Coop's Diet

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