Welcome to my podcast “What are the principles of not dieting? A look behind the scenes of Dr. Greger's groundbreaking science of losing weight without dieting.” I hope you all had a great, healthful, and productive week. As always, you can check out my Living Well Community page on Facebook to look for ideas and tips on how to live a healthy, rewarding and above all, happy life. If you’re a new listener don’t forget to subscribe to this podcast, so you’ll be notified about my upcoming episodes. You can also join my blog that precedes each podcast by clicking on the link in my show notes. Check out the scripts for my podcasts. Now available on my website beyondyourscale.com in the blog section. If you’re a subscriber to my blog, you will automatically receive an email with the link to the script. Enjoy!Today’s podcast follows up on my blog “How Not To Die...t. Daily Dozen - Amazing Facts About Fruits & Vegetables” Science is often hard to follow and even more difficult to interpret, but not when Dr. Michael Greger is your teacher! In his 2 books, “How not to Die” and “How not to diet”, he delivers easy to understand, evidence-based nutrition facts with a clearly defined plan to put it all into action  

Go to my blog section at beyondyourscale.com, and check out my blog to learn more about the principles of eating everything and still living healthier.But before I go on, I want to give you the google buster question for this podcast. Over 80% of Americans fail to include enough of this in their diet. What is it? As always, I will give you my answer at the end of the podcast or you will find it on my Facebook group “The Living Well Community.”Now to Dr. Greger’s book “How Not to Diet”, an amazing, easy-to-read book. To wet your appetite, pun intended, I will give you today a brief analysis and summary of the breakthrough science for healthy, permanent weight loss you will find in this book.I am just scratching the surface here. To really dive into the details, order the book or get the audiobook on Amazon.As I mentioned in my blog, Dr. Michael Greger is a physician, New York Times bestselling author, and internationally recognized speaker on nutrition, food safety, and public health. A founding member and fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine, Dr. Greger is admitted as a general practitioner specializing in clinical nutrition. He is a graduate of Cornell University School of Agriculture and Tufts University School of Medicine. In 2017 Dr. Greger received the ACLM Lifestyle Medicine Trailblazer Award and received a Diploma from the American Board of Lifestyle Medicine. 100% of all proceeds he has ever received from his books, DVDs and lectures have been and always will be donated to charity. In short, he is well qualified to help and guide us through the maze of weight loss we are confronted with today. The problem we are facing in America Obesity is a bigger epidemic than ever. Greger explains that we are ten times fatter today than we were 100 years ago. In addition, this increase in obesity has not been linear. Rather, obesity has increased exponentially in developed countries over the past fifty years. Troublingly, this increase in obesity shows no signs of slowing down. Some diets claim the problem is your willpower. Greger challenges this claim, instead stating that our bodies simply respond to the food we eat, the way it was designed. The human body evolved in an environment where food was scarce. Because of this scarcity, we have evolved to store excess calories as fat to survive the winter or leaner months. Also, we tend to crave more high-calorie foods for the same reason. The reason behind the obesity epidemic is that these high calorie foods are now readily available. The 70's brought frozen foods and ready meals. Also, treats have been introduced as an everyday option. The problem with the increase of processed foods in the 80's is that these foods lack fiber and nutritional value. They are also enriched with added sugars and oils. Greger refers to these foods as CRAP (calorie-rich and processed). Ingredients for the ideal weight loss diet Rich in fiber rich foods As I just explained, one of the biggest problems with CRAP foods is that they don't contain fiber. Greger believes that eating high-fiber foods is essential for losing weight. First, dietary fiber has a satiating effect while being low in calories. Because high-fiber foods often take longer to chew and eat, they also fill you up faster. High-fiber foods make it possible to feel full quickly and for a longer period of time without containing a large number of calories. Greger explains the importance of dietary fiber using apples and apple juice as an example. On average, a glass of apple juice contains five apples. The former can be drunk in a few seconds and does not keep you full for long. Apples, on the other hand, take you much longer to eat and therefore keep you full longer. The difference between the two lies in the fiber content. Another benefit of high-fiber foods is that they can bind the calories in food. Because plant fiber has a tough outer layer, it takes your gut longer to digest this food. As a result, your gut can't pull out all of the calories. Therefore, you are less likely to store plant fiber as fat despite adequate energy intake. Finally, high-fiber foods nourish our gut microbiome. Gut bacteria thrive on fiber and then release short-chain fatty acids that decrease our appetite and boost our metabolism. For example, Greger explains that a 2017 study found that CRAP foods like donuts created far less appetite after eating a high-fiber meal. This effect even lasts up to 12 hours after a meal. We need to get a lot better on the fiber front. Less than 5% of Americans meet the minimum daily fiber recommendations. Therefore, to increase the amount of fiber in your diet, you should include more root vegetables and legumes on your weekly shopping list. Low glycemic load "When you eliminate refined grains from your diet, you're eliminating America's number one source of calories. Switching to whole grains can help reduce body fat, but there's an even better trade-off. Check out the Block Your Calories section in the book to learn how to increase your grain consumption by switching from ground whole grains to intact whole grains like oat groats (also known as hulled or shelled oats). A common argument with low-carb diets is that you should look for foods with a low glycemic load. This is a feature of diet fads that is true, even though Dr. Greger does not advocate low-carb diets. Instead, Greger recommends avoiding foods that can spike blood sugar levels, such as white bread. White bread tastes sweet after eating because the body can digest this type of bread so quickly. Foods with a high glycemic index in your diet only lead to food cravings. On the other hand, if you replace foods with a low glycemic index, you get a slow release of energy that prevents overeating and keeps you full. Another benefit of introducing low glycemic index foods is that you no longer struggle with weight loss plateaus. People who eliminate all carbohydrates from their diet are at risk of their metabolism slowing down. As a result, they lose some weight at first, and then falter. However, if you continue to eat carbohydrates, albeit those with a low glycemic index, you can continue to lose weight. Greger therefore recommends replacing white rice, bread and cereals with whole grains, legumes, and oats. Less added sugar, fat, and meat It is alleged that for about 99.8 percent of our time on earth, it was virtually impossible to regularly consume more than 15 percent of calories as fat. – according to Dr. Greger. Fat has a higher calorie content per gram than sugar. Greger agrees that added sugar should be eliminated from the diet; however, he also believes that unhealthy fats are causing the obesity epidemic. Intuitively, it's much easier for our bodies to convert fat into body fat than it is sugar. We also get a far larger percentage of our calories from fat than we used to. Animal husbandry is partly to blame as animals are bred to be much fatter than they used to be. Therefore, you should avoid or limit dairy products, oils and meat. To support this, Greger points to a study by Dr. Dean Ornish. Ornish found that participants lost an average of 24 pounds by eating a whole food, plant-based diet. In addition to avoiding animal products, which are the main source of fat, Greger also recommends avoiding added sugars. We eat 12 times more sugar today than we did 200 years ago. Crucially, sugar has no nutritional value and simply provides excess calories. In fact, studies have shown that children given high-sugar cereals ate 7% more than children given a low-sugar alternative. So, if you eat too much sugar, you will only eat more. You may find it difficult at first to give up animal products and sugar. But your taste buds will quickly get used to it and you won't notice the difference anymore. Low calorie density A typical meal should consist of foods that are low in calories. Greger explains that one of the biggest benefits of eating a whole plant-based diet is that you don't have to limit your portions. You can eat unlimited amounts of food and still lose weight. Foods with a low-calorie density usually have a high-water content. Examples of such foods are non-starchy vegetables and fruits. In general, we eat the same amount of food every day, which is determined by the stretch receptors in our stomach. Therefore, if we eat low-calorie foods, we will lose weight easily. Plus, you can eat as many zucchini, apples, pears, and other nutritious foods as you like. Rich in legumes "It has been established that legumes are perhaps 'the single most important dietary predictor of survival in the elderly' around the world.” - according to Dr. Greger. Greger describes legumes as a miracle food. He explains that Hispanic Americans are an anomaly in America. They have a lower risk of cancer and heart disease, although they tend to be among the economically weaker groups. The most popular theory to explain this trend is that they have a diet rich in legumes. Greger describes a legume as something between a vegetable and a protein. They contain several important nutrients such as iron, zinc, potassium and fiber. But they are also high in protein. The high fiber content of legumes makes them essential for weight loss. Greger cites several examples of studies that directly compared legume eaters to people who ate animal products. In each of these studies, legume eaters consumed fewer calories at subsequent meals. They also reported feeling less hungry later in the day. Legumes are inexpensive and can be bought ready-cooked in a can. A booster for weight loss: accountability A hallmark of diet fads like Weight Watchers is the idea of accountability. Greger believes that this is one of the strengths of these diets, even if they are dead wrong on the rest of the details. Try to build a support network of communities that can provide you with a support structure and accountability. Studies have shown that building such structures at the beginning of a diet significantly increases the chances of success. If you're having a hard time finding a whole foods plant-based group in your area or online, you should always hold yourself accountable. For example, Greger points to a study where participants who weighed themselves once a week consistently lost weight. However, Greger recommends to even go one step further and weigh yourself twice a day, in the morning and at night. Drink plenty of water "Drinking two cups of water increased metabolic rates by 30 percent in both men and women. The increase began within ten minutes of drinking water and peaked within an hour. In the ninety minutes after drinking a single large glass of water, the subjects burned an additional twenty-four calories. According to Dr. Greger, drinking a large glass of water four times a day burns nearly a hundred extra calories, more than taking the now-banned ephedrine three times a day for weight loss. Simple, cheap, safe, and legal tap water! Drinking plenty of water is often associated with weight loss. Greger presents a systematic review study that examined twelve studies examining the association between hydration and weight loss. They found that increasing fluid intake clearly contributes to weight loss. One of these benefits is even indirect. Suppose a person drinks more water. When this happens, they're less likely to consume empty calories in the form of sugary sodas. American teens would reduce their average calorie intake by 235 calories if they substituted water for soda. In addition, there also appears to be a direct link between hydration and weight loss. An extensive Harvard study tracked the nutrition and health of over a hundred thousand people over decades. It was found that well-hydrated people burn fat faster. In addition, the well-hydrated people also produced less of an enzyme called angiotensin. Angiotensin promotes the accumulation of fat. Greger recommends measuring the water balance via the urine. A light-yellow urine that has the color of straw should be aimed for. If it's darker than this color, you should drink more water. Negative calorie load Eating before a meal can be considered negative calories if you eat the right things. For example, research shows that people who eat an apple before a meal feel fuller and consume fewer calories overall. Therefore, try to load up your meal with a low-calorie dish like a salad or some fruit. Sleep improvement "Sleep deprivation causes people to overeat about 180-560 calories per day," says Dr Greger. Sleep is considered essential but often neglected in fad diets. However, Greger considers sleep to be one of the cornerstones of effective weight loss. Fatigue is associated with increased eating habits and poor dietary choices. For example, studies show that late-evening snacking is associated with an excess of about 700 calories per day. Also, studies have found that getting enough sleep appears to be linked to weight loss, regardless of what you eat. Those who sleep less tend to burn more muscle than fat, even when in a calorie deficit. How Not to Diet – The conclusion The book “How Not to Diet” leverages years of experience from Dr. Greger and thousands of studies to encourage you to break away from fad diets and embrace evidence-based nutrition methods. Our diet is vital to our overall health. Yet we often focus on the end result rather than the process itself. This approach can have detrimental effects. Many diets are incredibly unhealthy. When we choose something as vital as what we put in our mouths, we need the most accurate evidence possible. Backed by nearly 5,000 references, How Not to Diet offers a diet plan that is both sustainable and healthy. If you liked what you heard in my podcast today, I strongly suggest that you get the book or the audio book, which are both available on Amazon. I promise you; you won’t regret it. And here is today’s answer to my google buster question “Over 80% of Americans fail to include enough of this in their diet. What is it?” In the United States, most people fall short of the recommended amounts for various food groups. More than 80% of Americans' diets are low in vegetables, fruits, and dairy, according to the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. On average, American adults eat fruit once a day and vegetables 1.7 times a day, according to the CDC. And here is another sad number. Less than 3% of Americans have a "healthy lifestyle," meaning they meet four qualifications, according to an April 2016 study in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: - being sufficiently active - eating a healthy diet - being a nonsmoker - having a healthy body fat percentage So here you have it. Re-listen to this podcast, if you have to, and start or continue beefing up your diet with fruits, legumes, and vegetables instead of animal meats. Picture yourself a year from now. You won’t regret it! I also want to remind you to leave me your email if you wish to receive a link to my blogs and podcasts. If you still feel overwhelmed keeping your health and weight in check, I want to remind everybody that I’d love to Skype or Zoom with you for more ideas of how I can help you start the new year right and create a Living Well, healthy, and happy lifestyle for you and your family. Check out my great packages & as always, our first get together is free! You can find the link to all my personalized coaching services in the Show Notes. Take a look and let me know how I can help. And, of course, I am continuing to work hard so you can join me for my upcoming digital course: “28 Days To A Healthier You”. It’s the perfect way to enjoy the journey how to live a better, healthier, and happier life. Don’t forget to check out my show notes and my website BeyondYourScale.com for tips, recipes and so much more information. Take care for now and thank you so much for staying tuned. I love having you & look forward to getting to know you better soon! Have a safe & happy rest of the week. Check out the links below which support this podcast. My blog How Not To Die…t - Amazing Facts About Fruits & Vegetables