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The B.E.A.C.H. Diet

Jun 8, 2010 at 4:30 PM by Sheryl Mooney

One of the Fitness Forums that I follow recently featured Dr. Oz's B.E.A.C.H. diet that featured three working moms from Detroit. In four months they'd lost between 30 and 60 pounds apiece. Here's what the B.E.A.C.H. diet entails:

B – Breakfast. Eat shortly after you wake up each day. It kicks your metabolism into gear and studies show that people who eat a healthy breakfast lose more weight than those who don't.
E – Eliminate Simple Carbs (also Exercise Every Day). Eliminate white rice, white potatoes, anything made with refined white flour or sugar. Don't overlook liquid sources such as soda and energy drinks. They're digested very quickly, causing wide swings in blood sugar that have you feeling hungry again not long after you've eaten. Go for complex carbs in fruits, vegetables, and whole grain breads and pastas. The exercise part of the diet was done by the housewives six times a week. Cardio will burn off calories, whie strength-training or core workouts (Pilates) will build and tone muscle, which will help you burn more calories overall, even when you're not exercising. "Muscle burns several times more calories than fat," explained Dr. Oz. "More importantly, you burn more calories between muscle-burning workouts that the actual workout, which is the opposite of what happens when you just walk or run."
A – Antioxidants. Load up on the fruits and vegetables that are high in antioxidants. These help reduce inflammation in the body, which indirectly helps with weight loss. "Inflammation contributes to chronic stress in the body, which activates certain receptors in the brain that lead us to overeat."
C – Chocolate (specifically Dark Chocolate). Every diet needs a little splurge and the B.E.A.C.H. plan builds it right in with dark chocolate (just don't overdo it). A nibble of dark chocolate will satisfy a sweets craving. Look for brands with 70 percent cacoa, and dark chocolate is another gold mine of the same kinds of antioxidants that work behind the scenes to help reduce inflammation.
H – Hydrate. This is especially important during the summer because you can lose a lot of fluids through sweat. Staying hydrated also plays a big role in weight loss because we often mistake thirst for hunger and grab a snack when what we really need is something to drink. Skip the soda, beer, juice and sports drinks that are loaded with calories and sugar, your best bet is water or selzer with a splash of fruit juice.

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