The Best Fast Weight Loss Programs

The Zone Diet is one of the five most discussed diets currently being endorsed. Developed by Barry Sears, a former researcher at MIT, it is based on maintaining insulin levels by striking a balance between carbohydrates and proteins at each meal. 

  

Sears suggests that the major cause of obesity is an imbalance of insulin in the body. He maintains that the diet currently recommended by most medical institutions is high in carbohydrates and low in fats - a combination which he contends contributes to the production of too much insulin, and results in obesity. 

  

The Zone Diet is based on the concept of achieving a physiological state in which insulin and eicosanoids, two hormones, are maintained in zones that are carefully balanced. By controlling the balance of insulin and eicosanoids, you increase the loss of fat, and decrease the likelihood of heart disease and diabetes, decrease inflammation and increase blood flow, and increase your physical and mental stamina. 

  

The Zone Diet 

  

The diet program of The Zone is designed to balance your intake of protein and carbohydrate at 1 part protein to 4 parts carbohydrate. It advises a moderate intake of carbohydrates, proteins and fat in order to control insulin. It prescribes a maximum amount of low-fat protein at one meal at 3-4 ounces, which is nearly exactly the recommendation of the USDA and the FDA. The majority of carbohydrates on the Zone diet come from vegetables and fruits, with limited amounts of bread, rice, potatoes and grains. Most fat intake should be from monounsaturated fats like olive oil, safflower oil and other 'heart healthy' oils. 

  

While this sounds a good deal like the Atkins diet (restricting carbohydrates), the differences are very clear. Atkins recommends a diet high in protein without regard to fat, with the intent of provoking ketosis, a potentially unhealthy condition. High carbohydrate diets recommend increasing carbohydrate levels and inducing the production of insulin which, maintains Sears, increases weight gain. Instead, the Zone Diet recommends achieving an optimal balance of nutrients with moderate amounts of proteins, carbohydrates and fat all playing a part. 

  

The other component of the Zone diet worthy of note is the supplementation of diet with fish oil. Fish oil, particularly pharmaceutical grade fish oil, provides omega 3 fatty acids which are an important component in healthy cells. Study after study in the past five years has confirmed the importance of fish and omega 3 fatty acids in the diet. 

  

A sample meal on The Zone's eating plan might include: 

1 3 oz portion of broiled salmon 

Spinach salad with apples and walnuts dressed with walnut oil and lemon juice 

1/2 cup of brown rice 

1 glass fruit or vegetable juice 

  

The eating plan recommended by The Zone diet combines small portions of low fat proteins, fats and fiber-rich vegetables and fruits. It also suggests eating some protein with each meal or snack, and at least 3 meals and 2 snacks daily. 

  

Who should use the Zone Diet? 

As always, if you're under the care of a physician for any chronic medical condition, you should consult them before embarking on any diet plan that substantially changes your eating habits. There are significant differences between the Zone Diet and that recommended for diabetics and heart patients, for instance. Overall, the recommended portions of foods and the balance between them is consistent with a healthy diet, and is maintainable for a lifetime.

As people all over the world are engulfed in the epidemic of the chronic disease obesity, we also cannot shrink our thoughts away from the life-threatening influence of smoking.  And if traits of obesity and smoking go hand-in-hand very little can be done for the treatment of such an individual. There have been quite a number of diet pills flourishing the markets for the past few years but now for the first time a diet pill is to be launched which is to have an additional function as an antismoking drug other than weight loss.

An experimental pill that offers the fairy-tale promise of helping people lose weight and quit smoking has already created a stir in this world with a large chunk of its population fighting the two vices. The diet pill has been the brain-child of French pharmaceutical company Sanofi-Aventis and will be marketed as the brand name Acomplia. The main component of Acomplia diet pill is Rimonabant. It works by blocking CB1 receptor, one of two receptors found in a newly described physiological system called the Endocannabinoid System (EC System), believed to play a critical role in the regulation of food intake and energy expenditure. These receptors are present not only in the hypothalamus region of the brain, but also throughout the body, notably in fat cells-- which are involved in lipid and glucose metabolism. They work by reducing dependence on tobacco, suppressing appetite and restoring the balance in the system. Since many smokers have a tendency for obesity, Acomplia diet drug could serve both the purposes.

Some analysts have also started considering Acomplia Rimonabant as a heart drug. Its medicinal implications on major cardiovascular risk factors – smoking and obesity can be considered a major medical advance for patients at risk of heart disease. It is the first anti smoking diet pill aimed at blocking the CB1 receptors of the brain commonly called the ‘pleasure centre’ of the brain and interfering with the cycle of craving and satisfaction thus making hunger or cigarette pangs more manageable.

Tendency to regain weight quickly has been seen in people once they stop taking the weight loss drugs. That is why the clinical trials for the Rimonabant drug have been going on since the year 2002 and are still in progression to make sure the guarantee of trust it will subject on its users because, only longer-term studies can determine whether the preliminary results of Acomplia trials will translate into lasting weight loss. People prone to obesity and smoking addiction have been waiting for the first anti-smoking weight loss drug to arrive in the market and their fanatic search for online Acomplia reports are enough proof of the inherent faith this diet pill has bestowed on people all over the world.