This article is in response to the many emails, msn messages and requests I've had on Binditalk for more information on the Dr. B Diet.
The Diet:
Have no illusions! This a is a strict diet. You're given a booklet that tells you exactly what you can eat and, more importantly, all the things you cannot eat.
You're expected to eat from the four basic groups everyday but only the allowable items can be used within each group.
The four groups are: Proteins, Bread, Fruit and Veggies.
Within the Protein group - you can eat two servings a day (four hours apart) of 3.5 ozs of protein. That's roughly 100 g of chicken or six egg whites per serving.
You can only eat beef once a week and you can absolutely NOT eat lamb.
If you plan to get your protein from fish, you can eat all white fish (in 100g portions) but no shell fish and no salmon.
If you're vegetarian, you can get your proteins from lentils or moong or egg whites.
Within the Bread group - You can forget about your regular bread, naans, rotis etc. The only bread you can eat is the Dempsters Body Wise brand (available in select supermarkets) and some other brands (Hollywood bread, flatbreads of the world etc. as per the booklet). Even so, you can only eat a max. of two slices a day.
As for Veggies - No carrots, no peas, no eggplant, no okra and no beans (except for green beans).
Most other veggies are permitted - you're allowed 220 gms per serving and two servings a day.
With Fruits - Again, the list of forbidden fruits is much longer than what's allowed. No watermelon, no grapes, no kiwi, no bananas.
You're allowed to eat up to two apples or two clementines or 6 strawberries. Jello lite (if you like that stuff) is acceptable as is some brand of fruit yogurt.
Other Forbidden Items:
Absolutely no alcohol, no carbonated drinks (except for caffeine free diet coke), no fruit juices.
No margarine, no butter, no oil (do all your cooking with PAM spray)
No carbs - no pasta, no rice, no bread (other than what's permitted), no potatoes, no bagels, no roti or naan.
No sugar - no cakes, ice cream, white refined sugar, cookies, muffins, etc.
Fluids:
Drink lots and lots of water!! More the better but at the very least you must drink 2 litres a day.
How it works:
With what you're actually allowed to eat - your daily consumption ends up being as little as 850-900 cals. In my case, my new intake was barely a third of my original intake.
In addition to reducing your calorific intake, you also get Vitamin B6 and B12 shots three times a week. You also supplement the shots with vitamin B Complex and Potassium tablets. The combined effect of the meds is that your metabolism is substantially higher. You're burning three times more than you did previously.
Medically Supervised:
The diet is fully supervised. From your first day until you are done maintenance, you are required to go to the clinic at least three times a week. You get your blood works done every month and you're required to hand in a urine sample at each visit.
Every two weeks, you're required to meet with the doctor, have your blood pressure monitored, and review your blood results. The nurses are all very knowledgeable and the doctor plays the role of e medical practictioner as well as your personal coach and motivator.
Cost:
There is a $350 orientation fee just to "find out what it's all about". That includes your first week of shots (if you sign up right after the orientation). The subsequent shots can be purchased in units of one week or one month. It pretty much works out to $150 per week. So you're looking at an ongoing cost of $600/month after you've dished out the first $350.
Results:
If you follow the strict diet to the letter, you can see a loss of 15 lbs in the first month itself...often in the first three weeks.
But, we're all human. And, life intrudes! There's birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, celebrations, business dinners, functions, vacations and a myriad of reasons why you often have to tweak a rule somewhere or cross a line and succumb to a forbidden pleasure.
So long as such violations are exceptions and not the norm, you can still expect to see a weight loss of at least 10 lbs a month quite easily.
No Exercise:
Yup, it's true. You can achieve all that weight loss without ever stepping into the gym. I only started going back to the gym after I went on Maintenance (see below).
My Personal Experience:
Started the Diet on July 1. Start Weight: 164 lbs
My strategy was to have the exact same thing every single day (mon-fri) for breakfast and lunch. For breakfast, it was 2 boiled egg whites. Lunch was always tuna salad at Subway. Just the two sccops of tuna on a bed of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and jalapenos.
Dinner was usually a challenge - i would cook when I got home. Usually it would be tandoori chicken (grilled), or fish (grilled) with veggies (steamed or lightly stir fried).
Once a week, usually on a fri or saturday, I'd allow myself to cheat a bit (albeit very sensibly) and eat a steak at a restaurant or order salmon. I was mindful to stay clear of all the pasta and rice in the first month.
By August 20, my weight was 145 lbs
Then I went to China on vacation and everything went beserk (or so i thought). I had rice, noodles, chicken, duck and all kinds of food. For breakfast, I indulged in croissants and omelettes. I was convinced I'd come back to my regular weight. Instead, i was pleasantly surprised to find that after two and a half weeks in China, my weight, on my return was 143 lbs.
I'd actually managed to lose 2 lbs on that trip. The reason - Even when I was cheating and being indulgent - I was making good choices, eating smaller portions and being smart - without even realising it. Also, all that walking on the great wall, cycling around Beijing and shopping in the bazaars must have also contributed in keeping the metabolism high
So, I was totally charged in September. My motivation renewed with the excitement of seeing my clothing size shrink from a 14 to a 12 to a 10.
By the end of September, I was down to 138 lbs and a comfortable size 8. The weight loss was slower because I was doing a lot more cheating. There was the Film Festival, it was still patio weather, and there was something or other happening every weekend.
It was getting expensive - at $600/month but I was seeing results and also trying to enjoy life...so I persisted.
By October 15, I was down to 130 lbs and a size 6. And then came Eid and Diwali and my birthday and all the food indulgences that usually accompany such festivities.
But, something about my lifestyle had changed. Even through all my indulgences, I was still losing weight. On October 25, my birthday (and also my goal date), I officially reached my target of 125 lbs and went on maintenance.
Maintenance:
This means you're off the weekly shots. Instead of getting 3 sets of double shots in a week you only get one shot a week.
You're also allowed to slowly introduce back all the forbidden fruits into your diet.
And now, it's November, and I'm at 122 lbs and a comfortable size 4! That's a total weight loss of about 42 lbs in roughly four months.
Is it worth it?
As anyone who has known me personally will attest, I've never been one to lack confidence or suffer from a low self esteem.
But, weight loss alters your state of mind in many other ways. Shopping, for one, is a pleasure and not a chore. I have so much more energy. And all that mandatory water i've been drinking (2 -3 litres a day) has done wonders for my skin and complexion.
I definitely feel more comfortable around cameras, more confident around strangers, and generally better about myself now than I did previously.
Some Photos..
BEFORE: July 2005 (Rome)
AFTER: August 2006 (Beijing)
PRESENT: October 2006 (Toronto)
PRESENT: November 2006 (MyBindi Retro Night)
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