7: Brown rice, fruit juices and vegetables. After all this, the most important question is whether the GM diet is a good option to lose those extra kilos or not. This is what this article all about. The basic principle of the GM diet is CALORIE RESTRICTION. Apart from this it is deprived of various nutrients that have to be taken on daily basis. Like carbohydrates, proteins, fats and other micro nutrients. Besides this it includes the limited choice of foods. The scientific reason of not following this diet is that the difference in the weight is seen due to excess of water loss and muscle loss and not the fat loss, as the diet is deprived of various nutrients. For more explanation on the same please refer to one of my article on Food Faddism, (Myth 1: Eating less or skipping meals will help me reduce my weight.) As all the weight lost is of water and muscle and not the fat, you will not be able to get rid of your ugly flabs. GM diet is just a 7 days plan which needs to be continued for more weeks to get further loss. So just have a thought….”Can you continue such a diet for your whole life to loose and maintain the weight?” Answer will be a big “NO.” GM diet gives instant and short term weight loss which once stopped will lead to weight gain more than what you had lost in those 7 days. The diet plan does not include any exercise regime thus even though after losing weight you will not get the firm, toned and muscular body. Right way of losing weight….. When it comes to decide what is the right way of loosing weight… you will get many suggestions and advice on what to eat and what not to eat. Many of us refer the FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID to incorporate proper balanced diet in our day today life. So just would like to upgrade your knowledge by introducing the New FOOD PYRAMID also known as MY PYRAMID. The New Food Pyramid is a tool to educate people to eat a more balanced diet from a greater variety of food portions without counting calories. The USDA has now expanded the four food groups to six groups and expanded the number of servings to meet the calorie needs of most people. New Food Pyramid    The new food pyramid is more flexible and accurate. What to eat and what not to, all depends on a individual’s lifestyle and how much exercise they get involved in during a week. I have heard many people saying that  “I eat only fruits for dinner daily to reduce my weight.” But before doing so just ask one question to urself , “can u continue having the same kind of diet pattern for ur whole life?” The answer will be big NO. Your extra kgs can be lost permanently if you have a proper balanced diet that includes all the nutrients in your 4 improtant meals, i.e. breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner. I repeatedly keep on saying this in most of my articles that “never skip any meals specially those mentioned above.” Most of the Indian diets are rich in carbohydrate and fat. As far as consuming carbohydrates is concerned have more of whole grain preparations. Fat should be consumed in very moderate amount most of which should come from nuts and oils rich in PUFA and MUFA. Apart from that fish for non vegetarians is very good. Avoid having solid fats and fried foods. The most important nutrients that needs much of attention are proteins, vitamins and minerals. For the people who are vegetarian meeting the RDA for protein is very difficult. And over that many people end up eating only fruits for dinner to reduce weight and keep them deprived from replenishing their body with the body building nutrient. Those who want to lose weight should try and eat more of proteins with bit carbohydrate. For eg. can have multigrain cheela, moong dal idli, besan cheela, daliya khichadi, moong dal khichadi, sprouts bhel and a long list of names of the recipe. Apart from that boiled egg or any egg preparation with low of no fat is a good option to have if you are an ovo-vegetarian. Non vegetarians can have chicken stew, or soup for dinner. To fulfill the need of vitamins and minerals one must have atleast 3-4 servings of fruits in a day. While most of them end up eating 1-2 servings. Include much of greens in your diet with all variety of fruits and vegetables. Apart from providing vitamins and minerals they are the good source of antioxidants which acts as scavenger for free radicals produces in the body due to exposure to various pollutants. Besides this they are good source of fibre that helps regulate the blood sugar and cholesterol levels keeping the heart diseases away. Hope the short article will help you understand your body need and help you put forward the right step towards weight loss. Note: Do consult a good and qualified dietician before following any plans or else it can be fatal. Take care.