your buddy sears was on chung last night. atkins is supposed to be on tonight. i see sears is still foolishly telling people to eat six egg-white omelettes. that wouldn't even taste very good. plus your throwing away most of the nutrition in an egg. he also tells you to eat chicken sandwiches from mcdonalds. do you know the partially hydrogenated poison they fry all their food in? if this guy was serious he wouldn't have people eating hydrogenated trans fats. i noticed in his book he totally ignored this. that's why i can't take him seriously. of course if sears told people to eat their egg yolks and to stay away from hydrogenated fats he would be a lot closer to atkins, and then he would be exposed as the copycat he is!
CNN CONNIE CHUNG TONIGHT
cnn.com
Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt are in it. So are Renee Zellweger and Sandra Bullock. Millions of Americans are with them in The Zone. The man behind the popular diet, Dr. Barry Sears, shares his secrets for fighting the battle of the bulge. Are you ready for the diet challenge?
.........................................................................................................................
CHUNG: This week, we start a new series focusing on a growing problem in America. Many Americans seem obsessed with it. I'm talking about the waistline.
Our series "The Diet Challenge" will profile five different diets. And tonight, we start with one of the most popular, practiced by stars including Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt, Sandra Bullock, and Renee Zellweger. But it is also one of the most controversial.
So, earlier, I spoke with biochemist Barry Sears about why he thinks people should eat six times a day and how his diet, The Zone, meets "The Diet Challenge."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHUNG: Barry Sears, thank you so much for being with us.
BARRY SEARS, CREATOR, THE ZONE: Thank you.
CHUNG: I've heard so much about The Zone. So, first off, let's look at an average day, all right?
SEARS: Actually, this would be an average day for the average American female.
She might start the morning off with a six egg white omelet that we added about two tablespoons of olive oil to, some slow-cooked oatmeal, and about a cup of strawberries.
CHUNG: That's good. It seems like a lot.
SEARS: It is a lot. Now, for lunch, typically, let's say my grilled chicken Caesar salad. Thought we needed a little extra carbohydrate, so we add some oranges there.
CHUNG: And how about dressing?
SEARS: Dressing: olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
CHUNG: And that's fine?
SEARS: That's excellent.
CHUNG: OK.
SEARS: And for a late-afternoon snack, about 5:00, some grapes and a piece of string cheese.
CHUNG: Just one string cheese?
SEARS: Just one string cheese. (LAUGHTER)
CHUNG: OK.
SEARS: And for dinner, about five ounces of grilled salmon, some fresh vegetables and, again, mixed berries for dessert, and before you go to bed, a glass of wine and a piece of cheese.
CHUNG: Really? Before I go to bed, I'm allowed to have that?
SEARS: You have to.
CHUNG: Why?
SEARS: Well, because you're going into an eight-hour cycle.
What you're trying to do is maintain equal amounts of food coming in throughout the time period so that, at no point, are you ever hungry. And that's really the key to The Zone diet. It's a diet that basically is designed to make sure that you're not hungry. And that's a way of cutting calories.
CHUNG: So that's the reason for not three meals, but six meals?
SEARS: Exactly.
CHUNG: What can I not eat on your diet?
SEARS: Well, the fact is, you can eat everything, even pasta and bread. But use them in moderation. Treat them like pieces of seven- layer cake. You won't eat an entire seven-layer cake. You might eat a small piece. Treat grains and starches exactly the same way.
CHUNG: What is the theory behind it?
SEARS: The theory is keeping the hormone insulin within a zone that is not too high, but not too low.
CHUNG: What happens if it is too high or too low?
SEARS: Three things will happen if it is too high.
One, excess insulin make you fat and keeps you fat. The second, excess insulin accelerates heart disease, the No. 1 killer of males and females in this country. And, three, excess insulin basically now shortens your lifespan. On the other hand, if insulin levels are too low, as they can be on a high-protein diet, then you don't have enough insulin to drive nutrients into your cells and your cells literally starve to death.
CHUNG: Oh, so you're hungry all the time.
SEARS: Exactly.
CHUNG: All right, now, I know the key to your diet, two things, balance and portion. Is that correct? SEARS: That is.
CHUNG: All right. Why?
SEARS: Well, because, again, it is like driving a car. You can't drive a car all on gas or you can't drive it all on air. You need some combination.
And, likewise, we're looking at protein and carbohydrate, getting the right combination to get the right hormonal mileage from one meal to the next.
CHUNG: All right, we have some questions from viewers. Our first question has to do with why six meals a day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, how is the average person supposed to eat six times a day if they have to work?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: That is so true. That is so true.
(LAUGHTER)
SEARS: I agree 100 percent. But the key aspect is why you want to do six meals a day is like an I.V. drip: small amounts of nutrients coming in, in the body throughout the day, so at no point are you ever raising the insulin levels too high, which will cause now increased hunger.
CHUNG: OK, but you didn't answer the question. How do you do it? I don't have time.
SEARS: Well, actually, it's very easy, because that's what they actually invented fast-food restaurants for. You can go into any fast-food restaurant in America and make a pretty good Zone meal.
CHUNG: You're kidding?
SEARS: No.
CHUNG: I can't believe it.
SEARS: Of course you can't. And that's why there are benefits. If you know how to play the rules, McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King become your greatest allies.
CHUNG: And what do you get from them? What do you buy from them?
SEARS: Well, let's go to McDonald's. Let's have a typical meal.
CHUNG: All right.
SEARS: You might buy the McGrilled chicken sandwich and a McDonald's salad.
CHUNG: Oh, yes.
SEARS: You put the chicken breast on the salad. You throw away three-quarters of the bun, leaving behind one quarter of the bun as a very large crouton.
CHUNG: Very good.
SEARS: Love that meal.
CHUNG: All right, let's go to the next question and that has to do with portion.
SEARS: Yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought about going on the diet, but I'm a little confused on how I'm supposed to tell the ratios of the portions of food I'm supposed to be eating.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHUNG: All right, how do we do that?
SEARS: Actually, it is very easy, because all you need is your hand and your eye.
Here are the rules. At each meal, divide your plate into three sections. On one third of the plate, you put some low-fat protein that is no bigger and no thicker than the palm of your hand. The other two-thirds of the plate...
CHUNG: But I have a little hand.
(LAUGHTER)
SEARS: That's right. And I have a big hand. It is not fair.
CHUNG: It is not fair.
SEARS: But the other two-thirds of the plate, you fill until it is overflowing. You relatively supersize your plate with fruits and vegetables and then you add a dash -- that's a small amount -- a dash of heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. That could be olive oil, slivered almonds or guacamole. And there you have it.
CHUNG: Ah, guacamole, that's a pretty good idea.
SEARS: You have to come up with your own choices, because it is all about responsibility.
But here is a good rule of thumb when you go to the supermarket. You stay along the periphery of the supermarket and never go down the aisles. CHUNG: Really?
SEARS: And it's on the periphery that you find the fresh meats, the poultry, the vegetables, the dairy products. And get out of there as quick as you can.
(LAUGHTER)
SEARS: Your danger is when you walk down the aisles, because that's where all the food technology is saying, take my prepackaged carbohydrates home with me and consume them.
CHUNG: What is the greatest misconception about your diet?
SEARS: I think the misconception is that it's a high-protein diet. And it is very hard for The Zone diet to be a high-protein diet when you're actually consuming more carbohydrates than protein.
CHUNG: The scientific community has been very critical of your diet. It is just gibberish or it is not proven. What do you say?
SEARS: Well, in the last four years, there's been eight published studies that have compared The Zone diet to the recommendations of the American Heart Association or the USDA.
And in every published study, The Zone diet has had superior effects on insulin control, superior metabolic effects, superior effects on controlling hunger, and superior effects on weight loss. So, I think, from the standpoint, when the critics make that statement, they're simply not current with the most current ledger.
CHUNG: Thank you so much, Barry Sears. Thank you for being with us.
SEARS: My pleasure. Thank you. |
