When you’re as passionate about nutrition and health as I am, you just never stop reading and researching. I can’t possibly already know it all right? (even if sometimes I like to think so.)

One of my favorite weekly activities is visiting the local book store and perusing the aisles of the diet and exercise section.

Holy moly!

If you ever want to confuse yourself on purpose this would be a great place to start.

One book tells you that a diet of all vegetables is the only ticket to health…umm, boring, no thanks.

Another one tells you to eat lard and cheese and lots of it…umm, my stomach hurts just thinking about it.

And yet another tells you to only eat only on the odd numbered days of the week and skip every other Sunday…ok, I made that one up.

Here’s my point. There are a lot of very wonderful, very informative and very useful nutrition and diet books and programs available to you today, the problem is in sifting through the really horrible stuff to finally get to the really great stuff.

I truly believe there is no “one size fits all” (or in this case, one nutrition plan fits all) program for everybody. Some of us will succeed using certain programs while for others, it’s just not the best way for them.

I have no problem telling people that The Diet Solution Program is just one way to approach a healthy way of living. It’s what has worked for me and thousands of other people. But that surely does not eliminate the fact that many thousands of other people have had success with several other programs. We just always have to keep an open mind and arm ourselves with the facts. (But The DSP is still the best! Come on, I’m the author, let me just believe that for at least a second.)

Here are my thoughts on just a couple of the good, bad and the ugly nutrition programs that are popular on the market today:

Vegetarians and Vegans

Going “meatless” has been very popular for some time now. Some follow this way of life for religious and spiritual reasons but many others choose to go meat free because the current state of our cattle, poultry and even fish farming practices have become quite scary and dangerous.

I couldn’t agree more. The way conventional farmers are raising cows is saddening. Injecting them with antibiotics and hormones just to get the most out of them is making them sick and then in turn making us sick. That is why I highly recommend always seeking out naturally raised, antibiotic and hormone free meats and poultry (preferably organic).

But back to the vegetarians. I don’t disagree with their diet of choice, but I do disagree many times with the foods they choose for their meal plans. Many vegetarians become extremely dependent on soy products and processed and packaged vegetarian foods that are filled with chemicals and preservatives. If you’ve read Chapter 9 in your Diet Solution Manual, you know how dangerous this type of soy can be on your health and an overabundance of it in any diet can cause weight gain, fatigue and even serious thyroid problems.

If vegetarianism is your choice, choose beans and lentils, cottage cheese, yogurt and eggs (if you eat them) as your protein choices. You can still follow the Diet Solution mentality of “keeping it au natural” without having to include any meat and animal products or any of these processed soy products.

The Raw Food Movement

Eating raw foods is one of the latest crazes. There are even specialty restaurants in states like California and New York that serve complete raw meals for those who are “raw foodies” (A bloody steak over salad greens?) Hmmm…interesting.

I do completely agree with the raw food mentality in many respects. Once you cook a food you do change and sometimes, even de-nature its natural sources of enzymes and nutrients. For example, many vegetables are much more nutritious when eaten raw (most of them actually), but that would greatly limit the variety of foods and recipes we could put together each day.

How about raw meat? Believe it or not there are many who will dive into a raw, juicy piece of meat without even flinching. This can be a bit of a dangerous practice if you are not sure exactly where your meat came from and how it was raised. My theory here still stands that if you are going to consume animal products, they must be as natural as possible (whether you decide to cook them or not).

How about the veggies? The best approach here, if you are not ready to join your local raw food club is to make sure you have a minimum of one raw component in every single one of your meals. For example, include a fruit with breakfast, add carrot sticks or sliced raw peppers to your snacks, slice some tomatoes and cucumbers and include in your lunch and dinner. Doing that alone will greatly increase the enzyme and nutrient value to your daily intake and will help your body’s digestive process.

Take a good look at the food you are eating all day and strive for a minimum of 3-4 raw food items daily. I have seen this one simple step really help many people who were previously having trouble with their digestion and elimination.

These first 2 are just the tip of the iceberg. I could go on and on about the array of nutrition programs we all have to choose from. And I will next week. Leave me a comment on my blog and let me know which programs you would like to hear about. I warn you, the answers to some of them may not all be positive, but you want the truth right?

Have a wonderful and healthy weekend!

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com

  

I absolutely hate to use the word “Dieting”. It has such bad feelings attached to it and if you looked it up in the dictionary it might as well have “torture” alongside it.

I also hate it when people ask me “How can you be on a diet all the time?” Whatever gave them that idea? I’m never on a diet, EVER! Does bacon and eggs for breakfast sound like dieting to you? How about Steak on the grill? Chocolate Cake?

If you remember last week I talked a little bit about how I never deprive myself of anything I want and if Chocolate Cake is on tap, well, by golly, bring it on. This goes along with my theory that a treat, favorite food or “not so healthy” food really can be an integral part of any healthy weight loss plan. Actually, it can help you accelerate your results.

Now, let’s make sure not to misinterpret the data I’m about to share with you and take it too far. “Well, Isabel said Chocolate Cake was good for me and that’s why I’m eating it for breakfast.” No, sorry. It doesn’t work that way. Some people, unfortunately, have used the concept of “planned cheat day” incorrectly and have ended up stopping their fat loss process, just because they did not apply this theory the right way.

The most important question here is:

“How can we appropriately plan and use a cheat day or cheat meal without sabotaging our weight loss results?”

First and foremost we all have to remember that it is not an “eating free for all”. Just because you had something a bit “off the charts” on Saturday doesn’t mean you should turn it into a 3 day binge. That’s where many people go wrong. They forget that this method is a way to help their metabolism, not a total mess up or even a reason to give up on your healthy eating plan.

Second, I think this is a great tactic and method to use to combat all of those social situations we all encounter on a weekly basis. Do you really have to go and seek out cakes, cookies, and pizza? Of course not, they’re everywhere whether you are looking for them or not. However, one of the hardest things about following a healthy way of life is dealing with social situations where everyone else is eating the party food and you’re not.

This is why I almost always use my cheat meal for my weekend social events. For example, this weekend I have my nephew’s Baptism on Sunday which will be followed by a huge reception at a Spanish restaurant (need I say more?). Should I carry lettuce and chicken in my pocket? No. Sunday will be my planned cheat meal and I will be able to participate in the party along with everyone else. I could go on and on about all the social gatherings I’ve had in just the past few months where there was food all over the place: my brother in law’s wedding, the last business seminar and dinner I attended, Easter Sunday at my family’s house. I ate whatever was there without any stress. No, I didn’t hide in the corner stuffing cookies down my throat. I simply enjoyed the meal that was served, followed by dessert and then was back on my usual plan the next day.

I really do think this little tactic has helped me stay on track consistently with healthy eating and enjoy life all at the same time. Not to mention, the fat loss results are there. Is it the metabolic response? Maybe. Is it the mental component that tells me I am not deprived? Maybe. Whatever it is, it works and I am still super healthy and lean and that’s all that really matters to me.

Hopefully you were able to watch the great videos I shared with you from fellow fitness author Joel Marion. He has got this theory down to a science (literally!) He has spent 6 years and read 308 research papers on the regulation of human body weight and metabolism (wow, talk about doing your homework). Science is really nothing without tangible results and it’s the incredible fat loss results of his clients that speak for themselves. He teaches them (and now you) exactly how to take the theory of a planned cheat meal and use it to your advantage. Yup. No feeling guilty and no deprivation. It is actually an important part of your fat loss plan.

I’m a true believer in collecting the best nutrition and exercise information and learning from many credible sources and I highly recommend you do the same. The information Joel shares in his program (especially Chapter 2) is a perfect addition to your health, fat loss and nutrition library.

You can read it here:
http://cheatyourwaythin.thedsp.info

In health and happiness,

Isabel De Los Rios
www.TheDietSolutionProgram.com