A little about time

Giving yourself more time to chew your food peacefully helps with food absorption in the body and weight loss. It helps lose more weight and makes excessive weight stay off. Taking your time to eat your food also makes it easier for your body to digest the food. This prevents snacking throughout the entire day. I suggest being on the modified Mediterranean Diet’s big breakfast/small dinner plan for at least twelve weeks before going back to the Mediterranean Diet long term.

The Modified Mediterranean Diet’s Big breakfast/Small Dinner Plan

Breakfast (600-700 calories): Rotate daily.

Meal #1: Steel-cut oatmeal; you can add stevia, a handful of berries, a handful of walnuts or pecans if you want. Along with this, you can have a protein drink or smoothie with 8 ounces of almond or coconut milk, 1 teaspoon of coconut oil or almond butter for your good fats, one scoop of plant protein, and 1-2 tbsp. ground flaxseed for your fiber. May add ice or stevia to taste.

Meal #2: Eggs (3 whites and 1 yolk is best) or an omelet with onions, peppers, or any other vegetables: a little cheese or a few slices of avocado is okay. You can have 2 slices of gluten free toast (Canyon Bakery gluten-free bread is my favorite and is often found in the frozen section of a health food store.) with a little butter or a little almond butter.

Meal #3: Greek yogurt or low-fat cottage cheese with berries and stevia, and a protein drink or smoothie with almond or coconut milk, almond butter or coconut oil, a scoop of plant protein, and 1-2 tbsp. ground flaxseeds. May add ice or stevia to taste.

Meal #4: Gluten-free pancakes with berries (blueberries,blackberries,strawberries, or raspberries) sauteed in a  small amount of butter or coconut oil (not syrup). May add 3-4 oz. of smoked wild salmon, 2 slices of turkey bacon, or a protein drink or smoothie as above.

Coffee: Okay. just no sugar or cream. You can use stevia to sweeten, and almond or coconut milk in place of cream. Tea is also okay, just no sugar; use stevia or truvia.

Lunch: No bread, pasta, rice, or potatoes.

You can have all salads with all the vegetables you want, but don’t add croutons. A little cheese is fine, but not every day (rotating every 3-4 days). Add 3-6 ounces of protein such as chicken, turkey, or fish (3-4 oz. for women, 3-6 oz. for men). You can have 1/2-1 cu of beans, peas, or lentils in soups or have hummus as side dish. Use your olive oil and vinegar (use 2-4 parts vinegar and 1 part olive oil) in a salad spritzer, and other condiments like lemon or lime, garlic, pepper, or one calorie per spray salad spritzers by Wishbone on salads. No creamy dressings (i.e.,ranch, blue cheese, etc.).

Dinner: No starches, and no beans, peas, or lentils.

You can have salad with all your vegetables, but no croutons. You can add 3-6 ounces of proteins such as chicken, turkey, or fish. You can have non-cream based vegetable soups and all the green vegetables you desire, such as cabbage, broccoli, asparagus, green beans, etc.

Snacks:

Raw nuts                                                                                                                                                                                         Organic celery and carrot sticks                                                                                                                                               Guacamole or avocado                                                                                                                                                             Lettuce wraps                                                                                                                                                                                         Salsa is okay, but with no chips                                                                                                                                                   Hot tea is okay with no sugar ( use stevia or Truvia)

Notes to remember:

  1. Make sure you eat dinner at around 6 or 7 p.m., and go to bed early, around 9 or 10 p.m., so you don’t get late night cravings. This helps both control and re-balance your ghrelin and leptin hormones. Sleep deprivation usually increases appetite.
  2. Drink 2 glasses of water as soon as you wake up. This is great for weight loss and getting rid of body toxins first thing in the morning.
  3. Exercise 30 minutes a day, 5 times a week, and try and get your heart rate up to 120-130 beats per minute. A recumbent bike is recommended to keep pressure off your knees. Try a brisk walk in the morning before breakfast for burning belly fat.
  4. Control our stress. That also affects your appetite hormones. Learn to let it go, forgive and move on.

A little about attitude

A positive mental attitude is one of the greatest keys to any successful endeavor. You must remove the word “cant” from your vocabulary, from your conscious and subconscious vocabulary, and reprogram yourself with an I-will-not-be-denied attitude. this can-do thinking will take you where you want to go. We all need to be grateful for the body we have, even if you are presently obese or overweight. Accept yourself, forgive yourself, and love yourself daily, and you will eventually change your autopilot to weight loss. Here are several can-do confessions:

  • I forgive myself for gaining weight; I accept myself and forgive myself.
  • I can lose weight and I am losing weight every week.
  • I commit now to removing all junk foods, sugary foods, and tempting foods from my house.
  • I commit to eating breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a  pauper.
  • I commit to practicing portion control.
  • I commit now to practicing mindful eating.
  • I give my body what it needs and not what it craves.
  • I commit now to a regular physical activity program.
  • I see myself weighing _____.

A big part of a positive mental attitude is having a plan.

  • Drink 1-2 quarts of water daily, beginning as soon as you wake up.
  • Exercise 15-30 minutes daily, with a good walk in the morning.
  • Repeat your can-do confessions morning and night.
  • Follow your eating plan.

A little about hormones

Leptin: The hormone that tells the body that it is full.                                                                                                   Ghrelin: The hormone that tells the body it is hungry

A few ways to help control Ghrelin and Leptin hormones would be as follows:

  •  Avoid MSG: MSG messes with your leptin hormone, making you want to eat more and you get hungrier sooner. MSG is typically in fast foods, processed foods and more. (for a comprehensive list of common foods with MSG go to www.msgtruth.org)
  • Avoid or minimize fructose: Fructose prevents leptin and insulin from elevating to normal levels after a meal, which then increases your ghrelin and triglyceride levels, and you eat more. Fructose is in fruit juices and soft drinks.
  • Avoid low-calorie (1000 calories or less a day) diets: Eating foods helps balance hormones that trigger uncontrollable hunger and weight gain.
  • Eat every four hours: Ghrelin is produced and secreted on a four-hour cycle. To keep ghrelin low, eat on schedule every three to four hours. Leptin levels are decreased after fasting 24 to 72 hours.
  • Eat high fiber foods: Ghrelin levels remain high until food stretches the wall of your stomach, making you feel full. High-volume, low-calorie, nutrient-dense foods reduce ghrelin and increase leptin levels long before you have eaten too much. Salads are good.
  • Get at least seven hours of seep a night: Less sleep means higher ghrelin levels, lower leptin levels, greater hunger, and higher body weight.
  • Eat proteins at every meal: Protein takes longer to digest and lowers your ghrelin levels.
  • Reduce stress: take short walks. meditate, take a bath, do yoga, listen to soothing music.
  • Increase omega-3 fats: This both boosts leptin and helps knock out leptin resistance. Grass-fed meats, walnuts, salmon, anchovies, sardines, trout, chia seeds, flax seeds, summer squash, and kale are good.
  • Heal your gut: This helps with appetite issues.

The MODIFIED Mediterranean Diet

The modified Mediterranean Diet is the best anti-inflammatory diet in the world. Quite literally, this modified Mediterranean Diet can usually effectively treat, cure, control, or manage specific illnesses and major diseases.

Level #1: Fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, and other legumes. Salads consists of dark green leafy lettuce, fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, peppers, onions, and cucumbers. Serve vegetables in salads, as appetizers, or as a main or side dish. Fruits are usually a dessert or snack. Use nuts as toppings to add favor and texture. The beans and legumes are usually in soups, added to salads, used as dips (i.e., hummus), or as a main dish.

Level #2: Steel-cut oats and quinoa, millet or millet bread, brown rice, and sweet potatoes. if you are not gluten sensitive, trying to lose weight, or suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, or another inflammatory disease, then potatoes, sprouted bread (i.e., Ezekiel 4:9 bread), or fermented bread (i.e., sourdough bread) are fine on occasion, rotated every four days,  and with moderation (the size of a tennis ball for women and 1-2 tennis balls for men).

Level #3: Olive oil, used instead of other oils, including butter, margarine, etc. Not only for cooking, it is commonly mixed with balsamic vinegar as a salad dressing.

Level #4: Cheese and yogurt, in small amounts. Freshly grated Parmesan on pasta or a little feta cheese on a salad is common. Yogurt (about a cup a day) is how milk is usually eaten, and it is low fat or nonfat, served with fresh fruit added. Yogurt may also be used as a salad dressing (i.e., mixed with dill, garlic, onion, and cucumbers). Many patients are sensitive to diary and thus may need to minimize, avoid, or rotate it every four days.

Level #5: Fish, eaten more than other meats, in about 4 to 6-ounce portions several times a week. Choose low-mercury fish. Like anchovies, butterfish, catfish, clams, crab (domestic), crawfish/crayfish, croaker (Atlantic), flounder, haddock, (Atlantic), hake, herring, mackerel (N.Atlantic, chub), mullet, oyster, perch (ocean), plaice, pullock, salmon (canned or fresh), sardine, scallop, shad (American), shrimp, sole (Pacific), squid (calamari), tilapia, trout (freshwater), whitefish, and whiting.

Level #6: Chicken, turkey, and eggs. Chicken in 3-6-ounce portions a few times a week is common. The meat is usually skinless and added to soups, stews, and other dishes loaded with vegetables. Only 2-6 eggs per week. I recommend 1 yolk/3 whites as egg ratio.

Level #7: Red meat, in the form of beef, veal, pork, sheep, lamb, and goat is eaten in 3-6 ounce portions once or twice a week or just a few times in a month. It is then often served as a topping to a  vegetable, pasta, or rice dish.

Implementing the Mediterranean Diet

There are 13 important steps to take if you want to shift over to the Mediterranean Diet. Some steps and decisions will be easier than others, but every single step is a good one, except with certain grains. Here is what it usually takes:

  1. Eliminate processed foods, which include chips, snacks made with hydrogenated fat, cakes, candies, crackers, high sugar cereals, white bread, high-processed foods, and high sugar foods.
  2. Substitute olive oil for butter, margarine, salad dressings, and other oils. Get rid of other oils, salad dressings, lard, Crisco, and other products with hydrogenated fat.
  3. Buy only whole grain fresh items, fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
  4. Cook and bake with whole grain products.
  5. Avoid fried or deep-fried foods.
  6. Choose low-fat, plain yogurt, and sweeten with stevia or fresh fruit.
  7. Limit cheese to small amounts of Parmesan or feta mixed with salads or main dishes.
  8. Buy fish and poultry more than red meat.
  9. Eat red meat very sparingly.
  10. Cut out sugary sweets.
  11. Enjoy a glass of red wine (caution:may lead to dependence or alcoholism) or sparkling water with lunch or dinner.
  12. Walk, bike. and run as much as you can.
  13. Slow down and enjoy your dining experience.

The Mediterranean Diet like the typical “health” pyramid

Level One: Complex carbohydrates in the form of brown rice, whole-grain rice, whole-grain pasta, and whole-grain bread (the fresher the better). Other possible options include cracked whole wheat (bulgur wheat), couscous, course cornmeal (polenta), and potatoes.

Level Two: Fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans and other legumes. Salads are made of dark leafy lettuce, fresh vine-ripened tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, peppers, onions, and cucumbers. The vegetables are often mixed with pasta or rice, used in salads, served as appetizers, or offered as a main or side dish. Fruits are at this level, but are usually a dessert or snack. Nuts are toppings to add flavor and texture. The beans and legumes are usually in soups, added to salads, used in dips (i.e.,hummus) or as a main dish.

Level Three: Olive oil, used instead of other oils, butter , margarine, etc. Not only for cooking, it is commonly mixed with balsamic vinegar as a salad dressing.

Level Four: Cheese and yogurt, in small amounts. Freshly grated Parmesan on pasta or little feta cheese on a salad is common. Yogurt (about a cup a day) is how milk is usually eaten, and it is low fat or nonfat, usually served with fresh fruit added. Yogurt is also a salad dressing (i.e.,mixed with dill,garlic, onion, and cucumbers).

Level Five: Fish, eaten more than other meats, in about 4-ounce portions several times a week.

Level Six: Chicken, turkey, and eggs. Chicken in 3 to 6-once portions a few times a week is common. The meat is usually skinless and added to soups, stews, and other dishes loaded with vegetable. Only 1 to 4 eggs per week.

Level Seven: Red meat, in the form of beef, veal, pork, sheep, lamb, and goats, is eaten only few times a month. It is then often served as a topping to a vegetable, pasta, or rice dish.

The Anti-Inflamatory Diet

Inflammation is the root cause of most chronic diseases. Health is the ideal long-term goal. Here is an anti-inflammatory diet that would break the cycle. This is a diet most patients could use as a foundational starting point for better health. After decades of medical practice, research , study and serving thousands of patients, these are the key components of the anti-inflammatory diet.

The Anti-Inflammatory Diet

  1. All vegetables three servings a day and more if able                                                                                                     a. Steam, stir-fry, cook under low heat or eat raw                                                                                       b.Vegetable soups, non-cream based. Homemade is the best & you may add some organic meat.
  2. Meats: 3-4 oz. once/twice a day for women, 3-6 oz, once/twice a day for men                                           a.Turkey (skinless), free-range chicken (skinless, white meat), or eggs (organic or free range omega-3 eggs as well)                                                                                                                                                                         b.When grilling, slice meat thin, marinate in red wine, pomegranate juice =, cherry juice, or curry sauce. and remove all char from meat                                                                                                                                          c. Eggs once/ twice a week, only 1 yolk and 2-3 whites                                                                                        d.Avoid red meat or minimize to 3-6 oz. once or twice a week
  3. Low mercury fish: anchovies, butterfish, catfish, clams crab (domestic) crawfish/crayfish, croaker (Atlantic), hake, herring, mackerel (N. Atlantic, chub), mullet, oyster, perch (ocean), plaice, pullock, salmon (canned or fresh), sardine, scallop, shad (American), shrimp, sole (Pacific), squid (calamari), tilapia, trout (freshwater), whitefish, and whiting
  4. Fruits: at lest two servings a day                                                                                                                            a.Berries, Granny smith apples, lemon and lime are low glycemic                                                                      b.May eat all fruit but avoid fruit syrup and minimize dried fruit and fruit juice
  5. Beans, peas, lentils (& other legumes), hummus:1/2 cups daily, preferably before meals                       a.Bean soup, black bean, lentil, etc., prior to lunch and dinner
  6. Raw nuts & seeds: almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews, walnuts, macadamia nuts(at least one handful a day)
  7. Salads with extra-virgin olive oil and vinegar (may use less olive oil and more vinegar if trying to lose weight); start with large salad with lunch and dinner (without croutons)
  8. Dairy: low-fat dairy without sugar, such as Greek yogurt, low fat cottage cheese
  9. Starches: sweet potatoes, new potatoes, brown/wild rice, millet bread, brown rice pasta (use in moderation when choosing starches and at most only one serving per meal and limit to size of a tennis ball for women and 1-2 tennis balls for men), and minimize or avoid corn unless it is non-GMO and not processed. Minimize or avoid gluten, but may not use sprouted bread (Ezekiel 4:9 bread) in moderation, if you are not obese or suffering from any disease.
  10. Oils:2-4 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil daily (can be put on salads) and can use more if not overweight or obese
  11. Vinegar (any type): 2-4 tablespoons or more daily or as desired
  12. Drinks:                                                                                                                                                                      a.Alkaline water or sparking water (may add lemon or lime)                                                                    b.Green,black,white tea (may add lemon or lime) with stevia                                                                                    c. Coffee with coconut milk and stevia (if desired)                                                                                                d.Low-fat coconut milk or almond milk in place of regular milk                                                                              e.Pomegranate juice: 2 oz. daily                                                                                                                                        f. No sugar (use stevia or lohan (monk fruit) guo or erythritol to sweeten)                                                        g.No cream (use low-fat coconut milk)
  13. Avoid:                                                                                                                                                                                a.All gluten (wheat, barley, rye, spelt, pasta, crackers, bagels, pretzels, most cereal, etc.)                       Common foods that contain gluten:                                                                                                                                   Pastas: raviolis, dumplings, couscous and gnocchi                                                                                                         Noodles: ramen, udon, soba (those made with only a percentage of buckwheat flour), chow mein and egg noodles (note: rice noodles and mung bean noodles are gluten free)                                                                             Breads & pastries: croissants, pita, naan, bagels, flatbreads, corn bread, potato bread, muffins, donuts, rolls                                                                                                                                                                                         Crackers: pretzel, Goldfish crackers, graham crackers                                                                                                 Baked goods: cakes, cookies, piecrusts, brownies                                                                                                         Cereal & granola: corn flakes & rice puffs often contain malt extract/flavoring, granola often made with regular oats not gluten-free oats                                                                                                                                           Breakfast foods: pancakes, waffles, French toast crepes, biscuits                                                                           Breading & coating mixes: panko bread crumbs                                                                                                       Croutons: stuffings, dressings                                                                                                                                           Sauces & gravies (many use wheat flour as a thickener): traditional soy sauce, cream sauces made with a roux                                                                                                                                                                                           Flour tortillas                                                                                                                                                              Beer (unless explicitly gluen-free) and any malt beverages                                                                                           Brewer’s yeast                                                                                                                                                               Anything else that uses “wheat flour” as an ingredient                                                                                     b. Organ meats if obese or suffering from chronic diseases                                                                                           c. Sugar                                                                                                                                                                                       d. All fried foods                                                                                                                                                                       e. All processed foods                                                                                                                                                             f. High glycemic foods: white rice, instant potatoes, etc.                                                                                                 g. GMO foods such as most corn, soy, canola oil, and cottonseed oil                                                                           h. Inflammatory meats such as shellfish, pork, lamb, veal, and read meats (avoid completely or rotate every 4 days or longer, and limit amount to 3-6 oz.)
  14. Rotate vegetables and meats every four days (do not eat the same foods every day); for example, on day 1 eat chicken, day 2, turkey;day 3, salmon; and so on
  15. Organic: Choose organic as much as possible but its still a healthy diet even if you can do organic. With a healthy body, eating non-organic is fine.                                                                                                                              Pesticides in Fruits & Vegetables 

The Dirty Dozen: Apples, peaches, nectarines, strawberries, grapes, celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, snap peas (imported), potatoes

The Clean Fifteen: Avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, cabbage, sweet peas (frozen), onions, asparagus, mangos, papayas, kiwi, eggplant, grapefruit, cantaloupe, cauliflower, sweet potatoes

An Interesting Book that deals with Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle!

“Let Food be your Medicine” -Dietary changes proven to prevent or reverse disease

by Don Colbert, MDNew York Times Bestselling Author

His quote: “This simple lifestyle brings life”

This books offers simple dietary changes with the Mediterranean diet. it also gives us an insight of what to eat and what not to eat. These nutritional choices help us to live a better and healthy life. Making life much more qualitative and preventing diseases from attacking the body in the long run.

A person following an anti-inflammatory diet must:

  • Eliminate sugars & sweets, or include very little
  • Only eat small amounts of meat: 3-6 oz. once/twice a day (3-4 oz. for women,3-6 oz. for men)
  • Limit red meat to 3-6 oz. once/twice a week, or eliminate completely
  • Follow a mostly plant-based diet
  • Eliminate processed meats (hot dogs, salami, pepperoni, bacon, sausage, etc)
  • Include healthy starches with a low glycemic value, such as steel-cut oats, beans, peas, lentils, sweet potatoes, etc.
  • Avoid fried foods
  • Limit, avoid or rotate ever four days: pork, lamb, and shrimp, crab. lobster, or other shellfish
  • Include healthy fats from macadamia nuts, cashews, walnuts, almonds, extra-virgin olive oil and avocados
  • Minimize intake of omega-6 fats (corn oil, safflower oil, sunflower oil, cotton seed oil, soybean oil)
  • Include wild salmon (probably the highest anti-inflammatory food on the planet) and other wild , low-mercury fish
  • Eliminate trans fat or hydrogenated fats
  • Include extra-virgin olive oil
  • Eliminate, limit or rotate every four days grains (use legumes: beans, peas, lentils)
  • Reach a healthy body weight because obesity is connected to most disease today
  • Minimize night shades (peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, paprika, eggplant) or rotate every four days
  • Be able to improve, or control, type 2 diabetes
  • Include exercise five days a week and balance your hormones
  • Cope with stress
  • Include more sleep
  • Eliminate or limit GMO foods (most soy, corn, canola oil and cottonseed oil)