Blood tests to lose weight?

[clickerish]

I had a conversation with a friend who swore she lost weight when she did a blood test and learned how she in particular should lose weight with foods she ate and so forth.

Has anyone done this? Does it work? I want to lose a few pounds which are eluding me so far no matter how hard I run or what I eat/don't eat. If this would help, I would totally try it!

[crimsonandclover]

I've heard of people doing blood tests to find out what foods they don't tolerate well, and then they end up having to avoid all sorts of food. The people I talked to who had done it swore they felt much better now, but they were avoiding so many things that they had trouble finding things to eat. And after hearing of that, I read that it's bogus and tests for something that does not reflect your tolerance of foods at all.

I don't know if it's the same thing as you're talking about, though.

[tktravels]

Is it the blood type diet that you're talking about?

www.drlam.com/blood_type_diet/

www.dadamo.com/

A friend was doing it, so I decided to read up on it. I did not try it, however, and never would because I'm a Type O and a vegetarian, and per these diets, Type O's are supposed to eat lots of meat and restrict grains and legumes. I would lose weight, but basically because I wouldn't be eating.

[aMrsin09]

Was she tested for food allergies? The blood test for allergies is supposed to be far more accurate than the scratch tests (but I don't believe it).

Or it could be the "Eat for your Blood Type" mentioned above.

ETA: I don't think the allergy blood test is better because it only tests for 4 or 5 main groups. Thanks, I know I'm allergic to trees and grasses and household allergens, I want to know WHICH trees and grasses. The scratch test can tell me that I'm allergic to Birch, but not Pine, etc.

[Deleted]

Losing weight is about balancing calories you eat with calories you burn through activity. It has nothing to do with your blood type. There might be some health benefits associated with eating certain foods based on your blood composition (low iron levels in your blood? eat more leafy greens and red meat!), but it shouldn't affect your weight at all. Unless some quack tells you that you can't eat ANYTHING, then you will probably starve:-)

[oneslybookworm]

Wait! How come my blood type is the only one with limited restrictions! Not cool, Dr. Lam...not cool.

*chows down on a bowl of lentils and Brussels sprouts*

[wise_rita]

Jul 22, 2012 16:06:06 GMT -5 tktravels said:

A friend was doing it, so I decided to read up on it. I did not try it, however, and never would because I'm a Type O and a vegetarian, and per these diets, Type O's are supposed to eat lots of meat and restrict grains and legumes.

That's really interesting. I'm type O+ and cut out the vast majority of carbs (still hog out for special occasions, of course) and lost 20 pounds without trying.

[aMrsin09]

Jul 23, 2012 4:22:53 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Jul 22, 2012 16:06:06 GMT -5 tktravels said:

A friend was doing it, so I decided to read up on it. I did not try it, however, and never would because I'm a Type O and a vegetarian, and per these diets, Type O's are supposed to eat lots of meat and restrict grains and legumes.

That's really interesting. I'm type O+ and cut out the vast majority of carbs (still hog out for special occasions, of course) and lost 20 pounds without trying.

Yep, same here. Even just cutting out anything "white" and I can start to drop the pounds. I'm already down 9 kilos in under 6 weeks!

[wise_rita]

Holy man, that's quick!

[Waffles]

That's loads aMrsin09!

And this diet can f* off - I just couldn't be vegetarian.

[crimsonandclover]

I'm A+ and don't know how I feel about vegetarian. I love meat. Maybe after this pregnancy I'll try to reduce the amount I eat and see how it goes, though.

[Deleted]

Jul 23, 2012 2:36:28 GMT -5 neeps said:

I could see this being possible if your friend was tested for her vitamin levels and changed her diet based on deficiencies. But that probably just improved her overall diet.

I don't really buy into the all calories are equal theory. a package of skittles and a cup of brown rice have virtually identical nutrition numbers (calories, fat, carbs). So does that make them the same? I say they're both crap and eat an avocado

The difference is the vitamins and minerals. Obviously you can't eat only just one type of food and stay healthy. You have to eat a wide variety of foods to be healthy, and you really shouldn't cut out one entire food groups.

Calories in vs. out works. I've used calorimeters to measure my activity level, and meticulously logged my food to measure calories in, and low and behold, a 7000 calorie-per-week deficit means I lose two pounds. The big issue is that if you're only eating 1200-1500 calories each day, you really need to make them count by making them healthy (lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and veggies, and non-processed food items). But on the odd day that I burned 3000 calories by going on a 10-mile run, I would splurge with a brownie or chocolate bar or whatever (after making sure I'd already hit my nutritional milestones for the day).

[Wanderista]

I think that it is all about balance and yes, listening to your body, factoring in your specific needs. I would have to see hard evidence about the blood type diet. A quick look on google says that some people call it "blood type astrology" and that humans are more complex than our blood types. I'm an omnivore who eats a lot of variety and with my SO, I incorporate more veggies into my diet than I did before.

I'm an O+ and yeah, sometimes breads do make me feel sluggish, but then I also am not generally keen on eating large cuts of meat. Eating a large steak could make me sluggish as well. I definitely love cheese and have never had any problems with eating dairy (or really anything in moderation that I am not allergic to). I love beans and have never had problems eating them.

Basically, the diet is an interesting theory but I am really skeptical that blood type is such an important factor in deciding what to eat or that people can be so narrowly defined by their blood types. I definitely agree that not all calories are created equally and I try to eat a variety of foods. My SO is the opposite and often eats like the same 5 things over and over if left to his own devices, hehe. I personally try to avoid non-allergy-related dietary restrictions and I generally think that my diet is pretty healthy; I'm also not overweight, although I have been trying to tone up a bit recently and to be a bit more active, hence all the swimming.

[Deleted]

Neeps -- I was vegetarian for a while. "Meat" isn't a food group. Okay, it is according to the federal government, but nutritionally speaking, meat isn't a food group. Protein is:-) You can easily cut out meat as long as you get protein from other sources. Completely eliminating carbs, on the other hand, is not good for you.

(just re-read this, and it sounds like I'm blasting you for not eating carbs. Fruit have carbs, so clearly you do eat carbs. It was not meant as a flame at all:-) )

[clickerish]

Okay, so we can safely say my Swiss friend might just happen to have got lucky after this blood test issue in being one of those people who had vitamin deficiencies.

I will eschew the blood test and just run more.