When I lost 25 pounds five years ago everyone asked me: How'd you do it?
What diet are you on? What pill are you taking? The answer, boringly enough, is: I eat the healthiest foods I can find. It's not really a diet but a mindset-when you eat this way, you're never hungry, don't have to count calories and you can even have a treat every day. And no, I hate pills. I don't even take Tylenol. People would hear this and roll their eyes and huff and say, whatever. They chalked up my weight loss to the fact that I exercise a lot...but I have always exercised a lot and despite it, carried 20 to 25 extra pounds on me. I was fit underneath, but fat on top.
My turnaround came when I decided to ditch junk food and bring on superfoods-foods that naturally help your body burn fat and be healthier. (Two of my all-time faves-coffee and dark chocolate-qualify!) I started eating more of them and when the weight peeled off and stayed off, I knew I'd hit on something powerful. I put it all down in a book called The Drop 10 Diet because that's how many pounds you can lose in just 5 weeks, although you can keep going and lose as much as you want to. Eating this way, more than 40 testers shed weight equally as fast and as effortlessly as I did and now the idea has taken off.
The trick to the plan is to eat as many of the superfoods as you can at every meal and snack-each one is scientifically proven to help rev metabolism (protein and certain "good" fats do this) and shed belly fat (calcium is key). Some even keep every calorie you eat from sticking around (fiber is the magic ingredient here). By filling up on superfoods, you can, in just over one month, drop 10 pounds while staying full and satisfied. Plus, you'll have more energy, be less stressed, and feel more motivated to work out because you're fueling your body with the best nutrients Mother Nature can offer. Try it! There are 30 of these superfoods, including surprising picks like lean steak-its protein helps you build muscle, so your body burns more calories while you're sitting there reading this. Get The Drop 10 Diet and start losing, today! Let the foods do the work for you!
Be On Portion Patrol
It's human nature to clean your plate -- and the more you're served (or serve yourself), the more you're likely to eat. For example, when researchers at Pennsylvania State University in University Park gave people standard-size meals for 11 days, then supersized them by 50 percent, diners took in 423 more calories per day. If you need help sticking to sensible portions when eating meals off the Drop 10 plan, downsize your dishes: Smaller plates hold less. Also, if you have trouble eyeballing servings, whip out measuring spoons and cups. It's worth taking a little extra time now so you won't see pounds appear later. Flickr photo by nate steiner
Come Up With Coping Strategies
Emotional eaters are 13 times more likely to be overweight or obese, according to researchers at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. If you tend to eat to soothe stress, it's crucial to separate food from your mood, especially now that you will probably be making more food choices away from the plan. Search online for meditation and breathing exercises, have a go-to pal you can call to let off steam, go for a walk -- whatever! Just be sure you've got a plan in place before the urge to overeat takes hold. Flickr photo by Wiertz Sébastien
Keep The Kitchen Fires Burning
It's okay to eat out once in a while, but by maintaining more control over what goes in your mouth, you can better maintain those low numbers on the scale. Also brown-bag your lunch as often as possible. You can prep tomorrow's lunch today: Before cleaning up the kitchen after dinner, make your meal while leftovers, condiments and other items are already out. Flickr photo by Rubbermaid Products
Plan Menus, Make Grocery Lists And Shop In Advance
This goes double for those weeks when you're extra busy and may be tempted to wing it. The better prepared you are to eat healthfully, the more apt you are to follow through. Our brain is more rational when we are making decisions about the future, according to a study from Harvard University. Researchers found that online shoppers who ordered groceries at least five days in advance selected healthier fare than those who shopped for next-day delivery. Make lists, and decide on your meals a week ahead of time to stay on track -- and stay off the phone with the pizza delivery guy. Flickr photo by meaduva
Adopt A See-Food Approach
If you tend to forget about fruits and veggies when they're in the produce and crisper drawers, move 'em on up! Place them front and center in your fridge. Also stock nuts and other superfood snacks in cupboards you open often. You're more likely to eat what's directly in your line of vision. Flickr photo by konomike
Give Away Your "Fat" Clothes
Got enough different sizes in your closet to stock an entire store? Pare down to what fits you right now. Hanging on to stuff that's too big "just in case" is setting yourself up for failure. Don't doubt your new habits, abilities or resolve! Believe you can keep the weight off, then make it happen. Flickr photo by epSos.de
Catch Weight Creep Before It Starts
Although it can seem like 5 or 10 (or more) pounds suddenly appear overnight, they actually add up one at a time. And the more in tune you stay with your body, the better equipped you are to waylay fat so it doesn't sneak back on you. You were probably weighing yourself regularly during the weight loss phase of the Drop 10 diet, so keep it up. At least once a week at the same time of day, hop on the scale wearing nothing but your birthday suit. You'll keep tabs on your weight this way, as well as reaffirm your success and stay motivated to eat healthfully. It really works! Women who had dropped pounds and then weighed themselves daily for the following 18 months had the lowest recurrence of regain, according to a study in The New England Journal of Medicine. One thing to remember: Your weight may fluctuate from 1 to 3 pounds from one week to the next; what counts is the overall trend. Is your weight mostly steady week after week, or is it steadily adding up? If it's the latter, revisit the tips and tools in this book to get back on track.
Perform The Jeans Test
Weighing yourself regularly is important, but the number on the scale shouldn't be your only measure of success. Zip up your favorite pair of skinny pants once a week, especially if you're keen on wearing flowy tops, unstructured dresses and boyfriend jeans. Those clothes can make it easy to miss a little extra fat, but a sleek pair of denims doesn't hide much.
Be Realistic About Calories In And Calories Out
People are notoriously bad at eyeballing servings and guessing calorie loads. Likewise, we tend to overestimate the number of calories we burn during a workout and thus how justified we are in splurging afterward. In fact, women ate about 120 more calories following a bout of intense exercise than they did after a lighter workout that burned the same number of calories, according to a study from the University of Ottawa. The fix: Don't simply estimate your calorie intake; look it up! Check NutritionData.Self.com, or, when you go out to eat, pick up nutrition brochures or research menus and nutrition info online beforehand. Also think of an especially tough workout as a bonus or a way to balance overestimations and miscalculations, not an excuse to have a second piece of cake.
Train Your Brain
Saying sayonara to bad fat for good is as much about how you think about food as what you actually eat -- the two are intimately connected. Remember that you have power over what goes in your mouth. Keep these quick tips in mind to keep you on track: Press pause. Before mindlessly or rashly gobbling up a bag of cookies or grabbing stale doughnuts from the conference room, take a few deep breaths to contemplate what you're doing and why. Are you truly hungry? Is whatever you're eating really going to make you happier? Is the taste or binge (and its aftereffects) worth the extra sugar, fat and calories? Sometimes a brief check-in with yourself drums up the extra willpower you need to move on. Take your mind off food. Be creative in finding ways to distract yourself from cravings, urges to eat treats or extra helpings. Thinking about something else entirely can work to replace those mental images of food. How about playing a quick game on your phone? Games such as solitaire actually increase activity in the same areas of your brain that light up when you think about food. Now go on and eat, drink and be slim! You've got the tools you need to sustain your new figure and newfound energy for life.
Excerpted from "THE DROP 10 DIET" by Lucy Danziger Copyright ￂﾩ 2012 by Lucy Danziger. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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