The Destiny Diet One-a-Day eating plan

The Destiny Diet eating plan is presently a work in progress by me, your doctor, Charles F. Glassman, MD, FACP. It is a plan for healthy living, but has some key ingredients that will help those for whom weight loss is important. I have reviewed numerous articles, texts, and medical journals to arrive at what I feel is the diet, which is most in concert with our body chemistry and physiology. I have also looked to my personal and professional experience to find out what works to be successful at maintaining a healthy weight.

A n Optimal diet leads to an Optimal Life!

Breakfast

The time of day that most people eat breakfast is shortly after arising. As we all are aware, breakfast is a compound word meaning, “break the fast.” It is true that overnight we fast while we sleep. However, the body’s hormonal system regulates our blood sugar by the release of certain hormones. In fact, these hormones actually can raise blood sugar levels in diabetics after the overnight fast. Therefore, I find that the ingestion of breakfast is often the marker of obesity and unhealthy lifestyle. There is no bacon and eggs, pancakes and syrup, McDonalds' breakfasts. At the time when one usually eats breakfast, I recommend a beverage (coffee, without sugar, is acceptable) a piece of fruit, and a piece of whole grain toast with Smart Balance spread or about a half a teaspoon of butter. A glass of fruit juice is permissible in non-diabetic patients. I recommend mixing two tablespoons of BeneFiber in eight ounces of fruit juice (preferable low acid Tropicana Orange Juice). If one does exercise first thing in the morning, then a bowl of high fiber cereal (at least 6 grams of fiber per serving with no or very little added sugar; Kashi makes many varieties as does Nature’s Path; adding wheat germ to lower fiber grain cereals as those by Health Valley is also appropriate) can be eaten with water as a beverage. If you can not live without your glass of orange juice then you must mix in one to two tablespoons of BeneFiber (an insoluble fiber supplement). I would recommend a large glass of water with one half of a squeezed lemon (use the other half in an evening glass of water, this serves to neutralize your system, ironically to a more alkaline pH)After exercise, it is important to replenish carbohydrates to the muscles and this works well in my eating plan, as it is not considered a true breakfast meal. The early morning eating is to maintain adequate sugar levels as the overnight hormones tail off and the body stops making its own sugar. Eating a large breakfast often overloads the ability for our bodies to process all the excess sugar and it usually is stored as fat. The first thing one needs to do to begin on my One-a-Day plan is to eliminate the traditional breakfast and switch to my eating suggestions. Many of the popular low carbohydrate diets favor eating breakfast with high protein, high fat foods. What this can do is decrease one’s productivity as energy is transferred to digestion (especially the shunting of blood to the gut and away from the brain). As the morning advances, our blood sugar levels gradually may drift lower, especially if there was no carbohydrates including with a first eating of the day, which causes other hormones to be released that may stimulate the feeling of hunger. Many times the choice is made for a cup of coffee and a Danish or doughnut. Any high sugar containing, high fat containing food with high glycemic indexes, serves to cause high levels of circulating sugar, which in turn gets converted into stored fat. During the morning hours preceding lunch, I recommend fruit such as: apples, dried apricots, blueberries, blackberries, grapes, pears, plum, prunes, and strawberries. Even prunes may be eaten at this time, because their high fiber content tempers their relatively higher glycemic index. Oranges, grapefruit, cherries, and peaches represent other choices as these fruits have a relatively low GI, although are not as high in fiber as the others.  An alternate choice would be a cup full of dry whole grain cereal. This is a perfect choice if you are working at a desk and/or working at the computer.

These choices will help maintain a slow steady release of sugar into the blood stream and provide the brain with the much needed glucose that it needs to function (glucose, sugar, is the only substance brain cells can use for energy). It is very important to keep well hydrated, especially in the morning hours. Every time you eat you should drink at least 8 ounces of water. That includes if you drink fruit juice. The fruit juice should be followed by 8 ounces of water. In this eating plan, you are not eating more than twice in the morning hours.

Part 2 - Midday and Evening Meals

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The Destiny Diet Questions
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