DrCarney.com Blog
Losing Weight With Chef AJ is Fun and Delicious!
Have you tried counting calories and carbs to lose weight...but have failed...only to gain back the weight you lost...plus more? Because calorie-restricted diets still allow high-fat, calorie-dense and highly-palatable meals containing animal products, processed foods, sugar, salt, and oils...the root of the problem (food addictions) is not resolved. Any weight that is lost is only temporary. These foods not only trigger over-eating, they lack sufficient fiber and micronutrients that the body needs in order to resolve the addiction. (It would be like telling an alcoholic to cut back from 8 glasses of alcohol a day to 4 glasses. Addictions are not resolved until the addictive substance is removed.) Ultimately, these diets focus primarily on weight loss, not on supporting optimal health. Counting calories/carbs, exercising intensely and practicing extreme willpower will last for a short period of time, but eventually, hunger (and grouchiness) takes over and you return to your old eating habits.
On the other hand, a whole-food, plant-based diet does not involve calorie/carb counting, weighing and measuring food portions, intense exercise or extreme self-discipline. By filling our plates with delicious, natural plant foods, our hunger drive is satisfied, our blood sugar levels remain steady, we feel full longer, our fiber and micronutrient needs are met, our food addictions are resolved and we don't feel deprived. Permanent weight loss OCCURS NATURALLY as a result of nourishing every cell in our body with life-giving foods. Conversely, calorie/carb restrictive diets focus on quick (temporary) weight loss while consuming disease-promoting foods.
In the video below, Chef AJ demonstrates this concept. Diets fail because they involve eating LESS; whereas a plant-centered diet involves eating MORE. More foods such as whole unprocessed grains, beans/legumes, starchy vegetables, colorful fruits and vegetables and the addition of a small amount of nuts/seeds. Although salt and sugar are optional condiments that can be used sparingly to enhance the flavor of our meals, Chef AJ prefers to eat a salt and sugar-free diet. (See my Starch-Smart System for more details.) Recently, Chef AJ decided to omit nuts from her diet as well. She explains in her video that a plant-based diet includes some nuts (raw and unsalted) and that they provide valuable nutrients; however because of her tendency to overeat higher-calorie/fat foods like nuts...it kept her from reaching her personal weight goal.
One of the weight-loss techniques Chef AJ demonstrates is to fill up on calorie-dilute foods first such as steamed vegetables or a fresh green salad. This fills the stomach with minimal calories. She then adds foods that are higher in calories, like beans, starchy vegetables, grains and fruit. Filling the stomach completely triggers the stretch receptors within the stomach. These receptors signal the brain that we are full, which prevents overeating. Calorie-restrictive diets do not completely fill the stomach, so we continue to crave more food because the hunger drive has not been satisfied. Completely filling the stomach with a meal consisting of animal products, oils and refined foods, can involve thousands of calories while a plant-based meal completely fills the stomach with only 300-500 calories.
Losing weight shouldn't involve having to count and measure food and/or not satisfying the hunger drive. There simply isn't a need to count calories when we're consuming the right foods. Losing weight is as simple as eating whole, natural, health-supporting foods. Moreover, eating a plant-based diet is a permanent lifestyle change. It not only fills the stomach, it supports excellent health and addresses the root of the problem. By nourishing our bodies with foods that it was designed to eat, permanent weight loss is easily achieved. My website is filled with valuable information and resources regarding food addictions, toxic hunger, calorie density, and which foods trigger food addictions...just click on the links below.
(1) Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind
(2) Which Foods are the Most Popular?
(3) What do 500 Calories Look Like in the Stomach?
(4) How Stomach Receptors Help us Lose Weight
(5) How Industries Keep You Coming Back for More
(6) The Smoke and Mirrors behind Wheat Belly and Grain Brain
(7) Calorie Density = Key to Permanent Weight Loss
(8) Why You Should Stop Counting Calories To Achieve Long-Term, Permanent Weight Loss
(9) Junk Food = Drug of Choice
(10) Why Dieting Doesn't Work but Eating Healthy Does
(11) The Pleasure Trap
(13) True Hunger vs Toxic Hunger
(14) Consuming Refined Sugars "AGES" Your Body
(15) Toxic Hunger Creates Food Addictions
(16) Why do we Crave High Glycemic Foods?
(17) Are all Carbs Bad?
(18) Thousands of Vegans Studied
(20) Effects of Sugar Similar to Drug Addiction
(21) Fatty Foods Dull our Dopamine Reward System
(22) The Healthiest Diet for Weight Control
(23) The Chef and the Dietitian cooking demos
Video Credit - Easy Meals to Make You Thin
Preview the "Why We Do What We Do?" Trailer
Controlling Cravings: Have you ever asked yourself "Why did I eat that?" Get science-based answers, now! Gain freedom from addictions. Understand underlying causes. Make lasting changes more easily than ever. Strengthen your ability to choose healthy foods through empowerment from Dr. Carney's Starch-Smart® System. Let's boost your 'biochemical willpower' for good. Help is here, from Linda Carney, MD, for all who struggle with bad habits, food fixations, and cravings.
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