How to Change Your Eating Habits — Once and for All
By Donna Engelgau

Now that you've decided to lose weight, what are you going to do about it?

Go on a low-fat/no-fat diet for a few months? Go on a crash diet and get this over with as fast as possible? Try yet another diet that gets results for a few months before you return to wearing your "fat" clothes again?

Many health care experts agree that diets do not work. The key isn't "I'm going on a diet to lose weight." Rather, it's: "I'm going to change how I eat once and for all."

Stephen Sinatra, M.D., who deals with weight loss every day in his cardiology practice, is a huge proponent of altering your relationship with food—not for two weeks or several months—but forever!

Here's what he has to say about healthy weight loss:


Q: What does that mean exactly—altering your relationship with food?
A: There's no question about it, but that weight loss requires a lifestyle switch Once you make the switch, you won't want to return to the typical American diet, which is made up primarily of unhealthy fat. The average person—once he detoxifies himself from white flour, additives, preservatives and sugary foods—is going to get immediate fatigue and won't feel good if he continues to eat these foods. The alarm will go off and he'll say: 'I've just eaten something that I wasn't used to.'"

Q: What type of weight-loss program do you recommend for your patients?
A: The program I've developed over my many years as a cardiologist employs the right amount of fiber, protein, carbohydrates and healthy fats to help you lose—and maintain—a healthy weight. My goal, of course, is to ensure that you also stave off heart disease, which is a leading killer of men and women. Excess weight is among the many contributors to heart disease.

Q: Is your weight-loss plan good for everyone, or mainly people who have or want to prevent heart disease?
A: This plan is great for everyone who want to lose weight. But I want to stress that it's not a one-week or six-month plan. It's a lifestyle change that trains you to eat with awareness—for life.

Q: What does it involve?
A: It involves the following:

  • A high-protein shake. If you take the shake, which provides plenty of fiber, along with a glass of water, you'll feel full. And that's really the key with weight loss—satiety. It helps to increase the basic metabolic rate which enables calories to be burned more efficiently. The shake is great for diabetics, too, because it doesn't elicit a big insulin response.
  • Organic trail mix. It provides high fiber, protein and healthy fat. When eaten with two glasses of water, your stomach expands and you feel even fuller. The mix also has high antioxidant value.
  • A meal bar. The bar has a 33-33-33 ratio of protein, fat and carbohydrates. It's a great meal replacement, as well as a great snack. So between the shake, the trail mix and the bar, you'll get about 20 grams of fiber, which will help to cleanse your gastrointestinal tract.
  • Fresh veggies. In the evening, I encourage my patients to eat legumes (chick peas, for example) and salad, which will provide another 10-15 grams of fiber. Fiber helps keep things moving through your bowel.
  • A daily meal. I also encourage one good solid meal that is based upon the Mediterranean diet, which is a kind of modified vegetarian diet made up primarily of fish, lean meats and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables.
  • Plenty of water. Eight 8-oz. glasses of water a day will help flush toxins through the body and keep your body hydrated.