The “No Diet” Diet (part 2)

There are three MAJOR facets of the “No Diet” Diet that make it like the three-legged stool.  The stool will not stay upright if just one leg is missing.  Your decision to make a difference in your lifestyle to lose weight must have the first leg – commitment and determination.  The second leg is changing what you put in your mouth and when, including food and supplements.  The third is an on-going exercise schedule.  Take away just one and you will fail to lose weight or change your health for the better.  So, what do I recommend in each of these legs?  Read on!

The best way to begin your weight control program is to monitor your regular food intake and the amount and type of exercise you do for two weeks. This will give you an idea of what and how you normally eat and exercise. Go through your food diary and analyze it for content, common calorie indulgences (like heavily buttered toast, biscuits with jam) and daily eating times. Buy a detailed calorie counting reference and avoid kidding yourself. Decide where, when and how you will cut your calories (non-nutrients, fat, sugar, excess starches, etc.) and add fiber, fresh foods and supplements.

Your Diet

Eat only whole, fresh foods. Stay away from processed foods, fats, alcohol, sugar, salt and caffeine. Eat fewer fatty meats, whole eggs, full fat dairy products, soft drinks and alcoholic beverages while increasing your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes, fish, poultry and low or non-fat milk products. You can plan a program that has specific daily menus. There are several excellent cookbooks available that feature low-fat healthy recipes and menus.  Having very few choices to make during the day will help.

Here are some excellent hints from Martha Wagner's article "Where's the Fat?" Medical Self-Care, Winter 1984.

1. Use plain low fat or non-fat yogurt in place of sour cream (at least cut the sour cream by half yogurt.)

2. Use yogurt sweetened with honey or fruit juice for fruit salad or dessert topping.

3. Combine 1 cup mayonnaise with 1 cup yogurt - reduce the calories/tablespoon from 100 to 28.

4. Use cottage cheese, yogurt, buttermilk, tofu or tomato juice as a base for salad dressings.

5. Use fat free crackers, rice cakes, and whole grain breads, reduced fat cheeses and breakfast cereals without sugar.  Read those labels!

6. Steam, broil, bake and poach.  Frying is forbidden!

7. Vegetables can be sautéed in stock or steamed.  Better yet, eaten raw!

8. Steamed veggies can be flavored with lemon juice, mild vinegar, or herbs.

9. Use bean spreads for sandwiches and dips. (Hummus is delicious and comes in a variety of flavors)

10. Use buffalo, turkey or soy in place of ground beef in spaghetti sauce, meatballs and meatloaves, on pizza, or wherever you would use meat.  Skin chicken and remove excess fat.

It takes your stomach a half an hour to know that it's satisfied so eat slower and savor each bite.  Top off your meal with a cup of hot herbal tea. Add some honey and call it dessert.

It's not on only what and how much you eat. When and how you eat are important too. Runners World reports a study in which the subjects ate 2000 calories per day in only one meal. When the food was eaten in the morning, all the subjects lost weight. However, when they ate the food in the evening, some of them actually gained.

Although this study suggests that we would do better to eat earlier in the day and not wait until evening, there are other studies that demon­strate that eating only one big meal per day is asking for trouble. Sounds like the best thing to do is eat early and often, consuming smaller amounts.

Your Supplements

Vitamins and Minerals

Vitamin-mineral supplements are important, especially to women. With the decreased number of calories, it can be more difficult than usual to get enough of the nutrients one needs to stay healthy, especially with today’s depleted soil. We want to emphasize that nutritional supplementation is particularly important to the woman throughout life. We recommend that all women use a vitamin-mineral supplement plus extra vitamin C, vitamin E and calcium-magnesium. At least one physician specializing in weight loss reports that increased appetite and weight gain may be due to poor vitamin and mineral content of the diet. Although the program recommended here is of a very high quality, we believe that vitamin and mineral supplements (and other types of nutrient supplements) are important to enhance everyone's daily food intake.

Amino Acids and Other Supplements

The lipotropics lecithin, choline, inositol and methionine breakdown and liquefy fats on the digestive level, Methionine is a sulphur-containing amino acid which reduces liver fat, works as a chelation agent for heavy metals, protects the kidneys and promotes beautiful skin and hair.  If you suspect faulty digestion, you might also want to try hydrochloric acid/enzyme supplementation.  Several isolated amino acids are helpful in weight management: carnitine, arginine, and or­nithine.. Unlike the lipotropics, carnitine does not break down fat; it utilizes fatty acids in the cells.  Arginine and ornithine stimulate the pituitary to produce human growth hormone. In the fully grown adult, this hormone regulates the muscle to fat ratio of the body.  Increased activity from regular exercise also increases the need for supplementation. Animal studies have shown a great increase in stamina with the use of B-complex vitamins. Vitamin C, and vitamin E are also recommended while octacosanol is believed to enhance workouts.  Which brings us to the third leg.  Regular aerobic exercise.  And that will be the topic for the next issue!

Health is not everything, but without spiritual and physical health, everything is nothing. Until next time we meet – may God Bless you with good health, with a little help from you!

The information in these columns is for educational purposes only and not to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Please consult your physician for any serious condition.

Len Rossi, ND has been a proponent of Natural Healing for 30 years. After a 25-year career as a pro wrestler, Len earned his Doctor Of Naturopathy degree in 1982 and is a Licensed Massage Therapist.