DIET I . A GOOD BEGINNING –the idea is to keep it simple.

We would like to make our plans very simple during the early stages of our weight loss journey. Too complicated diets are hard to follow for long periods of time, this is why we have so many types of diets; most of them are not realistic either because they are complicated, because we have to buy special products from the people who sell us the diet program, or because the methods such as counting calories “get old” and boring.

Simple does not mean easy, simple means that we just do it the way it is outlined and that’s it! I have heard the acronym “KISS” which stands for Keep It Simple Stupid. I do not know who came out with these words, offensive to some when they hear them; but, to me, they make sense. I know so much about food, nutrition, vitamins, etcetera that I have a somewhat close mind. Only when I “empty my cup of knowledge”, I make room to pour some new things in it. This is how humans learn; some people call this “open-mindedness”. What I mean is that we should not allow our prejudgment to prevent us from trying this method. You could tell your brain that you will just try it just the way it is to prove me wrong. Yes, prove me wrong; if this does not work for you, perhaps, you will need a different type of program.

Overweight is a long term for most patients; therefore, losing weight is a long term process. This plan will work for most patients.

Individuals who have diabetes and take pills and/or insulin will have to discuss this plan with his diabetes medical doctor in order to adjust their medication dose to avoid too low blood sugar. Most overweight patients with diabetes who lose weight will generally require less diabetes medication.

Patients with high cholesterol will lower its levels when losing weight.

High blood pressure overweight patients will frequently find requiring less and sometimes no medication once they reach their ideal weight.

A SIMPLE MEAL SCHEDULE

7:00 AM: BREAKFAST EXAMPLE:

1. Small bowl of cereal/oatmeal or a bagel or plain toast with or without a small amount of jelly/jam. Do not use margarine or butter since these are fats, and fats are more difficult to digest.

2. Take one glass of non-fat milk, rice milk, soy milk or herbal tea without caffeine; chamomile tea, for example.

3. Other drinks like orange, cranberry, prune, guava juices may be healthy but also are also a source of calories. They can be used instead of milk but limit them to no more than 6 ounces in the morning and DO NOT TAKE THEM DURING THE REST OF THE DAY. We want to avoid unnecessary calories.

10:30 AM: SNACK EXAMPLE: One fresh fruit: a small apple, banana, mango; a two-inch slice of papaya, honeydew or cantaloupe, or one-inch slice of watermelon. For patients who have indigestion, heartburn or ulcer problems fruits like pineapple, orange, peaches may upset their stomach because they are too acidy.

NOON -LUNCH:  Half a turkey, chicken, fish or ham sandwich and a small salad. No cheese, no fried food of any kind; also avoid sausage or similar cold cuts. Vegetarians can use three ounces of tofu, soy protein with steam rice.

2:30 PM: SNACK EXAMPLE: Half a cup (four ounces) of raisins, prunes, nuts, dry mangos or nonfat cottage cheese.

5:00 PM: DINNER:  Small piece of chicken, fish, lean ham, or lean meat (no ground beef), with steamed rice OR a cup of vegetables.

7:00 PM: Dessert: Four ounces of water-based jello. Only if you are really hungry and cannot take it anymore!

TRY TO EAT DINNER BY 5:00 PM

DO NOT EAT UNTIL YOU FEEL FULL. DO NOT USE FOOD AS A “PACIFIER”. This is a bad habit humans acquire after times of hunger, limited access to food such as periods during or after wars, droughts, etcetera. I remember my mother telling I had to eat everything in the plate because “people in Biafra and Bangladesh were starving”. My parents grew up during WWII and knew about limited resources and considered food as “sacred”, as something should never go to waste. As a result, we were “forced” to clean the plate. I was very overweight when I was ten years old and I have had a hard time keeping my weight down since then. Through my extensive research with patients with eating disorders, I found out that they –as well as me, were using food as a type of “PACIFIER”. Through time, I learned to change into healthier pacifiers we will discuss in Diet III and IV.

NO CAFFEINE, BLACK TEA. A small cup of GREEN TEA is OK in the morning but keep in mind that it also has around 30% of the caffeine amount found in a cup of coffee. Most of us are driven people, caffeine makes us more tense and more prone (more vulnerable) to look for unhealthy pacifiers (such as food).

NO ALCOHOL. Every gram of alcohol has 7 calories. A gram of fat has 9 calories and a gram of carbohydrates has 4 calories, a gram of proteins also has 4 calories. Alcohol “numbs” the brain and prevents us from “being in charge of our health”. When people consume alcohol, they have a tendency to eat more. This is why many restaurants “work” the clients first by offering alcoholic beverages so they can consume more –more alcohol, and more food. Alcohol is a big business and a large source of income in the food business. We cannot make restaurants and liquor stores for making a living in this country that allows the sale of alcohol, they are not to blame; consequently, avoiding it is the responsibility of the person who wishes to improve his/her health. REMEMBER THAT A MAJOR PART OF OUR LONG TERM GOAL IS TO AVOID UNNECESSARY CALORIES, AND UNNECESSARY CHEMICALS.

NO SMOKING. This is also an unhealthy pacifier.

NO FRIED OR GREASY FOODS. AVOID VEGETARIAN GREASE IN “VEGGY BURGERS”.

NO CHEESE OR PEANUT BUTTER. Cheese is high cholesterol and fat beef tallow (cheese is equivalent to the gristle and fat we remove from a steak) with a very small portion of proteins; therefore, avoid it.

NO GROUND BEEF/GROUND TURKEY. Ground beef includes gristle and fat camouflaged with red color routinely used by markets to make it more appealing to your eyes. This is why ground beef is less expensive than other meats. If you have it ground in front of you, they will still grind the gristle and fat, which are things you need to avoid! Ground turkey sounds “healthier”,  unfortunately, it is also prepared with the turkey gristle and “leftovers”  and can be quite greasy and difficult to digest.

* PATIENT’S WHO WORK GRAVEYARD SHIFTS SHOULD HAVE NOTHING TO EAT 5 HOURS PRIOR TO GOING TO BED (ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE HEARTBURN OR REFLUX SYPTOMS, OR IF YOU WISH TO LOSE WEIGHT).

NOTHING TO EAT AFTER 5:00 PM. Avoid “innocent” evening snacks such as on cookie, “a little popcorn”, “a small scoop of ice cream”, a pastry, etcetera. AVOID UNNECESSARY CALORIES

AVOID SOCIALIZING OVER MEALS. When we socialize over meals, we have a tendency to overeat or eat the very foods we are trying to avoid!

Recommended readings:

“THE WELLNESS BOOK”, by Herbert Benson, MD, this is a program of change designed by the Mind and Body Institute at Harvard Medical School.

Websites: www.nih.gov (enter “dietary recommendations”, “herbs”, etc  in the search engine window) GET MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE BEFORE YOU BECOME VICTIM OF THE SO MANY BUSINESS THAT ARE TRYING TO SELL “SCIENTIFIC” or “NATURAL” PRODUCTS OF QUESTIONABLE or NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE. They are most of the time a sad scam to make a profit of good willing people who are looking for a better healthier life. Sometimes these chemicals can be toxic in the long run.

 www.mybellyproblems.com

© Rafael E. Cuellar, MD, 2009

REMEMBER!!

 The most important part of a diet is to start. Any star is a good beginning!!