The Pritikin Diet
The Pritikin Diet was created by Nathan Pritikin. In 1979 his book "The Pritikin Program for Diet and Exercise" became a best-seller on the New York Times Bestseller list and was co-authored by Patrick M. McGrady. The original idea behind his nutrition plan was to help diabetics to lower the daily cholesterol intake and to normalize their blood sugar without taking insulin. But many people using his eating plan also lost weight. This was considered an added bonus of his program. From this concept the Pritikin Diet was created.
A few changes in the concept...These days his son Robert, has taken over and made a few minor adjustments to the original concept. The major focus currently is on eating more low-density food and less high-density food. But the overall concept remains--more or less the same. The plan suggests to eat mostly natural food like fruits, vegetables, legumes (such as black beans and pinto beans), whole grains (such as brown rice), starchy vegetables (like potatoes and yams), lean meat and seafood. By eating food with a large volume of fiber and water like vegetables, fruits, beans, and other natural, unprocessed grains and combing them with some lean proteins and starchy carbohydrates, the Pritikin Diet claims that you will lose weight. The Pritikin Diet also emphasizes the importance of doing plenty of daily exercise, including at least 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, like brisk walking on a daily basis and weight training two to three times per week.
Where this plan falls short...The Pritikin plan is considered to be a low fat diet with around 10% of the calories coming from dietary fat. For most people this is very difficult to follow. The main reason is that a diet that is low in dietary fat will eventually cause hunger pangs. It is tough to stick to a diet when all you think about--is food! Plus, once people lose the weight on a diet such as this, and return to eating what they regularly eat, they gain all the weight back. This kind of strategy always sets you up for a relapse.
What is good about this plan...There are many good things to learn from this diet, such as eating low calorie density food! In addition, the idea of combining fiberous carbs with starchy carbs and lean protein--is also very effective! Plus, it is obvious that exercising on a regular basis will always bring positive results to anyone trying to lose weight! This is the reason we included this diet in our conventional diet list! The main thing, as always, is to use what works for you--and ignore the rest! In the next section we will cover The South Beach Diet and after The Atkins Diet!
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