The 17 Day Diet (43 page)

Second, take action. Sitting around, thinking about change, and talking about it doesn’t make a difference. What produces change is action. Here are some action-oriented behaviors known to work for weight loss and prevent relapse:

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Eat breakfast every morning and regular, planned meals throughout the day.

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Exercise regularly. This concept is really simple—move it AND lose it.

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Guzzle more aqua. Water will really fill you up and assist in fat-burning.

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Start a love affair with veggies. Supplement your meals with healthy salads and veggies and make your mom proud.

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Eat before going to parties or other food-centered gatherings.

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Plan get-togethers with friends that don’t revolve around food.

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Reward yourself for progress (but not with food), and ask friends and family members to do the same.

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In short, set a goal—or resolution—plan concrete steps that will take you there, anticipate and avoid pitfalls, and reward yourself along the way.

Health Issues

Q. Just about everyone in my family is overweight. Is the deck stacked against me?

A.
Yes, there is the genetic piece to consider. People who research obesity discovered the “blame-your-parents” factor. Their studies involved fat twins who were adopted by separate thin families. The twins remained heavy despite their slim surroundings. The study concluded that the ring around your middle, or at least some portion of it, comes from your parents, not just from what you eat when nobody is looking.

So yes, a family history of obesity may increase your odds of ending up overweight, but that just means you may have to work a little harder than those without such a history to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. You’re not doomed. In fact, researchers in Great Britain found that exercising can reduce the genetic tendency toward obesity by 40 percent. Their findings were reported in
PLoS Medicine
in 2010. You can choose to adopt healthy habits. We inherit predispositions to certain problems, including obesity, but we also have the power to decide what to do about them.

Q. Does stress make people fat?

A.
It appears there is some connection, and it’s based on the theory of the “caveman paunch.” It has to do with where fat settles in the body, and it goes something like this. Guys get beer bellies for the same reason women get thunder thighs: It’s a product of evolution. Cavewomen laid down stores of fat in their thighs and breasts to cope with the demands of pregnancy in the wild.

In cavemen, flight-or-fight energy was stored as belly fat. When cavemen went beast-hunting and suddenly ended up being the hunted, their guts dispersed the fuel (fat) their muscles needed to high-tail it to safety. Since cavemen spent a lot of time fleeing, they never had much of a weight problem.

Nowadays, however, our predators are bosses, phone solicitors and issuers of credit cards. They are irritating, and it’s hard to get away from them. A good idea is to lace up your sneakers and go for a brisk walk. It’s like hunting beasts but without any weapons. Regular exercise, seriously, really does prevent stress fat, plus a lot of other things.

Q. I’m a smoker. I know I should quit. But I’m afraid I’ll gain weight. What do you think?

A.
Let me ask you some questions: Are you sacrificing what might help your health in the name of keeping off a few pounds? Where is your common sense? You might be surprised to learn that if you exercise while quitting smoking, you won’t gain weight.

Kicking butt with exercise will help you kick your cigarette habit. An Austrian study found that after three months, 80 percent of smokers who did a cardio and strength-training workout three times a week while using a nicotine-replacement therapy of their choice (such as a patch, gum, an inhaler or a combination of them) had given up smoking; only 52 percent of those who used nicotine replacement alone were successful. Plus, unlike such tools as prescription medications, exercise has no negative side effects. Take a cue from the research lab and walk, cycle, and jog your way to a smoke-free and strong, fit body. Confer with your doctor about your exercise regimen as you wean yourself off tobacco.

Q. I’m 56, and I’ve recently been diagnosed with prediabetes. What kind of screening tests should I have, and what should I do to help make sure it doesn’t progress to diabetes?

A.
Prediabetes is when a person’s blood glucose levels are higher than normal, but not high enough for a diabetes diagnosis. If you are prediabetic, you have a substantially increased risk of heart attack, stroke, cancer, kidney disease, blindness, nerve damage and several other serious conditions.

Given your recent diagnosis of prediabetes, your doctor may recommend you check your blood sugar at home. Whether or not this is the case, there are several lab tests which are important for you to have run at regular intervals. The most important are the fasting blood glucose, and the hemoglobin A1C (HgbAlC). This latter test indicates the average level of your blood sugar during the previous three months. A normal value for the HgbAlC is from four to six percent, and the goal for those with diabetes is to treat to below seven percent. Whether you are treating your prediabetes with only lifestyle modifications such as diet, exercise and weight loss, or if you are on medication, the HgbAlC should be checked at least twice a year, more often if your doctor recommends it.

There are several things you can do to help treat prediabetes and prevent the onset of type 2:

• Eat a healthy diet and lose weight:
Losing only five percent to seven percent of your current body weight can usually bring the blood sugar down to normal ranges.

• Exercise:
Get at least 30 minutes of activity a day, five days a week. Fat blunts insulin’s ability to lower blood sugar. With less fat on board, your blood sugar can normalize.

• Treat high blood pressure and cholesterol:
If you have been told that you have either of these conditions, speak to your doctor on the best course of treatment to get them in check.

• Quit smoking:
Diabetes is not the only reason to quit as smoking contributes to many other health problems.

• Educate yourself:
Education is key for prediabetes and type 2 diabetes management. Diabetes is a complex condition and needs close monitoring to help you remain as active and healthy as possible. Most insurance plans provide coverage for diabetes education programs, and they are very helpful in assisting newly diagnosed patients with diabetes management.

Q. What are the best foods for my joints?

A.
If your joints hurt, they might be inflamed. But popping painkillers isn’t the only way to stop the pain. You can eat your way to more comfort with a fresh, unprocessed diet, as I suggest on the 17 Day Diet. Try eating fish like sardines, wild salmon, or cod at least twice per week. Include daily servings of whole grains and legumes, fruits (particularly berries) and vegetables—basically all the foods that are a part of the 17 Day Diet. These will give you the vitamins and minerals, omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients you need to protect cells from inflammation.

Another common yet generally safe remedy is glucosamine, available as a supplement. Many people get relief from taking it. Consult your doctor about whether to take, which kind to take, and how much.

Q. My HDL cholesterol is low. What can I do to raise it?

A.
Weight control and regular physical activity are the most important steps you can take to raise your “good” HDL cholesterol. Higher HDL levels (60 mg/dl or above) are linked with lower risk of heart disease, while low HDL (40 mg/dl and below) is considered a major cardiovascular risk factor and is now being linked with greater risk of memory loss later in life. Low HDL levels are often associated with being overweight, especially if excess body fat is congregating at the waistline.

Studies suggest that overweight people who reach and maintain a healthier weight may raise low HDL levels anywhere from 5 to 20 percent. Daily moderate aerobic physical activity, such as walking or swimming, is also very effective at raising low HDL. Although some people assume a low-fat diet is beneficial, completely cutting out heart-healthy fat (such as olive oil or omega-3 fats) can hurt rather than help your efforts. In addition, it’s important to avoid smoking, which is linked with lower HDL, and make sure that blood sugar is under control.

Genetics play a role in your HDL levels, and it’s hard to change genetics. But with diet and exercise, you have two breakthrough tools to help you increase your HDL. Both are really the best medicine—and safe and cheap, too!

Q. Are there foods I can eat for better skin?

A.
Yes. Foods rich in “beauty nutrients” can make your skin clearer, smoother and more radiant. Salmon is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which lubricate skin from within and prevent acne; kiwis and blueberries provide vitamin C, which helps prevent wrinkles; oysters are rich in zinc, crucial for collagen production and sweet potatoes and tomatoes contain carotenoids, which may protect skin against damaging UV rays.

Q. Can people who are already overweight reduce their cancer risk if they lose weight?

A.
Many adult cancers develop over a 10- to 20-year period or longer. Although researchers can’t say for sure that losing weight will lower cancer risk, the evidence looks promising.

For example, two large studies of post-menopausal women found that those who lost weight after menopause reduced their risk of breast cancer substantially. That’s important since reports estimate that overweight and obesity in the U.S. account for 14 percent of cancer deaths among men and 20 percent among women.

When overweight people lose weight, they may not be able to undo cancer-causing damage that’s already done, but shedding excess fat can reduce elevated levels of insulin, insulin-related growth factors and certain hormones like estrogen. All these compounds are associated with the process of cancer development. Each loss or gain of excess body fat seems to change cancer risk.

Q. Is it true that sugar “feeds” cancer?

A.
While all cells in our body use sugar (glucose) for fuel, research does suggest that cancer cells take up blood sugar more rapidly than healthy cells. In addition, high blood sugar stimulates increased levels of insulin in our body, which may promote the growth of cancer cells.

Although this may sound frightening, the answer is not to avoid all sugar-containing foods. The sugar in our bloodstream comes from all carbohydrate foods, including healthful vegetables, fruits, whole grains and low-fat dairy sources; some glucose is even produced within our bodies from protein.

For now our best answer is to keep blood sugar controlled with weight maintenance, regular exercise and a high-fiber diet. It’s also important to avoid big loads of carbohydrate at once, particularly from refined grains like white bread or foods with added sugars. Hopefully, further research will provide more answers.

Food Allergies

Q. An allergist told me recently I suffer from lactose intolerance. What can be done about this, as I find it hard to face a life without dairy products?

A.
Lactose intolerance is caused by a lack of one or more enzymes that digest lactose, the carbohydrate in milk. Symptoms are bloating, diarrhea, gas, nausea and abdominal cramps. Unfortunately, the recommended treatment is a lactose-free diet. If you avoid all dairy products you should also take calcium supplements. You can also buy lactase drops or tablets which can sometimes help you digest dairy products, if taken before eating them. If you’re lactose intolerant, you’ll likely find yogurt much more digestible than milk. That’s because those friendly bacteria digest some of the milk sugar in yogurt, so there’s less left to irritate you. You shouldn’t have any trouble following the 17 Day Diet with this food sensitivity.

Q. I have to be on a gluten-free diet. What are some foods that are naturally gluten-free?

A.
For background, about 1 out of 133 people in the U.S. has celiac disease, an autoimmune intestinal disorder that causes severe allergies to proteins found in wheat and related grains. Even more people are gluten intolerant. For people with severe allergies to gluten, it’s the difference between life and death, and a gluten-free diet is the only means of treatment. It prevents the complications of untreated celiac disease, such as osteoporosis, anemia, certain forms of cancer and even death. For people with intolerances to gluten, the benefits a gluten-free diet are many: fewer sinus infections, more energy, less brain fog or less gastrointestinal upset. Some people lose weight on a gluten-free diet, but that may be because many high-calorie foods contain wheat, which is a carbohydrate: