Have you heard of ‘The Best Life Diet’ by Bob Greene? He is the personal trainer to Oprah Winfrey and is a well-known author. His diet is a plant-based food diet and has a set amount of meals per day to stop unwanted snacking habits. Exercise is also gradually added and increased in intensity during the diet to ensure that weight loss goals are achieved.
Bob Greene recommends that you consume three main meals per day and at least 1 snack to ensure picking at foods and unhealthy habits stay are avoided. The amount of calories that you consume per day sits between 1500 – 2000 calories depending on the amount of physical activity you participate in.
This will help you to lose between 1 – 2 pounds per week or 500g – 1kg as long as you follow the guidelines in the meal and exercise plans.
Three Phase Diet
The diet contains three phases to help achieve weight loss and teach you about healthier eating choices and habits. This diet is known to be more of a lifestyle choice rather than a quick dieting fix as the steps help you to gradually lose the weight and keep it off.
This diet is designed to be paired with exercise so if you aren’t willing to participate in any physical activity then this diet is not for you. Around one hour per day of exercise is needed to fulfill the recommendations for the diet. This means it can be time-consuming but highly rewarding if you are willing to put in the effort.
Phase 1
In phase one the objective is to start small and not do anything excessive at this point. This is where many people on unstructured diets go wrong by too severely altering their diets, too quickly. Start by making sure you have three main meals per day and add one healthy snack to keep you sated.
This stage lasts on average 4 weeks depending on whether or not you are losing weight. If you are losing around one pound a week or more it is recommended that you stay on stage one until this slows or stops.
During stage one, you are also required to give up and add a few extra things to help kick start your journey.
These include:
- Drinking a glass of water before every meal
- Stopping eating 2 hours before sleep
- Ceasing drinking alcohol (for now)
- Adding a multivitamin, omega-3, and calcium supplement if you haven’t already done so.
Phase 2
Phase two is where the diet starts to get a little more intense and you are required to add a little more effort. This phase should also last around 4 weeks, although if you haven’t reached your ideal goal weight then you should stay on this stage until you reach your goal.
Weekly weigh-ins are needed in this phase to keep track of your weight loss and know what stage you should be up to. Exercise levels are increased in this stage as well as ditching some of the more unhealthy foods from your diet including foods with higher fat content.
Adding more fruits and vegetables along with lean meat and protein will help with your weight loss goals and keep you feeling full and satisfied. When you reach your desired weight you will then progress to stage three.
Phase 3
In the last phase, it is all about maintaining and ensuring that you stay at your ideal weight. This phase will give you the tips and tools you need to live a healthy life worry-free from weight gain. In this phase, you are allowed to re-introduce, on occasion only, some of the foods that you had to eliminate in stages one and two. These are only allowed to be had on special occasions or as a treat including alcohol or takeaway food.
You should aim for a healthy ratio of foods – 20% protein, 30% healthy fats and 50% healthy carbohydrates. Focusing the diet around fruits and vegetables will help to ensure good choices of foods although remember to only eat small portions of starchy foods like potatoes and corn.
There are a number of things to avoid in this diet to ensure weight loss is achieved and a healthy weight is maintained.
Avoid the following foods and beverages at all costs:
- Fried foods and takeaways
- Soft drinks and sugary drinks (including diet)
- Dairy products high in fat
- White bread and regular pasta
- Trans fat foods
- Alcohol and caffeine (at the start, later these may be reintroduced as treats).
This program has been very well designed to give you all the right tools and informed choices to help you reach your weight loss goals. Just remember to follow the guidelines to maintain your healthy lifestyle.
