Denise's Daily Dozen (8 page)

I limit my red meat intake to about once or twice a month and instead try to eat fish more often. But if you choose red meat, look for the leanest cuts and grass-fed meat; otherwise they can contain too much artery-clogging saturated fat. Beef eye round and top round, flank steak, pork tenderloin, lamb foreshank, and veal leg are excellent choices with no more than 25 to 30 percent of calories from fat. For any other cuts of meat, simply trim off any visible fat and pay attention to your portion size. Use skinless chicken and turkey to cut down on fat without cutting meat out. I often use ground turkey breast instead of ground beef to make spaghetti sauce, tacos, and sloppy joes, and swap savory chicken sausages for those made with pork.

Calcium-rich dairy foods like skim or low-fat yogurt, milk, and cheese are another good source of protein. Of course, you probably know that calcium-rich foods keep your bones strong and prevent osteoporosis, but they may also help you slim down—that is, if you choose the lowest-fat versions. Research reveals that people who get the recommended daily allowance (one thousand milligrams for those under the age of fifty and twelve hundred milligrams for those over fifty) lose more weight than people who get less calcium. Unfortunately, about 75 percent of American women don’t meet this requirement, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Though there are calcium-rich options for every meal of the day, breakfast is a great time to fill your diet with calcium: In addition to dairy foods, you can enjoy fortified breakfast cereals and juices.

Your Daily Dozen Proteins

DAILY DOZEN SERVING SIZE:
3–4 ounces of meat, fish, or chicken; 1 cup of dairy; ½ cup of beans/barley/lentils, etc.

PLANT SOURCES OF PROTEIN

almond butter

barley

beans

chickpeas

hummus

lentils

natural peanut butter

nuts

peas

quinoa

soybeans

tofu

FISH AND LEAN MEAT

chicken

duck

eggs

halibut

lamb

lean ground beef, turkey, or pork

mahi mahi (dorado)

pork

salmon

shellfish

steak

tilapia

tuna (fresh or canned in water)

turkey

veal

LOW-FAT DAIRY PRODUCTS

cheese

cottage cheese

cream cheese

skim milk

sour cream

yogurt

Healthy Grains

Whole grains are a diet essential because they help fill you up thanks to all the fiber they contain. Fiber works by turning on the “burn fat” signal in your body and acting as a multitasking marvel that fills you up, so you don’t fill out! Very simply, fiber takes up a lot of room in your stomach—think of it like a dry sponge that has been soaked in water—meaning fewer hunger pangs! It also lowers insulin levels. The hormone insulin is the blood glucose cleanup crew. When blood glucose rises after eating a high-carbohydrate meal, insulin rushes in, scooping up this glucose and depositing it in cells for use as energy. But if you can’t use it for immediate energy, it gets stored as fat. Thus you want to keep those glucose levels as stable as possible; fiber helps you do just that. In two different studies, fiber-champion cereals—oatmeal and bran—squared off against cornflakes, which are virtually fiber-free. After eating the high-fiber cereals, people were able to make it to lunch without feeling hungry. Those who started with cornflakes listened to their stomachs growl. Go fiber! This is why you’ll love the healthy grains I combined in the 4 Minute Grains cereal that you’ll have for breakfast a few days.

It’s important to know that there are actually two types of fiber. Soluble fiber is found in oats, barley, apples, pears, edamame and other soy products, dried beans and peas, and fruits. This type of fiber may reduce your risk of heart disease by mopping up artery-clogging cholesterol, and help prevent diabetes by regulating your glucose levels. Insoluble fiber is found in wheat bran, whole wheat products, and most vegetables. This type of fiber may alleviate constipation by helping wastes move through your system faster.

Your Daily Dozen Healthy Grains

DAILY DOZEN SERVING SIZE:
1 slice of bread, pita, tortilla, English muffin; ½–1 cup of cooked grains or pasta, cereal, or beans

GRAINS

barley

brown rice

buckwheat

bulgur

cereals made from healthy whole grain (such as Wheatina)

couscous

millet

oatmeal

popcorn

quinoa

wild rice

HEALTHY BREADS, ETC.

crackers

pasta

pita

rye and pumpernickel bread

spelt bread

sprout bread

tortillas

whole-grain English muffins

whole-grain waffles

whole wheat bread

A Dozen Tips from Denise: Simple Tips for Filling Your Life with Fiber

F
iber is super important for slimming down and sticking with your healthy eating goals. It’s also pretty easy to add more fiber to your life. You’ll be amazed how a few simple substitutions can help increase how much fiber you get in your diet and how full you feel. Try these tips and you’ll feel healthier and fabulous in no time!

1.
Swap cornflakes (zero grams of fiber in one ounce) for a bran-based cereal (five to fifteen grams).

2.
Instead of white bread, which has just one gram of fiber per slice, switch to whole wheat bread, which has two to three grams.

3.
Leave white rice and pasta behind and go for brown rice or whole wheat pasta. Some people think whole wheat pasta isn’t as tasty as white; experiment with different brands to find one you like.

4.
Fill a whole wheat tortilla (which has five grams of fiber compared with one or two in the white flour variety) with steamed veggies for a yummy, low-cal wrap.

5.
Eat fruit with breakfast every morning. Try berries with your cereal, slice a banana into yogurt, or add diced apples to oatmeal while it cooks.

6.
At lunchtime, bulk up your sandwiches by adding lettuce, tomatoes, and onions, and have a small salad or cut vegetables on the side.

7.
Throw a bag of mixed frozen veggies in the microwave for a veggie side dish that’s ready in minutes! Add vegetables to casseroles, soups, rice dishes, and baked goods—almost anything is better with more vegetables!

8.
Eat your beans. Throw half a cup (eight grams) of drained red kidney beans in your salads or in your chili to perk it up.

9.
Drink plenty of water as you work on increasing your fiber intake. At first you may feel bloated, and water helps move things along.

10.
Eat cut-up vegetables with hummus as a snack. Just one tablespoon has a gram and a half of fiber and 12 percent of your daily calcium needs. Plus it has compounds that fight heart disease and cancer.

11.
Remember that high-fiber carbs, like apples and oatmeal, are “good carbs” that’ll help you lose weight. Enjoy these fiber-full foods whenever possible!

12.
When reading food labels, look for those that have at least three grams of fiber per serving.

Healthy Fat

Though the word
fat
makes most people cringe, it’s actually an important part of your diet and a source of fat-soluble vitamins—A, D, E, and K. It will help you lose weight. The key is to make sure you’re eating the right kind. Good fat helps slow your stomach from emptying so you feel full longer. Healthy fats are those that are unsaturated such as monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are believed to reduce your cholesterol and have other health benefits. These good fats can be found in olive oil, nuts, avocados, flaxseed, other plant foods, and fish. Omega-3 fatty acids are also a good fat and are believed to reduce inflammation throughout the body. Studies suggest that omega-3 fatty acids can reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s and prevent arthritis pain. These healthy fats are also credited with helping to alleviate depression, allergies, and asthma—even with keeping hair looking and feeling soft and silky. Though you can find this nutrient in avocados and olive oil, it’s plentiful in fattier fish like salmon, herring, lake trout, sturgeon, bluefish, anchovies, and sardines. There’s also a plant form of omega-3 fatty acids called alpha-linolenic acid, which you can find in flaxseed and flax oil, canola oil, and soybean oil. Like fish oils, this fat has also proven to be heart-healthy.

The “bad fats” that you should avoid include saturated fats, the artery-clogging fat found in fatty meats, chicken skin, whole milk, cream, regular cheese, and butter. While it’s okay to have a little of this fat, too much raises blood cholesterol and promotes heart disease. Another bad fat is trans fat, which is found in the partially hydrogenated oils used in regular margarine and many processed foods. Trans fats may be even worse than saturated fats. While both raise blood levels of artery-clogging LDL cholesterol, only trans fat lowers levels of beneficial HDL cholesterol. I know it’s hard if you’re used to eating fatty foods, but once you replace them with the healthy stuff, you’ll hardly miss them!

Your Daily Dozen Healthy Fats

DAILY DOZEN SERVING SIZE:
1 teaspoon of olive oil or flaxseed oil, 2 tablespoons of avocado, 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons of nuts, 1–2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter

SOURCES OF UNSATURATED FATS AND OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

almond butter

avocado

canola oil

flaxseed

flaxseed oil

grapeseed oil

herring

mackerel

natural peanut butter

nuts

olive oil

salmon

seeds

sunflower oil

vinaigrette salad dressing (healthy oil and vinegar)

Water

Drinking water is a critical part of losing weight. Water doesn’t contain any calories, but it helps make you feel full. (Try sipping a glass right before meals to help you eat less.) Aim for at least eight 8-ounce glasses a day, because your cells cannot metabolize excess fat without water, and your organs cannot eliminate toxins without this miracle drink. Your body also needs water for digestion, temperature regulation, and much more. I always drink two glasses of room-temperature water when I get up in the morning. After sleeping for seven to eight hours, your body is dehydrated and craves water. I also suggest you drink a glass with each meal and snack and every fifteen to twenty minutes during a workout so that you’ll have more energy to finish your session (or even exercise longer than you planned!). Make it easy to access water by installing a filter in your water tank or on your kitchen faucet. I just did and it’s great. I fill up my reusable food-grade stainless-steel bottle so I always have a refreshing drink at hand. I mention stainless steel because though more research needs to be done, some experts believe plastic water bottles contain chemicals that may be harmful to our health. To play it safe, I’ve opted for stainless steel over plastic. It’s good for my family and the environment.

FRUIT SWAPS

You’ll be eating a lot of yummy, healthy fruit on the Daily Dozen Plan. But just in case one meal or snack’s fruit suggestion doesn’t work for you, you can swap it for one of the following. In other words, they’re all interchangeable. This way you still get your Daily Dozen Foods and stay within the right calorie count. You can even mix them up, if you like—for example, by having half a cup of raspberries and half a cup of blueberries, or a plum and a tangerine.

half a grapefruit

1 orange

1 cup pineapple

1 peach

2 plums

1 cup sliced kiwi