Sleep and Diet Pills

I've discovered something: when on a diet, sleep is very important. As you know, I'm doing South Beach Diet with my wife, and I've lost about 10 pounds. Over the past few days, I've stopped losing weight completely, and I think it has to do with a lack of sleep. It makes sense. I recently read a newspaper report on a study that showed that people who slept less ate more (seems pretty obvious). But their bodies craved more calories than they used, creating a calorie surplus that would eventually end up around the belly (or wherever you carry weight).

I've noticed this occurring in my own experience. Right now, I am trying my best to finish a draft of my dissertation this month (two chapters left). So I've taken on a rather erratic schedule, rarely getting more than four or five hours of sleep at a time. In addition, I work at night and sleep during the day--less distractions. This adds up to more calories, so even if I'm eating the "right" food, I'm eating too much, and I've stagnated a little in my weight loss. This does not mean I think the diet is a failure, nor does it mean I plan to quit. I still feel better than I have in a long time (just tired), so I know it is doing the right thing. If I stick with the right food, I'll lose more rapidly once I can get more sleep. It's just an observation.

This brings me to my thoughts on the new diet pill they are going to sell over the counter. It seems intriguing at first glance, but it raises significant questions. Basically, the pill blocks the absorption of fat, effectively eliminating those calories. However, there are side-effects that necessitate a low-fat diet (diarrhea is one). In other words, the pill blocks fat, but you also have to eat less fat. In addition, you need to increase your exercise. So overall, one needs to follow a specific diet and exercise (exercise is always good for you) to see the benefits being touted.

Previous readers might have seen my thoughts on dieting in general, so you know that the idea behind the SBD is to eat less simple carbohydrates, more protein, and the "right" fats (unsaturated, no trans fats), because our bodies need these elements. Those on this new diet pill will need to eat "low fat" foods, which tend to add more simple carbohydrates to make up for the lost taste. This brings up a whole host of problems on its own, but the pill brings more questions still, because we need fat in our diet. By blocking fat absorption one loses a critical dietary element. Those interested in the differences between good and bad fats should read this article from the Harvard School of Public Health.

The diet pill was previously available by prescription, and this could be an incredibly useful tool for critically obese people. But for normal dieters, I don't see an upside. It seems like a crutch that ultimately will create bad habits. We know that low-fat foods cause more problems than they solve because fat is not primarily responsible for the obesity epidemic we face in our country. The low-fat era has actually exacerbated the problem. Now comes a pill that requires a low-fat diet, reinforcing a system we know does not work in the long term. Those coming off of the pill will then need to learn an entirely new diet to keep the weight off, or it will create a vicious cycle of dependency and yo-yo dieting.

Also, by keeping the pill prescription-only, it was more difficult for those with eating disorders to get it. Now that it will be readily available, anorexics and bulimics will have ready access to something that can aid them in self-destructive behavior. In fact, I can imaging many who suffer from body image problems intentionally adding fat to their diet to produce a side effect likely distasteful to most people (after vomiting, diarrhea won't seem so bad).

Ultimately, I believe there is no benefit to introducing this pill without a prescription. Having potential users see a doctor would ensure proper use (you should see a doctor before starting a diet anyway), and I imagine we will soon be hearing stories of abuse. Apparently, the FDA is more concerned with helping the pharmaceutical industry make a profit than with carefully assessing risk and effectiveness.

Potatoes

My last post made me think of something I wanted to share. Did you know that potatoes made the industrial revolution possible? Potatoes were introduced to Europe from America, and they are a high-caloric, easy-to-grow food source. If cooked properly, they also have a lot of vitamins (in the skin). The introduction of the potato during the agricultural revolution gave peasants a much-improved staple crop, which helped create a surplus population later harnessed into the factory system.

Of course, potatoes have their down side as well. In Ireland, the average adult male ate about six kilos of potatoes every day. Women and children over ten ate about five kilos, and children younger than ten about two. They completely depended on it for their sustenance. When the Irish potato famine hit in the middle of the nineteenth century, it killed a million people and forced a million more to emigrate. One more reason not to rely on a single crop.

Today, we live in a very different (and much more sedentary) society, where potatoes provide too many calories for us. If we worked the fields, they would be great. But mostly we sit in offices, and a starchy, high-calorie food is not what we need. But mashed potatoes are yummy. . . .

See? When you come to my blog you just might learn something new.

Food Is Not The Enemy

Those following Plainbellied's blog will know that she and I are on the South Beach Diet. I've been going for three weeks and have lost about 10 pounds. It seems to be working, and I'm not really jonesing for Ho-Hos yet. I think I'm getting over the hump.

There is something about dieting I don't like, though. I don't like considering food an enemy, and I don't want to demonize any particular kind of food. To hear others on the SBD tell it (Plainbellied excepted), "carbs" are the devil. Well, I don't like that attitude--and I really hate saying "carbs." I think this is a misunderstanding of Dr. Agatston's overall message, which is that we need to revise our understanding of the food pyramid. Rather than treat them as the enemy, I think we should instead think of them like a friend at work. If we spend too much time talking with them, we get in trouble. So we need to control how we interact, but it doesn't make them bad.

This is my attitude toward dieting: It needs to act as a transition, rather than an interlude. I'm at a stage right now where my metabolism has changed, and I worry about my long-term health if I don't change my lifestyle. That is where the diet comes in (that and the fact that I need to lose about sixty pounds. . . well, fifty now). More than just lose weight, I want to make sure my heart remains healthy, and one way to do that is to control my eating habits. The next step will be increasing my exercise. If I can make the change and have it stick, then I'll stay healthy.

I promise not to dwell too much on this topic in future posts, but I thought I'd share my ideas on dieting.