You: On a Diet - Better Living Through Biology

Over the weekend I read an interesting article in the May issue of Esquire on what the authors called "The Definitive Guide to Better Living Through Biology." As they put it, the article and their new book You: On a Diet is "about doing things - easy things - that will naturally bring you to your ideal, healthy weight."

Here is the list:

-Eat a handful of walnuts, hazelnuts, or almonds about 30 minutes before a meal.

-Do not overdue dieting - simply try to cut out 100 calories a day. Generally speaking this will make you loose 10 pounds a year. Any greater cuts in calorie consumption will slow your metabolism and be less effective.

-Since the same part of the brain is responsible for thirst, hunger, sleep and sex try drinking water, sleeping or having sex the next time you get hungry.

-Eat Fiber before 10AM. This keeps you full for longer.

-Walk for 30 min a day (no breaks no stopping)

-Stretch

-Work out an hour after eating

Breakfast:

-Don't eat breakfast until you actually feel like you need it (this goes against other nutritional advice I've read elsewhere)
-Eat high fiber/high protein breakfasts (if you add spicy red peppers you'll get full faster)
-Coffee with no sugar or cream (skim milk is OK)

Lunch:

-Don't wait until you are starving to eat lunch

-Eat Salad, non-creamy soups, a little chicken/fish/turkey, wheat breads

-Stick with oil and vinegar based dressings

Dinner:

-Eat at least 3 hours before you sleep

-Skip bread with butter and desert

-Avoid white foods (potatoes, pasta)

-Load up on colored vegetables (carrots, greens, tomatoes)

-Small amounts of meat or fish

-Drink during or after your meal, not before

-Drink only high quality alcoholic beverages

Ingredients to avoid ("If any of the following ingredients is one of the first five listed, the food is crap."

-Enriched Grains

-Bleached Flour

-Corn Syrup, Malt Syrup, Maple Syrup

-Anything ending in OSE (e.g. Fructose)

-Animal Fats (e.g. lard)

-Coconut Oil, Palm Oil

-Hydrogenated Oils (AKA trans fats)