Hilton Head Diet Review
Author Dr. Peter Miller founded the Hilton Head Health Institute spa on lovely Hilton Head Island, South Carolina back in 1976. It remains operational today, offering clients a weight loss and lifestyle modification retreat where they can get healthier and take the skills and lessons they learned with them for a lifetime of wellness and weight maintenance.
For those of us who can't manage the time and/or expense of a Hilton Head weight loss spa retreat, we can recreate the experience at home with one of Dr. Miller's bestselling books based on the HHHI's programs. "The Hilton Head Metabolism Diet", "The New Hilton Head Metabolism Diet", "The Hilton Head Over 35 Diet" and "The Hilton Head Diet for Children and Teenagers" all promote Miller's basic weight loss philosophy, developed from the observations and information he gathered from studying his spa clients.
And what is the Hilton Head weight loss philosophy? In a nutshell, Miller believes that on any given day one's metabolism burns 70% of one's daily calorie intake, and the remaining calories are burned through physical activity. Now, the science of metabolism acknowledges that the higher a person’s base metabolic rate, the more calories the person burns on any given day - and the greater window that person has for calorie intake that won't translate to weight gain. Conversely, the lower a person's base metabolic rate, the fewer calories that person burns on any given day - and that person has a very narrow window for calorie intake before it starts translating to weight gain. So Miller - operating on the belief that nearly 2/3rds (70%) of our calories burn up via metabolism, not increased exercise - advocates that weight loss and weight maintenance can be most effectively achieved by increasing a person's base metabolic rate.
And how does he do that? Miller believes that he can change your body chemistry to burn fat more effectively with a highly structured nutritional program of five small meals a day and a regular exercise program. (Miller is of the school of thought that metabolism spikes, and weight loss accelerates, on several mini-meals a day instead of one or two large meals.) He provides the meal plans and the recipes for a two stage program - stage one is 6 weeks of weight reduction, stage two is 2 weeks of weight maintenance - which you will repeat until you reach your goal weight, at which point you remain in the weight maintenance stage for life.
In the 6 week weight reduction stage, you'll eat three meals a day and two snacks which will net you about a max of (a lean) 1000 calories per day. The nutrition is essentially low-fat, high-carbohydrate and strictly portion-controlled. You'll get a break on weekends, when you're allowed to boost your calorie intake by 200-250 calories per day, which is both a treat and a way to vary your diet and further boost your metabolism. You should be drinking loads of water (at least five 8 oz glasses per day) and you'll likely be advised to take vitamin and calcium supplements. The calorie maximums for your 2 week maintenance phase will be determined by your personal needs, which are based on what your weight is, how much you are exercising every day, etc.
On the subject of exercise, Miller recommends walking for 20 minutes, twice a day. Additionally, you need to do a strength training exercise routine three times a week - and you can do this in place of one of your walks. Combining this exercise program with the nutrition program, Millers posits that dieters can lose up to 10% of their body weight.
Will you lose weight on the Hilton Head Diet? Yes. Though there is some disagreement in the ranks, many experts advocate the "mini-meals" concept for weight loss. And 1000-1200 calories a day for 6 weeks is....meager, to put it lightly. Though we feel that Miller's exercise recommendations for this plan are a little light, they are probably all that is physically possible on such a low calorie diet. The real question is - will you keep the weight you lose off for the long term? The University of South Carolina studied graduates of the HHHI program, and determined that some 70% of them were maintaining their post-retreat weight. But participating in a highly structured, monitored, off-site program is a lot different from working from home. Miller's books do address the psychological and emotional aspects of overeating and being overweight, and do provide guidance on behavior modification and permanent lifestyle change. There are good lessons here, but success in the maintenance stage of the Hilton Head Diet will only come from being both a self-starter and a self-disciplinarian.