Vegetarian
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Diets A-Z: Montignac Diet
Celebrity followers
Kylie Minogue
The theory
Food combining has been a popular way of controlling weight, of which Montignac is just one version. The theory is that by eating foods in a particular order you can maximise your digestive capability and avoid the blood sugar swings that lead to weight gain.
The plan
Carbs are not banned, but eaten separately to proteins. So a meal might consist of meat and salad, or whoelgrain pasta and salad, but not of pasta and meat together. This means that you can give in to carb cravings in a controlled way by eating them at some meals. What is important, however, is the quality of the carbs (hence the wholegrain pasta rather than white pasta). But as fats are more-or-less banned with a carbohydrate meal this means that you need to employ low-fat cooking methods and find flavour from elsewhere. No processed foods or sugar are allowed. You are encouraged to eat lots of vegetables. Fruits are eaten separately to other foods.
There are two phases to the plan. The weight loss stage and the maintenance phase. This makes sense as many dieters lose the weight and then don't know how to keep it off. The quality of food is emphasised and on the maintenance phase, foods like red wine and dark chocolate are allowed.
The pros
- The great advantage of the Montignac diet is that it was designed by a Frenchman who loves his food, and this means that for those with a 'foodie' bent have lots of very do-able recipes to follow so you don't feel deprived.
- It is not as difficult to follow as some other food combining plans as it is all laid out for you. Once you get a grip on the basic rules it is not too hard to follow.
The cons
- You have to learn the rules and how to adapt them to your lifestyle
- It works a bit better for someone who is willing to cook - it dosen't suit convenience food junkies particularly
- Because fruits are eaten separately to other foods there is a risk they can be forgotten which reduces antioxidant intakes.
Duration
Indefinite
Checklist
Restaurants: Yes - this is one of the selling points
Alcohol: Yes - in the maintenance phase
Caffeine: No
Need to buy special foods: No
ok for vegetarians: Yes
The pros say
This is a much more sensible and do-able version of the many food-combining diets which can easily tip into being high protein/low carb diets if they are not handled properly (as people often find it easier to stick to preparing proteins). Because there is such good guidance on how to manage it, if followed properly there is no reason for someone to become nutritionally deficient.
Some of the science is a tad 'pseudo' - for instance cream being ok with protein meals or your decaf coffee, but yoghurt or skimmed milk not being acceptable - but on balance it works quite well. Again weight loss is probably due to 'satiety' leading to lower calorie intake, rather than some magical balance of proteins versus carbs.
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