High fiber diet vs low-carb, many questions here?

Have you talked to your doctor about “net carbs”? I have a co-worker who is a diabetic (also Type II), and he is allowed to eat fruits, vegetables and whole grains. He says the doctor told him to look at the “net carbs,” which I believe is the total carbohydrate grams minus the grams of fiber. This computation makes sense if you look at the latest diets like The Abs Diet and South Beach. You get carbs on these diets, but most of them are high in fiber like whole grains and fruits and vegetables (mostly beans and legumes).

Here is a diet that I used and lost 20 pounds in a little over a month. According to my diabetic co-worker, it’s OK for someone who is Type II diabetic:

1. You MUST exercise if you want to lose weight and keep it off, so do something every day, even if it’s just a 15-minute walk around the neighborhood. Don’t say you don’t have time for exercise; you have to MAKE time. Yes, it takes time and effort, but you’re worth it, right?

2. Walk as much as you want, but don’t do cardio for more than 40 minutes at a time. If you do, you risk burning muscle instead of fat.

3. If you do strength training, use light weights and do lots of repetitions. That’ll really help you “tone up.”

4. Your diet will make you or break you. You have probably learned bad eating habits over time (most people do). That’s not your fault, but now you have to deal with it. Make a commitment to yourself to unlearn those bad habits and re-learn better habits.

5. Eat breakfast every day within an hour of getting up. People who don’t are 450% more likely to be overweight.

6. Eat six small meals or snacks per day instead of three squares per day or one big meal per day. Your body expends energy digesting your food, so eating smaller portions more often keeps your metabolism running high because you’re constantly digesting food.

7. Avoid these as much as possible:

– Trans fat (any type of partially or fully hydrogenated oil)
– High fructose corn syrup (soft drinks are LOADED with it)
– Fast food
– Junk food
– White sugar, white flour, white rice, white potatoes
– The deadly C’s (cookies, cakes, candy, chips, cola)

8. Build your diet around these trim-body-friendly foods:

– Nuts, any kind (almonds are best)
– Beans/Legumes
– Fresh vegetables (green is GREAT!!!)
– Dairy products (as long as they’re low-fat or non-fat)
– Eggs
– Lean meats (fish and poultry top the list)
– Olive oil
– Whole grain breads/cereals/pasta
– Fresh fruits (anything that ends in “berry” is a winner)
– Tea (green tea or black pekoe tea)
– Cold water or ice water (your body has to expend extra calories to heat it up)

9. Desserts and treats are the exception, not the rule. Having said that, however, (1) you can have a couple of pieces of chocolate every day – just don’t overdo, and (2) Allow yourself one “cheat meal” every week where you eat and drink whatever you want as long as you don’t gorge yourself. That’ll help keep you from feeling deprived and it’ll make it easier to stick with your new healthy eating plan.

Good luck!

I always recommend to my clients that they don’t focus on calories or their weight in pounds. Focus on eating healthy foods, foods that are real. Real food doesn’t come in a box, can or package.

If you go into a grocery store and shop along the outside aisles you will see meat, fruit, veggies, and dairy products. These are all real food.

I also tell my clients to eat smaller meals more times (5-6) per day. When a body is starved it will store fat. When it believes that times are good (when it’s being feed good nutrition often) it will release fat.

I have written a page focusing on a 3 pronged approach dealing with Detoxing, Nutrition and Exercise.

Good luck!