Nutrition is not nearly as complicated as diet plans would have you believe - and they all want you to believe that it is complicated, or you wouldn’t need their diet to tell you how to eat. Go ask any professional at a medical school with R.D. behind their name and they will all tell you the same thing:

Unless you have a severe metabolic disorder or some other specific nutrition-related health problem, you can enjoy just about every foodstuff known to man as long as you practice moderation, variety, and balance.

Food pyramids are based on this idea, diets that are not dangerously skewed away from variety & balance (like Atkins and The Zone) are sort of based on it, all healthy eating is based on it. Being overly specific about what is necessary is the same as being exclusionary. Fish oils are a perfect example of such a fad.

Like most fads, it is based on the idea that if a little is good, a lot is great. Although there is ample evidence that Omega-3 oils lower the rate at which the liver makes triglycerides, the data doesn’t show any reduction in LDL cholesterol. I addition, as sold by most “health food” companies; they are laden with Vitamins A and D which can result in dangerous buildup. They also inhibit blood clotting and contain almost 600 mg of cholesterol per 100 grams.

The truth is that if you are eating a variety of foods, then fish will be part of your diet, and you will get all of the unsynthesized prostaglandins you need without giving your money unnecessarily to unregulated supplement hawkers.

Going further, The Zone diet is a pile of unscientific bunk for people who are unable to reason for themselves. Like I said, Dieters are stupid, and I’ll not pull that punch now. Specific to The Zone: While it’s true that eicosanoids are hormones involved in many metabolic processes, the relation of “bad” eicosanoids to obesity and disease is at best a scientifically unproven gimmick. Most clinical studies conducted during the last half century, clearly show that a high-protein, high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet leads to higher rates of heart disease, stroke, hypertension, adult onset diabetes, and many types of cancer. I bet you think ketosis is a good thing too?

I found a water bottle that holds 80oz which is based on a recommended 8 10oz glasses of water a day and I am drinking two of those per day on average.

I am also trying to go to the gym more and I meet with a trainer once a week. The food diary is tough because I really don’t want the guilt of listing EVERYTHING I eat, but I have to.

I follow the Zone Diet. 20 mg. fat per day, maximum. The calories are not relevant. It’s all about limiting the fat intake and exercising (water aerobics).

Stop by and say hello!

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