My Diet Cheat Sheet
1. Reduce dairy consumption…
a. No milk whatsoever.
b. Only four whole eggs per week. No limit however, on ‘Egg Beaters’
c. No cheese except small amounts for seasoning.
d. No cheese- or cream-based soups (clam chowder, cheddar cheese, Etc.).
e. Switch from cheese on oatmeal to raisins and cinnamon.
f. Limit ice cream consumption to three times a year.
2. Reduce bleached flour consumption…
a. No pasta. Replace with wheat berries, barley, oats, or other whole grains.
b. No white bread. Replace white with rye bread.
c. Only three slices of pizza per month.
d. No Vanilla Wafers, Tastykakes, donuts, fritters, éclairs, cake, pancakes, crumpets, pretzels, Cheez-Its, cookies, pies, or turnovers.
e. Eliminate flour-based cereals (Cap’n Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Count Chocula, and Frosted Flakes). Replace with Frosted Mini Wheats and oatmeal.
f. Use little gravy.
g. Eat only one whole-grain nine-inch sub in a meal.
h. No breaded items.
3. Reduce refined carbohydrate consumption…
a. Favor fresh over dried fruits (grapes instead of raisins, plums instead of prunes).
b. Avoid sweet fruit juices. Drink V8 instead.
c. Minimize corn and potato consumption.
d. Ban all artificial sweeteners (Sweet ‘n’ Low, Equal, Splenda, Zorbitol, & Zilitol).
e. No corn starch or corn or maple syrup.
f. Replace white rice with brown or wild rice.
g. No beer or any alcoholic beverages.
h. No pop. Replace with water and whole fruits.
i. No candy or anything with added sugar (even in small amounts).
j. No chocolate.
4. No added fats.
a. No salad dressings. Use vinegars instead.
b. Give up added oils (olive, canola, cottonseed, peanut, Etc.).
c. Avoid canned foods with added oils. Replace with items packed in water, mustard, or hot sauce.
d. Avoid mayonnaise.
e. Eliminate salted, oiled nuts. Eat just unsalted, raw ones.
f. Absolutely no trans fats.
g. Minimize deep-fried food consumption (French fries, chips, battered foods, wings, poppers, Etc.).
5. Moderate even healthy food consumption…
a. Limit bananas to two per day.
6. Red Meat Intake Reduction…
a. Avoid as a main course more than once per week (hamburgers, steak, hot dogs, lunch meats).
b. Use as a seasoning (as in soups).
c. Replace steak and burgers with fish, chicken, and pork.
7. Healthy Habits…
a. Favor fresh vegetable snacks over fruity ones.
b. Favor less sweet fruits (grapefruit and apples) over the more sweet ones (pineapples and mangos).
c. No caffeine – chocolate, tea, coffee, pop, certain medicines. Replace with herbal teas.
d. At full-course meals, have just one big plate.
e. Keep refrigerator well stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables.
f. Weigh myself every day, several times.
g. Read over this document every day.
h. Keep a daily food diary.
i. Avoid parties where unhealthy food is to be served.
j. Eat only between 10:00 AM and 7:00 PM.
k. Keep daily fat intake below 30 grams.
l. Keep daily caloric intake under 1500 (no exceptions).
m. Don’t eat a food unless you know its calorie count and fat content.
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Tom Hesley