There was a couple who took my maximum weight loss class, both looked healthy and trim. However, the wife was trying to help her husband who still had a “gut” that he’d always had.  Here is their story in  their own words about how he lost his gut and embraced this new lifestyle. Their experience was sent to me in May 2011.

Dear Janet,

I brought my husband to your weight loss class last March.

Since then, he has lost 25 lbs.  He has done this without starving himself, really watching portions (although he is getting better) or always following the diet “to the letter” when he is away from home.  And he did it without exercising very much.

He was worried about muscle loss from a vegan diet, but last week he went for the results of a full blood panel and urine analysis.

He is 49 and a 25 yr old should be so healthy!  He is getting more than enough protein.  The doctor just wants him to exercise.

The other day, he told me that this is his lifestyle from here on out.  He plans to go off the diet now and then, but day in and day out, he wants to eat this way for the rest of his life.

Thank you for helping me get him on a sustainable path to health.

Jo L.

So, what is the basic diet for these kinds of results? Healthy starch-based foods, vegetables, two fresh fruits a day, and water to drink. There are no breads or pastas, instead whole-steamed grains are used. There are no oils, fats, or foods high in fat like flesh, dairy, eggs, cheese, avocados, olives, tofu, processed and refined foods. Just simple foods from nature. Fat-free condiments of all kinds are allowed like spices, lemons, limes, ketchup, mustard, barbeque sauce, soy sauce, etc.

Healthy starch-based foods can be use in each meal at 1/3, 1/2, or 2/3 of the meal. The rest of the meal should be the non-starchy vegetables like celery, cucumber, tomatoes, sugar-snap peas, carrots, bell peppers, summer squash. The healthy starches include grains, beans, potatoes, winter squash, and any other whole-foods, plant-based starches in all their varieties.

Then, for snacks or desserts or a quick morning wake up treat; any kind of fresh fruit. No cooked fruit, fruit juices, no dried fruits, just a raw and fresh apple, orange, banana, or 1 cup of your choice of any other fruit. Fun grains are popcorn and rice cakes.

You can try this diet/lifestyle if you want to be the healthiest and lose weight the fastest. You can get off of medications and avoid surgery. You can have more energy than ever before. Here is a recent, hour long video of the skinny, healthy, retirement age Dr. McDougall talking about all the diets out there and categorizing them as good or evil. Apparently, there is a diet war going on.