Weight Loss: The Thin Commandments Diet

By Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.

Published by Rodale

January 2005; $24.95US/$35.95CAN; 978-1-57954-898-8

The most powerful, proven weight-loss strategies.

Conquer your cravings. Identify your trigger foods and learn how to defeat them.

Uncover the 24-hour secret. And never overeat again.

Discover the power of opticarb eating -- the carbs that promote weight loss. Now you can have the carbs, without the consequences.

Treat your calories like dollars. Discover the essential tricks for stretching your calorie budget.

Also, enjoy 5-star dining -- without the calories -- with the ABC Eating Plan. Lose the weight you've always wanted to lose using the secrets Dr. Gullos clients pay $1,000 an hour for and keep it off -- forever!

***

Calories are only half of the weight-loss equation . . . welcome to the other half.

In The Thin Commandments Diet, Dr. Stephen Gullo lets you in on his unique weight-loss program that has a success rate that is many times higher than the national average and has helped patients lose more than 100 pounds -- and maintain that weight loss for more than 5 years. His two-part approach replaces willpower with strategy and deprivation dining with great-tasting gourmet fare.

In the first half of the book, he reveals his strategy secrets -- the 10 Thin Commandments -- including:

• Think historically, not just calorically --
  
  identify trigger foods that can undermine your weight loss.


• Slips should teach you, not defeat you --
  
  uncover the "24-hour secret" and never gain weight from bingeing again.


• The problem may be in the food, not in you --
  
  learn the strategies to take control of your favorite foods.

In the second half of the book, Dr. Gullo outlines his simple diet -- the ABC Eating Plan -- which will put you on the shortest path to safe and rapid weight loss -- without depriving you of the foods you love. He takes the guesswork out of dieting and offers a three-step program, beginning with his 10-Day TurboCharge Diet that helps melt pounds away quickly and easily. Complete with recipes, menus, and shopping lists, you'll find out how to lose 10 to 14 pounds in the first 10 days on the plan -- and never feel hungry.

Author

Dr. Stephen Gullo received his doctorate in psychology from Columbia University, and for more than a decade, he was a professor and researcher at Columbia University Medical Center. He is the former chair of the National Obesity and Weight Control Education Program of the American Institute for Life-Threatening Illness at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. His first book, Thin Tastes Better, was a national bestseller. He has been interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, Larry King , and Barbara Walters and has also made numerous appearances on Today, Good Morning America, and Hard Copy. Dr. Gullo is currently president of the Institute for Health and Weight Sciences' Center for Healthful Living in New York City. He resides in New York City and the U.S. Virgin Islands. When additional products and services become available, Dr. Gullos hotline, 888-DIET-911, will become activated.

Reviews

"Dr. Stephen Gullo has truly deserved world acclaim for his successful and groundbreaking approach to weight control. Many of my patients not only lose weight when they have failed before but also are able to keep the weight down. He is an icon and the only one I know who treats obesity and succeeds."

--Walter Futterweit, M.D., F.A.C.P., F.A.C.E., clinical professor of medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York; and chief, Endocrine Clinics, Mt. Sinai Medical Center

"Dr. Gullo has taught us the strategy to stay thin for a lifetime. His innovative approach to weight control made it easy to bring an abrupt end to years of unsuccessful dieting and frustration."

--Joyce Segal and Nancy Shapiro, sisters, and copresidents of Joyce Leslie Inc.

"The Thin Commandments Diet is a one-of-a-kind owner's manual for a healthy and uniquely successful approach to weight management. Dr. Gullo's caring wisdom and guidance have helped me change my life forever. His creative strategies and eating plan have empowered me to take control of my weight without ever feeling deprived. I have lost the weight and gained self-esteem -- the perfect win/lose scenario. The Thin Commandments Diet is an essential book for all of us who are on a journey to finally win the battle with weight and to enrich our lives."

--Steve Tisch, Academy Award-winning producer of Forrest Gump and other movies including The Weather Man

Excerpt

The following is an excerpt from the book The Thin Commandments Diet: The 10 No-Fail Strategies for Permanent Weight Loss

by Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.

Published by Rodale; January 2005; $24.95US/$35.95CAN; 978-1-57954-898-8

Copyright © 2005 Dietech Co.

Tips for Keeping the Weight Off

Here are 9 critical behaviors and 1 additional shift in thinking that make up the 10 most important things to do on maintenance. The first 4 behaviors characterize all my winners. The 6 additional behaviors describe most of my clients. And while I believe that all 10 are important, the first 4 are critical for success.

SPECIAL ALERT: The single most important thing you can do to keep weight off for a lifetime is so important I've changed the format of the text to indelibly etch it into your psyche.

Wear form-fitting or tight clothes! When you reach maintenance, you should have one size, and one size only, of clothing. I've found that nothing sounds the warning siren faster or motivates people to act with greater haste than when their clothing gets too tight!

Think about what motivated you to start your diet. If you're like many of my clients, you were uncomfortable with your clothing (or you couldn't fit into it) and appearance. When you have a little extra trouble buttoning a pair of jeans or find it necessary to add an extra notch to your belt, it reawakens the original motivation. When you have only one size, you have no choice but to stay trim. If you save larger sizes, you are making it easy -- too easy -- to just switch to a larger size instead of acting to correct any errors.

Also, if you don't plan to be heavy again, why save the larger sizes? When you reach maintenance, throw out the larger sizes -- immediately!

Knowing that you have only one size of clothing adds another powerful incentive to maintain your weight: economics! How many of us can afford to buy a whole new wardrobe especially one in a larger size? Your wallet gives you extra incentive to guard your weight loss.

Before people ever respond to the clarion call to health, they listen to the cry of their clothing getting too tight. I'd have a nearly empty office if I tried to motivate people to stay on maintenance on the basis of health alone.

Your wardrobe is the most powerful deterrent I know of against sliding once more into out-of-control eating. It signals your commitment never to be heavy again. That's why I insist that all maintenance clients discard all clothes that no longer fit, with one exception: I ask them to save the outfit that's their largest size (preferably one they disliked ever having to wear) as an eternal reminder.

Keep problem foods you have a history of abusing out of your home. Almost all the women and a very large percentage of the men I have worked with who regained weight started the slide in their own homes. The slide often began with a food they had a history of abusing but had avoided while they were losing weight.

Remember the study by researchers at the National Weight Control Registry that found that two out of three people who lose weight and keep it off keep problem foods out of their house? Although that food might not tempt you at this moment, I can't urge you strongly enough to remove it from your home or at least keep it permanently out of your sight. Remember, you're always vulnerable to the foods that have tripped you up in the past -- even on maintenance. Eventually, people tend to return to their old favorites if they are continually available. On maintenance, even more than weight loss, availability stimulates craving -- even if it doesn't happen immediately. Along with keeping only one size of clothes in your house, it's critically important to keep problem foods out of your home.

Set a weight ceiling, and defend it. Pick a number -- typically about 3 pounds for women, 5 pounds for men -- and don't let your weight go above it -- ever. No matter what happens, don't let yourself off the hook. Draw a line in the sand. When the weight is back down, you can return to maintenance eating. Most of my clients expect increases in weight on weekends because of higher-calorie maintenance meals at home and out. Monday is typically the "high number" day of the week, but by Friday, they bring the weight back down to their goal weight, via Phase A and B eating.

Weigh yourself every day. Your bathroom scale can't weigh your behavior. However, it will tell you when you gain a pound or two. If you step on the scale the morning after a big meal at a restaurant or special event, your weight could be up. Don't be alarmed. If it's water weight, it will dissipate in 24 to 48 hours. You should expect slight variations during the week, especially after maintenance meals.

If it's real weight (3 or more pounds that remain over a period of several weeks), that should be a warning to you to take immediate action.

If you find it a bit maddening to follow the daily fluctuations of the scale even though you are eating properly, pick three days of the week on which you will always weigh yourself (for example, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday).

Exercise. It gives you structure and control. It gets you thinking about calorie burn and health consciousness and directs you away from obsessing about food. It's been shown that dieters who exercise regularly succeed the longest at keeping weight off. A study of more than 32,000 dieters by Consumer Reports magazine found that "regular exercise was the number one successful weight-loss maintenance strategy" of more than 81 percent of the long-term maintainers. In second place, at 74 percent, was the related strategy of increasing activity in daily routines. Also, as your body becomes lighter, it burns fewer calories. Exercise helps expand your calorie budget by burning the higher-caloric foods of maintenance.

And remember: Exercise generates endorphins, increases energy, and elevates mood.

Exercise provides you with a healthy outlet for stress. These effects help you follow through on your commitments, especially to control your weight. And as an outlet for stress, exercise shortcuts mood eating. It's the perfect alternative to keep your moods out of your foods.

Keep a photo of yourself at your heaviest weight. For added emphasis, place it next to a picture at your lightest weight. Many of my clients put the photo in a place where they feel most vulnerable -- the refrigerator door or kitchen counter, for example. Others elect to carry the photo in their wallet or purse.

Some of you may find it upsetting to stare constantly at a picture of yourself at your heaviest weight. Instead, carry a picture of what you look like at your lightest weight. You may find it motivates you even more to protect your accomplishments.

When it comes to weight control, a picture is truly worth a thousand words.

Keep a food diary. I'd like you to keep a diary for at least the first 90 days on maintenance. I ask my own clients to keep a diary for a full year. I want them to be certain they can manage the entire cycle of the year, with its holidays, vacations, special events, birthdays, summer versus winter eating, and so on. Since the same events and seasons come up year after year, once you get through the first year, you should be well prepared for the coming ones. After the first year, I frequently ask some clients to continue to keep a food diary or to keep a record of any "error" such as eating problem foods or excessive quantities of caloric foods.

A diary will serve as a daily reminder of the extras and/or negative eating habits. Writing out your meals and snacks a day in advance will help structure your thinking and help you steer clear of potential trip-ups.

Give yourself clear boundaries. Boundaries are a strong structure for your eating behavior. A major study of the winners found that 88 percent limited some type or classes of food. Another 45 percent limited the quantities of the foods they ate. Remember, if you don't have a good history of limiting a particular food, avoid it.

I help my clients establish clear boundaries and control their calorie budget with the lighter menus of Phases A and B of my eating plan from Monday through Friday, saving their maintenance meals or higher-calorie foods for weekends and special events. This clear boundary helps build an infrastructure of positive behaviors and smart eating habits that becomes automatic after a few weeks.

Most of my winners reinforce their boundaries with the techniques of Box It In and Box It Out. Many decide to Box Out a certain category or type of food. For some, it's baked goods, especially breadbaskets. Others avoid sweet baked goods (but may indulge in another type of sweet, such as a chocolate mousse). I want to emphasize again: They don't do this to make their lives difficult or to deprive themselves of something they want. They do it to make it easier to succeed at weight control -- which is something they want more.

Go beyond the food reward system. My winners enjoy the pleasure of fine food. Many of them dine regularly at fine restaurants. However, they've evolved beyond the childhood programming that views food as a reward or a treat.

They understand that no matter how beautiful a food looks or how enticing its aroma, if it's a food they have a history of abusing, it's no reward at all.

Some of my clients reward themselves with new clothes. Others enjoy a trip to a spa, a new necklace, or a weekend getaway with friends.

These are material rewards. A far more meaningful reward occurs each morning when they look in the mirror and see a trim body. There's no greater reward you can give yourself than to live the vision you have for your own life.

Reprinted from: The Thin Commandments Diet: The 10 No -Fail Strategies for Permanent Weight Loss by Stephen Gullo, Ph.D. © 2005 by Dietech Co. Permission granted by Rodale, Inc., Emmaus, PA 18098. Available wherever books are sold or directly from the publisher by calling (800) 848-4735 or visit their website at:
www.rodalestore.com.