How many times do we come across a diet plan that allows you to eat from chocolate, sweet potatoes, brown rice to a glass of red wine and coffee? Regardless of the health benefits that these foods have shown, the idea of eating carbohydrates and certain beverages when trying to lose weight is hard to believe still.
However, if you can’t live without rice or a glass of Pinot Noir there’s an eating plan that may be right for you. The Doctor’s Detox Diet: The Ultimate Weight Loss Prescription is the new weight loss prescription based on eating to enhance your “SKILL,” meaning nourishing the body around its detox organs: Skin, Kidney, Intestines, Lymphatic and Liver.
This detox diet is not about how many daily juices you will need to drink for two weeks to detox your body. It’s unlike the popular “cleansing” diets that tend to put your body in a starvation mode and do more harm than good. The Doctor’s Detox Diet allows you to eat around your body natural detox’s organs and includes some of your favorite meals.
No caloric count!
Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, author the Doctor’s Detox Diet, explains, “There is never any drastic starvation in the plan (even the super detox period is at least 1600-1800 calories per day). Likewise, specific calorie levels are not used. In fact, the book doesn’t talk about calories, rather servings or portions and directs the focus on healthy food choices in portions that are not excessive.”
Once starting the program, most people can expect to lose about 4 or 5 pounds afterwards and feel less bloated and puffy.
“Weight will decrease faster if you add more activity – 7 hours per week- and slower at 3.5 hours per week,” adds Gerbstadt.
Phase 1: The Super Detox Diet (up to two weeks)
Two Power Smoothies (16 ounces per serving, 250-350 calories)
8 ounces of skim milk or unsweetened almond, hazelnut, or soy milk ½ cup crushed ice
1 ounce of sugar-free whey or soy protein or egg white protein or 4 ounces plain, fat-free yogurt
? cup frozen or fresh fruit (bananas, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, peaches, pears, or melon)
Optional: 2 tablespoons ground flaxseed, 1 tablespoon peanut butter, or 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa.
Additional Options: 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ground ginger, or ¼ teaspoon ground allspice, cloves or nutmeg.
One complete regular meal (600 calories)
These meals don’t compromise on flavor, variety, or effectiveness. Each contains balanced nutrients with 5 ounces of protein, 2 cups of vegetables, 1 cup of a starch, and a fruit.
1. Two 100 calories snacks such as puffed rice (1 cup) and skim milk (½ cup) or corn tortilla (6 inch), light shredded cheese (½ ounce) and salsa (2 tablespoons). You even have some more “indulgent” options like baked potato (3-ounce) with salsa (½ cup) and sour cream, low-fat (1 tablespoon) or frozen waffle, mini size, toasted (3 each) and apple butter (1 tablespoon).
Phase 2: The Ultimate Prescription (the lifestyle change)
By the time you lose the first 5 pounds in the Super Detox phase, you’ll notice an extra energy and this is when you’ve started to make a lifestyle change.
“How does your doctor usually write a prescription? He or she performs a thorough examination and writes a prescription for your particular issue, which you then have filled. If you need to take more of the medication, you simply get a refill. That’s how it works with my plan. I write out a detailed, week-long ‘prescription’ that you follow and refill week after week,” says Gerbstadt.
After the first phase, you jump into a menu (such as the one below) in addition to the snacks. Basically, by this time you will crave less sugar and fatty food and your detox organs will be in balance to help you enroll once and for all in a clean and a healthy diet.
Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with low-fat mozzarella and mushrooms and whole wheat toast with apple butter
Lunch: Salad Tuna and Pineapple chunks
Dinner: Turkey noodle casserole
No starting over
Gerbstadt have you covered in situations such as the Happy Hour.
She says: “If you feel like having a drink, don’t get trapped by choices with sneaky portion overloads. Stick with wine as it has the lowest calorie content per glass for alcohol (a 5 oz. serving has about 100 to 110 calories for both red and white). Second choice: a 12 oz. light beer (around 100 calories). Better yet, order a wine spritzer, a half wine/half club soda mixture, which further reduces your calorie intake. And one glass is all you need.”
Once you have done two weeks of the program, if you miss a day or so trying to keep up with your new dietary habits, nothing bad happens!
As Gerbstadt points out, “Life happens. Instead, when you get detoured, do this: Jump right back on. After the two-week Super Detox, your body has changed. Your metabolism is now revved up from its previous dormant status. Your natural detox system, once sluggish and under-performing, now operates at a higher, more efficient level.”
To learn more about the Doctor’s Diet Detox, check out www.doctorsdetoxdiet.com.
Marta Montenegro inspires people to live healthy lives by giving them the tools and strength to find one’s inner athlete through her personal website MartaMontenegro.com. She created SOBeFiT, a national fitness magazine for men and women, and the Montenegro Method DVD workout series – a program she designed for getting results in just 21 days by exercising 21 minutes a day . Marta is a strength and conditioning coach and serves as an adjunct professor of exercise physiology at Florida International University.
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