Available at ADD Consults Store

Eat the perimeter of the food store

After last month’s article on the Polar Heart Monitor, I got a number of emails pointing out that exercise is not the only element in maintaining good health. 

How true!  How true!

As I said last month I had to start ‘dropping the Big Macä and picking up the vegetable’s.  Which leads me to this month’s discussion. 

But, before we start, a disclaimer …

The discussion that follows reflects my results and is not to be taken as a professional medical recommendation.  Everyone, I repeat, everyone must seek professional medical advice, counsel and guidance prior to changing their diet or beginning an exercise regimen.  Everyone!

OK, now that we have the disclaimer out of the way, let us begin.

I am not a fan of diets – period.  I do not believe that you can radically alter part of your eating (remove all sugars, remove all protein, eat only grapefruit, don’t eat fruit, etc.) and have that be healthy.  Plus, studies have shown that in time, people give up on diets and gain back more than they lost.

So … what to do … change your diet versus go on a diet. 

As I have said, drop the Big Mac’s and pick-up something whole and healthy. 

Sounds good … but … who, what, when, where and how. 

That is where a dandy little book I found comes in handy, Ultra-Metabolism, by Mark Hyman, M.D.  (In order to make things simple for you, I have asked Terry to make this book available at the ADD Consults Store.) 

Why am I recommending this book … because, if I find something that accomplishes the “Makes Life Simple” objective, I become an evangelist (with no strings attached, i.e., no paid endorsements) for that product or process.  And this book has made eating better, losing weight, and feeling better simple for me.

However, if you are like most folks with ADD or ADHD you are not looking forward to sitting down and reading a 354-page book on why diets don’t work and how you should change what you eat.  Right?  Right!

Therefore, let me give you the skinny on what I found to be the most useful parts (the pages I have ‘dog eared’) of the book and thus cut your reading by 84%.

The UltraMetabolism Reading Outline

q       Read chapter 1 (18 pages)

q       Read the summaries at the ends of chapters 2 through 7 (7 pages)

q       If after reading the summary for chapters 2 through 7 you are intrigued go back and read the entire chapter.

q       Read pages 73 and 74. (2 pages)

q       Read the summary at the ends of chapters 8 through 15 (8 pages)

q       If after reading the summaries for chapters 8 through 15 you are intrigued go back and read the entire chapter.

q       There are self-assessments, that you may find useful on the following pages throughout chapters 8 through 15,

o       page 86

o       pages 100 – 102

o       pages 112 – 113

o       pages 130 – 131

o       pages 147 – 148

o       pages 158 – 159

o       pages 175 – 176

o       pages 190 – 191

q       Read chapter 17 (8 pages)

q       Other pages worth reading and bookmarking,

o       pages 95 – 99 (5 pages)

o       pages 212 – 217 (6 pages)

q       The following pages are the key to my new eating habits

o       pages 242 – 249 (8 pages)

o       pages 279 – 282 (4 pages)

There you have it – 66 pages to read, and you have the essence of the concept of eating whole, natural and healthy food.  Said another way, eat the food you find in the perimeter of most food stores.  Avoid the processed foods you find in the center or aisles of the food stores.

Several friends asked what I eat now?  Do I make only the recipes in the book?  Actually, I have not made one recipe in the book.  Some of my friends have and love them.  However, the following summaries my new eating habits.  As always, these do not represent endorsements, nor do I receive endorsements for my recommendations.  This is just my list that I have shared with some other friends –

Keys to my success with the change in diet and eating habits:

- Dietary fiber before meals.

- Green & Black's Organic Bittersweet Chocolate with 70% Cocoa

- Kavli Crispy Thins (crackers)

- Ryvita Dark Rye (crackers)

- Kashi snack bars and cereal (not perfect products, but they fill in the need for snacks and cereal)

- Woodstock Farms Classic Peanut Butter (there are several types of natural peanut butter, try them until you find something you like) what is nice about this product is it does not separate like most natural peanut butters.

- Green Mountain Gringo Salsa (yes, chips are bad, but if you get whole grain and good natural salsa you are better off than Doritos)

- Bella-Famiglia Pasta Sauce (Arrabbiata is my favorite) with whole grain pasta or gluten free pasta

- Bags of nuts from Costco (Kirkland brand)

- Fresh fruit – apples, pears, oranges, grapes, bananas, strawberries, blueberries, etc.

- Brown or wild rice only

- NO BREAD (even 99 grain)

- NO SWEETENERS PERIOD (there is more than enough natural sugar in things ... if you need sweet, get natural sweets)

- Olive oil for everything

- Foster Farms Grilled Chicken Strips, pre cooked and frozen from Costco (great as they are, in salads, stir fry, etc.)

- Lunch idea, 3 or 4 dark rye crackers with horseradish cheese spread, a couple of slices of ham, or a strong mustered, slice of cheese, couple slices of ham versus a bread sandwich

In summary, if you want to have a positive impact on your weight and how you feel, give Ultra-Metabolism a read.  My change in diet and some exercise has allowed me to lose over 40 pounds over the last eight months as well as get all my blood chemistry back in line.  While I cannot guarantee that you will fall in love with this approach like I did, at least by picking up the book to look at it you had to set down the fast food burger … and that is a step in the right direction according to my doctor!

Cheers,

Mark Smith

For over 20 years, Mark has worked with major corporations developing go-to-market strategies, writing business plans, clarifying messages, designing software and websites, simplifying business processes, critiquing product value and applying technology to simplify both industry and individual’s lives.  Mark believes that technology, in all its forms, should be an enabler to make life simpler.  Products should be intuitive and not require the manual (to set the VCR clock).  After all, technology should not aggravate that little bit of ADD - AD/HD in all of us.

As a strategy and process simplification consultant, international lecturer, and author; Mark has been assisting corporations, government agencies, start-ups, and individuals that want to use technology to add value and keep it simple for that little bit of ADD – ADHD in all of us.

Mark can be reached at mark@OpenGateAdvisors.com or at his blog www.alittleADHD.com.