1. Eat More, Weigh Less
Interested in a diet that doesn't leave you craving for food or make you count calories or fat every day? It's easy. Just strive for a high-fiber, low-fat vegetarian diet that combines weight loss with healthy lifestyle changes. Ornish combines 30 minutes of moderate daily exercise, stress management techniques (breathing, yoga, meditation, relaxation) with a variety of plant-based recipes. The results? Emphasis on mind-body integration that provide you with increased energy and a reduced waistline.
2. Focus on These Foods
When your stomach grumbles, choose plant source foods: beans and legumes, any fruit, vegetables and grains--for more variety, mix and match whole grains; breakfast cereals, breads, pasta, oats and wheat bran. Eat until you're full. Time for a snack? Steamed veggies with a homemade salsa, grilled bean burgers or a colorful blend of fresh fruit might fit your mood.
3. Beware of Fats and Simple Sugars
Switch your whole or 2% dairy foods for the nonfat version--skim milk, nonfat yogurt or cheeses and egg whites. Check nutrition labels--stay away from products that list simple sugars as one of the first ingredients of a dessert. Don't consume foods with more than 2 grams of fat per serving.
Avoid all meats, fish and fowl, avocados, olives, nuts and seeds, oils, margarine, sugar and similar products (honey, molasses, corn syrup, high-fructose syrup), alcohol, whole or 2% fat content in dairy items.
4. Maintain or Increase Your Metabolism
Ever hit a plateau eating each time less and wondered why? Your body needs fuel--energy to feed your mind and body. Less calories decreases your metabolism; leaving you sluggish and deprived. This all-you-can-eat diet allows your metabolism to stay the same or even increase, especially when combined with moderate exercise that speeds up your resting metabolism. Another benefit? You feel full longer due to the high-fiber meals and your blood glucose remains stable throughout the day.
5. Benefits of This Diet
Dean Ornish has received extensive support in the medical community due to his years of sound research showing the reversal of coronary blockage (without surgery) by adopting this strict vegetarian meal plan together with stress management techniques and moderate exercise. His popular weight loss diet is based on science and not abstract theories. These lifestyle changes add years to your life while they decrease your risk of chronic illness--mainly heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and cancer.
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