A Diet That Works

By now any diet you embarked on at the beginning of the year has been relegated to one of three categories: it's working, it's too hard, or it's on to the next thing.

Let's talk about a change in thinking—what is diet? I will always refer to diet as the sum of food consumed by a person, not the restriction of food. Really, if you eat a healthy diet as I outlined in The Road to Health Comes Down to Diet, you won't need to restrict the amount you eat.

Two years ago, when I began my cancer fighting diet, in ten days I lost 8 pounds plus the belly fat I had come to begrudgingly accept since turning fifty. I didn't really have much weight to lose so I had to start eating more. With the healthy food I ate, I didn't worry when I stuffed myself.

The plethora of weight loss programs really miss the point... actually points. I caught a Dr. Oz program the other day and they were reviewing the Weight Watchers' point system. It truly amused me. Do you really need a point system to decide whether you should eat a donut?

Weight-Loss Guidelines
Here are some simple guidelines to a weight-loss diet:

1. Avoid sugary drinks and food. It may be fat-free, but you will put on fat if your body does not use the sugar you ingest.
2. Avoid any artificial sugar. The latest studies shows it raises insulin (see #1). Plus, do you really want to ingest something that breaks down into formaldehyde in your body.
3. Limit simple carbs. Many are confused about simple carbs. They are almost all bread and any processed food. It takes little to break the food down into sugar and you end up with the problem in #1.
4. Eat fruit in moderation. Fruit is basically sugar so don't think you can eat all the fruit you want (see #1 again).
5. Eat all the vegetables you want (complex carbs). You can't eat too many veggies. And don't forget those greens. Other complex carbs are whole grains like brown rice, oatmeal, quinoa, millet, etc, but don't over do.
6. Drink lots of water.

If you follow these guidelines when you put together your meals, you'll soon see the pounds melting away... without going hungry.

What's your sticking point about weight loss?