In an attempt to help people lose excess weight once and for all, the Dr. Oz Show was all about getting the most common weight loss questions answered in Dr. Oz’s “Your Toughest Weight Loss Questions” segment of the show. Dr. Oz invited Dr. Adrienne Youdim of Cedars-Sinal Weight Loss Center, Registered Dietitian Leslie Bonci, and Dr. Evelyn Minaya to the show to help answer questions.
The Blood Type Diet
The first topic was whether or not there was anything to the Blood Type Diet. Dr. Oz explained that type “O” blood is the most common and the oldest blood type. He said the thought is that since it’s the oldest blood type, people with type “O” blood should eat the oldest foods which mainly consist of protein including poultry, lean meat and fish. Although Dr. Oz didn’t mention them, there were also greens on the sample plates along with the protein. Since we had no agriculture and no grains to eat in early history, grains should be very limited in the diet.
Dr. Adrienne Youdim of Cedars-Sinal Weight Loss Center said there is no evidence that your blood type affects your compatibility with foods or your ability to lose weight. She said while there is nothing actually wrong with the diet, she considered it too restrictive.
Dr. Oz went on the explain that Type A blood type was an agrarian blood type, meaning that one would need to eat a diet consisting of mainly soy protein, grains and organic vegetables.
He said people with Type B blood were descended from Nomadic peoples and would need to eat a diet of low-fat dairy and to avoid wheat and lentils. Leslie Bonci said that with the availability of foods we now have, she believes that people have to find something they can stick with. Dr. Oz said that it might make sense that our ancestors diets are better for us, but we can’t prove it. He suggested eating lean protein, lots of vegetables, whole grain and low-fat dairy to take one naturally in the right direction for weight loss.
How to stop emotional eating?
The second question was how to stop emotional eating. Ms. Bonci suggested we still eat what comforts us but to think about the quantity we intake for damage control. She also said to pick one type of food, whether it be salty, spicy or crunchy and only eating it when we feel the need for emotional eating.
How many calories do you need to eat in a day to lose weight?
This was the third question. Dr. Oz said it is a question he hears all the time. Dr. Youdim said it essentially depends on your metabolism, height and weight. She said for women that generally means a calorie intake of 1200 or possibly up to 1600 calories a day.
Dr. Oz said that www.doctoroz.com has a calorie calculator as part of the “Move it and Lose It” one can use to calculate how many calories they should be eating while trying to diet.
How can one lose fat without losing muscle?
This was the fourth question. Dr. Youdim said the often fad diets have you lose weight quite quickly, but you are also at a risk of losing muscle mass. She said when you lose lean mass, your metabolism actually drops, so you lose weight less quickly. She recommended exercise and strength training to keep from losing muscle mass. She also recommended 70-80 grams of protein intake per day. Ms. Bonci said that protein needs to be a part of every single plate and not just eaten all at one meal.
How to control problem snacking?
The fifth question was how to control problem snacking. Ms. Bonci suggested making a snack a mini-meal, where you have more than one thing on the plate that would require a utensil as it would help slow you down. She said it will help one feel fuller and do less of the mindless munching. Dr. Oz said he loved the idea and to get rid of the snacks and just eat a small meal.
Why do we crave sugar so much?
Why do we crave sugar so much was the sixth quesiton. Ms. Bonci said we crave sugar because it gives up pleasure, but most of the time we don’t think about the amount we are eating. Dr. Oz suggested what works for him which is having a few pieces of a candy treat and then drinking a glass of water to wash the sugary taste from your mouth. He believes the taste just makes you want to eat more.
Why is it so hard to lose weight after menopause?
The seventh question concerned why it’s so hard to lose weight after menopause. Dr. Youdim said that this is a common problem and women often need to boost their exercise levels and decrease the amount or types of food they eat after menopause. Ms. Bonci suggested using an 8″ plate and having foods that involve more chewing, with the largest portion being vegetables, a smaller portion of lean protein and the smallest portion being whole grains. She said one need to have protein in the morning and with every meal each day. Dr. Oz mentioned that breakfast needs to be eaten within the first hour of waking in the morning.
How to lose belly fat?
Dr. Oz said the tenth question, how to lose belly fat was the biggest one of all. Dr. Minaya said it is normal to develop a fat pack during pregnancy and that there is all the time in the world to lose it. She said the emotional part of being a new mother can also increase fat around the stomach, buttocks and thighs due to an increase in cortisol. She said that an increase in stress causes an increase in weight throughout your life.
Dr. Oz explained that organ fat or visceral fat that forms around the organs causes high blood pressure, diabetes and osteoporosis. Dr. Youdim said a good rule of thumb to help reduce belly fat is 30 minutes of exercise 5 times per week and lowering caloric intake.
Dr. Oz demonstrated 2 simple exercise that he said can help and even be done during commercials. Getting on his hands and knees on the floor, he called them the cat and dog poses. For the cat pose, he said to lift your stomach up and suck your belly button towards your spine while holding your head down, and then to hold the pose for a breath of 4, then relax and raise your head back up for a count of 4. He said if it was too easy, to do it with your knees raised slightly off the floor.
The dog pose was the same, except for adding a wag to the tail. The tail wag consisted of raising one foot while leaving your foot on the ground, and turning your head toward your foot and then repeating it with the other foot and turning your head to look at the other side. He said to do that for 30 seconds on each side. Dr. Oz said to do the cat and dog exercises together for a nice little workout in 2-3 minute increments.
The eleventh question was about what foods contribute to belly fat and what foods reduce belly fat. Ms. Bonci said the first thing one needs to do is think about the beverages they drink as a source of calories. She also said there are a lot of calories and alcohol and that it makes you hungry. She also said eating sugar makes you want to eat more.
She said to have plenty of colors on the plate and add more fiber to the diet, have lean meats and low-fat dairy and to even add beans. She also said to add good fats, but not a whole bag of almonds, just a few at a time.
Dr. Oz said to avoid packaged foods, partially hydrogenated oils and enriched flour. To reduce belly fat, he said to eat more avocados, whole grains and to drink green tea as they help burn fat. Dr. Oz said if you don’t like them the way they are to spice them up so you will. He said if you don’t like it, you won’t eat it.
