Lean Meat -

I eat chicken breast, turkey breast, and lean cuts of beef.  I try to buy hormone-free meat, but it can be hard to find.  I avoid processed meats, like those from the deli counter, and try to cook as much as I can at home.  I stir fry chicken in olive or coconut (yum) oil.  I do not use batter or flour.  I am not a fan of pork, so I don’t eat it.

Vegetables -

I eat various types of lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini, broccoli, and spinach.  I also eat carrots (on my salad) and various other green leafy vegetables.  I avoid legumes (beans), corn, and potatoes.

Fruits -

I eat green apples, strawberries, blackberries, and blueberries.  I avoid overly sweet foods like watermelon, red apples, and oranges.

Fluids -

I drink water, and that’s it.  I haven’t had a soda in 108 days, and I don’t miss the nasty things.  Living in the south, it’s almost impossible to avoid Sweet Tea, but so far, I have managed to do so!

Nuts -

I eat a lot of nuts – almonds, walnuts, pecans, and cashews.  I try to avoid peanuts.  I will buy nuts that have been salted, if that’s all I can find, but I prefer (both the taste and the health benefits of) raw nuts.

Eggs -

I eat eggs, but only occasionally.  Why?  I’m just not a big fan of eggs.  When I do eat them, I scramble them and cook them with olive oil.

Oils -

I cook with olive oil, coconut oil, or grape seed oil.

Vitamins -

I take a mulit-vitamin, psyllium husk (for added fiber), and a pro-biotic.

Diet Plan -

I follow the Phase One diet as outlined in Doug Kaufmann’s book Fungus Link.

I have also incorporated some of Mark Sisson’s ideas from his Primal Eating Plan.

A good friend of mine turned me on to Doug’s work, and I’ve found great success following his plan – which focuses on removing fungus from our bodies and taking pro-biotics.  Another friend sent me a link to Mark’s site, and I really like what he has to say.

My goal?  I want to move away from processed, unhealthy, gimmick foods – and return to a much more basic, nutritionally rich diet.

I have found that when I eat from the list above, I really don’t have to worry about counting calories.  In fact, I haven’t measured a single serving size or worried about portions in over four months – and I’ve managed to lose (at last count) 27.8 pounds.

What I Do Not Eat -

Sugar -

I do not eat products that contain sugar.  I do not eat cakes, pies, cookies, or cereals.

Sugar Substitutes -

I do not eat store-bought protein bars.  I do not drink diet sodas.  If it taste sweet, and it’s not a real fruit, I do not eat it.

Starches -

I do not eat corn, potatoes, bread, or rice.  I have considered eating whole grain oats, but I get plenty of fiber from my diet, and I’m not a big fan of oats anyway.  Oh, and I don’t eat that southern staple, grits.

Overly Processed Meat -

I try to avoid sandwich meat, deli meat, and any other meat that has had sugar added to it.  It’s tough to avoid any processing, but I try to minimize my exposure.

How Much Do I Eat -

I eat when I am hungry and I eat until I am (almost) full.  Then, I stop eating.  I do not worry about what time of day it is and I do not follow a normal breakfast – lunch – dinner routine.  I eat four or five times a day, and most of the time, I’m eating almost the same thing, all day long.

I’m trying to combine ALL of the concepts and ideas that I’ve learned – over several years – about losing weight and maintaining focus.

1.  I’m going through a bit of a cleansing, following the diet suggest by Doug Kaufmann over at Know The Cause.  I’m taking several supplements, and I’m eating a diet of fresh berries, green vegetables, and meat.

2.  I’m still eating slowly, and following the I Can Make You Thin and the 4 Golden Rules.  But, I have cut out all starches – I’m really concerned about diabetes, and I want control insulin release.

3.  I’m working out 3 or 4 times a week.  And, I’m not just walking, I’m actually pumping some iron.

4.  When I can’t hit the gym, I’m still walking.

5.  I’m just weighing in once a week, instead of daily.  This helps, psychologically.

6.  I’m taking a multivitamin, three times a day.

7.  I’m trying to get a minimum of 7 hours of sleep a day – and striving for 8.

8.  I’m drinking water – and water ONLY.  No cokes, no sodas, no juice, no nothing.  Water ONLY.

This is what I’m doing, and since September 29, 2008, I’ve been doing these things very, very well.

I’m down to 245.4 – from 252.2 when I started back on September 29.  Rock on!

First, who is Dr. Rolls? She’s a professor nutrition, the director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Penn State University, and author of over 200 research articles. She’s not some random Joe Schmoe with a crazy plan and a dream of riches. Her plan is based on her empirical research and I think it has some merits.

So, how does it work? The plan revolves around the concept of energy density – that is the number of calories in a specified amount of food. The denser the food, the less of it you should eat. High density foods include cookies, chips, crackers, oils, nuts, chocolate and candy. Low densite foods include non-starch vegetables, low fat milk – stuff with a lot of water content. Vegetables are 80-95% water, so the idea is that you “fill up” on low energy density foods to quell that hunger urge.

It’s not a particularly innovative diet, in that it’s not some blockbuster straight out of left field idea; it’s stuff nutritionists have been saying this entire time. Personally, I’m going to integrate more vegetables into our meals. I’m a huge fan of broccoli and recently we learned that spinach was remarkably good for you so we’ll be having more of those in the future.

The Study: Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA put 322 obese subjects through one of three diets. The three were the ones just described, a low far, a low carb, and a Mediterranean diet. They had the subjects participate for two years and found that the low carb dieters lost the most weight, 12 lb., and the Mediterranean dieters scored second place with an average of 10 lb. Low fat dieters trimmed seven pounds in two years.

There’s more to it so check out the story on ABCNews.

When I am dieting, I focus on the limiting the unnecessary calories that cross my lips. Sometimes I wonder what is and what isn’t healthy. For example, is a piece of whole grand bread healthy? Well some experts would agree that it is, but advocates of the recent low carb trend would say it’s not. How is one to know what is healthy and what isn’t? When in doubt, I go for the low-carb approach.

Of course, I try not to think of dieting in the traditional sense. Simply losing weight fast does little for the body. Instead, I try to learn how to properly eat which leads to a healthier lifestyle, such as choosing to eat healthy snacks.

I realize that I could seriously cut down on their workouts if I could watch those extra calories. I know there are times that I eat way more than I need to. That would allow me to be even more Lazy. I can’t be that Lazy though. Exercise is an extremely important aspect of being healthy. It makes me feel great to get a work out in. I sleep better and look better when I regularly exercise.

In the end, I believe that diet beats exercise. It feels easier for me to eat 200 fewer calories a day than to work off another 200 calories. I just to maintain the mental fortitude to reduce those calories. It sounds like an easy thing to do.

Photo Credit: fantasyhealthball

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Your body typically consume carbohydrates for fuel and only turns to fat stores whenever you’ve run out of carbohydrates. My limiting the consumption of carbs, you skip the carb burning stage and go immediately into consuming fat.

There are significant risks to diets like the Atkins diet that aren’t widely discussed. Weight loss is certainly one of the benefits for you run the risk of problems such as kidney failure, high cholesterol, osteoporosis, kidney stones, cancer, nausea and bad breath.

(Photo by size8jeans)

Elsewhere in the fitness world, there’s been a deluge of posts about diets. Fat Man Unleased unleashed a post on the 4 physical laws of dieting while Lazy Man was concerned about the safety and effectiveness of diet pills. Not to be outdone, Weight Ladder gave 3 tips on how to avoid diet stress.

Finally, NCN shares a recent trip to the dentist and some basic dental hygiene tips.

The hygienist who cleaned my teeth was very thorough – both in cleaning my teeth and explaining to me what she was doing.  As she was finishing up, she talked to me about the importance of flossing.  I’ve been flossing my teeth for year, but I’ve been doing it incorrectly.  See, I’ve simply been putting the floss through the gaps in my teeth and moving up and down.  But, to really get the full benefits of flossing, I need to put the floss through the gap and then curve the floss to the side and go ‘below’ the gum line.

My explanation is pitiful – so when you finish reading this post, go watch this video which explains how to properly floss your teeth.

Thankfully, my teeth were cavity free – but my gums were a little bit swollen.  The dentist suggested that two or three weeks of proper flossing should eliminate the swelling.

Also, I watched a video about the dangers of gum disease.  Do you know that proper gum health can add 10 years to your life?  Plus, people who maintain healthy teeth dramatically reduce their chances of getting heart disease and diabetes.  So, folks, get to brushing and flossing!

Quick update -

One of my goals has been to walk 45 minutes per day.  Today, I played golf and while I rode in a cart – because the course was so busy – I did manage to a decent amount of walking.  My weight loss has stagnated, but I feel so much better.  I haven’t had any soda or caffeine for 12 days, and I don’t miss either!

Pretty much every diet fails at some point or other. Yes, it’s true – diets are doomed. No matter how well-designed the diet is, almost every person on the diet will end up cheating at some point.

Perhaps that sounds harsh. Maybe it seems as if it couldn’t possibly be true. But pretty much every diet designed is lacking in something. Some diets cut out carbohydrates. Some other diets restrict people from eating red meat or refined sugar. Still other diets name specific foods to avoid, such as potatoes, white bread, or cheese.

Some diets are restrictive in an opposite way in that they name specific foods that the dieters must eat. For instance, some may insist that dieters eat salads at every meal or drink grapefruit juice or eat beans instead of meat four days each week.

Because diets are so demanding and limiting, it is to be expected that dieters will rebel at some point. People who go on a diet for only a week or two are not necessarily going to cheat. However, anyone who tries to follow the same diet for a month or more is almost guaranteed to end up falling off of the diet wagon.

Now, this doesn’t mean that these diets are terrible and should be avoided. All it means is that dieters need to learn how to deal with random lapses in judgment. They need to know how to handle it when they cheat on a diet.

Many dieters feel as if they have failed if they cheat even just once. Stepping away from their diet meal plan makes a lot of dieters breakdown, causing them to just throw the entire diet away. Other dieters may not react so strongly, but they still may think of a one-time cheat as a catastrophe and decide to wait until the following week to resume their diet. Neither of these is the right approach.

Instead, dieters need to know that cheating is inevitable—this is something that should be said at the very beginning so that they will be prepared when it does happen. And, dieters should be told that the best way to deal with cheating is to just pause, forgive themselves, and immediately resume their diet plan with the next scheduled snack or meal.

By learning to deal with the inevitable cheating in this manner, dieters will be ready to handle their problems when the come up—without throwing away their diets.

First of all, try having an appetizer before lunch and dinner each day. I’m not suggesting mozzarella sticks, make it sensible like soup for example. Soup is very filling because it has high water content. Just make sure that the soup that you select is a broth-based soup, not a cream-based soup. Cream-based soups have more fat and calories than broth soups do. Choose soups that contains vegetables to improve the nutritional value.

Next, make certain that you don’t ever get too hungry throughout the day. Most people tend to get hungry about every three hours or so. Therefore, it is a good idea to schedule your meals and snacks to be about three hours apart. This will help you from overeating during any one given snack or meal.
It is also important to drink plenty of fluids throughout the day. Drinking water to lose weight is great – you might want to drink more. You might also drink iced or hot tea or other low-calorie beverages at times.

It may sound counter-intuitive, but it is also essential to indulge yourself at times. Denying yourself occasional treats will only cause you to become bitter about losing weight. If you try to go without indulging in your favorite treats for too long, chances are you may end up really deviating from any kind of sensible meal plan, binging on anything and everything. So, it is smart to have a plan for occasional treats. You could allow yourself to have a slice of cake or ice cream cone two or three times per week – however most of the time I’d stick with one of these five healthy snacks.

Finally, plan meals around a vegetable or two—not around a meat or protein. If you choose your vegetable(s) first, you will be certain to have one at every meal. Meals are much more filling (and nutritious) if they include vegetables.

Try all of these tips to begin dropping some weight without having to stick to a strict diet plan.

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