In my final post on Dr. Michael Greger’s How Not to Diet: The Groundbreaking Science of Healthy, Permanent Weight Loss, I’ll cover the a few “tweaks” that he recommends to optimize a diet for weight loss. (He advises a consult with your doctor if you have any medical conditions or have difficulty with any of these recommendations.)

At Each Meal:

1. Drink 1-2 glasses of cool or cold water before eating.
2. Start each meal with “negative calorie” foods – e.g., an apple, a very light soup, or salad
3. Flavor meals (or a glass of water) with 2 teaspoons vinegar.
4. Focus on eating, not the TV, notepad, or smartphone.
5. Decrease bite size and eat slowly to allow for the 20 minutes necessary for your brain to catch up with your stomach.

Every day:

6. Take in 1/4 teaspoon black cumin powder.
7. Use 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder.
8. Use 1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper.
9. Eat 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast. (When pre-packaged, it’s usually near the spice section. Otherwise, check out the bulk foods section.)
10. Take 1/2 teaspoon cumin with lunch and dinner.
11. Drink water, black coffee, or hibiscus tea during meals. Drink 3 cups of green tea daily between meals, waiting at least an hour after you finish eating.
12. Drink a glass of water hourly, fitting in at least 8 cups throughout the day.
13. Eat whole (intact) grains to make your microbiome happy. Flour doesn’t count.
14. Have your largest meals earlier in the day. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper.
15. Confine your meals to a 12 hour window – e.g., 7:00am to 7:00pm.
16. Exercise 90 minutes daily. (For optimal results, wait 6 hours after your last meal – e.g., first thing in the morning.)
17. Weigh yourself regularly.
18. Work on establishing good habits (and breaking old ones) with a set of intentions – e.g., when I sit down to watch TV, I’ll drink a glass of water and work on a Sudoku puzzle to break the habit of snacking mindlessly. Take stock daily on how you’re doing. Adjust your list every 2 months.

Every night:

19. Fast after 7:00pm.
20. Get a good night’s sleep!

If any of these recommendations seems peculiar, I have a suggestion for you. Get a copy of Dr. Greger’s book and read it cover to cover! As I’d mentioned in the introductory post to this series, he provides nearly 5,000 citations of credible (vetted) scientific evidence for each one of his recommendations. And by investing the time to read this amazing book, it’ll help you reinforce your commitment to a healthier you!