What Not to Eat

What Not to Eat

In my first post, I mentioned my incredulity concerning people taking diet advice from people who are in it just for the money. I'm not trying to make money here, I'm honestly just trying to share what I've learned from 36 years of professional cooking.

What I've learned is that none of these fad diets work! It is so easy to put together a diet plan, usually very low in carbs, that takes pounds off quickly. However, your body adjusts and you will always regain the pounds later. (Usually more pounds)

A sensible overall lifestyle change is what is needed. You need to eat healthy, exercise, and sometimes take supplements to get to your ideal weight and to stay there. In the pictures above, you probably think I am comparing healthy food, (left) and un-healthy food(right). Actually the burger on the right is made with very lean beef and served on a whole wheat roll. So it is pretty healthy food. Although enough for a family of four.

So here's my new diet. It's called the Beverly Hills Tennis Diet. You can eat or drink whatever you want but you have to do it with a tennis ball in your mouth. It really works!

But seriously, in my last post I listed the foods you should be eating. I hope you all have stocked up on these belly fat reducing foods. Today I'm going to talk about all the foods and beverages you need to get rid of in your diet. This is the hard part. Learning how to like healthy foods is easier than abstaining from something that you truly love. I'll try to help you to make it as painless as possible.

#1 Alcohol

Yep , sorry but alcohol is probably the worst thing you can put into your body if you are serious about living a healthy lifestyle. Your liver is so very important in maintaining a healthy balance of hormones in your body. If it is damaged or weakened it cannot do this vital function. If you consume more than two drinks a day or if you have more than 5 or 6 drinks on Saturday night , your liver is probably damaged. The good news is that you can completely reverse the damage by abstaining from alcohol. I believe that a little bit of alcohol cans help with circulation and the preventing of artery clogging. From everything I've read and heard this amounts to about 1 or 2 drinks per day ,Max.

#2 Caffeine

You may see a trend developing here. Anything that is addictive is bad for you. Period. Studies have shown that drinking as little as 2 cups of coffee a day increaase estrogen levels in both men and women. This estrogen imbalance is what is responsible for that layer of fat around your belly that you probably have if you are over 30. Limit your caffeine to one cup of coffee or tea a day. Herbal Teas are a great substitute.

#3 Foods High in Saturated Fat

This is one that you probably already know about. So I'll just try to clarify it for you. The recipe I posted for Healthy Greek Salad Dressing was my first recipe for a reason. I often see people , both men and women , who are trying to lose weight make themselves a large salad with good healthy ingredients.. Then they grab the Ranch dressing and pour on about 25 g of Saturated fat. My recipe has 0 g Sat. fat. Look at the nutrition label when you buy this stuff! It's crucial!

These foods can be addictive too. I know I'm addicted to polish sausage, potato chips, eclairs, liverwurst, bratwurst, butter, french fries, and cheeseburgers.

I could go on but I'm probably just making you all hungry.

Other things to avoid:Processed meats, bologna, etc, margarine, lard, cream, ham, cookies, pastries, spare ribs,(Ummm.addicted to them too)

#4 Simple Carbohydrates

This is the one that all the fad diet go for. Yes . You can lose weight quickly by cutting these out and doing the Adkins, South Beach , Acai Berry , etc.diet or any of the other fad diets. You will be amazed by the instant results (you are starving yourself of necessary nutrition) The key is to avoid these foods in a complete diet that includes the necessary nutrients. You will not lose 10 pounds in one week! But you will go to your ideal weight. It might even be more than you weigh now!

The foods to avoid here are: White Sugar, White Flour, Regular Pasta, White Bread, White Rice. It is a general rule for me to try to buy the most colorful foods. They always seem to be the best for you. I think God does color food that is good for us so that we notice it!

#5 Soy Products

This is the most difficult of all for me, as I am a huge fan of Asian cuisine. Also ,I talk to people all over the world every day, and people of Asian descent wherever they are almost always seem to be slender. At least on average , more slender than Western folk. People like me would tend to think that by eating an Asian diet, we can also be slender. Unfortunately, the average American eating at an Asian restaurant doesn't eat what the average Asian would eat. Not to generalize but an authentic Asian diet( Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Viet, etc,) consists mainly of vegetables, soy products,carbs and protein. When Americans eat Asian it is Protein,Carbs, Soy products, Vegetables, in that order. soy products such as tofu, tempeh ,textured vegetable protein, edamame, miso are all immensely valuable sources of protein. However, if you are already overweight, you should limit all soy--based products.

That's it . Please comment. Recipe requests? Pictures of me or my food?