Encyclopedia of Diets - A Guide to Health and Nutrition

Description

Dietwatch is an online program designed to sup-

port and guide dieters to healthy, maintainable weight

loss. It provides advice from fitness and nutrition

experts, meal plans, and tips and motivation, as well

as an online community where dieters can help each

other through dieting’s rough patches.

There are four options for meal plans provided by

Dietwatch. It offers a ‘‘no restrictions’’ plan that is

simply a reduced calorie, well balanced diet. Diet-

watch says that this is the plan for dieters who do not

have any specific concerns or preferences, as it

includes a variety of types and styles of food. Another

available plan is the ‘‘reduced carbs plan,’’ which limits

carbohydratesto 40% of a dieters total caloric intake

each day. This is not a low carbohydrate plan but a

limited carbohydrate plan. Unlike popular low carb

diets such as Atkins, it does not restrict carbohydrates

to just a few grams each day.

Another diet option is the ‘‘heart healthy-Mediter-

ranean plan,’’ which limits saturated andtransfats

while including a high level of unsaturated fats. The

style of the food and diet is Mediterranean and com-

bines many flavors and food groups. The last meal plan

alternative is the ‘‘vegetarian plan,’’ which is a plan

specially designed to meet theproteinand other needs

of vegetarians who are on a diet. The plan does include

eggs and milk products, but no chicken, fish, or meat.

Customers can personalizethe meal plans offered by

Dietwatch by switching meals or ingredients to meet

individual preferences. The program also offers shopping

lists that are customized to the dieter’s meal plan. This

makes the meal plan easier to fit into a busy schedule.

In addition to meal plans, Dietwatch offers exercise

and fitness plans and advice that the dieter can use to

help customize a fitness plan to meet individual needs.

There are a variety or strength training, aerobic, relax-

ation, and other suggested workouts available.

Motivation and emotional health are important

aspects of Dietwatch. There are motivational tips from

nutritionists and other experts, as well as discussion

boards where dieters share frustrations, achievements,

and tips. Dieters can search based on age, sex, weight,

or other characteristics to find dieters to partner with

for more one-on-one motivation and help.

Behavior understanding and modification is an

important aspect of the Dietwatch program. Dr.

Roger Gould developed a program called Mastering

Food that is available to Dietwatch members. It is a

12-week program designed to help dieters overcome

negative eating habits. Its goal is to help dieters dis-

cover why they eat when they are not hungry and help

them find ways to deal with the problems underlying

their eating behaviors. Overcoming emotional eating

problems can help dieters be more successful in stick-

ing to their diets and allow for more productive, suc-

cessful weight loss.

Dietwatch also offers a variety of tools that can be

used at the dieter’s discretion. A food journal lets diet-

ers track everything that they eat each day. The tracker

can tally calories, fat grams, and other information to

help dieters ensure that they are getting all the nutrients

they need. Also available is a tool for tracking a dieter’s

daily calorie balance. This tool combines information

about activity level and exercise with information about

food eaten during the day to come up with the total

calorie balance. This way dieters can check to see that

they are burning more calories than they are taking in

and if they are on track for their desired weight loss.

There is a wealth of information available on

Dietwatch for dieters who are interested in learning

more about health and nutrition. There is information

about different nutrients and how they work in the

body and explanations about why certain nutrients are

required for good health. Also available is nutritional

information for many foods, including information

about a number of different restaurants. There is

also general information about good eating and main-

tain a healthy approach to food.

Function

Dietwatch is intended to help dieters make long-

term comprehensive lifestyle changes that will help

them lose weight and keep it off. To do this, it helps

dieters with healthy eating and moderate exercise, as

KEY TERMS

Dietary supplement—a product, such as a vitamin,

mineral, herb, amino acid, or enzyme, that is

intended to be consumed in addition to an individ-

ual’s diet with the expectation that it will improve

health

Mineral—An inorganic substance found in the

earth that is necessary in small quantities for the

body to maintain a health. Examples: zinc, copper,

iron.

Vitamin—A nutrient that the body needs in small

amounts to remain healthy but that the body cannot

manufacture for itself and must acquire through

diet.

Dietwatch