Last night I discovered WeTV’s I Want To Save Your Life with the Diet Detective, Charles Stuart Platkin. It’s not just another makeover show.. It’s fun and lively and gives great information in a not-pushy way. Friends of overweights invite him to come give tips and tricks to learn a better way of living and eating. I saw two episodes in a row last night. One was a husband and wife team, Diana and Juan, with several small children. Their parents had diabetes and heart issues due to overweight, and they wanted to make sure they would be alive to raise their kids. Each was maybe 80-100 pounds overweight. Charles first went through the refrigerator and pantry and had them read the labels for calories, sugar, fat and sodium content. This was the first time they’d read food labels and were stunned by what they saw. “It says one thing on the front of the label and when you turn it around and read it, it’s a whole other story,” Diana said.
Charles did an exercise showing several small plates, each with a few bites of food on them: cake, pizza, chocolate, popcorn, cheeseburger, french fries, a knifeful of peanut butter. Just a few bites of each. He asked them which they would usually snack on during the course of the day. Being parents, it is easy to eat the few bites your kids leave on the plates, not to waste it. They were shocked at how many calories and fat they were ingesting without knowing it. Charles said”Before you eat something, wait 3 seconds and ask yourself, “Does this have nutritional content? Is it splurge-worthy?” He says “you’re allowed to splurge, just make a conscious choice whether this is what you choose to splurge on.”
Besides reading labels – by far the most important – he showed them how to substitute leaner options for their favorites, like making a giant pot of spaghetti sauce with meatballs using fresh vegetables and lean ground turkey instead of beef. He had them make enough in one day for 2 weeks worth of dinners, and to freeze it so they’d have the lean options on hand. He had them do the same with a giant chicken vegetable soup which the kids loved.
He showed them easy ways to be more active and adopt an exercise program that involved playing with the kids. His wasn’t the typical one day fix: he spent a week with them, acting as their trainer during that time, putting them through their paces at the grocery store, in the kitchen and during exercise. You could tell a light bulb went on in their heads and that was a life changing week for them. Charles left and came back 16 weeks later. Diana had lost 51 pounds, Juan had lost 33 pounds. They had fun during the process and found it easy since they were both doing it and they coached each other. Each looked 10 years younger and were looking forward to losing more, and to being alive for their kids for a long time to come. This was a fun show to watch, as they were very cute together.
The next episode was Mindy Jones. I totally related to her. A young professional, she had a demanding job and spent her down time dining with friends and having a few drinks after work. Charles showed her that 2 mojitos had as many calories as a hamburger and fries, 3 margaritas had as much as several slices of pizza. She was surprised.
Mindy is a vegetarian and has been heavy all her life. He went through her fridge and commended her for having some light frozen dinners, which are portion controlled – a good choice. She also had healthy foods like hummus on hand and he reminded her that 4 scoops of hummus is very healthful, but should be counted as a meal, not a snack.
He introduced her to an exercise program that she took to immediately. He took her out kayaking and she loved it. He was not just telling her she had to exercise, he was showing her movement could be fun. I wanted to hang out with Mindy, she seemed so fun loving. Charles spent a week with her, then came back 4 months later and she’d lost 50+ pounds. She looked like a different person and looked 10 years younger.
If people knew better, they’d do better. They don’t know that it’s as easy as reading a label, taking in controlled portions of nutritious food, and wanting to make the change.
No, your appetite is not going to go away, but you use your willpower to overcome your urge to pick up the wrong food and put it in your mouth. Just delay it for a few minutes at a time if that’s what it takes. Get in the practice of it until it comes naturally.
You’ll find as you stop the sugary floury processed foods like cakes, cookies, chips and snacks, that your appetite for them will dwindle down to not wanting those foods any longer. At all.
If you’re interested, you can find my own food journey and some yummy recipes at my website Goddess Grub.
Andrea
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