If you want to lose weight and feel better by eating foods such as white potatoes, pasta, rice and pretzels, you may want to learn more about the Serotonin Power Diet plan to decide if the program is one that you can successfully follow. The Serotonin Power Diet is a weight loss program that claims to help you learn how to control your appetite, soothe emotional stress and improve your mental energy through consuming the right types of brain-boosting carbohydrates at the right times of the day, according to the diet's official website.
Identification
The Serotonin Power Diet plan is the brainchild of Dr. Nina Frustztajer and Judith Wurtman, Ph.D., co-founders of a private Boston weight loss clinic specializing in obesity caused by emotional overeating and weight gain caused by anti-depressants. The authors propose that the diet can help you improve your mood while you lose unwanted inches and pounds, according to the diet's official website.
Theories/Speculation
Serotonin, the chemical that your brain produces when you are satiated, "turns off" your potential to overeat, says Wurtman and Frustztajer. Therefore, the authors propose that you can lose weight by learning how to elevate your serotonin levels before meals and snacks so that you will not overeat. Furthermore, the authors say that the diet can show you how to stop emotional overeating during stressful times, thwart late afternoon carbohydrate cravings and help you experience feelings of comfort and satisfaction through eating specific food combinations at pre-determined times throughout the day, according to the Serotonin Power Diet's official website.
Methodology
The Serotonin Power Diet consists of three phases, says Jeannie Gazzaniga Moloo, a registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. The initial two-week phase consists of three high-carbohydrate, low-fat and low-protein meals and three snacks throughout the day. The second six-week phase increases your protein intake at dinner, decreases your protein intake at lunch and cuts snacks down to two per day, says Moloo. The final four-week phase continues the carbohydrate and protein intake of Phase Two, but limits snacks to one per day, says Moloo.
Considerations
Whether or not the Serotonin Power Diet can boost your serotonin levels has not been established, says Moloo. However, Moloo feels that the diet does is grounded in healthy concepts such as low-fat, lean protein and complex carbohydrate consumption, and that people may lose weight on the diet because of its calorie restrictions and regular exercise recommendations. Finally, the biggest challenge that many people will face on the diet is having the willpower to not eat high-calorie, high-fat snack foods, says Moloo, and planning and eating the specific snacks at the appropriate times.
Warning
Speak with your doctor about the advantages and disadvantages of the Serotonin Power Diet before you begin the program. You may have specific nutritional needs that the diet does not address or you may need to abstain from certain foods recommended on the diet because of individual food allergies or intolerances.
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