Sharon Osbourne is in the best shape of her life at 61, thanks to a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic-inspired Atkins diet that helped her lose 30 pounds in six weeks. In an exclusive Examiner interview Monday, Osbourne’s dietitian, Linda O’Byrne, revealed the star’s meal plan and discussed the health benefits of low-carb diets.
Osbourne, an Atkins rep, tries to limits her daily carb intake to 25 grams, said O’Byrne, chief nutritionist for Atkins. Sharon’s diet combines proteins such as eggs, chicken, fish and meat, low-glycemic vegetables such as spinach and broccoli, and a healthy portion of fats, including olive oil, avocados, full-fat cheese, and nuts.
O’Byrne said Sharon’s typical daily meal plan looks like this: Breakfast of bacon, eggs and grilled mushrooms; mid-morning snack of Atkins Advantage Chocolate Shake; lunch of tuna with mayonnaise, spinach, and tomatoes; afternoon snack of ripe mashed avocado, and dinner of steak, melted cheese and vegetables served with olive oil.
The 5-foot-2 Sharon, who once weighed 230 pounds, said Atkins is the only diet plan that has enabled her to maintain her weight loss without constantly feeling hungry. In 1999, Osbourne lost over 100 pounds after undergoing lap-band surgery. In 2006, she regained 45 pounds after getting the band removed, People reported.
Osbourne’s weight has fluctuated over the years until she switched to the LCHF Atkins diet two years ago. Osbourne said the best part of her LCHF diet is being able to stay slim without feeling deprived.
O’Byrne explained that low carb diets suppress appetite better than low-fat diets, so you don’t feel hungry all the time like you do on high-carb diets. “Low-carb diets keep blood sugar levels stable and prevent food cravings, which helps with mental clarity and boosts mood,” said Linda.
Another Atkins success story is Kim Kardashian, said O’Byrne. Kardashian lost 56 pounds in six months on a LCHF ketogenic-style diet that limited her daily carb intake to less than 60 grams.
While Kardashian’s dramatic weight loss has helped raise the mainstream profile of the Atkins and ketogenic diets, the eating plans have recently enjoyed renewed popularity after recent scientific reports confirmed that unprocessed saturated fat is not unhealthy.
In a stunning reversal, Time magazine recently trumpeted that scientists were wrong for blaming saturated fat as the cause of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
In a provocative cover story, Time said the 40-year demonization of saturated fat was based on flawed data, citing a March 2014 Cambridge University study. Time magazine, which slammed fat as unhealthy in a damning 1977 cover story, said the true cause of obesity, diabetes and heart disease is a high-carb diet.
“It’s not saturated fat we should worry about,” said cardiologist Dr. Rajiv Chowdhury. “It’s the high-carb or sugary diet that should be the focus of dietary guidelines.”
Obesity expert Dr. Eric Westman said low-carb, high-fat eating plans like the ketogenic and Atkins diets not only spur rapid weight loss, but combat epilepsy, type 2 diabetes, and heart diseases.
Dr. Westman, director of the Duke University Obesity Clinic, has helped hundreds of morbidly obese individuals lose thousands of pounds on the ketogenic and Atkins diets. He is pleased that mainstream media is finally debunking the myth that eating fat makes you fat and sick. To the contrary, he said: Eating fat makes you skinny and healthy.
“I tell my patients not to fear the fat,” Westman told CBN. “Eat lots of fat. Fat makes you feel full. There’s no problem with fat. In fact, saturated fat — the fat that we’ve been taught not to eat — raises your good cholesterol best of all the foods you can eat.”
Dr. Jeff Volek said in an exclusive Examiner interview the ketogenic diet can also improve mood and reduce inflammation. Volek said the LCHF ketogenic diet is beneficial both for elite endurance athletes and the average sedentary individual.
“There are very few people that a ketogenic diet could not help,” said Dr. Volek, who has followed the ketogenic diet for the past 20 years.