DR. OZ / You on a Diet
 

Okay guys--since a lot of us are reading his book I thought we could post some of his tidbits that we found interesting, questionable, or just worth sharing.

For optimum health a woman's waist should be no bigger than 32 1/2 and 35 for a man. Measure at the belly button. You need to switch your focus from a number that measures your weight to one that measures your waist. Because of its proximity to your organs, your belly fat is the most dangerous fat you can carry.

Don't eat foods that have any of the following listed as one of the first five ingredients:
**simple sugars
**enriched, bleached, or refined flour
**HFCS (high fructose corn syrup)

Okay--it's your turn!

Adding on to what Lea Ann said. Speaking of waist size...Here's another thing that Dr. Oz says...

Stepping on a scale is the primary way that people measure the success of their diet, Dr. Oz says, "because it's easy to do. But it's actually misleading in many ways."

For one thing, muscle weighs more than fat. By turning fat to muscle, you'll weigh more even though you'll be healthier. Also, weight doesn't tell you where the fat is. Fat around your legs and thighs is relatively harmless, but fat around your waist can lead to serious medical problems.

Instead of focusing on the number on the scale, Dr. Oz says to focus on the number around your waist.

Here's another thing that I found really interesting:

Here's a surprise—the most powerful muscle in your body could be making you fat. Here's another—that muscle is your tongue!

"First of all, the tongue makes us incredibly good at eating," Dr. Oz says. "Human beings don't waste any calories. We put food in our mouth and we get the calories out because the tongue moves the food around a lot and our teeth embed against each other. … Now, because we're efficient like that, we extract all the calories. Our tongue also tells us what kinds of food to eat."

Dr. Oz says that you can learn a lot about your body by knowing if you're an "undertaster," a "supertaster," or someplace in the middle. To find out which you are, stir a packet of Sweet 'n Low into about four ounces of water. Taste it. Is it sweet or bitter?

"If it tastes bitter it means that saccharin overpowered your taste buds, which means you're a supertaster," he says. "Supertasters don't like vegetables and fruits. They taste too pungent, too strong, for them. They need to take a multivitamin because if you don't like to eat those foods, you need to get that nutrition somewhere else."

"If the mixture tastes sweet, you're an undertaster," Dr. Oz says. "It means that you're going to crave a lot of foods because you can never satisfy your palate."

"Our taste buds behave differently," he says. "About the only thing we can really alter is our craving of fat, which is acquired. The rest of our traits tend to be inherited."

Something else.....Sorry guys, but I just want all of you to know these things.

Here you go:

The foods you crave, and when you crave them, might just depend on your mood. "Our bodies are designed to fulfill our needs," Dr. Oz says. "The gut and the brain are the two most closely related organs. So it makes perfect sense that the foods we eat change the way our brains function."

Dr. Oz says the following cravings could mean you are feeling these moods:


Meat could mean you're angry
Sweets might be a sign of depression
Ice cream might mean you're anxious
Salty snacks could mean you're stressed
Pasta might signal loneliness or sexual frustration
All of the above might mean you're just a little bit jealous

And the intersection of food and mood doesn't stop at cravings. It also involves how we can proactively affect our emotions. "If you're depressed, you should take omega-3 fatty acids, especially women who are having babies," Dr. Oz says. "That baby sucks all that healthy fat out of your body and you get depressed after you have this beautiful, brilliant wonderful baby."

Just a note.....On the DHC show, Dr Oz had the participants suck in their stomachs as much as possible when measuring.

Evette--don't apologize--keep posting!!

That's all I got so far Lea Ann. I'm glad you're enjoying the book as much as I am. I'm slowly reading through the book!

Every pound of muscle burns between 40 and 120 calories a day just to sustain itself, while every pound of fat feeds on only 1-3 calories.

Hi girlies....it's been a busy busy morning here. I wanted to ask you all what you think of the whole "inflatmmation" theory. I find it difficult to understand the whole concept he is making........and I have read plenty of textbooks about stuff like this. I have only read like the first 70 pages or so of the book, and I love it. I think it will be one I want everyone I love to read :) I will try and find a couple of the excerpts that are confusing to me later on, or tomorrow. I am really excited that we are all reading this. It is good to beable to bounce ideas off of one another.

I'm not reading the book, so I'm loving this thread! Thanks for starting it LeaAnn, and to all the contributors...thanks a bunch! Kim's right, he definitely told those folks to suck in their tummies when he was measuring. It helps a lot!

Nicole - what's his inflammation theory?

I tried to find a quote this a.m. to see if I could use his words, but my two year old baby thinks mommy should NOT read when the sun is out. He is sitting on my lap as I type. I have skills :) Anyway.....it is something to the effect that inflammation makes you fat. That the foods you eat, the bad ones cause inflammation in your digestive system, and then it doesn't work properly. The entire digestive system is super complex, and I do not understand the whole thing. I am just so used to inflammation being used in the context of arthiritis or infection, that it is hard for me to wrap my brain around it as far as simply not functioning to it's full potential. Lee Ann, Evette, am I just reading too much into it? Have you noticed the word inflammation used like crazy? Sometimes, I tend to pick a book apart and question it more than just enjoy it........but it is hard not to. I guess I wish the authors cited more of their claims, and then I could check it out and feel more comfortable.

Although the definition from dictionary.com is:

–noun 1. Pathology. redness, swelling, pain, tenderness, heat, and disturbed function of an area of the body, esp. as a reaction of tissues to injurious agent.

I don't know.........I guess it just makes it seem confusing to me.....

Just on the issue of inflammation, I have this to stay. As I have gotten older, my body seems to be in a state of inflammation 75% of the time. I cannot pinpoint what food, vitamins, etc., make it worse. There is no rhyme or reason. It's not fibromyalgia, and I've had some blood work done for arthritis; nothing. So, I tend to read a lot of articles on the topic to see if something jumps out and applies to me. That's why I asked.

Can't really answer your question yet because I haven't got to that part of the book.?. Maybe I just skipped right over the inflammation parts. I guess I'm not reading in to it as much as you are. Sorry :( I did ask my co-worker and she did mention that Dr. Perricone mentioned the inflammation theory a lot in his books. He basically talked about foods you should stay away from. Foods that cause organ inflammation.

well then Joni.........I will try to find some time later or tonight to find some excerpts :)

Ok Joni.....here is one excerpt. I am getting more comfortable with this as I have read and re-read, and talked with my sister over this issue:

this is from page 74 if anyone is interested.

"At the intestinal level, foods can cause inflammation of your intestinal wall through such things as allergies, bacteria, or other toxins. When food incites inflammatory responses in your gut, it's as if a grenade has been launched thrroughout your digestive system (see figure 4.1 on page 81). Then in response to this already damaging grenade, your body tosses more grenades to create an apocalyptic digestive War of the Worlds. The effect is that the more inflammation we have in our intestines, the more toxins can enter our bloodstream.

During this firefight along the digestive border, your body perceives a foreign intruder and assigns its special forces--mast cells and macrophages--to eliminate the culprit. These are the cells that start and immune-response process throughout your body by ingesting foreign elements and alerting the rest of your body's protecting cells that intruders have entered the area. Foods that don't agree with your body's sensibilities are seen as foreign invaders, so the macrophages attack these foods and tell everyone that this war is going on. This causes your whole body to start firing away at these foods and at innocent bystanders--and thus causes inflammation in your bloodstream. (**this is the part that has me confused......the inflammation in the bloodstream...does he mean inflammation of the blood vessels???**) that way, eating unhealthy food is really like having a chronic infection that triggers an immune response, which then causes inflammation.

One of your body's goals is to get glucose into your brain cells--to feed those brain cells so that they can function. But inflammation in your body prevents sugar from getting to those cells, so you end up wanting more glucose and eating more sugary foods, which then increase inflammation and starts the whole cycle again. (**again, my question is, does he mean that sugar causes inflammation??**)

While we should be concerned about decreasing our body fat, we should also concentrate on decreasing our body's inflammatory response so we become more efficient in managaing potential complications of our waist size. There's some genetic component to inflammation (some of us have more than others, and smokers tend to have higher levels of inflammation that nonsmokers). Most important, the process of gaining weight if often a process of inflammation. YYOU-reka! When you decrease your body's inflammatory response, you will decrease your weight and waist as well.

The more inflammation you have, the less efficiently you use your food calories, and the worse you feel. The worse you feel, the more bad foods you eat to try to make yourself feel better. The more bad foods you eat, the less well you can respond to the normal stresses of life, and the more inflammation you experience. And the more inflammation you have, the higher your risk of developing:
*Diabetes
*High blood pressure
*bad choloesterol numbers
*and all f the other conditions that contribute to your increase in size and your decrease in health.

Plain and simple: Inflammation ages your body by making your arteries less elastice and by increasing atherosclerosis (the rusting of blood vessels). Inflammation also makes it more likely that your DNA will be damaged, and a cell will become cancerous. And it increases your risk of infections. If the inflammatory mediators are fighting in the arteries, they can't be defending elsewhere, and this situation increases the risk that your body will turn on itself, causing an autoimmune disease in which you attack your own tissues (for example,s ome forms of rheumatiod arthritis and thyroid disease).

Inflammation stresses your body.

Inflammation fattens your body.

Obesity isn't just a desease of doughnuts and bake ziti. Obesity is a disease of inflammation. As we travel through the rest of our digestive journey, we'll be stopping at three digestive landmarks to see how foods influence inflammation, and how inflammation influences fat."



Ok, I can try for more later.......it is pretty involved, but very very very interesting.

I will paraphrase a bit, as i looked toward the end of this chapter....he says these are foods that are known to help fight inflammation:
*Omega 3-Fatty acids....found in fish oils..he recommends three 4 oz. servings of fish per week, or a 2-gram fish oil capsule a day or an ounce of walnuts a day.
*Green Tea..."Studies have found taht drining three glasses of green tea a day reduced body weight and wasit circumference by 5 percent n three months. It also increased metabolism."

The authors also say the following substances MAY help fight inflammation:
*Beer (in moderation)
*Timeric--a pinch
*Jojoba Beans (they really are seeds)...dose is about 2.5 grams to 5 grams for most people (50 kilograms per kilogram of weight)

They also list the following they may have anti-inflammatory effects:

*Soybeans and all soy products
*Flaxsee, flaxseed oil, whole grains such as rye
*Tea, fruits, vegatables
*Cruciferous vegetables such as brocollli and cauliflower
*Rosemary
*Red wine, grapes, red or purple grape juice
*Dark chocolate
*Cabbage, spinach, garlic

Ok, ladies, I have to get back to my boys. Sorry if there are a ton of typos in here, I typed real real fast :) Does anyone have any comments on this inflammation theory. I realize that more info is needed, and I will try to add to it as time permits, but what is your gut instinct on this info????

Thanks for posting all this information. I'm not sure if I have a valid opinion to share. I need to pay attention to the foods to eat to decrease my inflammation and see if that helps...not so sure beer helps with the inflammation, except beer does act like a diuretic sometimes! Red wine sounds like it might be healthier in the long run over beer.

Nicole - have you checked any of the other threads at 3 Fat Chicks main site to see if anyone else is discussion the whole inflammation thing. You never know.

I have ordered the book and hope to get on the band wagon soon!

Already love it....Red wine helps fight inflammation...GREAT!!

debbie/nashville

Hey ladies.......
So I have been reading more of Dr. Oz, and I am beginning to understand the inflammation theory a bit better. When he is talking about inflammation in the bloodstream........he means the blood carrying hormones and chemicals that cause inflammation to tissues. And, he also means that the blood vessels can suffer from inflammation. I guess I tend to be a bit of a critic when I read medical stuff because of what I have been taught. I tend to get frustrated when people, ok, my mother, read something in the newspaper or hear it on the 10 o'clock news about a new health finding, and believe that it is an absolute truth and quit taking their prescibed medications or other drastic measures. What is usually is, is a great news story, with further investigation needed. So, while I am reading this book with a very critical mind, I am LOVING it. It has a lot of information that most diet and wellness books do not contain. The more you know.........

So, even if it seems too technical at times.......it is still good to read those parts, as they start to come together as you read on. Also, when you come across some of the chemical names or processes in other articles or books, you are already familiar with them, and you can be a good judge of what you are reading.

OK girls, I am so confused now, do I start over with LA, do I do Oz, or would something else work. I was on LA lost 30 and gained it all back plus more. I really can't decide what to do. Is Dr. Oz diet more of a life style change. Am I the only one who really gets confused on which plan to do? There are so many out there which one is the best? HELP

I haven't read the book-but so far it doesn't really sound like they are exclusive from each other. If you really want to cut out the HFCS-then don't do the lites . . But it seems like the "all food" plans would work . . .am I wrong, ladies?

I really like LAWL. I have decided to do LAWL for now, to lose.......and incorporate as many of Dr. Oz's ideas as possible. I do think it is possible to do both. I have not gotten to his actual diet yet..........so I may have more of a struggle with what to do at that time. I am thinking that his principles will really work well for maintainance. What do you other ladies think? Where are my book club friends today????

JM--I agree. I am not too far in but I think it's just about awareness--which is no different than LAWL. I know ME well enought to know that just because I should do something doesn't mean I will. I eat Yoplait yogurt EVERYDAY--it has the high fructose corn syrup--but it's not likely I will give it up. I haven't really seen anything new--just more information on the "whys".

Yeah-so far it sounds pretty similar to a book I read at least 10 years ago-8 optimem ways to good health (or something like that). The information doesn't seem new to me at all-but I read some of the reviews and it seems they present the information in a humorous way or something so it easier to "digest"-so to speak:D

OZ-Factoid: (the book is full of them)

When you lose weight without exercise, you lose both muscle and fat, but when you gain weight without exercise, you gain only fat. It's much easier to gain fat weight than it is to gain muscle weight, which is one of the reasons why yo-yo dieting fails so miserably: When you continually gain and lose and gain and lose, you end up gaining proportionally even more fat, because of the muscle loss that takes place every time you lose.

Oh-and Nicole-yes-it does seem like good ideas to incorporate now and at maintenence. If it was anything like the other book I read-it was too many new habits/changes for me all at once. Supplements, new foods, cutting out familiar foods. I tried to do it all at once and ended up getting frustrated and quit. So-maybe take a couple of the things that you can do on LAWL-selecting certain types of veggies, taking omega 3s, cutting out trans fats, etc . . . . .and then add in other things after these become second nature.

And if you're new to LAWL-focus on the plan for a few months til you are used to it and then add in Oz stuff gradually. LAWL is enough to handle for a newbie-don't want to get frustrated and stop doing all of it!

I am thinking I would be better off doing LA for now, even though I would be eating the wrong things on the label. What would be worse being 60 lbs over weight or eating a few items that are bad for you on the label

OZ-Factoid:
The difference between obese people adn thin people isn't the number of fat cells, it's the size of these cells. You don't make more fat cells the fatter you get; you have the same number of fat cells you had as an adolescent. The only difference is that the fat globules within ieach cell increase as you store more fat. Muscles work the same way: you don't make more muscle cells; the muscle cells get larger.

Lea Ann-yep-that's why they say if you were an overweight child-you will probably be an overweight adult. Can't get rid of those fat cells-unless you have lipo!

Jm--one thing I really like about the doctors' that wrote this is they are not obsessed with weight--just being healthy. A lot of it makes sense to me (probably because it's what I want to hear!) But one thing Oz talks about is everyone's "factory settings" and, for the most part, you can look at yourself around the age of 18 (as well as your parents) and get an idea of your personal settings. I have never been pole thin--even at 18--so it's just not in my makeup. He's also very anti-guilt--says you are chemically destined to make mistakes--make them and move on. It's not the first piece of pie that gets you, it's the 3rd, 4th, whole pie!

OUCH--no lipo for me! I hurt myself enough in daily living--I refuse to pay for someone to do it to me.

Wow!! I'm going to continue with the LAWL program, since it is also a plan based on a lifestyle change. When I get to my goal weight I will incorporate Dr. Oz's approach. It's a little similar to our diet..Food wise, right girls? I mean besides the HFCS and that other stuff. It's better to be informed about everything anyways. :)

I'm loving this fact....so true! It makes me want to workout a lot more than I have been!

Personally, for dh and I, we're going to incorporate Dr. Oz into LAWL as much as possible. Dh doesn't want to stop the lite completely, but we'll start using other bars without the HFCS. As for the omegas - we began taking those a few years ago. I especially like what he says about the walnuts and almonds before a meal. We used that trick on Southbeach and it really does work... but on LAWL, we don't need anything to curb out appetite when we already have trouble getting all the food in.
DH has already started on the treadmill 30 min a day... I'm getting a pedometer for both of us this weekend...
LAWL is about a lifestyle change and so is Dr. Oz... I think we can gleen from both and use it to our health advantage!
Blessings!

Pearl...who's the handsome guy on your avatar? DS? Nice picture! :)

Evette - That is my 16 yr old Joshua (Josh). I gave a little info on the other thread - forgot I posted here first :( sorry.

Your Joshua ( I LOVE THAT NAME!!!) is adorable!!! Way to go, Pearl!!! :)

Keep on posting - I'm learning so much! I love the saying "chemically destined to make mistakes--make them and move on." - I always knew those mistakes were not my fault!! LOL

I feel like this is the Cliff Notes for You on a Diet. Works great for me.

I have got to pick up this book you all have been talking about. Does it mention anything anywhere about artificial sweeteners. I have been trying ot use stevia to sweeten my tea and I have NOT been counting it as "artificial" because it is not made in a lab.

yes, Holly, he mentions artificial sweeteners. Let me see if I can find the chart he has.....ok, from page 98.

Stevia....a noncaloric natural herb. Taste isn't ideal, and stevia seems to lower sperm counts in some studies. For the taste and the potential side effects, no thanks. No diet drink is worth the potential of sterility.

also, from page 97

"Pick your poison. High amounts of sucrose (sugar) cause inflammation; you can reduce the effect by using alternative sweeteners. Besides causing sudden spikes in blood sugar, foods with high sugar content have high calorie content, and if not burned off or used as fuel, those calories will be stored as fat. While some sweetener are low or no calorie, there is a downside: Sweeteners found in diet soft drinks, in diet foods, and on restaurant tables next to the sugar packets go unrecognized by the brain. They're essentially invisible to your brains satiety centers, so it doesn't count them as real food and still desires to be fulfilled by calories somewhere else. There's no clear-cut proof of the effects of the4se sweeteners--either on a health level or on a weight-loss level--but we do know one thing: Prehistoric man wasn't putting Splenda in his water. Artificail sweeteners, while lacking calories, may have side effects like intestinal problems and headaches. If you're hving a hard time losing weight or don't feel well, these are some of the first things to cut out, even though they can be an alternative to high-calorie sugars. There's no clear-cut data on which sweeteners work most effectively, but here's how we rate them:

Sucralose--Splenda
Aspartame--Nutrasweet
Saccharin
Agave nectar
Stevia

k, ladies, I have to run my 16 DD to school, so I can fill in the details about each sweetener later :)

OZ: Eating strategies for YOU;
**eat throughout the day so that you are constantly satisfied
**inspect food labels, limit sat. fats to less than 4 grams per serving, avoid foods where high fructose corn syrup or simple sugars is one of the first five ingredients. You are avoiding simple sugars in foods not just because of the calories but because they induce highs and lows in blood sugar that put you into a cycle of craving more high calorie foods
**eat foods with fiber, healthy fats, whole grain carbs, and protein, as well as fruits and veggies. Eat a little healthy fat before your meal (handful of nuts) to allow the satiety signal to go from your brain to your stomach. Eat fiber in the morning to help control afternoon cravings. Eat anti-infalmmatory foods to help counteract the effects of obesity (green tea, omega-3 fatty acids, coffee, veggies, and fruit
**drink water before you eat
**keep emergency foods on hand that can help you kill cravings: V-8, carrots sticks, an apple, or Listerine breath strips
**2 spices have been shown to aid in waist management: red pepper and cinnamon
**realize it's okay to make mistakes. The key is getting back on the right road, not beating yourself up over them.
**use 9 inch plates for meals, smaller dinner plates equal smaller portions

Major YOU principles:
1. Dietary battles are won not when you work hard, but when you work smart.
2. Train yourself over fourteen days to make appropriate choices, and you'll reprogram your body so that you never have to sweat over what you're eating again.
3. Belly fat is one of the strongest predictors of health risks associated with obesity. Ditch the scale in favor of a tape measure.
4. To lose weight, you need to eat.
5. Enlist a friend, family member, or NEW CYBER BUDDY(YEAH!) as your partner.
6. As long as you quickly get back on the right road, you won't travel too far down the wrong one.

Activity strategies for YOU:
**walk thiry minutes a day every day, no excuses, then call and tell somebody
**do some strength training
**stretch every day after physical activity
**do this exercise anytime you want: suck in your belly button and squeeze your butt as if you are pulling up tight jeans, it helps with posture and strengthens your abdominals