Eliminate sugar and sweeteners 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.
- Common sources of sugar are soda, juice, cereals, candy, cookies, granola/energy/protein bars, bakery items, ice cream, smoothies, and flavored yogurt.
Reduce processed foods and salt.
- Limit your consumption of processed foods – these are factory produced foods that are high in sugar, salt, fat, and other unhealthy additives. This includes snack foods, sugary drinks, processed meats, frozen meals, and anything with a list of ingredients. Eat “real” food instead.
Read the ingredients and know your food.
- The amount of sugar, sodium (salt), fat, and carbs, are listed on the nutrition label.
- Use a scanning app like “Yuka” to scan and evaluate products.
Eliminate or reduce alcohol.
Avoid or reduce red meat. Limit meat to once a week or less. Eat fish twice a week instead.
Drink water instead of sweetened beverages. Staying hydrated has a variety of health benefits and can help reduce unhealthy snacking. But there is no need to drink excessive amounts of water.
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.
- Use a continuous glucose monitor like Lingo to visualize your body’s response to carbs and sugars.
Replace – instead of carbohydrates and processed foods, eat these:
- vegetables
- lean proteins and healthy fats (fish, chicken, soy products, nuts, seeds, olive oil).
- Beans and lentils
- Eggs, cheese, 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
- Look at reliable websites: nutrition.gov; eatright.org; myplate.gov; dashdiet.org
- Use an app or website to analyze your current diet and your intake of calories and macronutrients (proteins/fats/carbs-sugars). MyFitnessPal is a popular choice.
Vitamins and supplements: not necessary for most healthy people. Healthful eating and exercise are more important.
Specific eating plans: Mediterranean Diet for general health and reducing heart disease. DASH diet for high blood pressure. Portfolio Diet – for cholesterol. Anti-Inflammatory Diet for arthritis; FODMAP diet for irritable bowel syndrome.
Exercise
- 45 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 activity is great. Walking is a good start but move on to higher intensity exercises when you are ready.
- Start new exercises slowly, and then gradually increase the intensity and level of exertion over time. This approach helps reduce the risk of injury.
- Doing a variety of different exercises is best, including both aerobic (“cardio”) and weight/resistance exercises.
SAMPLE EATING SUGGESTIONS
For seasonings: use olive oil, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt-free seasonings like Mrs. Dash.
Breakfast – 12 oz water; coffee with milk
Snack suggestions – mid-morning, mid-afternoon, and early evening.
- 8 oz water; oatmeal (with fresh fruit if desired, but no sugar or sweeteners)
- 1 hard boiled egg
- 1 piece of fruit
- 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 or hummus; top with seeds (flax, chia, hemp, pumpkin, sesame, or sunflower).
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.