part0028

The Superfoods diet is so successful because it allows people to cycle their diet every day, so they never felt like they’re suffering. They know that their next regular meal is only a few hours away. Cycling means that the dieter will have one meal with the regular food outside of the diet.

You know that eating refined foods, processed foods, and fast foods has brought you here. During a celebratory meal (hey, every day is a celebration!), you should make choices that fall on the “healthy side” of celebratory. With time, you will completely switch to a “Superfoods only” lunch or dinner. That doesn’t mean that you can’t have an occasional fast food meal in Phase 1, but make sure that your choice is a healthy, clever choice. There is a huge range of fast food meals that have less than 500 calories (Google this), and you can eat any of them as a celebratory meal.

You’ll notice that those fast food meals don’t include fries and mayo. If you insist on having fries, you can have medium fries with a salad on the side, but you shouldn’t have a burger at the same time. Remember, you’re trying to lose weight! Now, an ideal meal would be some sort of healthy “meat and potato” type of a meal. Having said that, an ideal meal should be any low-fat grilled or roasted meat, 1 medium size baked potato (or one scoop of brown rice or quinoa) and a large fiber-loaded salad. If you want to lose more weight, you can “ diet cheat ” on your celebratory meal and eat some type of tasty low-carb meal instead (such as cauliflower instead of potatoes or rice, a cauliflower crust pizza, etc.). If you insist on having a Whopper with medium fries and a diet pop, you can have that, too, but you probably won’t lose any weight on that day, unless you do some serious exercising or you skip breakfast.

Don’t over-eat during a celebratory meal. Don’t think, “ OK, I’ll over-eat now and ruin this one day and tomorrow I’ll diet again .” Instead, think of the sum of the calories you ate during the past week. That over-eating might spoil the whole week of effort.

If you’re planning on attending a party, reschedule your celebratory meal and eat it at the party. If you over-eat there, again, your whole weekly effort will be ruined. My best advice is to eat any lean protein food and any fiber-loaded salad at the party and to avoid cheese, salad dressings, sweets, alcohol and breads, especially if you’re in Phase 1. If you’re in Phase 2, then you can have a small serving of fried food or a thin slice of birthday cake. My personal way of taking care when I’m at a party and I want to lose weight is to eat lean meat and a fiber-loaded salad, but to limit my intake to one-and-a-half plates. One plate is usually enough, but if I’m still “kind of hungry” and there is a myriad of options in front of me, (and some wicked thoughts start to pop up in my head like “Hey, I haven’t tried that; I’ll take just a bite”), then I risk the danger of over-eating. My one plate will turn into two, and the second plate will likely have more fat in it than the food I just ate. But if I eat one-and-a-half plates of lean meat and a fiber-loaded salad or some steamed veggies (you can call this loading up on veggies & protein too), I’m usually “full enough” and I feel that I don’t have to eat anything else.

Another way of thinking about this problem is to just simply eat lean protein and a fiber-loaded salad until you’re full and that’s it. Or, if you’re in Phase 2, load one plate with veggies and protein, eat it and then browse the buffet. You won’t eat much after that plate, I guarantee it!

Parties are not good for celebratory meals because they have so many tasty options. That is why I’m suggesting protein and fiber and not a real celebratory meal. If I take one plate of some meat and potatoes and salad, I’m always hungry after that, just because I end up looking at all those other food options. However, if I behave well at a party and do not over-eat, I feel so proud of myself!

Emotional hunger can be powerful. As a result, it’s easy to mistake it for physical hunger. But there are clues you can look for that can help you tell physical and emotional hunger apart. Emotional hunger comes on suddenly. Emotional hunger craves specific comfort foods. Emotional hunger craves fatty foods or sugary snacks that provide an instant rush. Emotional hunger isn’t satisfied once you’re full. Emotional hunger isn’t located in the stomach; it’s in your head. When the binge urging hits you, make sure that you have your “Binge Emergency Kit” ready in the fridge.

The “Binge Emergency Kit” consists of 2 peeled hardboiled eggs, one large container half-full of shredded cabbage and spinach leaves and a small jar of yogurt salad dressing. The salad container should be fairly large, 1 or 2 liters, with a non-airtight lid (so the veggies don’t get spoiled). Put the eggs and veggies in it and put the jar beside it. Place sticky notes or stickers on them that say anything that will soothe you in that moment (pictures of your family, some calming words, some “before” photos, a reminder where to find a CD so that you can play soothing music, etc.). If the cravings do not hit you for 2 days, eat those veggies and those 2 eggs so they don’t spoil. And don’t forget to prepare a fresh Binge Emergency Kit. You might need one soon .

When a craving for sweets and/or junk food hits you, you need to slow it down. To do this, count to 10, drink a glass of water, sip some tea, brush your teeth, and then chew a piece of gum. If all that doesn’t help, take a deep breath, open the fridge, look at the lid with the comforting pictures and messages, count to 10 again, and then decide if you should pour the dressing from the jar over the veggies or not. If you still have cravings, take the 2 eggs out and put them on a plate, pour the dressing over the veggies, stir it and eat eggs and salad as slow as you can while staring at the lid. This should help. If you’re still hungry, even after this eating, prepare the same meal once more and eat it. You should not be very hungry by then. Afterwards, prepare a new Binge Emergency Kit.