Backstory: My boyfriend decided that getting a personal trainer at his gym would help him lose weight faster, which seemed logical. However, he came home with a pamphlet saying that absolutely no salt (except that which naturally occurs in meat) is the way to go. The didn't weight or measure him before putting him on this diet.
The emails:
Dear Guy,
I am a Food Science graduate from Clemson University and I have some nutritional concerns about the diet you have prescribed for my boyfriend, James Boman.
Firstly, and most importantly, I am concerned about the low sodium aspect of the diet. Many people with high blood pressure are told by doctors to reduce the sodium in their diet in order to help. Regardless, even diabetics and high blood pressure patients are not told to avoid celery because of the salt. There are plenty of studies, on the other hand, that show what too LITTLE salt will do. The Adequate Intake level is 1500 mg (http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=10925&page=270) for a healthy young adult to ensure they will have enough for bodily functions, loss in urine and incidental sweat loss. Exercise increases this need, especially in the south he could be losing 1g or more (http://www.powerbar.com/articles/47/sodium-a-closer-look.aspx) of sodium during an intense workout. Sweat loss can be determined by pre workout weight - post workout weight + fluid intake. Ex: Lost 2 lbs during workout, but drank 16 oz? You lost 3 lbs=1.4L sweat and potentially about 1.4 g of sodium. I am sure that you are aware that hyponatremia is a serious condition where too much sweating and exercise with too little electrolytes will do-- nausea, headache, seizures, cramps, and even coma (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hyponatremia/DS00974/DSECTION=symptoms). My boyfriend is hot-natured and sweats even without exercising. I am worried that essentially a no-sodium diet would cause these symptoms in him. In fact, since sodium is necessary for hydration, this type of diet would essentially dehydrate him.
The fact that this would cause him weightloss has not escaped me. Many people abuse diuretics for this reason. Water-weightloss is a quick way to lose “weight” and make your muscles look bigger in a very short amount of time. (http://www.caloriesperhour.com/tutorial_salt.php) The possibility that a gym might do this and claim fat-loss success is not ethical, and I am afraid that this might be the intentional or unintentional effect of this program.
I have been told that you do this, not because of my initial reaction of dehydration, but because it increases muscle growth, do you have studies that show this? I would be very interested in the research. From what I can tell cells maintain homeostasis despite the varying levels of sodium ingested, and muscles should perform the same as a result.
Somewhat related is your restriction of carbs. While some allowance of carbs you have given, you have also cut out all sugar and dairy which are important carb sources. You have also cut out corn, carrots (partially), alcohol, bread (by proxy), and for many people rice (by removing fats and suggesting brown) which are significant carbohydrate sources. Cutting out this many carbohydrates may put my boyfriend into ketosis, which as you know is the point of low-carb diets like Atkins. While cutting out excess carbs such as cookies and desserts is often seen as a positive way to lose weight, this many genres of carbs may go beyond “excess calories” and dip into the glycogen reserves he needs for energy. When this happens, the water the gylcogen is attached to will fall away just like the water he will lose from hyponatremia (http://www.hcrc.org/faqs/ketogen.html). Essentially this will add to his dehydration, and come back immediately after the diet is over.
I have many other concerns with your UltraFit diet. For instance, many foods necessary for body maintenance are banned for an entire month. For instance, you have banned essentially all of the foods that have calcium either naturally or through fortification, such as milk, cheese, dairy, and juice. Calcium is vital for bone health(http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10759135) as well as muscle contractions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muscle_contraction#Skeletal_muscle_contractions) , which surely is contradictory to the goals of the program? Even oils and fats have an important part of the food pyramid. Fats are an integral part of our body because they make up our cell walls. Without fats, the cells are significantly weakened and exposed to outside contaminants. I would understand reducing fats, oils and sugar, but cutting them out completely, as your booklet “A Complete Guide to Get Ultra Fit at Coop’s Health and Fitness” requires, is something the American Dietetic Association recommends against. In fact, the ADA recommends avoiding diets that involve rapid weight loss and a restrictive diet (with “unlimited” foods that seem to be equivalent to your “free”). (http://www.eatright.org/Public/content.aspx?id=6851). The ADA is not perfect by any means, but salt, calcium, carbs, and fat have been repeatedly proven to be essential parts of diets for as long as nutrition has been studied. A month of avoiding these nutrients could result in serious deficiencies and symptoms.
I have also heard that this diet is not supposed to be long term, despite this (http://www.independentmail.com/news/2009/may/01/reader-argues-ultra-fit-meals-are-not-sustainable/) embarrassing Q and A article that appeals to emotion more than science. If this is the case, I appeal to the ADA again. Long term weight loss is very difficult and needs a lot of permanent lifestyle adjustments. How is getting used to one very strict regimen going to prepare my boyfriend for a lifetime of healthy living if he has to relearn all of the rules in a month? I understand that confidence and initial weight loss are important motivators for continuing, but are there no other ways to attain this keeping the national health standards as set by the American Dietetic Association, Heart Association, etc in mind? What will happen in a month when all of the water weight comes back when salt and carbs are re-introduced? What about his confidence then? Or will you tell him that it is muscle mass? If a dietician would not approve of your diet, why would you use it in your gym?
Lastly, I am concerned about your lack of health professionals in your gym. I see that Coops was started by a business major in 1993 according to your website, and no one listed on the website has any type of nutrition or physical therapy degree (not even homeopathic!). Perhaps you do employ them and are shielding this information from the public, but why would you do that? If you offer nutrition counseling, it seems essential that you follow RDI and nutrient level guidelines no matter how long the diet goes for. (EDIT: Apparently they have a dietician residing in Florida listed on their website)
If you don’t mind, I would like an in depth source for your diet, the reasons behind it, and the research that shows that not only is it healthy but that it works.
RESPONSE:
Dear Ms. Maggie Blair,
Good evening. My name is Other Guy and I am the Founder and Director of the Ultra Fit program. (Since 1982)
I was forwarded your letter from one of my Ultra Fit Professional Trainers (Mr. Guy) and I am going to respond to your concerns.
First and most importantly, Ultra Fit is not a gym program or just some fad diet and training program. Ultra Fit is a program with a 30 year history that has been implemented in 94 countries and by over 400 Professional Ultra Fit Trainers and has had tens of thousands of success stories and testimonials. Ultra Fit has taken more than 100 pounds each, off of more than 1,000 individual people and reversed the negative effects of Diabetes, High Blood Pressure, High Cholesterol, Ulcerative Colitis, Gout and too many diseases and illnesses to mention.
Ultra Fit is the most Professional Health, Fitness and Training Organization in any gym in the world, with the most qualified members, leaders and trainers.
Please review our website, history and our Board of Directors here...
----> www.defendis.com
Ultra Fit has been endorsed and approved by Doctors, Registered Dieticians and even the Medical Staff of the House of Representatives in Washington DC, when I was brought there to train Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (lost 61 pounds and transformed his health with Ultra Fit) and the Senators and Congressmen.
Ultra Fit is a proven program that has never had one negative incident or health problem in it's 30 year history.
Ultra Fit is not a fad diet. Ultra Fit is not a low carbohydrate diet.
Ultra Fit is not a "no sodium" diet, as every protein food in the universe has natural levels of sodium.
Ultra Fit is a nutritional program that is based on healthy protein and complex carbohydrate sources to refuel the body, replenish glycogen stores, stabilize blood sugar levels and repair and build muscle tissue after a person is challenged through our Ultra Fit Training and calculated workouts.
Our Ultra Fit program is designed first and foremost to improve health (as it has in tens of thousands of individuals since 1982) and also increase lean muscle, strength, energy and metabolic rate, while reducing bodyfat and providing a better quality of life.
Rather than address each individual concern you have, I would rather invite you to supply me with your best contact phone number and I will be glad to discuss Ultra Fit and the whys and hows of our program personally with you.
I will be awaiting your reply and I will contact you at my earliest convenience.
Also see some of our videos on our YouTube Channel.
----> www.youtube.com/defendis
Have a Blessed And Beautiful weekend Maggie.
-Other Guy
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Dare to Lose Program (Warning, Long!)
After answering a Cragislist add, I had a phone interview with the Dare to Lose Program. The following emails resulted:
The original ad: http://greenville.craigslist.org/hea/2943992387.html
"A 12 Week Program utilizing the Dare to Lose Program by Dr. Shari Lieberman
Ph.D. in Clinical Nutrition and Exercise Physiology
M.S. degree in Nutrition from New York University
Certified Nutrition Specialist (C.N.S.)
Fellow of the American College of Nutrition (FACB)
New York Academy of Science member
American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine member
Certification Board for Nutrition Specialists
President of the American Assoc. for Health Freedom
Recipient of the National Nutrition Foods Association 2003
Clinician of the Year Award.
Dr. Shari Lieberman has put together a Weight Management System based on 4 basic principles.
Low Glycemic eating
De-stress
Exercise
Sensible supplementations
Our TLS has been tested and proven too loose twice the weight and three times the inches as Weight Watchers, Atkins, Zone, Ornish
We are seeking individuals to coach clients in her system and also introduce into the Medical Community in the area.
Please reply with resume:"
YouTube - Videos from this email
HIS RESPONSE:
Maggie,
Thanks for getting back to me.
It is quite clear that you do not understand what we are offering to Health Professionals.
Our nutraMetrix division is the fastes growing in our company, because we have what Health Professionals need.
We are sorry that you took just a couple of minutes looking at who knows what and making a decision.
I was hesitant in contacting you because you are so young and inexperience.
We are working with Health Professionals with a Master in Nutrition and they love what we have to offer their clients.
We do wish you the best in finding what you are looking for.
GUY
The original ad: http://greenville.craigslist.org/hea/2943992387.html
"A 12 Week Program utilizing the Dare to Lose Program by Dr. Shari Lieberman
Ph.D. in Clinical Nutrition and Exercise Physiology
M.S. degree in Nutrition from New York University
Certified Nutrition Specialist (C.N.S.)
Fellow of the American College of Nutrition (FACB)
New York Academy of Science member
American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine member
Certification Board for Nutrition Specialists
President of the American Assoc. for Health Freedom
Recipient of the National Nutrition Foods Association 2003
Clinician of the Year Award.
Dr. Shari Lieberman has put together a Weight Management System based on 4 basic principles.
Low Glycemic eating
De-stress
Exercise
Sensible supplementations
Our TLS has been tested and proven too loose twice the weight and three times the inches as Weight Watchers, Atkins, Zone, Ornish
We are seeking individuals to coach clients in her system and also introduce into the Medical Community in the area.
Please reply with resume:"
ORIGINAL EMAIL AFTER CRAIGSLIST SOLICITED PHONE CALL
Maggie,
I did enjoy speaking with you this afternoon.
Below is the information we spoke about. I wanted to send you all that we offer our Health professionals.
1. We provide a proven business model to achieve financial success for a Health Professional and their practice.
2. Advance nutraceuticals, many with the superior Isotonix delivery system.
. Targeted health regimens: optimal health, heart health, bone & joint, and more.
. Comprehensive, science-based, synergistic formulation meet the standards of the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary (USP-NF) and are produced with the FDA's GMP standards for quality control.
. Provides patients with a convenient and secure way to personally connect with their practice
and to purchase their nutraMetrix nutraceuticals.
. Online medical records
. Online prescription refills
. e-Consultations
. Online appointment setting
. Daily health tracking
. Health education
. Daily health news
4. Easy-to-implement, clinically supported Weight Management Solution.
. Acomprehensive, low-glycemic weight management program that can be offered on an individual basis or in a group setting
. Access to a Certified Lifestyle Coach that can teach classes in their office or train their staff to teach classes to their patients.
. Interactive website for patients to use at home to track their weight loss progress and goals
. TLS Shape up program (ages 10-17) addresses the growing epidemic of childhood obesity by providing the support families and children need to maintain a health weight
5. Customized health care through such as Gene SNP DNA Analysis andnutraMetrix Isotonix Custom Cocktail
. Gene SNP provides a personalized Health Action Plan recommending customized diet, excercise and nutrittion solutions based on their patient's unique genetic profile and lifestyle
. nutraMetrix Isontonix Custom Cocktail enables you to create customizednutraceutical formulations to meet their patient's unique healthcare needs
6. nutraMetrix is the proud sponsor of the nutraMetrix Educational Institute (nEI), a nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to providing continuing healthcareeducation in nutrition
. Provides CMEs and Ces in the areeas of clinical nutrition and nutraceuticals
. Provides a networking forum with other health professionals to collaborate on the use of nutraceuticals in daily practice.
Our Health Professionals have commented that our OPC-3 product is the only product on the market they have found that can reduce the C Reactive Protein Highly Sensitive (CRP-hs) primarily a marker for arterial inflammation by 50% in 24 hours. A high CRP-hs can put people at a higher risk for heart attack. This includes any Pharmaceutical drug on the market.
www.nutrametrix.com this is a Web Site that our Health professionals use. We provide special labeling on our supplements for our Health Professionals.
Listed below are a couple short video's to view on one of our supplements.
Here is a couple of short video's of our Weight Management System
Dr. Sam Shatkin and Sharon Lawrence, RD on AM Buffalo TV
This is a panel of Health Practitioners discussing why they like our products and the system.
www.tlssystem.com this our website our clients use to help them on their getting health journey.
We look forward to talking again
GUY
we believe in you
YouTube - Videos from this email
MY RESPONSE
GUY,
I am a Food Science grad with a passion for nutrition education but hurting in the hard economy, so I am very tempted by your offer despite the red flags of an in home business that often scream pyramid scheme. Please do not be offended by my inquiry and critique to your email. If I have learned nothing else from school and Craigslist, it is to be skeptical of everything.
> 1. We provide a proven business model to achieve financial success for a
> Health Professional and their practice.
I am not sure what that means. Is there data for this? Perhaps a business model outline?
> 2. Advance nutraceuticals, many with the superior Isotonix delivery system.
> . Targeted health regimens: optimal health, heart health, bone & joint,
> and more. Comprehensive, science-based, synergistic formulation meet the
> standards of the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary (USP-NF) and
> are produced with the FDA's GMP standards for quality control.
All that point boils down to is that your company does not falsely advertise the contents of your products or allow feces and other contaminations in them. I had to write practice GMP's for class. Virtually every product on the market has to do this so I don't see what is special about these products verses everything else in GNC. For a second bullet point, this isn't coming on very strong (again, no offense). I Googled Isotonix. All of the results were sponsored by isotonix on the front page (no wiki, no health journals). One of the search result suggestions by Google was "isotonix scam." I clicked on that and found this: A whole list of results from a wide range of sites.
> 3. nutraMetrix.com Web Portal
> . Provides patients with a convenient and secure way to personally
> connect with their practice
> and to purchase their nutraMetrix nutraceuticals.
> . Online medical records
> . Online prescription refills
> . e-Consultations
> . Online appointment setting
> . Daily health tracking
> . Health education
> . Daily health news
Are we filling prescriptions and medical records? Do we have that clearance? Even RDs in hospitals don't usually fill out prescriptions.
> 4. Easy-to-implement, clinically supported Weight Management Solution.
> . Acomprehensive, low-glycemic weight management program that can be
> offered on an individual basis or in a group setting.
I haven't been sold on the whole GI system. We had folks come in our class at Clemson from somewhere and talk about genes and GI, I wasn't convinced. The methods for testing responses to certain foods are dodgy (http://web.archive.org/web/20070214135006/http://www.diabetes.org/glycemic-index.jsp). GI is used in the South Beach diet, which is certainly a fad diet. This article (http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20070409/calories-count-more-than-food-type) shows that calories count more than actual types of food consumed in weight loss. Naturally, food science is an ever complicated subject and high GI foods also tend to be nutrient-weak. Encouraging people to eat nutrient dense foods is good, and the GI diet might encourage people to do this, but overall reducing portion sizes is more important than GI. Of course, people with diabetes need to watch the GI of foods but for other reasons than merely losing weight.
> . Access to a Certified Lifestyle Coach that can teach classes in their
> office or train their staff to teach classes to their patients.
The term "lifestyle coach" probably has good intentions but bad connotations (i.e. life coaching)
> . Interactive website for patients to use at home to track their weight
> loss progress and goals
> . TLS Shape up program (ages 10-17) addresses the growing epidemic of
> childhood obesity by providing the support families and children need to
> maintain a health weight
All that sounds nice
> 5. Customized health care through such as Gene SNP DNA Analysis and
> nutraMetrix Isotonix Custom Cocktail
> . Gene SNP provides a personalized Health Action Plan recommending
> customized diet, excercise and nutrittion solutions based on their patient's
> unique genetic profile and lifestyle
> . nutraMetrix Isontonix Custom Cocktail enables you to create
> customized nutraceutical formulations to meet their patient's unique
> healthcare needs
I don't know what this is but I do not feel comfortable selling anything. People with renal disease/diabetes/etc need medication provided by their doctor, but nutrition counseling itself for otherwise healthy people can be done without any sort of supplements that you can't find OTC.
> 6. nutraMetrix is the proud sponsor of the nutraMetrix Educational
> Institute (nEI), a nonprofit, 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to providing
> continuing healthcare education in nutrition
> . Provides CMEs and Ces in the areeas of clinical nutrition and
> nutraceuticals
> . Provides a networking forum with other health professionals to
> collaborate on the use of nutraceuticals in daily practice.
That sounds nice
> Our Health Professionals have commented that our OPC-3 product is the only
> product on the market they have found that can reduce the C Reactive Protein
> Highly Sensitive (CRP-hs) primarily a marker for arterial inflammation by
> 50% in 24 hours. A high CRP-hs can put people at a higher risk for heart
> attack. This includes any Pharmaceutical drug on the market.
That sounds like something a doctor should prescribe
> We provide special labeling on our supplements for our Health Professionals.
That entire site was for products and had no information on what it would be like to be a health professional
> Here is a couple of short video's of our Weight Management System
> Dr. Sam Shatkin and Sharon Lawrence, RD on AM Buffalo TV
>
>
That was from 2008 and they sounded very nice and knowledgeable but it doesn't put my mind at ease. I am an internship and test away from having an RD. Anything that is not sanctioned by the American Dietetic Association is immediately a red flag for me. I know this program is all about lifestyle changes but memorizing GI and avoiding certain foods does not sound like a lifestyle change to me. Anything that is "anti-aging" "synergistic" "science-based" "home business" "business model" is a red flag. Coupled with the Isotonix results I am not feeling good about this. If this is an honest business, this email does not seem to portray it to people who have degrees in food science. I know that a lot of diets work for reasons other than they advertise and that the ends may justify the means, but I really don't want to work for anything that I don't believe in. I also don't want to sell anything or work for commission.
I am going to have to decline this offer, but I hope you understand that I respected it enough to put time into telling you why.
HIS RESPONSE:
Maggie,
Thanks for getting back to me.
It is quite clear that you do not understand what we are offering to Health Professionals.
Our nutraMetrix division is the fastes growing in our company, because we have what Health Professionals need.
We are sorry that you took just a couple of minutes looking at who knows what and making a decision.
I was hesitant in contacting you because you are so young and inexperience.
We are working with Health Professionals with a Master in Nutrition and they love what we have to offer their clients.
We do wish you the best in finding what you are looking for.
GUY
Chia seeds
"Chia seeds.. what you got?"
-Mike, Afghanistan
Mike,
-Mike, Afghanistan
Mike,
Well, frankly I had not heard of them before you said something, but they look along the same lines of sunflower, pumpkin, and other seeds. Mexicans originally were the first to cultivate them for food on a large scale. They have dat sweet, sweet omega 3, if that matters to you. Here you can see sunflower seed facts (http://nutritiondata.self.
TL;DR, they seem to be alright
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