The Full Plate Diet
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Disclaimer
The authors of the Full Plate Diet and Lifestyle Center of America have teamed up to bring you this blog post, which is for informational and entertainment purposes only. Our goal is to show you how easy it is to live a healthier, more energetic, and fuller life. However, for ethical and practical reasons we cannot provide diagnosis or treatment of any illness or health condition. To this end we strongly urge you to always check with your physician or health care provider before starting a diet, exercise, or health program.Does The Diet Book Have Recipes?
What is the first thing you do when you pick up a new diet book? If you are like most people I have talked to, you check out the recipes. Does the diet book have a lot of recipes? Are they easy to follow? Are the ingredients familiar, inexpensive, easy to find, and items you like? Are your favorite types of dishes represented? If the answers are "no," then you move on.
Recipes are a common reason why a diet book is rejected. Another way to say this is that recipes are really just a common excuse for not starting or staying on a new diet. Everyone seems to want recipes even though few use them in their day to day meal preparation. Aside from baking and special occasions, most of us can throw together a salad, sandwich, soup, or even a complete meal without a recipe. You may have a few recipes you pull out from time to time, but we usually just search the kitchen to determine what we can quickly make. The average person has a limited number of different meals they rotate on a regular basis and they don't typically pull out recipes to make them.
Why do most think they need to use recipes when they start eating healthy? Why is it commonly assumed that lack of recipes is the problem that has caused weight gain? Or, that cooking with new recipes will fix the problem? With The Full Plate DietTM, you can throw the recipe excuse out the window. No special recipes are required in order to start getting results - today!
For long term successful change, you need to do what fits best into your lifestyle. If you cook with recipes all the time and are an avid cookbook collector, you can easily power-up your favorite recipes with more fiber foods. All whole plant foods contain fiber. If you don't use recipes, you don't have to start. Simply stock your kitchen with more fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains, and then add them to your typical meals. Put some berries on your cold cereal, canned beans in your chili, frozen vegetables in your tomato soup, whole wheat bread on your sandwich. Ever try kidney beans in spaghetti sauce or on a salad?
Start by eating more fiber foods you like and have readily available. For great ideas, check out the The Full Plate DietTM, or go to www.fullplatediet.org. You will be surprised how fast you can increase your fiber amounts and decrease your hunger.
Less hunger means you eat less...and you know what that will mean in your future.
Full Plate Diet and Diabetes?
The wildest use of beans I've heard of so far is adding black beans to brownies! I can't wait to spring this on unsuspecting friends at my next party. They won't even know it was actually good for them. This is what makes fiber so much fun - especially if you have diabetes. In fact, the FPD can be a diabetic's best friend. Why? The emphasis of the FPD is on adding foods with high fiber in a creative way. Most diabetics already know that fiber helps smooth out blood sugars. With a few adjustments you can make the FPD work for you.
Popcorn Lovers of the World Rejoyce! - Part 1
I am definitely a popcorn lover. I love the wonderful smell of popcorn popping as it fills the whole house and beckons you to come munch. Eating it is fun because you get to eat so much, and do lots of munching and crunching.
New Year Eats and Treats
The holidays bring food to the forefront but usually not in a very good way. The snacking is what usually throws me off, but I'm gathering my plan of attack. Usually friends and family end up at my house New Year's night for food and fun...we love to play games. A few years ago I had a lavish spread of some not so very fiber options, but this year fiber is my focus. Hummm, I wonder why?
Guilt Trips? Not Helpful
I don't like it when this statement crosses my mind "Lonnie, there you go again eating like a pig. I knew that I couldn't do this!" It's amazing how many people trying to lose weight think they can shame themselves to success! I know what it's like. If we talked to other people the way we sometimes talk to ourselves people wouldn't want to ever be around us. It's like we somehow think that by putting ourselves down we'll motivate ourselves to do better. The fact is just the opposite. When we put ourselves down we feel bad. When we feel bad we want something to make us feel better. That something is usually NOT a high fiber item but a high sugar, high fat, low fiber "comfort food" that simply leaves us feeling bad and wanting something else to make us feel better. It's a vicious cycle!
Chipotle for the fiber
Ever eaten at a Chipotle? I use my GPS or iPhone to find them when I'm traveling. Originally owned by McDonald's, they were spun off and have been successful. They are known for their massive burritos. Now if you get their veggie bean burrito, you are up there at over 1000 calories, 47g fat, a whopping 2,520 mg salt, 123g of carb and 21g of fiber (www.chipotlefan.com). How can we make this better? Don't get the veggie burrito, get it in a bowl with no tortilla. This drops the carb count down to 79g. Lose the cheese and sour cream and all of a sudden we're down to a tasty 525 calories with 21g of fiber. Salt is still high (1640 mg). This is with the Tomato and Corn salsa, black beans, lettuce, fajita veggies and guacamole. Now, here's the trick. Hold the rice and instead get a double scoop of black beans in the bottom of the bowl. Now we're down to only 395 calories and 32g fiber (!). Salt is still a little high so limit your salt intake for other meals that day. If you want to cut the calories further, hold the guacamole or only eat some of it. Trust me. This will fill you up and keep you full. I like to add some Tabasco smoky chipotle hot sauce for a bit of an extra kick.
Soup: The Unsung Hero
Did you know that if you eat a bowl of soup at the beginning of your lunch you will eat less calories at that lunch, will not feel hungrier later, and will not eat more at dinner to make up for the loss of calories at lunch? It's true. I'm not kidding. And it's based on research. Not only does soup help you lose weight, it helps you keep it off. If you don't believe me, check out the evidence in The Volumetrics Weight Control Plan by Dr. Barbara Rolls.
Game Day
Eating on "game day" can be tough if you know what I mean. No matter if it's a football, baseball, or soccer game, concession stands don't stock a lot of high-fiber items. I've become quite the football fan the past few years after watching my step-son play. Now that he's at college, we like to go visit and take in a college football game while we're there.
Supper Like A What?
Something's changed, and it's not just the fact I have to stretch for 30 minutes to play a 60 minute softball game.
Restaurant Power-Ups
Recently I was talking to a client I worked with back in 2003, who's dropped from 280 lbs at his heaviest, down to a trim 164----and holding. He shared two personal weight loss tips with me. Read my blog entitled "Daily Reminder" for one of them. Here's the other.
