Thursday, December 30, 2004

Northwoods Diet

The Northwoods Diet was designed by Professor David Bernlohr. Mr. Bernlohr is an obesity researcher and professor at the University of Minnesota. Bernloher said he had begun to skip breakfast and eat more during the day and at night. To remedy this habit he created a diet that he called the Northwoods Diet. This was to make fun of the fad diet industry and the South Beach diet specifically. Over the next 6 months he lost forty pounds.

The Northwoods Diet consisted of three meals a day with the later meal having smaller portions. no food was allowed after 7:30 at night. He began each day with a carbohydrate heavy breakfast. These breakfasts consisted of cold cereal or oatmeal. He said the carbohydrates stimulated the production of insulin. The insulin is the hormone that helps convert blood sugar to energy. Around midday he would have lunch which included carbs and protein. Many times this would be pizza.
The dinner consisted of more protein and included a meat, veggies, and salads. He did not eat in the evening to increase the time when the body is fasting.

People on the Northwoods Diet plan will eat three small meals each day. The portions sizes are the most important part of the diet plan. There is no eating allowed after 7 pm. Calories consumed earlier in the day have a less likelihood of being metabolized into fat cells. Meals include meat, vegetables and a salad. Walking is required to be done every day. The exercise will add muscle mass and improve your overall health as well as help you to burn calories.
Advantages
Easy to follow.
Utilizes exercise in the protocol.
Based on the body’s natural processes.
The diet allows for most types of food to be eaten.
Disadvantages
May get hungry or have cravings in the evening.
The schedule may be hard to keep.
The diet is an ongoing lifestyle.
Conclusion
The Northwoods Diet is a diet that focuses on shifting the calorie intake to earlier in the day. This can be healthier than other diets that promote cutting foods completely. The dieter will be required to keep portion sizes under control to ensure the caloric intake does not increase too much. The diet may be hard to maintain forever but it is certainly a more healthy lifestyle than eating late at night which is the most significant change the creator has established for this diet. There is no research readily available to establish this as a diet of choice for any particular groups nor to discourage its use

2 comments:

Marilyn said...

It's the end of the year. Time to remember, time for hope.
That's why we set goals, New Year's resolutions.
The South Beach Diet works - last January I lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks.
Then I got distracted. My sister was loosing her battle with cancer, I was feeling sorry for her and myself and had a thousand excuses and gained double what I lost.
Yuck! The fragile self image went right down the drain.
This story that hit the news a few weeks back sounds like a good idea. Being that I'm from Minnesota and all - and especially being that I love the North Shore and the North Woods -
This diet might just be the structure I need....

Marilyn said...

It's the end of the year. Time to remember, time for hope.
That's why we set goals, New Year's resolutions.
The South Beach Diet works - last January I lost 12 pounds in 2 weeks.
Then I got distracted. My sister was loosing her battle with cancer, I was feeling sorry for her and myself and had a thousand excuses and gained double what I lost.
Yuck! The fragile self image went right down the drain.
This story that hit the news a few weeks back sounds like a good idea. Being that I'm from Minnesota and all - and especially being that I love the North Shore and the North Woods -
This diet might just be the structure I need....