Denise's Diet Philosophy
Control Portions
Congratulations! You are on a journey of healthy-eating. When it comes to food, I've got to be honest with you. I love to eat, and I love to cook, but only when it's quick and easy and I have the time to do it! I'm excited to show you that you can have a busy life and still have a nutritious — and slimming — diet. That's what this plan is all about — easy, nutritious meals and snacks, along with the right exercises, that will help you drop the pounds.
You'll find out what a reasonable portion looks like. Don't be misled by the huge portions in restaurants and grocery store snack aisles. I'm not one to constantly measure out my food, so I'm going to teach you how to eyeball a serving and get a sense for what a real portion looks like.
- Measure foods into the bowls you usually use, and keep using those bowls until you can accurately guesstimate your portions.
- Read the Nutrition Facts panel on food labels and use it as a portion-control tool. Always check the calories and the servings per package.
Let's be real — we're not about to bring our measuring cups into a restaurant. Instead, use this handy rule of thumb: When dining out, draw an imaginary line through your plate. Fill the top half with vegetables or salad. (No fries or other fried foods. C'mon, you can do it!) Now divide the bottom half of the plate in two. In one section, place your piece of fish, chicken, or meat. In the other section, put your starch: a roll, rice, potato, or pasta. If the food is too big to fit in its spot, then the portion is too large. Pack up the excess in a doggie bag for later!
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Maximize Fiber
Concentrate on eating more fiber. I know it sounds too simple to be true, but lots of studies show that just increasing the fiber in your diet speeds up weight loss — and fat loss too. So, break out that barley, brown rice, and oatmeal!
Fiber helps you fight fat by curbing your appetite and making you feel fuller longer on fewer calories. It's a natural appetite suppressant. Isn't that great? And, did you know that fiber is able to remove up to an estimated 5 percent of the fat in a meal? Fiber carries wastes out of the body quickly, taking some unabsorbed fat (and calories) with it.
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Savor Good Fats
Focus on fat: eating more good fat and less bad fat. Turns out that fat in moderation can actually help you stick with a weight-loss plan. Hooray!
Good fat can be your weight-loss friend. Fats like olive oil, nuts, avocados, flaxseed, other plant foods, and fish help you lose weight by slowing your stomach from emptying. This means you feel full longer. So try to have some fat at each meal, even if it's just a few nuts.
The other great thing about "good fat" is that it allows for treats! If the fat in your main meals is good, then there's room for little bits of saturated fat in ice cream, chips, chocolate, and other fatty (and tasty) treats.
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Boost Fruits and Vegetables
We'll be eating lots of fruits and vegetables. These beauties fill you up on fewer calories and help ward off cancer and other diseases. As you'll see on this plan, eating more fruits and vegetables is so much easier than you ever thought.
I hope you enjoy all the peaches, berries, bananas, broccoli, cucumbers, carrots, peppers, and other goodies I've suggested for you, because they're doing amazing things for your body! When you get a bunch of fruits and vegetables under your belt, there's less room for fattening foods. And, their proven disease-fighting abilities are just as important as their slimming effects. They safeguard your health in thousands of ways!
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Hone in on Hunger
Although you've chosen to be on a super-healthy-eating plan, overeating and cravings may start creeping back into your life. However, this time you're going to confront the problem and begin to conquer it.
Eat in response to hunger. This strategy is about reconnecting to your hunger signals and trusting your body to tell you when you need food and when you don't. The truth is, the cravings we experience often have very little to do with hunger. If we eat to numb, obliterate, or avoid bad feelings or situations — or even to cope with good ones — we'll have a very hard time losing weight and keeping it off.
I love to eat just for the joy of it. At times I eat — or overeat — for different reasons. Often, it's because I'm happy — just happy to be with my family for dinner. But whenever I feel the urge to binge, I try to remember that the great taste of something doesn't compare with the feeling of being physically fit.
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Change Behaviors
If cravings and bouts of overeating sabotaged your past diet attempts, then you are going to love this plan. I'll help you conquer that problem — and you'll still get to enjoy ice cream, chips, and other treats! Overeating and bingeing are often a response to stress, anxiety, and even elation. Food is soothing, calming, and — at least in the short term — a way to cope. And once we find an easy coping mechanism, it becomes hard to part with it.
Before you take a third helping or head to the vending machine when you're not really hungry, take a minute to ask yourself, "What do I really need right now?" Maybe it's someone to talk to; a short break from work; an opportunity to face something you've been putting off; or any number of other things. Even if you wind up eating, you've helped yourself by learning something about your needs. Deal with one issue at a time, and try to reduce stress in your life. Learn to relax! It's one of the most rewarding lessons in life!
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