Fit for Life Diet
Fit for Life Diet first came to the attention of the public with the book ‘Fit for Life’ in the 1980s, which sold millions of copies. It is based on the principles of food combining and long term dietary and lifestyle principles.
Food combining means that when you mix certain foods, it becomes hard for the intestinal tract to absorb them, and this is how the food turns into fat. This diet also aims to teach people to focus on maintaining the ideal weight by eating ‘live’ foods over the long term rather than dieting short term.
However several aspects of this diet have been criticised by dietitians and nutritionists and it is listed as a fad diet by the American Dietetic Association.
How to follow the Fit for Life Diet:
• Weight loss is a result of improved digestion, not of restricting calories and fat.
• As it is not based on counting calories, you can eat as much of the specific foods as you desire.
• Dairy products are strictly limited, while over 70 percent of the foods eaten are fruits and vegetables.
• You should eat fruit from the time you wake up until noon.
• Carbohydrates and proteins should never be combined in one meal.
• If you eat the foods in the wrong combination they cause fermentation in the stomach, which may lead to the destruction of nutrients.
• One meal could be an all carb meal including grains, beans and veggies. You may also have a protein meal with some vegetables. However, you should never mix starch with protein.
• Water dilutes stomach digestive juices and should never be drunk at meals.
• One day every week- the same day of the week is a cheating day, you can eat whatever you want.
Drawbacks of Fit for Life Diet:
• Fit for Life theories are unsupported by scientific data.
• It requires serious changes to your eating habits.
• If you strictly follow this diet, you may encounter health problems due to lack of vitamins D and B12, iron and zinc.
• It has many limitations on healthy and nutritious foods.
• Lean meats and dairy products are restricted. This eating plan does not include sufficient amounts of protein.
• When and how you eat is far more important than what or how much you eat, according to ‘Fit for Life’. This has no scientific backup.
• Fit for Life is not a particularly easy diet to follow.
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References:
Tish Davidson (2007). “Fit for Life diet”. in Jacqueline L. Longe. The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets: A Guide to Health and Nutrition. Thomson Gale. p. 383–385.
Diamond, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond. Fit for Life New York, NY: Fine Communications, 2002.
Diamond, Harvey. Fit for Life: A New Beginning: Your Complete Diet and Health Plan for the Millennium New York, NY: Kensington Books, 2000.
Scales, Mary Josephine. Diets in a Nutshell: A Definitive Guide on Diets from A to Z. Clifton, VA: Apex Publishers, 2005.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fit_for_Life.
http://www.healthreserve.com/dieting/ fit_for_life_diet.htm.
