Dr Oz Com Diet Plan
I'm on a diet. I gained about 20 pounds over 2½ years, and recently my lower back was feeling the weight of my girth. I asked a friend, who is a personal trainer, what I should do in the gym. She told me, after she pointed to my belly, "That's all diet."
I knew what she meant. I needed to exercise more, for sure, but I also needed to change some other habits — if I wanted to feel better and fit into my favorite jeans.
So, I cut back on some carbohydrates and exercised a bit more. The scale wasn't moving.
On Jan. 6, I put on baggy gym clothes and went back to the gym, anyway. I was pumping away on an elliptical trainer when I glanced up at a TV screen and noticed Dr. Oz was touting his new two-week rapid weight loss program. I plugged in my ear buds. His giddy audience had lost an average of 9 pounds on the diet, and some had shed more than 20 pounds.
This diet, Oz pointed out, was influenced by three other diet books he admired: "Wheat Belly" by William Davis, "Grain Brain" by David Perlmutter and "The Ultra Simple Diet to Kick Start your Metabolism" by Mark Hyman.
Sure, Dr. Oz has his doubters; some of my friends call him a quack. Others appreciate his sometimes unorthodox prescriptions for better health. I was on the fence about Oz. He is a doctor, after all, but I sometimes wondered if all of his health fixes were too good to be true.
And I am skeptical of diets, period. I have not been on a strict diet since high school, when I made up what I now call "the stupid diet," which consisted of carrot juice — just carrot juice. After drinking carrot juice for two weeks, I became so weak I was nearly pulled out to sea while swimming in the Pacific in San Blas, Mexico. I survived that — and the diet. Since then, I have followed the "everything-in-moderation" plan.
But I'm not always so moderate, and in recent years, my metabolism seems to be stuck in second gear.
I drove home from the gym and printed out the diet plan. No wheat (only ½ cup of brown rice per day), no dairy (except for 2 percent Greek yogurt), no booze (what?), no artificial sweeteners, no white sugar, no caffeine (save what's in green tea), no additional exercise (again, what?) and no food after 8 p.m.
The diet was made more tolerable because olive oil, vinegars, nuts, hummus, avocado and pickles were allowed. I guessed pickles are allowed because they are fermented, so they are good for the gut. And the permitted foods are actually quite satisfying: ½ cup brown rice daily, 1 cup Greek yogurt daily and unlimited amounts of low-glycemic vegetables, which include chickpeas, kidney beans and lentils.
It helped that my husband went along with the Oz plan, too, though he was disappointed there was no red meat in the mix. We could eat 6 ounces of chicken, turkey or fish each day.
The first week, we spent about $80 for chicken and fish, a bag of low-glycemic vegetables and the ingredients for a breakfast smoothie, which consists of brown rice protein powder, frozen mixed berries, flax seed, almond milk and banana. After that, the grocery bills declined pretty dramatically — perhaps because we weren't buying cereals, milk, breads, wine, cheese or red meat.
We filled the fridge with vegetables. "You can eat all the low-glycemic veggies you want," the diet-plan instructions said. "Not only will they help you stay full, but they are key to helping burn fat. When you swap out starchy and surgary foods for low-glycemic vegetables, your body can burn through its glycogen storage and eventually start burning fat."
Burn fat. Good. The diet came with only two recipes — one for the smoothie and another for a "detox vegetable broth." The broth was composed of many vegetables, fresh ginger and garlic. You can drink it. I didn't drink much. I used two 3-quart batches as a base for many of the soups and stews we made over the two weeks.
We kept our meals pretty simple. Because the print-out from the Dr. Oz website didn't say we couldn't use spices, we used plenty. But we stayed away from condiments, which often contain sugar.
After three days on the diet, I also was suffering from a mean caffeine headache from lack of coffee. I called my doctor, just to see what she thought about the diet. Jennifer Wisdom-Behounek also is an assistant professor of clinical family and community medicine at the University of Missouri. Her patients call her Dr. Wisdom, which seems appropriate.
She told me my coffee headaches would eventually go away and to drink a lot of water. As for the diet, she said, "Several ideas were sound, but he kind of went about it in a backwards way. He started off by saying all the things you have to get rid of. I think a lot of people find that to be difficult. I do love the concentration on vegetables, which help with glycemic control. But I think that should have been the main focus. And I thought he didn't spend enough time on why that should be the main focus."
Wisdom-Behounek also thought Oz's message was confusing because he continued to talk about this diet as a "lifestyle" plan, and she wondered about the sustainability of such a restricted diet. Still, she thought many of his recommendations are probably good for most people. "The focus on vegetables should be first and foremost. Taking out artificial products and focusing on real foods is really important," she said. "I think this is good, sound information."
In the end, Dr. Wisdom told me, the diet probably would help people shed some bad habits, but it "was nothing magical." Then she recommended "Eat to Live: The Amazing Nutrient Rich Program for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss" by Joel Fuhrman because it has a strong focus on vegetables and some recipes. I looked it up online. A Dr. Oz blurb appeared on the cover. He called the book a "medical breakthrough. … There is no question in my mind that it will work for you." I wondered if Oz was everywhere.
We stayed on course. After about a week, I noticed that I felt less swollen. We planned our meals, but they were so simple we could put most of them together in 30 minutes or less. We bought a lot of organic green tea. I became fond of Numi's organic gunpowder green tea, and we also religiously drank a pot of organic peppermint or ginger tea in the evenings — with a handful of nuts. One of the best parts of the diet was the bath. Nearly every day, usually in the evening, I soaked in a warm bath with Epson salt and baking soda. It's supposed to draw out toxins. I began to look forward to it, like that glass of wine in the evening.
On Day 8, my husband began to list all of the meaty pasta dishes he was going to make when he went off the diet. I think he was hungry.
Every morning, I set out our hot lemon water and the breakfast smoothie, which kept me satiated until about 11 a.m. For lunches, I often ate the leftover soups. I liked adding more vegetables to my diet, but I kept thinking, "Wouldn't this vegetable be great with a little Parmesan or Pecorino cheese grated on it?" I missed cheese.
Eating out can be tricky on special diets. I feel for my friends who are gluten- or dairy-intolerant. We didn't go out to dinner while we were on the diet. But my husband met a couple of guy friends one day at Flat Branch for lunch. His buddies feasted on bulky burgers and beer. He ordered the Paleo Platter, which contained sautéed vegetables and grilled chicken. I think they made fun of him when he ordered tea.
On day 9, a friend invited me to lunch at Sycamore. I ordered green tea and a hummus wrap — without the wrap — over greens, which I dressed with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar. No problem. On Day 10, I joined another friend for vegetable soup at Main Squeeze.
At home, my favorite diet dish was lentil soup because it had staying power, and it was very flavorful. Mushrooms in soups, too, tended to satisfy hunger. Cauliflower purée was our most comforting side dish because it was like mashed potatoes. Parmesan would have been nice with that, too, by the way. Spices made what would have been dull much more interesting. We livened up fish, chicken and vegetables with various seasonings, including Cajun spices, smoked paprika, turmeric, cumin and an array of chili powders.
Today marks Day 14. I lost a total of 9 pounds and 2 inches around my middle as of yesterday. One day to go. When I combined the healthy eating with stretching and exercise, my back felt better. I also feel more alert. My husband lost 7 pounds, but he said he "cheated" a bit and had a few drinks over two weeks.
I plan to take my doctor's advice and find a way to make my regular diet sustainable by adding fruits, which were missing from this diet. In fact, my husband and I made a pact to check our portions, keep the focus on the veggies, cut back on our alcohol intake and keep up the exercise.
So, Dr Oz's Two-Week Rapid Weight Loss Plan was helpful. It certainly didn't hurt. I changed some bad habits and became more conscious about what I was putting in my mouth.
A slice of smoked gouda would taste really good about now.
VERY GREEN LENTIL SOUP
I tweaked this recipe for very green lentil soup to suit the Oz diet. You can find green lentils in health food markets. Brown lentils would be fine, as well.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
2 large yellow onions, chopped
1-1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
2 tablespoons plus 4 cups water, divided
1 cup French green (Le Puy) or brown lentils
8 large rainbow chard leaves
1 purple topped turnip, scrubbed and 1/2 inch diced
5 cups chopped spinach, baby kale and baby chard mix
5 cups vegetable broth, store-bought or homemade
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño pepper, minced
1/2 red pepper, chopped
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onions and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low, add 2 tablespoons water and cover. Cook, stirring frequently, until the pan cools down, and then occasionally, always covering the pan again, until the onions are greatly reduced and have a deep caramel color, 25 to 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, rinse lentils and pick out any small stones; combine the lentils with the remaining 4 cups water in a soup pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes. Trim the white ribs out of the chard; chop the greens and slice the ribs. Keep in separate piles. Dice the turnip and chopped greens blend; set aside.
When the lentils have cooked for 20 minutes, stir in the chard ribs, turnip, broth and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt; return to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes.
Stir in the rainbow chard leaves, smoked paprika, cumin and coriander. When the onions are caramelized, stir a little of the simmering liquid into them; add them to the soup. Return to a simmer, cover and cook 5 minutes more. Stir in the reserved kale/spinach blend, cilantro, jalapeño and pepper; return to a simmer, cover and cook until the greens are tender but still bright green, about 5 minutes more. Stir in 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Taste and add more lemon juice and/or pepper, if desired.
Garnish each bowl of soup with lemon juice, Greek yogurt and a slice of avocado.
Leftovers: Cover and refrigerate for as long as 3 days.
— Adapted from www.eatingwell.com/recipes/green_lentil_soup.html. Recipe by Anna Thomas for EatingWell, September/October 2011
SPINACH-BROWN RICE SOUP WITH YOGURT
Cookbook author Mollie Katzen calls this a "soothing and thick, tart, lightly spice and golden-hued" soup. The addition of the rice makes it a very filling meal. I adapted this recipe slightly, using the short-grain brown rice I had in the refrigerator rather than basmati. I also added extra cumin and turmeric as it didn't seem spiced enough. If I make it again, I'll make it with brown basmati. Make sure the yogurt you use is at room temperature and the soup is not too hot when you add it, otherwise the yogurt will break and curdle.
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups minced onion (1 large)
2teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1 tablespoon minced or crushed garlic
1/2 pound (or more) fresh spinach, washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped
3 cups water or homemade vegetable stock or low-sodium store-bought broth
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup yogurt, at room temperature
Black pepper
Place a soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat for about a minute, then add the olive oil and swirl to coat pan. Add the onion, cumin, turmeric and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and cook, stirring, for 5 to 8 minutes or until the onion becomes soft. Add the garlic and another 1/4 teaspoon of the salt, reduce the heat to low and continue to cook for another 5 minutes or so. Toss the spinach plus the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir, then cover and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes longer. Add the water or stock, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer. Cover and cook over the lowest possible heat for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, cool a bit and stir in the rice and yogurt. Taste to adjust the salt and add black pepper.
Katzen's serving options: a scattering of golden raisins, harissa or fire-roasted bell pepper, lightly toasted walnuts or pine nuts, or minced fresh mint.
Servings: 5 or 6
— Adapted slightly from "The Heart of the Plate" by Mollie Katzen (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013)
CAULIFLOWER PURÉE
Curry powder would also be a nice addition to this comforting purée.
Florets from 1 cauliflower
Vegetable broth
1 cup 0 or 2 percent Greek yogurt (I used Fage)
Pepper and salt to taste
Cook the cauliflower in boiled water, or roast it in the oven with a little olive oil until tender. Add cauliflower to a food processor with the yogurt. Pulse the processor and add vegetable broth until it reaches desired consistency. This keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days. If you are eating cheese, add some Parmesan or Pecorino to taste.
This article was published in the Tuesday, January 21, 2014 edition of the Columbia Daily Tribune with the headline "VEGGING IN: HOW DR. OZ'S TWO-WEEK RAPID WEIGHT LOSS PLAN CHANGED MY HABITS"
Source: https://amp.columbiatribune.com/amp/985706007
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