Hourglass Diet

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Eat from the top of the Hourglass

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In the beginning

The Hourglass Diet is a new model for healthy eating, designed to encourage you to eat in a way that

• nourishes the cells of your body, and not just fill up your stomach

• restores key body systems to good health, and keep it that way.

• has you living closer to your ideal weight.

I've raked through dozens of diet books, toyed with the various diet philosophies - (like eating more or eating less high density carbohydrate, and eating more or less fat ...) and believe the Hourglass concept will provide you with some of the best information around.

I've come to the conclusion that the Diet Pyramid in its myriad forms no longer provides adequate guidance on how to eat wisely in an affluent society. If it did we wouldn't have the current epidemic of obesity and major body system dysfunction. Eating wisely is fundamental to the health of all major body systems.

Based on my observation, we need to focus on 13 food groups (this is a work in progress so the number might change) and not 3, 5 or 6 if we are to attain and then maintain an ideal weight and cope with the epidemic of body system dysfunction. This diet is neither a no-fat or no-carbohydrate diet. In fact what it aims to do is get the right mix between fat, protein and the very low, the low and high density carbohydrates, so that you get the essential nutrients your body needs without fattening yourself up. If you find it easy to put on weight, eat from the top of the Hourglass - steer clear of the refined garbohydrates, the cereal-derived, starch-based foods like bread, pasta, breakfast foods, biscuits and cake, and including sugar.

Once you've tried out the Hourglass way of eating you will be in a good position to decide exactly how to eat wisely for the rest of your life.

EAT AND GROW THIN

Apart from a lack of discipline, the current epidemic of obesity is caused by too much high density food (particularly the garbohydrates) and too little high density exercise.

If you're the average punter who spends one half of the waking day chained to a desk and the other half to a couch, the further down the Hourglass you eat the fatter you'll get.

By using the Hourglass Diet you can adjust your eating habits so you can  nourish the cells of your body, more easily maintain an ideal weight and have high levels of energy. If you can tame the insulin dragon fed by the garbohydrates ands stimulate the glucagon white knight you'll start to lose fat from your body and stave off diabetes.

If you eat from the green zone at the top of the Hourglass there is a good chance you will start to lose fat, particularly if you have a high density exercise program. By shifting the position of the dark lines you can choose whether to lose fat or gain it. 

The greater the proportion of your diet that you're getting from carbohydrates, particularly the high density garbohydrates the more inclined you are to becoming fatter.

Once you've got back to your ideal weight stick with meals that consistently have plenty of vegetables and fruit mixed with lean protein. The fat will look after itself.

The foods in the amber zone are made up of the cereals, the high density carbohydrates, being in the 1200 - 1500kj/100gms range. You know they're cereals because they look like chook food. They're rich in fibre, vitamins and phytoestrogens.

The foods in the red zone are the junk foods and junk meals; many of them manufactured from and with white flour and sugar. These are the foods in the 1000Kj/100gms - 2500Kj/100gms class, and we love them.

HUMAN INTERFERENCE INDEX (HII)

If there's any one index you ought to take note of it's the HI (Human Interference) Index. The more that humans buggerize around with food; refining it, heating it, putting it through a manufacturing process, adding preservatives, flavourings, colourings, sweeteners, emulsifiers, suffactants ..., packaging it, making it more appealing to the human fat tooth and sweet tooths, the greater the HI index and the higher the likelihood that the food is doing you harm.

GLYCEMIC INDEX

I lean toward the view that eating low glycemic index food will not only see you nourish yourself well but help you to maintain your idea weight.

Therefore, knowing what's high and low glycemic index food is of crucial importance. I believe low GI is below 30, (not as the experts say, 55). I believe that the expert's opinions are clouded by their adherence to the paradigm that eating plenty of flour, (and sugar, in moderate amounts), is good for you. I don't subscribe to that belief.

I believe that the naturopathic interpretation of how to eat wisely and maintain good body system function is superior to that of the nutrition industry. (You'll know whether an organisation has it's head screwed on right by their sponsors.)

I believe the basis of a good diet is fresh food.

I believe the foods on which our diets should be focused include

• water

• meat, fish, chicken, legumes and nuts

• vegetables

• fruit

• adequate fat

• fibre

• the essential vitamins, minerals, fats and glycoproteins

• 'octane boosting' nutraceuticals which enhance body system efficiency

• unrefined cereals.

The rest is junk! Want to know more about junk? Click here.

DIET BOOKS

There's millions of them. Want to see my selection and have the opportunity to purchase them, click here.

The books on my list represent the best books I've seen on the subject of how to eat wisely in an affluent society. I've selected them on the grounds that they will provide you with simple, straight forward, practical strategies for achieving your goal of being healthy and close to your ideal weight.

We've waded through dozens of books and picked out the best.  I believe that once you grasp the philosophies and stick with an eating plan that works for you, you'll soon be on the road to better health.

You'll be able to read the reviews and make a purchase.

John Miller

Physical educator

IN THE BEGINNING

In the beginning God covered the earth with broccoli and cauliflower and spinach, green and yellow and red vegetables of all kinds, so Man and Woman would live long and healthy lives.

Then using God's bountiful gifts, Satan created ice cream and doughnuts. And Satan said, "You want hot fudge with that?" And Man said "Yes!" and Woman said, "I'll have another with sprinkles." And lo they gained 10 pounds.

So God said, "Try my fresh green salad."

And Satan presented crumbled Bleu Cheese dressing and garlic toast on the side. And Man and Woman unfastened their belts following the repast.

God then said, "I have sent you heart healthy vegetable and olive oil in which to lightly sauté the wholesome vegetables."

And Satan brought forth deep fried coconut shrimp, chicken-fried steak so big it needed its own platter and chocolate cheesecake for dessert. And Man's glucose levels spiked through the roof.

God then brought forth running shoes so that his Children might lose those extra pounds.

And Satan came forth with a cable TV with remote control so Man would not have to toil changing the channels. And man and woman laughed and cried before the flickering light and started wearing stretch jogging suits.

Then God brought forth lean meat so that Man might consume fewer calories and still satisfy his appetite.

And Satan created the 99-cent double cheeseburger, and said, "You want fries with that?" And Man replied, "Yes! And super size 'em!" And Man went into cardiac arrest.

God sighed and created quadruple bypass surgery.

And Satan created HMOs (Medicare, Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme,  and bulk billing ... )

From Jenny Thompson 

http://www.hsibaltimore.com/hsiindex.html

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