Weight Management

The following information is fairly typical as far as "diets" go. It does not include intermittent fasting. A genetically appropriate diet contains the nutrients your body needs to stay well and maintain a healthy weight (whatever that is for you).

If you're under a lot of stress, the time to change your diet to manage your weight (to gain or lose) is now so that your body can see you through these challenging times. You don't have to make changes all at once. Gradual changes are better and far less overwhelming.

Always keep your motivators in front of you. Perhaps your goal is to feel better, have a clearer complexion, fit into your favorite slacks again, look in the mirror naked and not cringe, be more attractive to the opposite sex, play with your grandchildren, or live a long and healthy life. All of these are your good intentions, your motivators. Write them down. Keep this list where you can see it every day to stay. Hang those slacks where you can see them often as a healthy reminder of your goals.

How to Calculate Your Body Mass Index

First things first, let's see what your body mass index is. Your body mass index judges your weight relative to your height and your risk for weight-related health problems. A BMI between 25 and 29.9 is considered approximately 20% overweight with moderate health risks but not obese. However, if you're female with a waist measurement over 35" (or a male with a waist measurement over 40"), a BMI between 25 and 34.9 is considered high risk. A BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese, and additional health problems may arise, such as heart disease, diabetes, or high blood pressure.

You don't have to look overweight to be obese. How's that, you ask? You can have far too much fat on your frame for your height and bone size. Normal Weight Obesity is a growing concern among Americans, a condition where you have far too much fat compared to muscle. Your body mass index won't mean much if you're small but overfat. However, you still risk heart disease, diabetes, and other obesity-related diseases.

Multiply your weight (in pounds) times 703.
Multiply your height (in inches) times itself.
Take the number you got in Step 1 and divide it by the number you got in Step 2. The result is your BMI.

How to Determine a Healthy Goal Weight

Women: Calculate 100 pounds for your first five feet and 5 pounds for every inch after

Men: Calculate 106 pounds for your first five feet and 6 pounds for every inch after

Add 10% to this weight to find your highest range of weight.

NOTE: This does not take into account your frame size.

The Formula for Determining Your BMR & Daily Caloric Needs

Here's how to calculate your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) based on a healthy goal weight. Notice that I said based on a healthy goal, not your current weight.

Let's say you want to weigh 170 pounds. You would multiply the healthy weight of 170 lbs x 10 = 1,700 Calories (your BMR). Next, you will multiply your BMR x your Activity Level (see below):

Sedentary x 20%
Lightly Active x 30%
Moderately Active x 40%
Very Active x 50%

1700 x 30% (lightly active) = 510 Calories for Physical Activity. Add 1700 (BMR) + 510 = 2210 Calories. Next, multiply 2210 x 10% (for digestion) = 221 Calories for Digestion

Add your BMR, Physical Activity, and Digestion requirements together: 1700 + 510 + 221 = 2431, the Total Daily Caloric Need to achieve and maintain your healthy goal weight.

From The Daily Food Calorie Menus (below) you would choose the 1900 Calorie Menu Plan, which contains 4 Fruit, 5 Vegetables, 7 Grains, 3 Milk, 10 Proteins, and 2 Fats daily.

Eating nutrient-dense foods in moderate amounts leads to natural weight loss and stable body weight. However, you can subtract 500 calories from your daily caloric needs to speed weight loss until you reach your goal weight. Then, gradually, add the total amount of calories to maintain your weight into your daily menus by adding "two full-calorie days" into each week until you reach your maintenance requirement (your total calorie days) 7 days per week. This transition phase will take three weeks. Your two full-calorie days can't be consecutive. Place a low-calorie day between them.

When You Are Planning On Losing More Than 50 Pounds

If you have over 50 pounds to lose, creating goal weights in increments can be helpful. For example, if you weigh 350 pounds, it would be more effective to plan a goal weight of 300 pounds. You do not want to throw your metabolism into starvation mode. Then, once you reach 300 pounds, recalculate your next goal weight for 250, then again at 200, and so on, until you are within 50 pounds of your ideal weight. You would then continue with your daily calorie level for losing the last 50 pounds.

NOTE: If you're a pregnant or nursing mom, you must add 300-500 extra calories daily to your daily caloric requirement for the baby. Also, always speak with your healthcare provider before following any new diet.

Daily Food Calorie Menus

As already stated, you don't have to count calories. However, it helps to know what your body needs daily regarding food portions to maintain healthy, balanced nutritional habits. Also, it's not just how many calories you eat that determines a healthy body or body weight at the end of the day (or month or year). Empty calories are calories that come from poor food choices. Poor-quality foods may contain carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, but only whole foods contain the micronutrients your body needs. Empty calories will leave you unhealthy and destroy any chance of maintaining a healthy weight or mood. Make sure to eat healthy foods and not just count calories.

The following Daily Food Calorie Menus are based on specific percentages of Protein, Carbohydrates, and Fats. For example, the 2200 Calorie Menu allows for less fat and more protein than The American Diabetes Association allows. The menus also allow fewer Milk and Grain servings (including starchy grains) than The American Diabetes Association allows.

The focus is on healthy meats, fats within moderation, vegetables, and some fruit while making Milk (dairy) optional. You can trade the Milk group with "Lean Meat" (see Food Exchange Portion Sizes below). Use the following information to select your daily food exchange amounts according to your caloric needs.

1200 Calorie Menu - 3 Fruit, 3 Vegetables, 4 Grains, 2 Milk, 6 Protein, 1 Fat

1300 Calorie Menu – Use the 1200 Calorie Menu and add another 100 calories to your day.

1400 Calorie Menu - 4 Fruit, 4 Vegetables, 5 Grain, 2 Milk, 8 Protein, 1 Fat

1500 Calorie Menu - 4 Fruit, 4 Vegetables, 5 Grain, 3 Milk, 8 Protein, 1 Fat

1600-1700 Calorie Menu – Use the 1500 Calorie Menu and add another 100 calories to your day.

1800 Calorie Menu - 4 Fruit, 4 Vegetables, 7 Grains, 3 Milk, 9 Protein, 2 Fat

1900 Calorie Menu - 4 Fruit, 5 Vegetables, 7 Grains, 3 Milk, 10 Protein, 2 Fat

2000-2100 Calorie Menu – Use the 1900 Calorie Menu and add another 100-200 calories to your day.

2200 Calorie Menu - 5 Fruit, 7 Vegetables, 8 Grain, 3 Milk, 12 Protein, 3 Fat

NOTE: You can download The Daily Food Groups & Portion Sizes PDF at the bottom of this page for guidance in choosing foods and portion sizes in each food group.

Again, the menu plans above guarantee a certain percentage of daily proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. You can eliminate the Grains, Fruits, and Dairy categories from your diet, leaving Vegetables, Proteins, and Fats (seeds and nuts are included in the Protein and Fats categories) as the mainstays of your diet. However, don't do this while pregnant, nursing, or under a doctor's care. Protein servings should come from a variety of sources, including plant-based proteins, such as beans and legumes.

You must eat something every 4 hours to keep your metabolism running at peak performance. If your body thinks you will starve, you will not lose weight. We are engineered that way. Divide your foods throughout your day into six smaller meals rather than three large ones and three snacks. Also, breakfast should be your largest meal, then lunch, with dinner being your smallest. It would be best to have your calories while you are up and busy, not while sleeping.

Never drop below 1200 calories daily. If your diet computations above reveal you need less than 1200 calories per day to lose weight, you'll need to compensate by burning off those extra calories through exercise. For example, let's say your weight loss calorie level is 1150 calories per day; you must follow the 1200 Calorie Menu and plan to burn away those extra 50 calories through physical work or exercise.

Eating often to maintain proper blood sugar levels is crucial if you have Sugar Disease or hypoglycemia. While the food portions in the menus coincide with The American Diabetes Association's food groups, and carbohydrate content is listed for you, the daily serving amounts differ. Again, I've included The Daily Food Groups & Portion Sizes PDF at the bottom of this page to download.

The 1500 Calorie Sample Menu

Breakfast – Eggs, Toast, Fruit & Coffee

2 Proteins - 2 soft boiled eggs
1 Grain - Whole grain toast
2 Fruit - 1 small banana and 1¼ cup of strawberries
1 Fat - 1 tsp butter
1 Milk - 8 oz. of milk in a latte

Snack – Bagel & Cottage Cheese

1 Grain – ½ bagel
1 Fruit - 1 tbsp of low sugar raspberry jam
1 Protein - ¼ cup cottage cheese

Herbal tea

Lunch – Grilled Cheese and a Salad

2 Proteins - 2 slices of low-fat cheese
2 Grain - 2 slices of bread
2 Vegetables - 2 cups chopped veggies on a bed of lettuce
Free - 25 calories of low or nonfat salad dressing
Diet Snapple

Snack – Apple & Snacks

1 Protein - 1 string cheese
1 Fruit - 1 small apple
1 Grain - 1 ½ graham cracker squares

Dinner – Fish, Rice & Veggies

2 Protein - 2 oz. of white fish
1 Grain – 1/3 cups rice
2 Vegetables - 1 cup cooked spinach

Snack

1 Milk - Mock Vanilla Steamer with Stevia

When You Prefer a Vegetarian Diet

Follow the same guidelines as above. However, you can omit eating meat, fowl (all bird life), and dairy. The vegetarian diet is particularly useful in ridding the body of toxins. You'll substitute a combination of vegetables and grains instead of proteins typically derived from meat. I've included how many grams of protein are in vegetables and grains in The Daily Food Groups & Portion Sizes PDF (at the bottom of this page).

Fresh vegetables carry a certain amount of protein. However, they are not considered complete proteins and must be eaten in combinations to receive all the proteins you need in one meal. Still, some are better than others. Whole grains are much better for you unless you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Instead of white bread, have whole-grain bread. Instead of white rice, have wild, brown, or black rice. Instead of white pasta, use whole-grain pasta. Instead of frosted cornflakes, have wild rice topped with your fruit or drizzled with honey in a bit of Oat Milk. Instead of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, make your own from real cheddar and whole-grain noodles. In other words, stay away from the enriched, white, sugary, canned, and prepackaged refined grains.

Always make changes gradually so that you have a chance to introduce yourself to new foods and allow your body to become accustomed to the changes you are making. If you are more sensitive than most, you may not fare well with extreme changes or less than optimal amounts of protein. You will have to learn to combine your foods to get in your protein needs. Because of this, you will need to eat more protein-containing foods more often.

About Soy Beans (and Foods Derived from Soy)

There is some controversy over the use of soy products due to how some soy is processed. Soy is very high in fat (up to 40%), and some studies have shown adverse effects on hormones in some people. The benefit of including soy in the diet is that it contains a high amount of protein. However, you'll want to avoid using soy if you have cancer (or a history of cancer in your immediate family), estrogen dominance, or thyroid problems.

Food Combining Made Easy

As a Highly Sensitive Person, following a food-combining strategy is helpful when you have a sensitive stomach. Protein in the gut putrefies and fruits ferment, which causes the body to become acidic. To help aid digestion, try the following food-combining suggestions. So that you know, having a sensitive tummy is usually a sign of food sensitivity, stress, or an imbalance in the gut microbiome.

Combine animal protein and dairy with only fresh fruit, leafy greens, and vegetables (non-starchy only). Do not combine nuts, oils, or starchy foods (potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, pasta, cereals, cornstarch, bread, pies, and cakes). It may be best to avoid starchy grains altogether.

Combine grain and vegetable proteins (cereal, bread, beans, lentils, nuts, oils, and peas) with fresh veggies and fruits. Grains (rice, for example), beans, or grains and peas, make excellent protein combinations for complete protein meals.

Combine animal protein and dairy with only fresh fruit, leafy greens, and vegetables (non-starchy only). Do not combine nuts, oils, or starchy foods (potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, pasta, cereals, cornstarch, bread, pies, and cakes). It may be best to avoid starchy grains altogether.

Combine grain and vegetable proteins (cereal, bread, beans, lentils, nuts, oils, and peas) with fresh veggies and fruits. Grains (rice, for example) and beans or grains and peas make excellent protein combinations for complete protein meals.

NOTE: Some say to combine no food groups and to eat foods from each group separately is even better for digestion and elimination. For example, eat all fruit by itself, all grains by themselves, all meat by itself, etc.

How to Breakdown Combination Food Recipes

Combination foods consist of two or more exchanges from different food groups, such as pizza, casseroles, or desserts. Any foods you eat that are made up of more than one single food item are considered combination foods. For example, a sandwich is regarded as a combination food.

Many modern cookbooks give you exchange amounts per serving, but there is a way to break down a family recipe, so you will know what exchanges are in one serving. I'm using a tuna sandwich as an example.

Two slices of whole-wheat toast = 2 grain
½ cup of tuna = 2 meat
1 tbsp of mayonnaise = 2 fats
1 tsp of mustard = free
2 tsp of finely chopped pickle = free (considered a salt)
lettuce = free (one or two leaves)
1 slice of tomato = ¼ vegetable (or less)

Wasn't that easy! No? Well, you won't have to break down a recipe every time you make it. Just once will do. Just jot the information down in your cookbook, or create a mental note of what constitutes one serving, so you will know where it fits in your day from then on.

But what about fruit bars and such? How do you figure a fruit bar into your day if there's no exchange list on the label for you? It takes a little math but is still doable. Calories only come from four sources. Calories come from proteins, fats, carbohydrates, and alcohol in foods and beverages, and each contains a specific amount of calories per gram.

Proteins contain 4 calories per gram
Carbohydrates contain 4 calories per gram
Alcohol contains 9 calories per gram
Fat has 9 calories per gram

How to Understand Food Labels

Let's say that you bought an energy bar at the store when you were starving, and now you're worried about where it fits into your menu plan for the day. Take a look at the label. It should show you how many grams of protein, carbohydrates, and fats the product contains. It might look something like this.

Protein 3 grams (gm) x 4 calories per gm = 12 calories of protein
Total Carbohydrates 13 grams (gm) x 4calories per gm = 52 calories of Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates from Sugar 7 grams (gm) x 4 calories per gm = 28 calories of Carbohydrates
Fat 5 grams (gm) x 9 calories per gm = 45 calories of fat

What does this mean if total carbs (short for carbohydrates) equal 52 calories and sugar carbs equal 28? The carbs from sugar would equal a fruit exchange, and the other carbs would fall into other categories, usually the grain category. To find the difference, you would subtract the sugar carbs from the total carbs. This difference equals how many calories are considered a grain exchange.

Total Carbs = 52 calories
Sugar Carbs = 28 calories
Total Carbs coming from something other than sugar = 24 calories

So what you end up with are the following:

12 calories of Protein
28 calories of sugar Carbs
24 calories of 'other' Carbs (these are Grains/Starches)
45 calories of Fat

1 Protein equals as few as 55 calories, 1 Grain equals 80 calories, 1 Fruit (a carbohydrate) equals 60 calories, and 1 Fat equals 45 calories. Thus, this energy bar equals approximately ¼ of a Protein, ½ Fruit, ¼ of a Grain, and 1 Fat. And this is how you determine, by calories only, which food groups your combined foods fall into.

Food Substitutes

Beverages- Distilled, mineral or alkaline water, fresh fruit or vegetable juice, herbal teas
Bread- Sprouted or spelt bagel, homemade bread from acceptable ingredients.
Butter- A tiny bit of real butter, soy butter, or olive oil
Candy- Made only with natural sugars, no refined (no white, light brown, Karo syrup, etc.).
Cereals & Grains– Unrefined bran or wheat germ, buckwheat, oats, barley, brown, black, or wild rice, and flour (also see Grains)
Cheese - Goat, soy, or nut cheeses.
Cottage Cheese- Crumbled tofu
Fats- Olive oil, flax oil, nut butter (almond), vegetable margarine. (See Butter)
Grains (acceptable) - Basmati rice, buckwheat, millet, Kamut, amaranth, brown rice. (also see Cereals & Grains and Bread)
Hot dogs- Meatless hot dogs
Ice cream - Non-milk ice cream and non-milk sherbets
Jellies and Jams- Homemade with only fresh fruit and very little sugar, preferably dark sugars (sparingly).
Mashed Potatoes (are acceptable) - For a change, mashed cauliflower.
Meat/Protein- Vegetable proteins (beans, tempeh, tofu, oats, and Rye), whey protein powder, spirulina, freshwater, and ocean fish, chicken (white meat), liver, nuts, almonds (1 ounce or 24 almonds equals one protein and one fat), flaxseed (ground)
Milk- Rice milk, almond milk, soy milk (limit), buttermilk or goat’s milk, raw milk, homogenized milk (not pasteurized), natural cream, and unsweetened yogurt.
Nuts and Seeds- Nuts (Brazil, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, filberts are all low acid nuts), almonds (are alkaline), flaxseeds (ground), sesame seeds, and fennel seeds
Oils - Cold-pressed olive oil and sesame, flaxseed, and almond oil (see “Fats” and “Butter”).
Pasta- Vegetable pasta (spinach, spelt) and whole-grain pasta.
Salad Dressing - Pureed avocado, cubed fruit, olive oil, lemon, and lime juice
Shortening- Vegetable shortening, Extra Virgin Coconut oil
Soy Sauce- Use only MSG-free Bragg Liquid Aminos (sold at health food stores).
Smoked meat - Smoked tofu is fine.
Snacks (crunchy)- Rice cakes, sprouted tortilla chips, baked veggie chips, and yeast-free crackers.
Sugar - Stevia (green), dark brown, raw sugars such as turbinado, honey (alkaline, but use only sparingly), Dried fruit (great in hot cereal), molasses (raw, non-sulfur), and agave sweetener.
White Sauce- Pureed white beans
Yogurt - Organic, plain yogurt or soy yogurt is suitable. However, you can also make Vegan Yogurt at home out of your own "milk" bases.

You'll find information on condition-specific nutrition in The Wellness Repository.