Losing Weight By Osmosis

Okay, don't run away. This is not going to be another quasi-chemistry lesson. Remember Demystifying Acid vs. Alkaline? This time we're talking about losing weight by the process of gradual or unconscious assimilation of healthy foods.

Exhibit A: my husband, Bob. When I started my diet, he pretty much did his own thing in the morning and at lunch. He ate pretty healthy, but his breakfast was mostly cereal out of a box. Even the organic cereals in our pantry had added sweetener usually in the form of evaporated cane sugar. Argh! Bottom line: acidifies in the body and turns to fat.

Dinner

His lunches were sandwiches that he bought at various delis around the downtown area where he worked. Again I don't eat sandwiches. Why? Too much bread. Bread breaks down quickly into sugar and... you got it... turns to fat and feeds cancer.

Then he'd come home and have a healthy dinner with lots of veggies (no bread with the exception of when I made the Portabella Mushroom Spaghetti) and maybe fish.

In April 2010, he began to track his weight and body fat in a diary. April's entry read: 198.4 pounds and 27.3% body fat. He became alarmed that he was approaching 200 pounds.

Lunch

He began to exercise more and watch how much he ate. Still his diary entry was discouraging. Averaging 27% body fat (no change here) and losing only 6 pounds in four months.

In 2011 he gradually began to join me in my breakfast choices of steel cut oatmeal, quinoa, millet or scrambled eggs and made healthier choices for lunch. Things started to happen!

Breakfast

By July this year, Bob was at 175 pounds and 23.2% body fat. He got rid of three bags of clothes that were too big for him and pulled out four pairs of pants that now fit him again. He needed to have several suits tailored to fit his new trim waist. I noticed his face had slimmed down and friends began to comment how good he looked. I agree! He looked as good as the man I married 23 years ago.

The moral of the story is to make healthy food for your family and gradually they will come around and enjoy the benefits of eating healthy. Remember that it's not how much you eat or the number of calories you eat.

It's what you eat that counts.

PS Bob is now down to 21% body fat at 171 pounds. Any questions?