If you're trying unsuccessfully to lose weight through diet and exercise, you may want to learn more about the UltraSimple Diet to see whether the program can help you achieve your goals. The UltraSimple Diet plan claims to help you quickly lose weight, give you clearer skin and elevated mental clarity and ease muscle and joint aches, according to the diet's official website.
Identification
The UltraSimple Diet plan was written by Dr. Mark Hyman, medical director of the UltraWellness Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, which stresses an integrative approach to treating disease through nutritional medicine. Hyman brings the concepts of nutritional healing to the UltraSimple Diet, which claims to help you lose weight and achieve better health by addressing the underlying causes of your inability to shed pounds and inches, according to the diet's official website.
Theories/Speculation
Inflammation and toxicity are the two prominent factors present in a sick and overweight body, says Hyman. He proposes that the "truckload" of toxins you're carrying around in your body can interfere with your body's weight loss attempts and that the elimination of these toxins can help you lose up to 10 lb. in only seven days. Not everyone will lose 10 lb. on the UltraSimple Diet, but everyone should experience more energy and better health, which will set the stage for future weight loss, says Hyman on the diet's official website.
Methodology
According to Amy Jamieson-Petonic, a registered dietitian and American Dietetic Association spokeswoman, the UltraSimple Diet program consists of eliminating wheat gluten, eggs, corn, peanuts, yeast and dairy products from your diet for a whole week. You also eliminate nightshade vegetables such as potatoes, eggplant and tomatoes, as well as beef, pork, lamb, caffeine, fast food, hydrogenated oils and refined sugars, adds Jamieson-Petonic.
For the duration of the seven-day diet, you eat the same meals every day, starting with a morning meal of green tea, lemon juice and an UltraShake, made from flax seeds, borage oil, flax oil and noncitrus fruits, says Jamieson-Petonic. Then you consume another UltraShake and UltraBroth, made from 10 to 15 boiled and strained vegetables, for your midmorning snack, followed by a lunch of berries, brown rice, steamed vegetables and another UltraShake. You again have an UltraShake and UltraBroth for your midday snack, and then you eat a dinner of 4 to 6 oz. of a lean protein such as tofu, chicken, or fish, along with sautéed or steamed vegetables and another serving of UltraBroth. Hyman also encourages you to take 1,000 to 2,000 mg of vitamin C in the form of pure, buffered ascorbic acid, adds Jamieson-Petonic, to assist your body through the detoxification process.
Considerations
The UltraSimple Diet is low in key nutrients, vitamin D, calcium and protein, says Lona Sandon, registered dietitian and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
This diet may be a short-term tool to jump-start your weight loss, but it is not a long-term solution, says Sandon, who also points out that little scientific evidence exists to support the claims of Hyman's book. Lynn Weaver, a registered dietitian practicing in Toronto, Canada, agrees with Sandon about the lack of clinical data to prove Hyman's claims. Weaver says that Hyman uses bogus statements and misinformation to lure readers into buy his book, according to the "Toronto Star."
Warning
Speak with your doctor about the UltraSimple Diet's food restrictions before you begin the program. You may have individual nutritional needs that the diet does not address, or you may need a specific daily caloric intake as part of your current medical treatment plan that the diet does not provide.
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