What is a healthy eating plan?

Before you begin any diet or exercise program consult your physician. This blog is for entertainment and should not be a substitute for medical advice.

Here’s what I have observed; what is healthy for one person may not be healthy for another. Which is why some people lose weight on one diet and others don’t. You have got to find a healthy eating plan that will work for YOU, but most importantly you have got to find what does not work for you.

If you can do this, you can pick any eating plan from Weight Watchers to The Zone or Atkins and it will work for you, and you must remember that once you start you never stop. If you reach your goal weight you still have to stick to that eating plan, you can add a variety of foods, but you must stick to what worked, and STAY AWAY from what ever made you fat in the first place.

How do you find out what is not working?

Find your weakness, for me it is sugar, for some people it is fried salty foods such as chips, for some a combination of sugar and white flour such as pastries or breads and pastas. Most people fit into one of these categories and you will find that the underlying ingredient is glucose, or it eventually turns into glucose. Sugar, and flour products are absorbed in to the blood stream very fast, so it gives you that quick perk when you need it and then you crash and burn feeling lethargic and full like a python.

Sugar also increases Serotonin, the feel good hormone, that controls mood and behavior, so when you eat something like chocolate or cheesecake you immediately feel happy and euphoric(the phenylalanine in chocolate helps too with mood). SO if you are addicted to sugar you are probably low on Serotonin. The natural ways to increase Serotonin is with an amino acid called 5HTP. You can research this topic online, there have been many studies conducted and published in medical journals.

When you figure out what your downfall is; be it cookies, chips, sodas or whatever DO NOT BRING IT INTO YOUR HOUSE EVER! Well, you say what about my kids, my spouse? Look, if it's not good for you, it’s not good for them either, it does not hurt for everyone in the house to be HEALTHY. But what if your kids and spouse are NOT overweight? Being skinny does not mean somebody is healthy. There are lots of skinny people who suffer from diabetes, heart disease and cancer. Being overweight puts you at greater risk for such disease.

Some of the best recommend diets that eliminate these ingredients are the No Grain Diet, and the Schwarzbein Principle, they are both written by two well renowned physicians and are very healthy eating plans. If you have access to these books do read them, personally I like eating plans that are not too complicated, I like to have the same thing every day. I don’t like to reinvent the wheel. So I designed what works for me. I like Sri Lankan/Indian food and with my food plan I can have all my favorite dishes! Yes, I use coconut(desiccated and coconut milk) and my lipid profile is better than ever! Coconut oil also helps if you have a sluggish metabolism due to an underactive thyroid.

Try to eat organic products as most meat and poultry contain hormones and antibiotics that cause a host of other problems. Organic fruits and vegetable are free of pesticides and waxes, but make sure you rinse these too with vinegar and baking soda before you cook them. Cook meals at home, don’t eat out at least for a short while because restaurants add sugar even to salads. I stay away from dairy products and soy as well. Dairy products contain quite a few carbohydrates and soy is not the miracle food people think it is.

Eggs: For breakfast I recommend whole eggs or egg whites, either scrambled or boiled. Here’s the thing about eggs, they don’t raise your cholesterol, I don’t want to get into a biology lesson here, but eggs are not bad for you, sugar and flour are much worse, and it’s the combination of sugar and fats+ eggs that cause all the problems. I like to make my eggs with 1 teaspoon of coconut oil, and some onions.

Beans: Beans are your best friend, soak them over night, and just boil them with salt and have ¼ to ½ cup in the morning with your eggs.

Snack: I make three eggs in the morning and save some for a snack around 10a.m.

Lunch: for lunch I have chicken, fish, or beef( go easy on the beef because it has something called Glycogen, a polysaccharide of glucose) about 3oz is good for women and about 4 oz for men. Once you have eaten wait 20 minutes and if you are hungry you can have seconds, your body will guide you.

Vegetables: eat lots of it, at least two to three cups of vegetable, stay away from yams, carrots, beet etc. You can steam, boil, grill or curry your vegetables, just as long as you eat plenty.

You can also add ¼ of a cup of beans if you like. You will figure out how to make adjustments as you go along, if you notice you are not losing weight then take the beans out, if you find you are losing weight too fast then add the beans.

You don’t want to lose weigh too fast, or you will sag like a bag, especially in your face, you’ll have hollows and dark circles under your eyes and look awful.

Dinner: Just to make life simple, I eat the same thing for dinner.

Overcoming challenges: If you are an emotional eater then you will eat when you are happy, sad, when it rains, when it is sunny, when you are stressed, bored and just because! You will be tempted to stop by your favorite candy store every time you drive by it.
The key to overcoming these obstacles is to ask yourself “am I physically hungry, or am I hungry because I’m bored or sad, or stressed?" If it is a physical hunger you can satisfy it with a healthy snack such as some almonds or and a small piece of chicken and some vegetable. If it is a craving then you will only want chips or chocolate cake, and sometime a specific brand etc.