Lose 10 lbs Challenge From Dr. Oz

Dr. Oz has issued a 10 lb weight loss challenge that is straightforward and doable.  The payout for the effort put into these steps will be huge, not just for the waist line, but for overall health and longevity.  As always, Dr. Oz channels his medical expertise into an understandable, life enhancing plan we could all stand to incorporate into our daily routines.

THE RULES (or suggestions, if you don’t like to be told what to do):

• Bye bye to soda – We are talking the high fructose corn syrup kind here, attributed to tooth decay, diabetes and more.
• No food after 3 hours til bed time – Got it?
• 10 minutes of motion a day – This seems low to me, but that is what he says.  Walking, throwing a frisbee, playing with kiddos…
• Portion control – No forbidden foods?  I like that.  His rule of thumb is no snacks larger than your fist… sorry Big Mac.
• Get on that scale everyday – accountability is key; track weight = lose weight (ok, not if it is the only thing you do, but it helps)
• Take Vitamin B complex everyday – B vitamins are essential in metabolizing food, and in energy production to help you keep going.
• Take daily vitamins – This should include Calcium (600 mg, plus 600 mg from food) and Magnesium (400 mg) for bone strength,  Vitamin D3 (1,000 IU taken with DHA) for memory and heart health, DHA (900 mg) for memory, vision, heart and prevention of strokes, Probiotics spore form for decreased inflammation and enhanced immunity and a Multivitamin to cover what your diet misses.
• Healthy recipe planning – Dr. Oz provides a host of healthy recipes to keep your calories low, many with a budget in mind.
• Know serving sizes and how many you can have of each family – There has got to be an app for this, right?  This plan allows 10 servings a day as follows;  Protein and fats 4 servings daily, Complex carbs 3 servings, Fruits 3 servings and Veggies unlimited.  The unlimited veggies help keep you from being hungry (in theory).  The important thing to keep in mind here is how much of whatever you are eating = a serving size.  Did you know that the 1 serving of cheese is the size of 2 dice?  Yikes.  I am at least a 5 dice kind of gal.  Get informed.  There are ample resources available to help you get on the level with serving sizes.
• Don’t get too hungry – If you do, you are more likely to binge.  Make sure your meals have plenty of protein and fiber (complex carbohydrates), so you stay full longer.  Healthy snacks between meals are great too.

Remember holiday and party pitfalls, and take steps to guard against falling off the wagon:  Don’t go to parties or shopping hungry, have accountability partners in your life, no snacks/desserts larger than your fist, etc.  if the food at an event is going to be too tempting, you can opt out of going . Do what you have to do.  Commit.

What has worked for you?  What has not?