Are you one of the people who when confronted with the need to lose weight become overridden with trepidation of worse yet, start immediately thinking of foods that you are convinced that you will feel are being restricted from you? Sometimes the emotional aspect of food is harder to deal with than most people anticipate. Thus, approaches for long term success need to be multi-factorial and this certainly holds true for the competitive bodybuilder. Use a Low-Carb Approach: Recently, scientists from Penn State University tested a carbohydrate restricted diet in adults who fir the criteria for being diagnosed with the Metabolic Syndrome. People with this typically have elevated cholesterol, higher than normal blood pressure and carry their fat mostly in the truncal area. This type of person also may have some level of insulin resistance that contributes to higher than normal blood sugar levels, coupled with more calories as body fat. Dr. Hayes and colleagues decided to see how the South Beach Diet affects biological markers associated with food intake and satiety. The thought process was that if a diet can be used to manipulate these levels to induce a greater feeling of satiety, weight loss would ensue and the health profiles of people with the Metabolic Syndrome would improve. The South Beach Diet is essentially a two-phase diet using an induction phase and maintenance phase. If one had to classify it in terms of likeness to others, it is similar to the Atkins for Life approach. The current study used the following macronutrient ratios in phases 1 and II respectively: 10 percent carbohydrate, 62 percent fat and 28 percent protein, with phase II being 43 percent fat, 30 percent protein and 27 percent carbohydrate. The three meals with two snacks approach was employed (five feedings per day on average). The take home message is that if you are looking to lose weight and improve your health risk profile (meet with your physician to review), consider the South Beach Diet to reduce body fat while allowing your body to use corrective physiology to help with decreasing food intake. NEXT