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5 Skinny Habits diet plan rooted in ancient teachings

5 Skinny Habits
5 Skinny Habits

I recently got my hands on the book The 5 Skinny Habits by David Zulberg. The author's aim is to share "How ancient wisdom can help us lose weight and change our life forever."

The author, who had a weight problem at one time, tried a variety of ways to lose weight, as many of us do. He ended up digging deep into works of some ancient men he calls the "Master Physicians," visionaries who laid down basic principles of medicine, nutrition and fitness through several centuries.

Three stand out to him, and he gives some basic background information on them.

Moses ben Maimon (1135-1204) was a medieval Sephardic Jewish philosopher and Torah scholar known to the English-speaking audience by his Greek name Maimonides. In Cordoba (now Spain) and Egypt, he became a renowned expert in theology, law, medicine, philosophy, psychology, mathematics, languages and astronomy. He was a prolific author as well.

Hippocrates (460-370 B.C.) is remembered for the phrase "First do no harm." You'll find that sentence in the Hippocratic oath, which every new doctor recites upon graduation from medical school. He was a Greek physician considered "The Father of Medicine."

Galen (129-200) was a Roman physician, surgeon and philosopher. He's considered second only to Hippocrates in importance in the development of medicine.

The teachings of these masters span hundreds of volumes, but Zulberg pulled from them two basic principles that he used to form the foundation of The 5 Skinny Habits:

• Don't overeat.

• Exercise at the right pace.

Those principles are as valid as ever.

Zulberg's book goes into detail about what he gleaned from his research of their writings, and he explains how we can learn from these men and their principles.

For instance, he quotes Maimonides as saying that "changing your habits all at once results in illness." I have to agree somewhat. Trying to make too many changes all at once does make it easy to bottom out and become overwhelmed, which often leads to giving up.

The 5 Skinny Habits plan encourages habit formation and provides a method for following its principles. It is set up so that we make only one change each week, regardless of what we are doing before we start. Each habit is given a week, and you keep building on the new behaviors.

It seems to me to be a doable program that encourages those of us who feel the need to make changes to make them gradually. And you don't have to be one of the Master Physicians to understand and embrace them.

Habit 1: One of our daily meals should be a light meal with fewer than 250 calories. Options include making a meal of fruit, vegetables or other options.

Habit 2: Make one meal a day a lean protein and vegetable meal. And make sure to skip the starches and carbohydrates in this meal.

Habit 3: V-Plus meal. Here we adjust our remaining meal of the day, which could be lunch or dinner. The V-Plus meal should include one moderate helping of protein, one moderate helping of the starches or grains we like, and vegetables. But we can only have seconds on the vegetables.

Habit 4: Exercise. Zulberg recommends starting with 10 minutes of cardiovascular exercise three times a week, which will lay the foundation for creating a regular habit of exercising.

Habit 5: Substitution method. We have to find ways to address cravings for foods we don't need in a way that does not undermine our program.

Start by drinking water to see if that helps. Then if that doesn't work, try a low-fat or fat-free dairy food or a drink containing fewer than 120 calories.

If that doesn't work, try vegetables, and if they don't work, try some fresh or dried fruit. Just remember the sugars are more highly concentrated in dried fruit.

By Week Five, he says, we should have established five new healthy habits that can become a foundation for even more change.

LOOKING AHEAD

In my last column I wrote a bit about resolving to get healthier next year, and I mentioned I'd be glad to hear from you about your plans. You have been oddly silent, but the offer still stands.

Along with doing better overall with my eating and exercise programs next year, I am going to have to figure out what to do about my foot.

I've written about breaking the fifth metatarsal in my right foot in past columns. Readers will remember that I had surgery in February 2013 and then found three months later that the bone hadn't healed, not a rare occurrence when people have diabetes.

But more than a year and a half later, it's getting worse. Due to the weakness on the right side of the foot, I now walk on the outside of the foot all the time. My ankle stays swollen. I should have surgery.

So many people are struggling with insurance policies less generous than they once were, and sadly, I am among them. My deductible went up, which means that added to my list of physical resolutions is a financial one: I won't be able to afford surgery or medical care on the foot unless I can somehow manage to save money.

I try not to worry that I may continue to feel pain and discomfort for years to come, but the situation sometimes feels overwhelming. I know other people face similar tough times.

I do not want to be a sad person. So until I figure out what to do, or I win the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes, I will try to press onward in a positive way. That crazy foot may impede my mobility and keep me sidelined some days, but I won't allow it to steal my joy.

So Happy New Year and all that jazz!

Email me at:

rboggs@arkansasonline.com

ActiveStyle on 12/29/2014

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