Longest scientific study yet backs Atkins diet

"George W. Cherry" wrote in
message news:j3Xsc.25881$hi6.2659601@attbi_s53...

"John" wrote in message
...
Bob,

On noticing a distinct improvement in the tone of your posts, I
decided to answer this one.

The proof you are looking for is right under your nose - in your own
refrigerator, in fact. I'm going to skip over most of the last post
to focus on exactly what I'm talking about.

On Tue, 25 May 2004 18:15:07 -0400, "Bob (this one)"
wrote:


But you say none of that matters. That only the weight is at issue,
and, you imply, it'll all work out somehow. I can't see the conditions
where packaged foods will contain the same nutrient composition
because they weigh the same. I just went downstairs to look in my
freezer at some prepared foods. I just picked the ones at the front.
No special searching to affect the ratios. Here are some foods,
portion sizes specified on the package and caloric content.

Food port. cal. cal/g

Mini quiches 139 g 440 cal 3.16
personal pizzas 155 g 390 cal 2.52
chicken bakes (in crust with veg)
227 g 290 cal 1.28
roasted potatoes w/herbs
154 g 270 cal 1.75
veg pot pie w/turkey 198 g 450 cal 2.27
pot stickers (shao mai) 150 g 280 cal 1.87
corn pudding 125 g 138 cal 1.10
cut wax beans 120 g 20 cal 0.17
vegetable kofta pilaf 128 g 229 cal 1.79

I don't have any full meals prepared in single packages, so I can't
speak to that directly. But the USDA has them in the database and
here's a sampling:

BANQUET, OUR ORIGINAL Fried Chicken Meal, frozen, with Mashed Potatoes
& Corn, Seasoned Sauce 228 g 470 cal 2.06
MARIE CALLENDER'S Escalloped Noodles & Chicken, frozen entree
368 g 629 cal 1.71
TYSON Roasted Chicken with Garlic Sauce, Pasta and Vegetable Medley,
frozen entree 255 g 214 cal 0.84
BANQUET EXTRA HELPING Salisbury Steak Dinner, with Gravy, Mashed
Potatoes and Corn in Seasoned Sauce, frozen meal
468 g 782 cal 1.67
STOUFFER'S LEAN CUISINE HOMESTYLE Beef Pot Roast with Whipped
Potatoes, frozen entree 255 g 207 cal 0.81
STOUFFER'S HOMESTYLE Salisbury Steak in Gravy & Macaroni and Cheese,
frozen entree 272 g 386 cal 1.42

The range of possibilities shown above is rather wide. Obviously, more
food than just this is necessary to reach the 2 pounds. Caloric
beverages. More fruit and veg.

If only eating two meals a day for a total of 2 pounds and assuming a
lightish breakfast as you imply;
two poached eggs, large 100 g 294 cal
1/2 cup muesli with 1/2 cup milk
93 g 195 cal
apple, medium 138 g 72 cal
makes for a total of 331 g 561 calories.

I calculated the average caloric density of the items you report as
being in your refrigerator (plus the above breakfast and USDA meals)
and I see 18 items with an average density of 1.64 cal/gm. Two pounds
of randomly selected food from your refrigerator (and the other stuff
you mentioned) would provide 1500 calories. A 1500 cal/day diet is
not a "concentration camp" diet. But many people would probably lose
weight on this level of consumption.

Under the 2PD diet, you don't need to read the labels, worry about
exactly how big a "portion" is, etc - you just weigh what you actually
eat. You stop eating for the day when the total hits 2 pounds. In so
doing, you will average 1500 cal/day based on the contents of your own
refrigerator. It's safe to assume that it is food you like and find
appealing or else it wouldn't be in your refrigerator. If we assume
you eat everything in there before refilling it (and restock it
identically), the above statistic will continue to apply.

Some days you'll consume more than 1500 calories, other days you'll
consume less but you'll average 1500 cal/day.

Thanks for the data. I rest my case. ;-)

John

Bob ought to stock his refrigerator with foods which
have lower calorie density. Vegetables and fruits typ-
ically have a calorie density of 0.5 or less. Fat-free
plain yogurt has a calorie density of about 0.5. So
does oatmeal. So does tofu. A cucumber has a cal-
orie density of only 0.1 or so. Eat food like this to
satiety and then eat some nuts or seeds and swallow
a couple of Menhaden fish oil capsules.

George



I'll go even further off topic here. I like the idea of calorie density but I
would think it would be useful to have a similar quantity, call it Q, which
represents the number of pounds gained (or not lost) per pound of the item
consumed. I think this would be the calorie count per pound divided by 3600.
Butter would be close to 1. (If you eat a pound of butter, over and above your
daily requirement, you will gain nearly a pound I think.) Water would be zero.
Thus, someone could look at a 6 oz chocolate bar and know right away what
eating that would translate into in terms of weight gain. (E.g. if Q=.5 then
it would be 3 oz.)

Bill