Diet+Keys

Doctor Kies' Diet Keys

Weight loss is not the goal: The goal is to feel better, be healthier and live longer - to die "young" as late as possible.

Don't skip meals (part of survival managment).

"Later" is easier than "no".

Spoil your supper. We've all heard it takes 20 minutes for your stomach to feel full. Give it a head start by eating a snack before supper. A healthy snack is best, of course.

Don't drink your calories. Your body/brain doesn't register a chocolate milkshake as "food" and make you feel full.

Faster losers are faster gainers

Little changes add up. Change to a higher fiber bread. Switch your morning cereal from corn flakes to Cheerios. Drink 1% milk instead of 2%. Switch from potato chips to popcorn. Keep the salad dressing on the side and dip the corner of each bite of salad into it. Read the labels and choose the lesser of two "evils".

Humans are lazy - use that to your advantage. Move the candy dish from your desk to the book shelf across the room. Keep the leftover Halloween candy in the freezer. Put the bowl of vegetables on the dining table but leave the extra meatloaf and mashed potatoes in the kitchen. Don't eat straight out of the bag.

Exercise doesn't work. More correctly, exercise by itself isn't enough to lose weight - you have to change what you eat, too. Exercise boosts metabolism and energy, helps sleep, improves arthritis and does other great things. And it does burn calories. But to burn off the calories of a single cheeseburger, the average person would have to jog for at least 30 minutes. A milkshake would require an hour.

Pay attention to what you eat. Slow down and enjoy your food. And don't eat while distracted. Too many of us sit down in front of the TV with a bag of potato chips and find ourself with an empty bag by the end of the game without realizing it. Save your calories for something you'll really enjoy.

Keep a food diary. Like other "survival" activities like breathing, eating tends to be an automatic process and so we don't do a good job of keeping track of what we eat. Writing down what you eat every day for a week will, by itself, make most people lose a little bit of weight. Of course, the real benefit is seeing the patterns of what you eat frequently that you can change for the better.

Restaurants are evil.

Your body will fight you. Your body thinks a famine will come, just like our ancestors had to survive many times in the past. If you lose the weight too quickly, are stressed, or not getting enough sleep, your body will shift into survival mode - slowing down your metabolism and making you crave high calorie foods. Recognize this.

Get more sleep. Going to bed just an hour earlier and getting more sleep boosts the metabolism and calms