Every three months my Doctor requires his adult patients to have a blood test and he checks for routine problems and trends. Five months ago at my visit I tipped the scale at 246 pounds. My Doctor said to me: "You have to loose weight! He is lean and trim so I asked, "How do you keep yourself so trim?" He said: "I skip breakfast, skip lunch and have a steak and a martini every night for dinner". It got me thinking.
My clothes did not fit. I could not wear my favorite shirts. I looked terrible in photographs. The worst thing was that I was in a slow but sure spiral of weight gain that amounted to about 80 pounds since my days in college. The choice was clear: either keep gaining weight or do something about it to reverse the trend.
I am a person with a slow metabolism and a big appetite. As a child I was heavy. In High School and College/Law School because of heavy exercise I was trim for about 15 years. After I gained weight, the only two diets that seemed to work were the Drinking Man's Diet and the Dr. Atkins diet. There were two problems with these diets. My Doctor said they were unhealthy and when I deviated from them, the weight just came back on plus more weight like a cherry on the top of a chocolate Sunday.
I found a way to eat as much as I want, not be hungry, loose weight, gain muscle that I call The Gregg Diet. The plan is very simple. Here are the seven rules:
1) Skip one meal per day.
2) Eat as little fat as possible
3) Exercise for at least 45 minutes per day
4) No alcohol allowed
5) Do not cheat on the above four rules more than one day per week
6) Weight yourself every day at approximately the same time of day
7) Stick to it on a permanent basis
In the Gregg Diet you do not count calories. Eat as many vegetables and as much fish as you wish, plus some fruit like bananas, peaches, blueberries, etc. Drink as much water and sugar free liquids as you can. Here are some of the tricks I have learned plus my secret rub.
The rub makes all fish taste better. You can fry it in canola oil, or broil it after you put a little olive oil on the fish then the rub. Plus you can put half a teaspoon in a cup of chicken or vegetable broth, put this in the microwave for 3 minutes and it fills you up like a real meal.
The Rub Recipe: (amounts are approximate and subject to your own tastes)
5% garlic salt
5% smoked salt
5% cumin seed
5% fennel seed
10% paprika
15% hot pepper flakes
55% chili powder- mix several varieties to make it interesting
Salad trick: for the dressing use no oil, balsamic vinegar and add a can of anchovies if you like them.
Snack trick: eat shredded mini-wheat cereal with extra artificial sweetener and add some cinnamon and/or clove powder on the top. No milk.
Ahi Tuna trick: cover with rub and fry in smoking hot canola oil for one minute per side per inch thick (i.e. two minutes per side if fish is two inches thick). Remove from heat immediately.
Drink trick: Diet Snapple with extra artificial sweetener
My doctor could not believe it. After the nurse weighted me, he took me back to the scale to verify the weight loss. The best part is I am continuing to loose weight, my blood pressure is down and the statistics on my cholesterol are the best ever.
The bottom line: The Gregg Diet works. The Rub is a wonderful way to spice up your life. You can eat hearty and rich and loose weight at the same time.
Copyright 2007 (c) Gregg Financial Services
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