What is a good diet? tips on eating from Dr. Fung of the Obesity Code

The hypothalamus determines your body set weight.  Insulin makes the set weight higher.  When you diet and lose weight, your body tries to get you back up to your body set weight.

There isn’t a simple answer.  Obesity is genetics, exercise, calories, carbs, fiber, insulin resistance, sugar.  Most diets lose maximum weight at 6 months, with gradual regain.

For every person the reasons are multifactorial and different. The overall theme for him though is TO REDUCE INSULIN.

So what is your reason your insulin level is high?

• Do you eat too many refined carbs? (eat whole foods.)
• Are you insulin resistant? (try to reduce the number of meals and do intermittent fasting).
• Is your cortisol high? (exercise and meditate).
• Is your fiber level low? (eat more fiber).
• Are you sleep deprived? (sleep more)

His basic recommendations:

• Reduce sugar. Especially fructose, sucrose, and high fructose corn syrup. Focus on avoiding the added sugars (processed foods, scoops of sugar on the table, candy), not the sugar in natural whole foods.
  • Look for fructose, maltose, dextrose, molasses, honey, cane sugar, corn syrup, corn sweetener, hydrolyzed starch, any kind of syrup,and agave nectar.
  • Sauces have lots of sugar usually. BBQ, Spaghetti sauce, salad dressings, ketchup.
  • Dessert. If you do it, best is fresh fruit with whipped cream, or nuts (monounsaturated fat, no carbs, high in fiber) and cheeses. If you need chocolate, do dark chocolate. (It is has fiber and antioxidants. milk chocolate does not.)
  • DO NOT REPLACE WITH ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS.
• No snacking.
  • Are you hungry or are you bored?
  • Most snacks are processed and sugar filled. You need to let your insulin levels go down between meals to avoid insulin resistance.
• Breakfast ONLY if you are hungry.  When you do eat it, make it small, and protein filled. Don’t reach for anything packaged.
  • Eggs are awesome. antioxidants which protect your eyes, vitamins, minerals, and protein. Their cholesterol may lower your overall blood cholesterol.
  • If you eat cereal, it should have less than 4 grams of sugar per serving.
  • Yogurts- only unsweetened.
  • Oatmeal- the long cooking time oats.  Instant oatmeal loses the fiber, and has added sugar and flavors.
• Drinks.  No sugar added.
  • No soda, shakes, sweetened tea, juice, smoothies, vitamin water, lemonade, iced coffee, flavored milk, hot chocolate, mochas, sweetened coffee, wine coolers, ciders, maragaritas, dessert wines.
  • So what is left?
    • Water. Plain or sparkling. Add a slice of fruit or cucumber.
    • Coffee.  Recent studies show it protects against type 2 diabetes.  Has antioxidants. But don’t add stuff to make it unhealthy.
      • Okay to add: cinnamon, coconut oil, vanilla or almond extract, cream.
      • Don’t add: sugar, sweetener.
    • Tea.  Anytime, hot or cold.  Okay to flavor with lemon, orange, cinnamon, vanilla, cardamom, mint, or ginger. Do not add sugar.
      • Black, Oolong are fermented, higher caffeine. Antioxidants.
      • Green tea not fermented. lower caffeine. lots of antioxidants.
      • Herbal tea- not true teas, but good drinks without added sugar. They are plant matter in hot water.
    • Alcohol. Seems to have little effect on insulin secretion or insulin resistance. Red wine.
    • Bone broth.
      • Yes, I can’t see drinking this out of my coffee cup.  But it is high in amino acids, minerals, and calcium.  He recommends adding a tiny vinegar to help get more good stuff out of the bones.
      • Avoid commercially prepared broths- they aren’t nearly as good as the homemade variety.
• Avoid refined grains.
  • Whole wheat and whole grains are a little better than white flour, but is still highly processed. Stone mill grinding is a little better.
  • No bakery foods.  Yup. NO bread/bagel/muffin/roti/rolls/crackers/tortillas/cake/cupcakes.
  • No pasta and noodles.
  • What can you eat?
    • natural carbs in veggies.
    • quinoa
    • chia seeds
    • beans
• Protein, but in moderation.
  • No protein shakes, powders, or bars.
• Increase eating natural fats. It is the least likely to stimulate insulin.
  • Examples: virgin olive oil, butter, coconut oil, lard.
    • AVOID: processed vegetable oils.
  • Nuts
  • Full fat dairy.
  • Avocados.
• Increase fiber. It “protects” against insulin spikes.
• Vinegar. Another “protector.”
  • Think adding rice vinegar to sushi rice, or balsamic vinegar to dip your bread in.