Joel Fuhrman - Eat To Live

Eat to Live 115

cause of a low metabolic rate. This leads to the familiar yo-yo phe-

nomenon in which dieters lose some weight, only to rebound to a

heavier weight than when they started.

In contrast, I tell my patients to eat as much food as they can. In

fact, when they are eating foods that are rich in water-soluble fiber

and have high nutrient-per-calorie density, they can literally "stuff

themselves to health" and still enjoy substantial weight loss. You get

the best results by keeping the micronutrients high and the macronu-

trients moderate. The caloric intake is comparatively low to the

American norm, on this healthiest of all diets, but there is no meta-

bolic rebound, because it is exceedingly rare for someone to gain all

this knowledge and then go back to unhealthy eating again. They are

too informed, and too impressed with their health improvements, to

go back and gamble away their newfound health. On top of that, my

patients have been weaned from their desire for rich, fatty food.

So, instead of searching for weight-loss gimmicks and tricks, try

to adopt a resolution to be healthy first. Focusing on your health,

and not your weight, will eventually result in achieving successful

long-term weight loss. Eating a healthy diet, one that is rich in an as-

sortment of natural plant fibers, will help you crave less and feel sat-

isfied without overeating. All diet plans fail because they cater to

modern American tastes, which include too much processed foods or

animal products to be healthy.

Stop measuring portions and trying to follow complicated for-

mulas. Instead, eat as many vegetables, beans, and fresh fruits as pos-

sible, and less of everything else. Any other program is an insult to

your intelligence.