Category Archives: Weight Loss

Eating to lose weight

Clean fuel, Weight Loss

Clean fuel as a medicine

Short or Long-acting Medicine

Some medications are long-acting, and others are short acting. A long-acting medicine lasts roughly 12 to 24 hours and is taken once daily. Blood pressure medications are frequently taken once daily. Whereas a short acting medicine only lasts 2-4 hours or less and is taken 2-3 times daily with meals. A good example occurs when someone takes insulin with meals to lower blood sugar immediately after eating.

Weight Loss Medicine

There are long-acting weight loss medications like phentermine taken once daily, or short-acting medications like Orlistat (Xenical) taken three times daily. But, what if I tell you there are foods that behave the exact same way if not better than Orlistat for weight loss?

Clean Fuel Medicine

Clean fuel acts like a cheap immediate release medication capable of stimulating weight loss if consumed with every meal. You derive benefit even if eaten 1-2 times daily. Only, you must reduce or eliminate dirty fuel altogether to supercharge the results. Dirty fuel cancels the weight loss activity of clean fuel.

How does this work in practice?

Breakfast: overnight oats with blueberries and strawberries, 1 cup of coffee and water

Overnight Oats. My favorite on-the-go breakfast.

Lunch: Chickpea salad with tortilla chips, banana, grapes, 1 orange

Dinner: Black eyed peas, cauliflower soup, rice pilaf, tossed green salad

My favorite black-eyed peas
Black eyed peas made in my slow cooker

Each meal contains a clean fuel like oatmeal, chickpeas, and black eyed peas. Notice the absence of dirty fuel in each meal. I even sometimes work in one tablespoon of peanut butter to kill my appetite if necessary. Of course nothing else matters if you are having this with a glass of sweetened tea or soda, even diet soda. Water is the best beverage. Your goal is to eat clean fuel with every meal as if it is a weight loss drug because that is its purpose. Once you reach this goal, weight loss will come quite easily for both men and women.

Please leave questions in the comment section or you can email me a gibcar2014@gmail.com.

Dirty Fuel, patient education, Weight Loss

3 Ways to Flatten (get off) Soda

The quintessential soda

I discussed diet with a patient today when I realized I failed to mention soda consumption. For the purposes of this article, soda and sweetened tea are synonymous.  Soda is a dirty fuel.  There are several articles mentioning health risks associated with carbonated soda, but not benefits.  For those who do not know, soda contributes to weight gain, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, and cavities.  Rather than go into these risks, the objective of this article is to describe ways to stop soda consumption.

Strategy 1:  Drink a full glass of water before soda or sweetened tea

I grew up drinking Coca-cola, and I could easily drink at least 3-5 cans a day.  I stopped drinking soda and sweetened tea in college, and I found this strategy worked very well.  When thirsty, I easily down 1-2 glasses or cans of soda rapidly.  Whereas, drinking a glass of water beforehand rapidly quenched my thirst.  I was apt to drink only half or less than 1 soda.  Water is the most efficient source of hydration so you get more bang for your buck.  Notably, if you desire to supercharge soda discontinuation, then drink two glasses of water before reaching for that soda/sweetened tea and see the result.

Strategy 2:  Reduce soda or sweetened tea intake by 1 glass or can per day

For many, if you can get someone to think about making small changes, then a series of changes eventually becomes large moves.  Therefore, small moves matter.  One leap is all that is necessary for many before an avalanche of changes.   If you have a level of commitment, then small changes take you places.  One must have resolve.  For example, you can drink a glass of  sweetened tea or soda three times daily with meals.  I challenge patients to consider exchanging one sweetened drink for water for one meal.   Small changes plant seeds of success.

Strategy 3: Cold Turkey

There is nothing like straight quitting.  NOTHING! If one is angry, determined, and has grit, then cold turkey is possible.  Commit every single day as if it is the first day.  Understand that soda is absolutely evil.  The only way to make that leap is to understand who made the soda and what it stands for.   They do not stand for me, and quite possibly you as well.  Now I have veered into political/economic commentary here, but I conjure these things for my own motivation.  It may help you as well.

Another way is to consider soda and like an illegal drug.  It is addictive.  I have never heard anyone say I will  do one crack rock today, or one line of heroine this morning at 8am before work and not another one for 24 hours.  Your health is serious business.

Feel free to leave any more suggestions on quitting soda in the comment section.  Let me know if you disagree as well.

Clean fuel, Weight Loss

3 Solutions for the Truck Driver’s Dilemma

Tractor Trailers

 

A truck driver’s occupation demands a sedentary lifestyle, but there are ways to counteract it.

  1.  Exercise:  Activity is important, but is not paramount.  Sitting for 15 hours daily is an issue and requires work.  However, I would simply advise a truck driver to get out of his truck in a safe place and walk around the rig twice to stretch his legs.  Walking gets the circulation moving, works muscles and burns calories.  However, patients rarely sustain weight loss by exercise alone.

2.  Avoid fast food:  Everyone knows there is a lack of healthy food options while driving.  It is easier to drive while eating a sandwich instead of soup and salad.    Fast food is dirty fuel which promotes weight gain, and is directly absorbed as fat.  A truck driver must create his own dietary safe space by providing his own food.  Keeping a cooler or refrigerator full of prepared food is a good way to account for this issue.

3.  Find a way to eat clean fuel:  Clean fuel stimulates fat-burning,  and weight loss occurs when dirty fuel is eliminated or severely limited.  Therefore, it is a great way to lose weight and does not require significant exercise, though light-to-moderate intensity exercise is advised.  It is a passive method for weight loss, but it really works well, especially for men, though women lose as well if they are disciplined.

Uncategorized, Weight Loss

Real Food vs Fake Food

Fake food, like fake news, is an interesting concept.  This concept and post was borne out of a conversation with a patient frustrated by his inability to lose weight despite exercise and dietary changes.  He proceeded to give me a list of the foods he ate the prior day.

Breakfast- eggs, toast and water.

Lunch-  turkey sandwich and chips with water.

Dinner-  spaghetti, garlic bread and salad, and water.

On the surface, his diet looks good.  There are some good elements here.  He did drink water.  Soda, juice, and dairy are dirty fuels full of empty calories and do not relieve hunger.   He avoided junk food except for the chips over lunch.

On the other hand,  there are reasons why he is not achieving his goal.  Keep in mind that exercise only accounts for 20% of weight loss at best so diet is the cornerstone.  The most glaring issue is the lack of any clean fuel for the entire day.    As I have said before, clean fuel foods are necessary for weight loss.  When I first started eating clean fuel, I at least tried to consume a clean fuel food once daily.  Now, I do my best to eat at least one or two clean fuel items with every meal.   The theory is that clean fuel stimulates fat burning.   If you eat dirty fuel without any counterbalancing clean fuel, then unopposed weight gain is possible, and you certainly will not lose weight.  Meanwhile, consider the food I ate earlier this week.

Alternative diet menu plan:

Breakfast- oatmeal or cinnamon-pecan Special K with almond milk

Snack-blood orange, banana

Lunch-  sauteed mushrooms,  and roasted potatoes with a tossed salad.

Dinner- Tossed salad, butternut squash tacos with purple cabbage slaw,  slow-cooker pinto beans cooked in beer,  Asian rice pilaf, green salad.

Dessert- blood orange.

Again, I make sure to have a clean fuel food with every meal and dirty fuel is largely absent.  There are several fruit and vegetable servings as well.

My pinto bean recipe will be done soon and posted.    Do not forget to like this article on Facebook, subscribe or share the post with your friends.  Please leave a comment if you have questions.