The Dash Diet Weight Loss Solution: 2 Weeks to Drop Pounds, Boost Metabolism, and Get Healthy (A DASH Diet Book) (3 page)

What are your personal health risks?

• Waist size too large?

• Blood pressure too high?

• Cholesterol or triglycerides too high?

• High-salt diet?

• Eating too many sugary or starchy foods?

• Eating too many fried foods?

• Not eating enough vegetables? fruit?

dairy?

We are
not
going to calculate your target calories. That’s right, you will not need to count calories. Instead you will focus on including food groups, and learn to watch

portion sizes, especially for the high-calorie foods. This is so much simpler. After all, we eat food, not calories. Focusing on how to include a variety of food groups will teach you habits that you will use for a lifetime.

Further, you want to be sure that you are losing fat, not muscle. A balanced plan with plenty of protein, calcium, and magnesium will help preserve muscle. Adding exercise, especially strength training, will also help with maintaining lean body mass and help keep metabolism as high as possible.

The DASH Diet Weight Loss Solution

With this plan, you will stay full, crave less junk food, and feel like you are eating in a way that is cleaner and lighter. You will want to continue to have this feeling. This makes it much easier to stay on track with your plan.

During the first phase, you will relearn how to make meals. Your focus will be on

choosing protein-rich foods that add satiety. You will learn to pair the protein foods with vegetables that provide bulk and happen to be very healthy and very low-calorie. This phase will reset your taste preferences, and turn you on to lighter, healthier eating. It is a two-week transition to reset your entire approach to eating. And it will boost weight loss.

The faster, initial weight loss is very motivating, because of the visible changes. You will quickly notice that your clothes fit looser, especially around the waist.

The only key DASH diet component that is missing during phase one is fruit. The

good news is that it is missing only during the first phase. We are giving your digestive hormones, liver, and pancreas a break from your typical diet. It is especially important to allow your blood sugar to be calm and stable. By not including starchy and sugary foods, you will ensure that you won’t have blood sugar spikes. You will avoid the highs and

lows that are typical of most eating patterns. This immediately calms your hunger.

Other side benefits that have been reported during the initial phase include reduction or elimination of gastric reflux, reduced “brain fog,” and reduced symptoms of allergies.

Because there are no grains, of course, this part of the plan is gluten-free. It does contain dairy since that is a key part of the DASH diet, but you can also choose dairy substitutes if that is a problem for you.

After this initial reset phase, you are ready for Phase Two, which is a lower-carb plan.

You will have already learned to make your meals more satisfying with proteins,

nonstarchy vegetables, and heart-healthy fats. In Phase Two, you get to add whole grains and fruits. You will continue to lose weight, although slightly more slowly after the initial reset phase. This becomes a plan that you can enjoy for the rest of your life.

PART I

Developing Your Own DASH Diet Solution

CHAPTER 3

Phase One: 2 Weeks to Reset Your Metabolism, Turbocharge Weight

Loss, and Shrink Your Waistline

The DASH Diet Weight Loss Solution does not require you to count calories. You

will, however, focus on getting a balance of food groups. We will mainly have a positive focus on foods you want to include rather than spending too much time on what you

should avoid.

During Phase One, you will follow a more restrictive diet than in Phase Two, but this will help you develop the eating habits that will make you very successful with DASH.

These habits will help you reach your weight loss goal and maintain that healthy weight.

What are these key habits? First, you will learn to consume lots of vegetables and to rely on them for bulk in your diet. You will also learn to include protein-rich foods that increase satiety, help reduce in-between-meal hunger, and keep your blood sugar more

stable. Without starchy and sugary foods, your metabolism will operate more efficiently, since you will have a reduced demand for insulin. You will notice that you are eating much lighter and cleaner, which will feel good. Within the first few days, you will also notice that your waist is shrinking because you are losing belly fat. People who have frequent complaints of heartburn may notice that they are not experiencing problems on this plan.

If you have diabetes and are on medication for it, please consult with your physician and/or dietitian about adopting this plan. It can significantly reduce your need for

medication. But do not alter your medication intake without consulting first with your health care professional. This is also true for your blood pressure. If you find that your blood pressure is low, please contact your doctor before changing your blood pressure medication dosage.

During the first phase, you will improve your metabolism, and your need for insulin

will drop significantly. While insulin promotes muscle development in children, in adults it promotes fat storage. With almost no starch or sugar during this phase, you will stop feeding the belly fat. Along with noticeable weight loss will come a reduction in waist size. Insulin can also trigger hunger. With less insulin circulating, and a more stable blood sugar, your hunger will finally get under control.

Many people who struggle with weight and health issues have what is known as

metabolic syndrome (also called dysmetabolic syndrome, or Syndrome X). Women with

PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome) may have metabolic syndrome. It is related to a

combination of symptoms, including elevated triglycerides, blood pressure, blood sugar, and waist circumference, and/or low HDL. Current estimates suggest that 25% of

Americans have this syndrome. Fortunately, the DASH Diet Weight Loss Solution

addresses all of these symptoms. In addition to your waist size shrinking, your blood pressure should become more normal, along with your triglycerides, HDL, and blood

sugar.

As I mentioned earlier, instead of counting calories, you focus on including the key

food groups. How does that work? During the first phase, you will learn to fill your plate with low-calorie vegetables and sufficient protein to make the meal satisfying. This

instantly reduces your normal mealtime demand for insulin, and keeps your blood sugar on a more even keel.

Phase One: The Intuitive 14-Day Plan

Our ultrasimple introduction will provide you with an overview of how Phase One

works. Sample meal plans will be found in
Chapter 4
.

Include Moderate-Sized Servings of These Foods

Foods That Are Protein-Rich and Low in Saturated Fat

Lean meats, fish, and poultry

Beans, lentils, soy foods

Low-fat or nonfat cheeses

Egg substitutes and some whole eggs if desired