Lose weight, lower your blood pressure, and control your blood sugar, the natural way!
Eliminate sugar from your diet
● Eliminate foods with added sugar or other sweeteners, especially sweet drinks (soda, juice, energy drinks, smoothies, etc); including “diet” drinks.
● Avoid all types of sweeteners, both “natural” and “artificial”, including sugar honey, fructose, corn syrup, aspartame, neotame, sucralose, and stevia.
Read the ingredients. The amount of sugar will be listed on the nutrition label. ○ Common sources of sugar: soda, juice, sweetened cereal, white bread, candy, cookies, granola and energy bars, bakery items, frozen yogurt and ice cream, smoothies, flavored yogurt, and many more….
Eliminate or reduce alcohol.
Drink water! (unsweetened seltzer, or coffee or tea without sweeteners is acceptable).
Reduce excess carbohydrates
● especially bread, cereal, rice, pasta, potatoes, cookies, crackers, bagels, muffins.
● Stick to small portions of whole grains: like barley, brown rice, buckwheat, bulgur, millet, oatmeal, and whole wheat bread. Avoid processed grains (like cereal, granola, oatmeal mixes) that may contain a lot of sugar and salt.
Reduce processed foods and salt
Limit your consumption of processed foods – these are factory produced foods that tend to be high in sugar, salt, and fat. This includes many snack foods and convenience foods, as well as sauces and dressings. Read the ingredients!
Replace – instead of bad carbs and processed foods, eat these:
● vegetables
● lean proteins and healthy fats (chicken, fish, soy products, nuts, seeds, olive oil).
● Beans and lentils
● Eggs, cheese, low fat dairy – also acceptable in moderation. (No sweetened yogurt!)
● Fresh fruit. Avoid processed fruits like dried fruit, canned or jarred fruits, or fruit juice.
Nutrition education – Learn everything you can from reliable sources about what you are eating.
● Look at reliable websites: nutrition.gov; eatright.org; www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/dash-eating-plan; dashdiet.org; choosemyplate.gov
● Books: Available on Amazon.com and other booksellers: “Nutrition for Dummies”; “Mayo Clinic Diet”; “The DASH Diet Action Plan”.
● For high blood sugar and diabetes, take a look at: ○ American Diabetes Association: www.diabetes.org ○ Books: Available on Amazon.com and other booksellers: “Mayo Clinic Diabetes Diet”; “Diabetes for Dummies” “Diabetes Meal Planning and Nutrition for Dummies”
Read ingredients and nutrition labels – learn about what you are eating.
Exercise
● 30 minutes per day, five days a week. More is even better, especially when exercising at a low intensity.
● Schedule your exercise like you would any important meeting or appointment
● Move around during the day and avoid sitting for long periods.
● Any type of exercise is fine as long as it involves some exertion.
SAMPLE EATING SUGGESTIONS – For seasonings: use olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and no salt seasonings like Mrs. Dash.
Morning – 12 oz water; coffee with milk
Snack – morning, mid-afternoon, and/or early evening – 8 oz water; oatmeal (with fresh fruit if desired, but no sugar or sweeteners); or 1 hard boiled egg; or 1 piece of fruit; or 1 serving of unsalted nuts; 1 piece of low-salt cheese; plain unsweetened yogurt; air popped popcorn with no salt
Lunch: 12 oz of water; fresh or steamed vegetables; with beans or edamame; top with seeds (flax, chia, etc);
Dinner – 12 oz of water; vegetables – fresh or steamed; protein: baked/broiled chicken or fish, or soy, or beans/lentils; whole grain carbohydrate – whole grain rice or pasta
No eating after 8pm.