The Couch Potato Diet

Though the three principles of the Couch Potato Diet are fundamentally sound, creator Gregory J. E. Ladas doesn't pretend to be an expert on health or weight loss. Ladas is a family guy who figured out how to lose weight with relative ease, and his book, "The Couch Potato Diet," explains how he did it. The concept of the diet revolves around substitutions, not carrots for pizza, but healthier pizza for pizza. Ladas' book offers advice and recipes for both meals and what to eat while you're on the sofa, watching your favorite television show.

Fiber and Protein

The first principle of Ladas' diet involves replacing your favorite foods that are low in fiber and protein with similar foods that are higher in fiber and protein. For example, instead of having a bowl of ice cream while watching television in the evening, munch on air-popped popcorn or trail mix instead. The trail mix can give you almost 21 g of protein per cup and the nuts are a source of fiber. The ice cream gives you a lot of extra calories in the form of sugar.

Fats and Cholesterol

The Couch Potato Diet advocates switching low-fat foods for those that are high in fat content. For example, Ladas indicates that an individual pan pizza has about 34 g of fat. His suggestion is to replace this with a lean frozen pizza pocket, which contains only 28 g of fat. According to MayoClinic.com, if a food has high saturated fat content, it is generally high in cholesterol as well, so the two go hand-in-hand. MayoClinic.com recommends that no more than 20 to 35 percent of your daily calories should come from fats, so Ladas' principle makes sense. However, the Harvard School of Public Health indicates that no real evidence exists that a low-fat diet results in long-term weight loss.

Sugars

Sugar means calories, and they are generally the empty sort, with little nutritional value. The American Heart Association indicates that women should get no more than 100 calories per day from sugar and men should not exceed 150 calories per day. The Couch Potato Diet agrees with this and suggests replacing high-sugar foods with healthier versions. For example, instead of drinking a lemon-lime soda, Ladas recommends flavoring seltzer water with a spritz of citrus for similar satisfaction without all the sugar.

Exercise

Ladas advises making changes to your diet first, then adding exercise to your daily routine after you've mastered the changes in your eating habits. His Couch Potato Diet is family-friendly and offers advice for getting your children involved, such as rewarding exercise time with TV or video game time.

Tips

Following the Couch Potato Diet can be as simple as training yourself to always check nutrition labels before you purchase a food item, comparing similar products to find the one lowest in fat, cholesterol and sugar. If you purchase Ladas' book, however, it offers recipe guidance. Ladas also recommends certain products for sale on his website, including cookies that are lower in sugar and fat content.