LEAN

Tips to Maintain a Lean Diet

Eat nutrient-dense foods. Now that you have decided to embark on a healthier path, take the opportunity to do what you have probably thought you should do for a long time: get rid of junk food in your diet. Concentrate instead on those foods that pack the most nutrition into a relatively small number of calories. Avoid calorie-dense foods, which have a lot of calories and little nutritional value. These include foods high in fat and/or sugar. Nutrient-dense foods leave you feeling satisfied; junk foods leave you craving more. In one research study, people who were allowed to eat all they wanted consumed fewer calories when their choices were limited to nutrient-dense foods than when they included highly refined and processed foods.

Fill up with fiber. High fiber foods make you feel full without consuming a lot of calories. High fiber foods tend to be more nutrient dense. Consider just the A’s and B’s of fiber foods.  All of these pack lots of nutrition into few calories while filling your tummy, apples, artichokes, apricots, avocados, bran, broccoli, beans, berries.  Other nutrient-dense sources of fiber are lentils, sweet potatoes, prunes, pears, spinach, grapefruit and peas.

Little bites mean a lot. You may be surprised by how one indulgence a day, such as one chocolate chip cookie or five to ten potato chips, can add up to 5 kg of extra fat in a year! These little bites provide little nutrition and a lot of unneeded fat and calories. Be particularly wary of foods that taste yummy but pack an alarming amount of fat, such as coffee cake, pie crust, hot dogs, doughnuts, and croissants. For some, trimming just one of these indulgences from the diet each day is all that is necessary to stay trim. As an alternative, make a trail mix of raw almonds, sunflower seeds, raisins, walnuts, dried papaya, and maybe even a few chocolate chips. This is something healthy to nibble on with just a touch of decadence to satisfy your sweet tooth.

Dr. Sears’ L.E.A.N. programme uses the principle of synergy. When you get all parts of the programme working together, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Sort of like 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 5, or maybe even 10! Once you implement the L.E.A.N. principles, it becomes self-motivating. You begin to feel so good that you want to do everything you can to perpetuate this feeling. 

The L.E.A.N. programme can give you a physical and emotional boost that will help you avoid common pitfalls in a health journey, while contributing to the health and well-being of both you and your family.

 When you feel fit and happy with your body, you’re likely to feel better about yourself. At the same time, improving your lifestyle and your general attitude will make it easier to take care of your body and your family. While you may try a diet programme or fitness challenge, there are really just a few simple keys to health and well-being. Dr. Sears calls his balanced approach to wellness the L.E.A.N. programme because it incorporates lifestyle, exercise, attitude, and nutrition. The L.E.A.N. programme is not a diet programme, but boasts similar positive side effects like weight loss, lower stress and higher energy levels.

Being lean does not mean becoming skinny. It means having just the right amount of body fat for your body type, health, and well-being. Being lean means more than just shedding fat and is more holistic than a traditional diet programme. It means getting rid of habits that interfere with your health, and concentrating on the things that are most important to you. Certified Health Coaches through the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute are well-versed in the L.E.A.N. principles, with interactive workshops designed by Dr. Sears that make learning and implementing the lifestyle, exercise, attitude and nutrition recommendations fun and easy.