Dr. Mehmet Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon and author, has appeared in numerous television shows and magazines to provide health guidance, including weight loss advice. Dr. Oz's weight loss solution involves eliminating 100 calories daily until you reach your goal weight, and he provides many tips on the best way to do this.
Foods to Avoid
Cut white foods, including enriched and bleached flour, sugar, rice, potatoes and pasta. The only permissible white items are egg whites, cauliflower and fish. Hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated vegetable oils are also forbidden, the kind commonly used in cooking. Both contain saturated fat, which can contribute to weight gain and high cholesterol. Also avoid processed foods, including hot dogs, lunch meats and boxed dinners. Processed foods are usually high in calories and contain considerable salt, sugar and oil.
Plan Ahead
Dr. Oz recommends making weekly meal plans and shopping from a list containing only the items necessary for those meals. Never stray from the list, because impulse buys are often highest in fat and sugar. He also recommends a time limit for grocery shopping so you don't end up wandering around allowing sugary, fatty or processed food to entice you.
Don't Skip Meals
Skipping meals causes your body to go into starvation mode. This means your body believes you no longer have a steady supply of food and will begin to store more food as fat to protect against the famine it believes is happening. Dr. Oz states it is necessary to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, with two healthy snacks such as fruit. Keep all portions of each meal the same; do not eat a small breakfast just so you can eat a large dinner later. This usually leads to underestimation of how much you have eaten in previous meals and causes overeating.
Get Active
Even a small amount of exercise can make a difference in your overall weight loss. Yoga is not known as an intense workout but can burn up to 350 calories per session. Even simple walking can help you lose weight. According to Dr. Oz, you must take at least 10,000 daily steps to maintain optimal health and lose weight. You can purchase a pedometer and wear it during the day to determine how many steps you take. Dr. Oz also recommends taking walks before meals to burn a few calories and increase your metabolism, which helps to quickly burn the calories you eat instead of allowing it to turn into fat.
At work, park your car in a more distant spot so you will have a longer walk to your office. For the same reason, use a bathroom more distant from your work area. Also, walk to other offices to deliver messages instead of sending an email or making a phone call.
Deal With Emotional Triggers
Emotional eating is one of the leading causes of weight gain and the inability to lose weight. People under stress often find comfort in food, especially the fatty or sugary varieties. Dr. Oz states that you must identify and deal with the emotional triggers that lead to looking for comfort in food. Often, food is used to avoid thinking about the problem so you must commit to solving problems as they come to avoid the anxiety of having things hanging over your head. Dr. Oz also recommends focusing your energy on things you enjoy when you are upset instead of turning to food. This can include music, art, movies, exercise or activities with family and friends. He also recommends meditation as a way to relieve stress.
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