Book Summary Preview : The Thin Commandments Diet

Part I: The Thin Commandments

The First Thin Commandment: Strategy Is Stronger Than Willpower

The men and women who have avoided weight problems and who have maintained their weight loss instinctively use strategy to stay in control. Having food strategies enable you to face situations that would normally lead to overeating. They help you plan what to think or say, how to follow the right behaviors, how to stay motivated and how to bounce back from missteps.

The Second Thin Commandment: Think Historically, Not Just Calorically
According to Dr. Gullo, the field of weight control is the only area of health care in which the importance of the patient's history is ignored. Paying attention to your food history will serve as a powerful guide to how you will react to food.

Thinking historically determines an individualized diet by helping you analyze how you have behaved with a particular food in the past. You use your whole life experience to evaluate a food and know if it will work for you. It allows you to select foods that you will not and will not trigger cravings and still satisfy your taste and appetite.

Thinking historically is thinking smart. Once you know that something is not working, you change what you are doing.

The Third Thin Commandment: The Problem May Be In the Food, Not In You
Recent scientific research is uncovering how the food you eat today may change the chemistry of your brain, increasing your appetite and cravings. According to Dr. Gullo, while weight control is primarily about balancing calories in and calories out, appetite and craving control is about the types of foods you eat and how they interact with your body’s genetic and chemical hardwiring.

Hormones, particularly insulin and cortisol, the neurotransmitter dopamine and the protein neuropeptide Y have an impact on your appetite, cravings, fat storage and the pleasure derived from eating certain foods.

Taste buds in particular have an impact in your food intake. There are three types: 1) non-taster; 2) medium-taster and 3) super-taster. The non-tasters have a high tolerance for and desire for fatty, salty and bitter foods, causing them to indulge on this particular types of food more frequently. The super tasters have highly sensitive palates. The taste of food is very much heightened for them which is why they can stop after eating a cookie or two.

It is important to remember that sometimes losing weight is not willpower, but there is an inborn, genetic predisposition that influences how powerfully a person can respond to the taste and texture of food.

The Fourth Thin Commandment: Structure Gives Control
A common thread among all diets, from Weight Watchers to South Beach, is the presence of an eating plan organized usually into 3 meals and 2-3 snacks. Similarly, overweight people share a pattern of eating without structure. They nibble on snacks and finger foods, skip meals or go too long without eating. Not much food is taken in the early part of the day but an excessive amount of calories is consumed from the afternoon onwards.