The Diet Secrets

Earlier this week, we wrote about how TV star Bethenny Frankel revealed Paris Hilton’s secret for keeping slim.  Today, we look at the four main diet rules that Bethenny outlines in her book, Naturally Thin: Unleash Your Skinny Girl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting, and builds most of her chapters upon.

1. Your Diet Is A Bank Account

According to Bettheny, you need to treat your dieting the same way you treat your finances.  While no one’s stopping you from eating a high-fat, high-calorie chocolate cake at lunch, you’ll need to cut back on your dinner so as not to go over your daily limits.  Think of the idea like splurging on a shopping spree - it probably means you’ll have to stay in for the weekend, since you spent your budget all in one place.

2. The Differential

When comparing two food types, there’s going to be something that separates one from the other that’s significant to you - that’s the differential.  That gap, whether it’s the taste, the fullness or the emotional satisfaction you will derive from it, is what should make you choose one type of food over another.

3. The Point Of Diminishing Return

This one sounds like what Paris actually does.  According to Bethenny, there’s a point in eating where proceeding isn’t going to satisfy you any further.  If you’re hungry and chance upon a plate of fries, for instance, eating those first couple of mouthfuls might feel like heaven; after that, the experience goes down in quality.  Once you notice the feeling sliding downwards, you should stop eating.

4. Downsize

Bethenny believes that food portions in the US is unrealistic.  As such, she’s in the habit of always leaving leftover food on her plate.  If you’re full, don’t force it in - mom’s no longer going to get mad if you don’t clean your plate.

Better known as Elaine on Seinfeld, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is still a regular TV fixture nowadays with her show The New Adventures of Old Christine.  Surprisingly, Elaine…errrr…Julia seems to be looking better than ever, even though she’s a more  mature 48 years old!

Showing off her rock-hard abs during a recent cover shoot for Shape magazine, the actress divulged her secret to staying fit and beautiful, without resorting to dangerous plastic surgery and cosmetic operations.  According to Julia, the secret is plain, old hard-work.

Diet

The fitness begins first thing in the morning for Julia, who finds breakfast to be the hardest meal of the day.  Seldom in the mood to eat right after she wakes up, she has learned to train herself to get the proper morning nutrition, which helps curb her hunger throughout the day.  It helps, too, that her new favorite breakfast is a very healthy serving of two eggs (friend in olive oil) and a slice of whole wheat toast with honey - that’s protein and fiber, both great food choices to keep you satisfied for much longer.

Since she doesn’t make a habit of including vegetables with every meal and snacks, she eats a big serving of salad either for lunch or dinner to make up for the deficit.  She further advises that the real key to eating well is finding healthy food that you like - that way, you don’t end up craving for the rest of the day.

Exercise

Apart from watching her food intake, Julia gets her exercise three to five times a week.  She usually hits the outdoor trail jogging or performs indoor elliptical exercises in front of the TV.

Portion control is hard.  In fact, it’s one of the hardest diet guidelines to follow. Without exact guidelines - such as 1 cup of rice or a scoop of potato - most people just get their portions going by the gut.

Even though it’s difficult, there’s no denying that portion control is one of the easiest ways to try to lose weight.  If you’re trying to just cut down food consumption in general, without following any solid diet plan, here are a few things you can do to help you succeed.

1. Use smaller plates

The smaller your plates, the less chances you have of putting too much food on it.  With larger kitchenware, even a hefty double serving of pasta and mashed potatoes can look like a conservative amount.  A small plate will ensure this doesn’t happen.   The less food you have in front of you, the less chance you’ll eat too much.

2. Eat slowly

Eating slowly allows you to feel fuller without eating as much.  For most folks, it takes a bit of time for the brain to process that the body is satiated.  Taking smaller bits and slowly chewing food down allows you to to get to this point without having consumed too much.

3.  Size of your fist

In the Scarsdale Diet, portion control is loosely relegated to the size of one’s fist. Personally, I find that a very good guideline, as most folks struggling with weight loss consume two or three times that during their meals.