Better known as "The Engine 2 Diet," the Rip Diet was originally created by Rip Esselstyn as a healthy diet plan to help a friend. Friends and followers affectionately refer to the diet plan as the Rip Diet.
About Rip Esselstyn
Esselstyn is an award winning triathlete with first-place titles in competitions including the Police and Fire World Games. He placed first eight times in the Capital of Texas triathlon. His father was a surgeon and a researcher on the topic of how diet relates to the healing of heart disease. Esselstyn, who was trained as an emergency medical technician, was working as a firefighter when he found out one of his coworkers had dangerously high cholesterol. This inspired him to create his plant-based diet. All of the firefighters at his station who went on the diet lost weight and improved their health.
About the Diet
Esselstyn makes powerful claims that this diet will help you lose weight, lower cholesterol, reduce the risk of disease and become more physically fit within four weeks. The eating plan is based mainly on adding greater quantities of plant-based foods such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes while eliminating processed foods. His plan uses main points that he calls "drills." First drill, eliminate all dairy and processed foods. Second drill, give up all meat. Third, omit all extracted oils. And fourth, do cardiovascular exercises and resistance-training exercises.
Scientific Backing
Dr. Mehmet Oz, cardiothoracic surgeon and author of multiple best-selling books on diet and health, has recruited Esselstyn to help him change the lifestyle of four firefighters on his television show. Dr. Oz's own diet plan, and the plan suggested by other reputable health organizations such as the American Heart Association and the Mayo Clinic, do include dairy and meat, but the Mayo Clinic also strongly urges you to reduce your intake of animal-based foods because they are the source of cholesterol. Otherwise, Esselstyn's plan matches theirs perfectly.
Helpful Hints
Giving up dairy and meat is a drastic lifestyle change for most people. Esselstyn has a few helpful hints on how to make the transition easier. For instance, he suggests using applesauce to make brownies instead of using oil and eggs. He also recommends adding flax seeds to the recipe for protein. Instead of the usual meat and cheese lasagna, Esselstyn suggests whole wheat sweet potato lasagna with extra veggies of your choice. He advocates switching from hamburgers to portabello burgers and switching your french fries from deep fried potatoes to oven-baked sweet potatoes. He also proposes keeping your exercise simple by doing things like jumping jacks and scissor-kick style abdominal exercises.
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