If you have accidentally found Part Three without having read Part One and Two of "The Diet that Really Works," please go back and read those first. As I keep pointing out, most diets are available at a cost, this eating plan is free and really will work, so bookmark this page, practice the simple plan and when it does work for you, send the address to all your friends. In this section I will talk about what not to eat and a little bit more on when to eat.
Refined sugar finds its way into almost everything we consume. Some natural sugars are useful as part of a healthy diet but these are contained in the healthy carbs (discussed in Part Two) that we already eat. Scour the labels of everything you buy, not the nutritional information, although this can be useful for a general idea of content, but the ingredients. Look out for sugars high on the list, this means there is more of that ingredient than others, be careful of hidden sugars, sugar by another name - sucrose, fructose, syrups, etc, and be especially wary of man made sugars such as high fructose corn syrup. These are the stealth bombers of food manufacturers. They hide everywhere in our diets and are the most destructive forces on our healthy eating plans. Even "health foods" and "diet foods" can contain this insidious enemy, be careful when choosing protein supplements, they often conceal large sugar deposits. I was disgusted recently to find that almost every mainstream breakfast cereal, even the supposed diet ones, contain high fructose corn syrup. Most sodas and juices also have high quantities of the stuff. This manufactured sugar is extremely hard for your body to metabolize and will be stored as fat because the body does not know how to react to it. These fatty deposits remain unburned in (or on) your body much longer and more persistently than any other fat store. If you take one piece of advise from this whole diet, take this one. Go through the food in your fridge and cupboards, find anything with high fructose corn syrup in it and throw it away. By cutting this vile product alone your weight will probably stabilize and may even drop! I didn't intend to recommend or advertise any particular brand of product in this article but on the subject of breakfast cereals I must applaud Kashi's line of high fiber, high protein, wholegrain rich and sugar free cereals.
Fat from diet can account for a large percentage of the fat on our bodies. The easy way to stop adding to this is to stop eating it. Sounds simple, huh? But some fat in our diet is required. The best types of fat are found in olive oil and olive oil products. These are not only "good" fats, but they help clear out "bad" fats from our system. This leads not only to the desired weight loss but also to better general health, lower blood pressure, reduced risk of heart attacks and stroke, some even report increased longevity. Wherever possible replace oils and fats with an olive oil based product, when it is not possible, i.e. at MacDonald's, forego the food entirely. There are also several types of spread that are made from olive oil or have it as a primary ingredient, these should replace butter or other margarine products. Some of the other oils required in our diet should be consumed in the form of nuts. These are also in high protein and a handy snack for times when a full meal is not possible, but beware salted, highly processed nuts. Try to opt for natural unrefined brands instead, where ever possible. Also keep an eye on the portion size, a small amount of nuts can contain a huge amount of calories, so don't get too carried away with them. As with high fructose corn syrup in sugars, there are a type of man made fats that are equally pervasive, equally destructive and equally difficult to shift, once consumed. These are known as trans fats, or hydrogenated fat. Avoid these like the plague. Keep reading the ingredient labels, you will find these lurk everywhere too.
As mentioned in Part One, when you eat is as important as what you eat. You should be having a small meal or large snack every two hours and a total of six "eats" a day. You should keep your carb heavy meals to the early part of the day, so that you will burn off their quick release energy through your active period, not store it as you slow down later in the evening. A good breakfast incorporating high fiber, protein, calcium and the bulk of your days carbs will kick start your metabolic rate, accelerating it for the rest of the day and give you a nice boost of energy to get going on. Gradually through the day you should cut back on the carbs, particularly dry carbs, and opt for higher protein parts of the diet. Sometimes it will be difficult to find time for six "eats" a day and sometimes you will still be feeling un-hungry two hours after you last ate, but in order to get your metabolic rate as pumped up as possible you should try to stick to this routine. Smaller "eats" could include protein shakes or bars, a handful of nuts, some healthy cereal, a few pieces of fruit, a small plain yogurt, some cottage cheese on wholegrain bread, or, one of my favorites, a healthy variation on a PB & J sandwich. This is natural unsweetened peanut butter, good for protein and healthy oils, some raspberries squashed into a jelly-like consistency, but naturally sweet not high sugar like jars of jelly, all on a high fiber, wholegrain bread. This is accompanied by a large serving of fat free milk, more protein, plus some calcium, to make an awesome, tasty, super healthy snack.
