Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient-Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss (45 page)

Don’t be conned by diet pills, magic in a bottle, or fat absorbers. Anything really effective is not safe, and those that are safe are not effective. To deal with the real problem, you must make real changes. Here is some data on four of the most popular remedies.

Acai berries
: While all berries are anti-inflammatory and high in antioxidants, the overhyped Brazilian acai (pronounced a-sigh-EE) berries offer no additional magical health or weight-loss benefits. There is no evidence to suggest that acai products will help you shed pounds, flatten your tummy, cleanse your colon, enhance your sexual desire, cure baldness, or perform any of the other commonly advertised functions. The expensive acai berry comes as a juice, pulp, powder, and capsule and is a triumph of marketing over science. In fact, companies selling acai fruits are under investigation after numerous consumer complaints.

Garcinia cambogia (hydroxycitric acid):
In spite of an interesting theory and some intriguing animal studies, the human studies are unimpressive. In the best study to date, 135 patients
were double-blinded to receive either 1,500 mg per day of hydroxycitric acid or a placebo. They were all placed on a high-fiber, low-calorie diet. After twelve weeks, the placebo group had lost more weight.
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Conclusion: garcinia cambogia doesn’t work.

Chitosan:
This form of chitin, derived from the shells of crustaceans, supposedly traps fat in the intestine and is frequently advertised as Fat Absorb. A review of the data available seems to indicate that you would have to consume an entire bottle every day to have much of a reduction in fat absorption. The amount of fat absorbed is minuscule, and clinical data shows that Chitosan does not promote weight loss.
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Conclusion: Chitosan doesn’t work.

Ephedra alkaloids (ma huang):
Although this natural stimulant has a small effect on reducing appetite, the FDA has issued a warning regarding serious and potentially lethal side effects associated with the use of products containing ephedra, including arrhythmias, heart attacks, strokes, psychosis, abnormal liver function, seizures, rapid heart rate, anxiety, and stomach pain.
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Ephedra is so dangerous that it has been linked with fatalities—even a low dose has detrimental health effects. Conclusion: it’s not worth the risk.

Remember: for anything to be effective, you have to be on it forever. Even if the drugs were remarkably effective, you would have to be prepared to stay on them forever; the minute you stopped, the benefits would slowly be lost. In the long run, it is still your diet that determines your health and your weight. The amphetamine-related appetite suppressants have received much press, and they were quite popular until their dangers became better known. They were never approved for long-term use, so it wasn’t very wise for people to use them.

The two FDA-approved drugs for weight reduction are
Meridia (sibutramine) and Xenical (orlistat). Meridia can cause headaches, insomnia, constipation, dry mouth, and hypertension and is only slightly helpful. Xenical, the fat inhibitor, can cause abdominal pain and diarrhea, and it reduces absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins, such as D, E, and K. It may help those who consume an unhealthful, fatty diet, but even then it is hardly worth the side effects. Overall, drugs are drugs—they are a poor substitute for healthy living.
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You can eat anything you desire, on occasion, but just don’t make a habit of it. Try to be very strict the first three months in order to document how much weight you can expect to lose when you eat sensibly. We are all tempted by these treats. It is easier to resist if you get them out of your house completely. All cheating should be done outside your home. If possible, associate with friends who will support you in recovering your health—or may join you in trying to be healthy.

Once you regain your health and feel great, you are less likely to crave these foods or be so tempted. Then, when you do deviate from a healthful diet, it is likely you will feel poorly, have a persistent dry mouth, and not sleep well. If you go off your diet and eat junk food on occasion, mark it on your calendar and consider it a special occasion that you won’t repeat too often.

Nobody is perfect; however, do not let your weight yo-yo. You must adhere to the plan strictly enough so that you never put back on whatever weight you take off.

Exercise is important, but if your ability to be active and exercise is limited, do not despair. My more aggressive menu plans will still enable you to lose weight. Obviously, those unable to exercise
require a stricter diet. Some people have health conditions that preclude them from exercising much. However, you should still try to devise an exercise prescription to fit your capabilities. Almost everyone can do something; even those who cannot walk can do arm exercises with light weights and use an arm cycle.

Exercise will facilitate your weight loss and make you healthier. Vigorous exercise has a powerful effect on promoting longevity. If you have the will to adopt this plan and take good care of yourself, you will find the will to exercise. “No time to exercise” is not an excuse. If you have time to brush your teeth, take a shower, or go to the bathroom, you can make some time to exercise. Take frequent five-minute exercise breaks—walk stairs or stand up then sit down slowly in your chair twenty times. Even people with no time to exercise or join a health club can go up and down stairs in their home or place of work. Try doing as many flights as you can two or three times a day. Walking twenty or more flights a day is an effective way to achieve your goal. Most of my patients have a health club in their house—that is, a stairway leading to the upstairs floor and one going down to the basement as well. I ask them to walk up and down the two flights ten times in the morning before they shower and ten times at night. It takes only five minutes, but it really works.

I encourage patients to join a real health club and use a variety of equipment to utilize many body parts for maximum results. The more muscle groups that are exercised, the more metabolically active players you have on your team to help you meet your goals. It is definitely helpful to have access to an assortment of exercise equipment, such as elliptical machines, treadmills, steppers, recumbent bicycles, and numerous resistance machines. When you tire of one machine, you can move on to a new one.

This is not a book on stress management, social support, or stimulus control. Entire books have been written on these subjects.
Clearly, it is difficult to eat healthfully in our crazy world, where it seems that everyone else is on a mission to commit suicide with food. That said, some of the following suggestions have proven helpful for people trying to lose weight.

Social support:
Include family and friends in your plan. Ask others to read this book—not with the purpose of recruiting them to this way of eating, but so they will help you and understand why you are eating this way. If they are truly your friends, they will support you in your desire to improve your health and will try to have the right food choices available when you are around. Maybe they will even join you on your quest. It is extremely helpful to find at least one friend to join you or support you on your road back to superior health.

Stimulus control:
Implement strategies to prevent temptation and exposure to sedentary activities or social eating. The most important stimulus-control technique is structuring your environment. This means removing temptation from your home and stocking your cupboards and refrigerator with the proper foods. Eat only at the kitchen table, not while watching television. When you finish dinner, clean up and leave the kitchen area, then brush and floss your teeth, so you are not tempted to return and snack again. Lay out your exercise clothes for the morning so you are reminded to begin your day with your exercise program.

When going out to social situations, eat first or bring your own food if you cannot arrange in advance to have food that meets your needs. Volunteer to bring food for the other guests, too; then you have something you can eat without distress. Try not to make food the center of your life. Keep active with interests that keep you from thinking about eating.

Positive visualization and other relaxation techniques:
Progressive muscle relaxation and meditation are designed to reduce tension and provide a distraction for stressful events.
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For many, stress is a predictor of relapse and unhealthful eating. We
need both exercise and sufficient rest and sleep to best deal with the stress in our lives. If you are not sleeping well, you can become overwhelmed more easily by stressful situations. An audiotape or CD to guide you in relaxation can be very helpful in reducing stress and sleeping better.

Self-monitoring:
Accept that this diet is a lifetime commitment. The individual most likely to succeed is one who has changed both his habits and his mind-set. Food diaries, weekly weigh-ins, physical activity logs, and goal setting are all effective ways to stay on track. The primary purpose of self-monitoring is to become aware of behaviors and factors that either positively or negatively influence your food and activity choices. Research has consistently demonstrated that self-monitoring is a helpful tool that improves outcome.
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I suggest you make a list of goals that losing weight will help you accomplish and post it somewhere in your home where you will see it. Add to it from time to time and check off accomplishments as you achieve them. Make the goals very specific to you, such as the following:

Additional support from Dr. Fuhrman:
I have created a website to provide additional information, tools, and support to help you accomplish your goals. At
DrFuhrman.com
, you have access to the most current information on health and nutrition, as well as to more inspiring and dramatic stories of sustained weight loss and health recoveries. You can find articles I have written making sense of recent research findings and nutritional medicine—sifting through the myths versus the facts. It’s also the best place to find out about my upcoming lectures and events. Every year I organize a weeklong health getaway, which gives you the opportunity to be fully engaged in receiving information critical to your health, enjoy and learn how to make gourmet nutritarian recipes, and develop lifelong friendships with supportive, like-minded people. The getaway offers lectures, cooking demonstrations, exercise classes, and health screenings, along with activities and entertainment, in a beautiful resort setting.

The membership at
DrFuhrman.com
is specifically designed to ensure your success, whether you need guidance and encouragement or just want to enjoy the information and camaraderie there. Members can turn to the website for ongoing insight, recipes, meal plans, social networking, and even my personal advice. You can read my answers to thousands of questions and ask me your questions, too. In addition, you have the opportunity to connect directly with other members who are just starting out or who have been successful and can pass along helpful tips. Remember, you will reach your goals more quickly when you have the support of others who’ve already achieved success.

Structured coaching:
Some individuals do better when another person tracks their results and provides encouragement. Some people maximize success with a variety of aids, including regular visits to a physician, dietitian, or psychologist. When patients see me each month, we review what they have achieved and what it will take to achieve the goal for the following month. Improvements in blood pressure, weight, lipid levels, liver function, and diabetic parameters are all helpful to keep people focused on achieving their goals. If you are on medication, you will have to visit your physician regularly to adjust the dose and potentially discontinue a medication that you will no longer need as you lose weight. You can also ask your physician to read this book and work with you, supporting you as you earn your way back to total wellness.