Make a New Year's resolution to better your life, look better, feel better? The authors of "The SuperFoods Rx Diet" say their program will change your life by changing your mind and how you approach food and eating. Here's an excerpt:
The promise of the SuperFoods Rx Diet
The SuperFoods Rx Diet will change your life. You are about to embark on a journey to lose excess weight but you will enjoy significant additional benefits. You’ll gain vitality, reduce your risk of chronic disease, and live optimally at the weight and level of fitness you and your body deserve. You’ll be adding as you’re losing — adding SuperFoods, increasing your energy, and adding years to your life. That’s the long-term promise of the SuperFoods Rx Diet program.The SuperFoods Rx Diet is not a quick fix. It’s not designed to be an eating plan that you follow for a few weeks to lose some weight and then abandon. It’s truly a mind change and a life change.Here’s what some SuperFoods Rx dieters have to say:• I’ve lost over 30 pounds and 7 inches from my waist after 16 weeks on the SuperFoods Rx Diet. My average weight loss was 3.75 pounds weekly in the first phase of the diet. I began the diet wearing a size 38 pants and XL shirts; I now wear 32 pants and medium shirts. These foods taste so much better to me now than the french fries and burgers I used to eat. — D. M., 51-year-old male insurance manager• At 6 weeks on the diet I’d lost over 22 pounds. I was thrilled. And now at 16 weeks, I’m down over 40 pounds and 5 inches from my waist. I used to wear a size 20 or 22; I just bought a pair of size 14 jeans. I’ve never felt better about myself and the way I look. — S. A., 51-year-old single mom• I couldn’t believe that I could keep up the steady weight loss I’ve enjoyed on this diet. So far I’m down 36 pounds with 4.25 inches off my waist and 6 inches off my hips! I’ve been on the diet for 16 weeks and I’ve found it easy to live with. I have a few more pounds to go and I have no doubt that I’ll reach my goal soon. It’s hard for me to believe that I’ve done this but the proof is in the mirror. — C.C., 51-year-old female middle school librarianThese people represent just a few of the many SuperFoods Rx Diet success stories. They lost weight when they thought they couldn’t. They stuck to a diet when they’d failed in the past. The SuperFoods Rx Diet was their road map to success.The SuperFoods Rx Diet literally will change your body. In just the first 2 weeks on the plan:• You will lose weight rapidly and safely.• The precise mix of foods will help control your appetite and actually boost your brain function so you can stick with your goals.• Your energy will improve.• You will lose inches, especially around your waist.• The appearance of your skin and hair will change within a week and you will look better than ever.Wait a minute ... look better than ever? How can you promise that?Here’s a story that may surprise you as much as it surprised us.When we began to test our SuperFoods Rx Diet with various study groups, we were amazed and frankly perplexed when we listened to the comments of participants. Many of these people were obese and needed to lose a considerable amount of weight. Yet when we discussed their experiences with them — after only a week or two on the diet — we were thrilled to hear many of them say that they felt they looked better than ever. Their hair looked better, their nails were getting better and, most of all, they loved how great their skin looked. They described it time and again as a certain “glow.” Yes, their clothes were looser — some had lost up to an inch in their waist measurement in a week — they loved the food (many were surprised they didn’t experience any problems with hunger), and they felt calmer and more energetic. But what seemed to thrill them the most was the look of their skin and hair.Frankly, we thought this was the power of positive thinking. But the comments were so enthusiastic and so convincing that we went to Dr. Hubert Greenway, the Chairman of Dermatologic Surgery at Scripps Clinic, to get his opinion. We showed him the tapes of the test subjects raving about their hair and skin after just over a week of eating the SuperFoods Rx Diet. Is it possible, we asked, that someone could experience such a change in such a short time or were these folks simply enjoying the added psychological benefits of seeing some real results while on a healthy diet?Dr. Greenway explained that what these folks were reporting was real. He reminded us that the skin — the body’s largest organ — responds remarkably quickly to any change in nutrition. You know how your face will sometimes break out if a certain food doesn’t agree with you? Or how you’ll get hives as an allergic reaction? Or how you may look pale just before you come down with an illness, or how even a bad night’s sleep can show up on your face? These signals of your health, conveyed through your skin, emerge rapidly. The skin metabolizes nutrients quickly. Skin cells turn over rapidly and provide an effective window into health. It’s not surprising, Dr. Greenway further explained, that when someone, particularly someone who has been following a fad diet, who’s eating poorly, or who simply wasn’t getting adequate nutrition, begins to enjoy the surge of nutrients and the hydration guaranteed by the SuperFoods Rx Diet, they’d see an immediate and significant improvement in their skin.Well, that makes sense, we agreed. But how about a change in hair? Doesn’t it take months for hair to grow? How could people see an improvement in their hair in only a few days? Dr. Greenway confirmed that while hair grows only about a quarter inch a month, the fast-acting cells of the sebaceous glands in the scalp — the same glands that affect the appearance of the skin—will have an immediate affect on the appearance of the hair when they get an infusion of nutrients, particularly healthy oils that promote growth and health. The proper balance of fatty acids in the diet has an immediate effect on the functioning of the sebaceous glands. So it’s not the hair shaft itself that has changed in such a short time but rather the glands in the scalp that are responding to the nutrient surge. The healthy oil from these glands is affecting the appearance of the hair as it’s distributed through brushing or combing.This was very exciting news for us as well as our study participants. It’s not just that we all like our skin to look great, although that’s certainly true. The significant issue was that the improvements in skin tone and hair quality were signals to us that the SuperFoods Rx Diet was really effective, right from the first days.This is very important. Why? Because when you’re eager to lose weight you want to lose it any way you can. That’s why fad diets, diet pills, exotic supplements, and weight loss surgery are so popular. But these methods can take a toll: on your energy levels, your appearance, your ability to stay trim and fit as well as your future health. We think the SuperFoods Rx Diet is a better way and you’ll see immediate results in the mirror. Your skin doesn’t lie. Your glowing, smoother, skin will show you like nothing else can that as your clothes get looser and your energy levels increase and your moods stabilize, your body is enjoying its best health ever. It’s not just your skin and hair that are improving: it’s every organ system in your body as you provide yourself with the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. And that’s how we want you to think about it: As you see your skin glow and your hair shine, think about every organ in your body — your heart, your lungs, your muscles, your intestines — getting stronger, more efficient, and healthier. They’re glowing, too.You, like our study participants, also will find the positive changes in your skin and hair powerfully motivating. Not to mention watching the measuring tape tighten around an ever more defined waistline and noticing the angle of your jaw becoming redefined. We’ve seen people thrilled to find that their rings are no longer impossibly tight, and joyful at being able to button their jackets. Such little changes mean quite a lot and keep you going. We have lots of built-in motivators in our plan — nutrient boosters, interchangeable meals, great snacks, and countless tips to help keep you on course. But perhaps the best motivator is going to be what you see in the mirror. And you don’t have to wait until you reach your weight-loss goal to enjoy success: You’ll see it in just days.
SuperFoods are foreverMost diets have a gimmick: high protein or high fiber or certain food combinations or timed eating. They all work for a while. Anyone who pays careful attention to what they eat and eliminates certain foods from their daily diet will inevitably lose some weight. But we know the end of this story. Diets like these are not lifestyles. They are a temporary fix. They’re meant to be. They all tell you that you must follow a plan strictly for a few weeks, and then you can relax a bit, adding more foods and calories for a few more weeks, and then you go to “maintenance.” You’re typically left hanging with no plan save a few “tips” on what to do later when the goal is achieved. The problem is that the further you get from those initial weeks of commitment and success, the more the gimmick fades. In fact, the statistics on those who regain additional weight after trying to lose — yo-yo dieting — are utterly depressing.People “fall off” diets because most diets are designed to be temporary and also because dieters lose focus. The process of going “on a diet” is usually immediate: You wake up and begin a new diet. The process of “falling off” a diet usually takes days or weeks. It happens because the diet is too restrictive to stick with, so unbalanced that you don’t feel well on it, or you simply get tired of eating a limited palette of foods. You know the routine: You “cheat” because you’re at a special event, you “modify” the diet because you’re traveling, you “substitute” a favorite food for the diets required food. Before you know it, you’re no longer on that diet and you’re back to your other life, perhaps heavier than you were before and certainly more discouraged. The SuperFoods Rx Diet eliminates the whole issue of being “on” or “off” the diet. You make the SuperFoods Rx Diet fit you and your lifestyle and not the other way around.SuperFoods rule forever!
You focus on them when you start the diet and you’ll be happily eating them years from now. Of course you have to watch your portions and learn a few strategies on how to incorporate these foods into your life, but once you understand and appreciate the benefits of the SuperFoods, you’re armed for life — and for permanent weight loss.We’ve found that the most powerful motivating factor of the SuperFoods Rx Diet is that it’s not about eliminating foods; it’s about including foods — SuperFoods — into your diet. You’ll soon see that these are the foods you’ll want to eat for the rest of your life.There are two levels of the SuperFoods Rx Diet: the SlimDown and the FlexPlan. That’s really all you’ll ever need to know about the diet. It’s very simple. You go on the SlimDown for 2 weeks, or longer if you like, and then you shift to the FlexPlan. The SlimDown promotes rapid weight loss; the FlexPlan is the eating plan you’ll enjoy for the rest of your life. It’s not restrictive. It encourages you to work treats and travel and special occasions into your eating plan. It’s easy and it promotes a lifetime of successful weight management. We’ll have lots more to say about the stages of the diet in the following chapters but you should know before you even begin that this diet is easy and flexible. Relieved? Most people are!
SuperFoods trump willpowerWhat’s the hardest thing about dieting? Most of us would agree: It’s standing in front of the fridge or pantry at 10:00 p.m., starving, and giving in to a handful of cookies or a bowl of ice cream or a bag of chips. It’s almost an out-of-body experience. You don’t want to do it but you feel compelled to. Why? Because you’re hungry. Or you think you’re hungry. But it’s really more than that. You may in fact be stressed or tired. One thing for sure: You’re not feeling in control. The surprising fact is that you may be subverted by the very diet you’re following. The way you feel — what we often refer to in relation to diets as willpower — is highly dependent on what you’re eating. You’ll find that the SuperFoods Rx Diet affects not only your waist but also your brain. It empowers you to choose healthy foods and has built-in and highly effective methods to convert you to the SuperFoods eating plan as a way of life. SuperNutrient Power.
Here’s something that may surprise you: What you may think of as lack of willpower is often really lack of adequate, balanced nutrition. Most people don’t realize the effect that chronic dieting has on their ability to make decisions. Most fad diets — or diets that are low in essential nutrients — make it nearly impossible for you to succeed in losing weight. That’s because when you do not have a sustained and gradual release of blood glucose — which ideally comes from whole, nutrient dense, fiber-rich foods — your moods are affected such that you are extremely vulnerable to fuzzy thinking, mood swings, and impulsive behavior. Foods that are high in sugars and refined carbs and low in fiber lead to a rapid and extreme rise in glucose. This is inevitably followed by a surge in insulin. While the glucose is elevated and before the insulin has time to lower it you can actually experience a reduced ability to concentrate. Recent research has shown that chemicals found in the brain called orexins play a role in promoting mental alertness. High levels of glucose suppress orexin levels and interfere with your ability to concentrate and make you feel sleepy. Indeed, one researcher at the U.S. National Institutes of Health found that the initial symptoms of depleted levels of Vitamin C are, surprisingly to most people, irritability and fatigue. In contrast, regular planned intake of fiber-rich, nutrient-rich foods balance your brain function and encourage the feelings of energy and control that ensure good food choices.Obviously the emotional vulnerability that can result from less than optimum nutrient intake makes you far less likely to stick to your resolve and far more likely to munch a candy bar, down a coffee or grab any junk food that will instantly boost your blood sugar and “restore” your equilibrium. But the price of these “boosts” is increasing calories and increasing fat storage and ultimately a fatter body.The SuperFoods Rx Diet manages blood sugar levels to increase your ability to focus and enhance your desire to eat foods that honor your body and promote weight loss. The careful composition of simple, delicious meals and the regular SuperNutrient Boosters — those delicious mid-morning drinks — act to stabilize your blood sugar and keep you feeling strong, optimistic, and committed.
The SuperFoods Rx Diet overtureMost of us begin diets in a rush. We’re eager, maybe even desperate, to get rid of that excess weight so we read something or hear something on TV that inspires us and the next day we’re eating in a whole new way. We believe that the impulse to change a very important part of your life — your daily meals — without adequate preparation is, in fact, counterproductive. In fact, for many people, it’s the reason that their diet is unsuccessful. We know that we diet as much with our minds as our mouths. The SuperFoods Rx Diet takes full advantage of all we know of the psychology of dieting. That’s why we’ve created our own “overture” to the actual diet program. The SuperFoods Rx Diet Prep & Practice Week is your warm-up to a successful diet. It’s the step you’ll take that will make this diet different in that you’ll be mentally prepared to lose weight. You’ll learn a lot more about it in a forthcoming chapter. This initial week is critical to your success and also a fun and easy way to ease into your new lifestyle. During this week you do some prep — in your kitchen, in the market — and you do some practice. Choose a few SuperFoods meals you like, practice keeping track of your foods, and practice getting a little exercise. Your Prep & Practice Week is going to be a giant step on your road to a longer, healthier life.Excerpted from "The SuperFoods Rx Diet" by Wendy Bazilian and Steven Pratt. Copyright © 2007 Wendy Bazilian and Steven Pratt. Reprinted with permission of Rodale Books. All rights reserved.