Losing weight - Show me the diets

Last week I found my motivation to lose weight: health.

I have my marching orders: Lose weight, gain health. So what diet actually works? I think I have friends in all camps, and they all have plenty of advice. There are the balanced Zoners, the firm-thigh-aspiring Suzanne Sommer's wannabes, the Atkins carnivores and the obsessive calorie counters at Weight Watchers.

I asked Gerri French, nutritional expert at Sansum-Santa Barbara Medical Clinics, to vet the various diets I was considering. This is what she had to say about Atkins and South Beach diets: "Too much of one thing means not enough of something else. Atkins and South Beach are extreme to us nutritionists and not healthy long term." These diets, which promote high levels of protein consumption and severe restriction of carbohydrates, can be problematic.

"When diets are too low in carbohydrates, there is not enough fiber as well as B vitamins, which are important for our moods. We need adequate carbohydrates to be able to do our routine exercise. Healthy carbs are ones that are as close to nature as possible, such as brown rice, oats, corn, beans, peas, fruit."

Lots of people report losing lots of weight on the Atkins diet. French realizes that people can lose weight quickly on such a restricted diet and that can help with motivation. So she supports an extreme diet as an initiation, as long as it is temporary.

Furthermore, she cautions that when weight loss is quick, the type of weight people initially lose is not fat, but water weight. Although I salivate at the thought of a diet where I can eat cheeseburgers slathered in mayo and lose weight quickly, it sounds too risky to me. So I am moving on.

Both the popular Zone diet and Weight Watchers might be considered healthier by nutritionists, but they tend to be complicated. Both require an eagle eye for counting calories and figuring out relative percentages of different food groups. I was never that good at math.

And what about the Mediterranean diet?

"The Mediterranean diet is wonderful," says French with enough emphasis to get my attention.

The diet relies mostly on grains, nuts, vegetables, fruits, fish, and much less meat and dairy than is found in most of our American diets. Olive oil is a featured player in the diet, as is the moderate enjoyment of alcohol with meals.

It appears that the greater consumption of vegetables is a factor. The Greeks typically consume twice the amount of vegetables we Americans do, about a pound a day. And this is probably where olive oil starts playing a more important role. It can certainly make that pound of greens a day more palatable. Another reason is how the Mediterranean cuisine reverses the fat ratio in favor of the good fats (monounsaturated), making the bad fats (saturated) of the more typical American diet take a back seat.

OK. This diet is sounding better to me. But, to be truthful, I really don't like fish all that much. And I have never made it to February on a diet before in my life.

It may work for you, but I had better consider some more factors in my quest to lose "The Pesky 10 Pounds." Next week, I think I can find the system that will work.

Dr. Michael O.L. Seabaugh is a Cape Girardeau native who is a licensed clinical psychologist with over 20 years experience helping individuals and couples with their emotional and relationship issues. He has a private practice in Santa Barbara and Santa Monica, Calif. Contact him at mseabaugh@semissourian.com.