iPhone app iPad app Android phone app Android tablet app More

'The Drop 10 Diet': 10 Stay-Slim Tips For Life

Special to The Huffington Post  |  By Posted: 04/ 3/2012 8:32 am Updated: 04/ 3/2012 5:02 pm

Drop 10 Diet

When I lost 25 pounds five years ago everyone asked me: How'd you do it?

What diet are you on? What pill are you taking? The answer, boringly enough, is: I eat the healthiest foods I can find. It's not really a diet but a mindset-when you eat this way, you're never hungry, don't have to count calories and you can even have a treat every day. And no, I hate pills. I don't even take Tylenol. People would hear this and roll their eyes and huff and say, whatever. They chalked up my weight loss to the fact that I exercise a lot...but I have always exercised a lot and despite it, carried 20 to 25 extra pounds on me. I was fit underneath, but fat on top.

My turnaround came when I decided to ditch junk food and bring on superfoods-foods that naturally help your body burn fat and be healthier. (Two of my all-time faves-coffee and dark chocolate-qualify!) I started eating more of them and when the weight peeled off and stayed off, I knew I'd hit on something powerful. I put it all down in a book called The Drop 10 Diet because that's how many pounds you can lose in just 5 weeks, although you can keep going and lose as much as you want to. Eating this way, more than 40 testers shed weight equally as fast and as effortlessly as I did and now the idea has taken off.

The trick to the plan is to eat as many of the superfoods as you can at every meal and snack-each one is scientifically proven to help rev metabolism (protein and certain "good" fats do this) and shed belly fat (calcium is key). Some even keep every calorie you eat from sticking around (fiber is the magic ingredient here). By filling up on superfoods, you can, in just over one month, drop 10 pounds while staying full and satisfied. Plus, you'll have more energy, be less stressed, and feel more motivated to work out because you're fueling your body with the best nutrients Mother Nature can offer. Try it! There are 30 of these superfoods, including surprising picks like lean steak-its protein helps you build muscle, so your body burns more calories while you're sitting there reading this. Get The Drop 10 Diet and start losing, today! Let the foods do the work for you!

Be On Portion Patrol
1  of  12
PLAY
FULLSCREEN
ZOOM
SHARE THIS SLIDE 
It's human nature to clean your plate -- and the more you're served (or serve yourself), the more you're likely to eat. For example, when researchers at Pennsylvania State University in University Park gave people standard-size meals for 11 days, then supersized them by 50 percent, diners took in 423 more calories per day. If you need help sticking to sensible portions when eating meals off the Drop 10 plan, downsize your dishes: Smaller plates hold less. Also, if you have trouble eyeballing servings, whip out measuring spoons and cups. It's worth taking a little extra time now so you won't see pounds appear later.


Flickr photo by nate steiner

Excerpted from "THE DROP 10 DIET" by Lucy Danziger Copyright © 2012 by Lucy Danziger. Excerpted by permission of Ballantine Books, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

For more on diet and nutrition, click here.

FOLLOW HEALTHY LIVING

When I lost 25 pounds five years ago everyone asked me: How'd you do it? What diet are you on? What pill are you taking? The answer, boringly enough, is: I eat the healthiest foods I can find. It's...
When I lost 25 pounds five years ago everyone asked me: How'd you do it? What diet are you on? What pill are you taking? The answer, boringly enough, is: I eat the healthiest foods I can find. It's...
 
 
  • Comments
  • 57
  • Pending Comments
  • 0
  • View FAQ
Post Comment Preview Comment
To reply to a Comment: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to.
View All
Favorites
Recency  | 
Popularity
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
Carmen Madonna Campos
dude! it's me!!!
07:54 PM on 04/07/2012
good article, but the best tips are Exercise and Moderation.
06:04 AM on 10/15/2012
Yes, I agree with you, Carmen! Without these two things is quite hard to have a healthy living and to stay fit, even if we eat low fat foods.
Personally, I'm keeping a light diet and I'm doing lots of fitness exercises, plus that I've recently started to take some martial arts in Toronto classes, about which I've heard that they are really useful!
03:37 AM on 04/05/2012
A really excellent article. A healthy way of living is the most important thing to keep healthy!
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
jgarma
02:38 PM on 04/04/2012
The way I think of it is to choose to eat more foods high in water content than those that aren't.

If you can put it in a blender or juicer and it makes juice, not sludge, it's probably high in nutrition, and easy on the gastrointestinal tract.

So, this would value highly fruits and veggies and not value bread and past.

There's more to this that you can read at "Diet 101":
http://www.garmaonhealth.com/diet/diet-101
12:54 AM on 04/04/2012
They forgot to mention to NOT buy junk food and super sweet fruit juices. If you don't have them in the house, you cant eat them. I don't know about my peers, but I'm way to lazy to get up, drive to the store, buy some junk food (and break my good eating habits) because I have craving at 9pm.
11:54 PM on 04/03/2012
..."I eat the healthiest foods I can find. It's not really a diet but a mindset-when you eat this way, you're never hungry, don't have to count calories and you can even have a treat every day." This is the answer coupled with some exercise.

Watching "The Biggest Loser" and although they go thru hell and are losing massive weight in as short amount of time, they are sent home with a great head start to living a better life. If they didn't exercise another day simply making good food choices "most" of the time will keep them at a healthy weight. Bravo to them! It's heart breaking to see people eat themselves almost to death in some cases particularly the young people.
05:24 AM on 04/04/2012
Availability and advertising are the real problems with junk food. Legal poison.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JFaye
My micro-bio is not empty. Thank you.
10:31 PM on 04/03/2012
Oh my goodness one ... my refrigerator looks just the one featured;
Oh my goodness two ... really, dark chocolate and coffee ... From this day on I will add dark chocolate to my grocery list on a regular basis.
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
11:49 PM on 04/03/2012
To get the best health benefits from your chocolate, make sure it is 70% or higher. :)
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
annie345
liberal american in france
02:43 AM on 04/04/2012
Thanks for the good advice. didn't know that. :)
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JFaye
My micro-bio is not empty. Thank you.
07:28 PM on 04/04/2012
Ventured out today to pick up some delicious dark chocolat as well decided to buy some protein for my smoothies...
09:24 PM on 04/03/2012
This sounds like an infomercial to me.

"Foodies" pride themselves on only eating good super foods, yet focused on food, they grow and grow and grow -- fat.

I also wonder about the writer's age. Don't think this super-food diet would work in the battle against hormone induced weight gain.

The slide show seems to be an add-on with no relationship to the article.

I'm with the writer on one point: calcium. I believe it makes a difference in weight loss.
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
JFaye
My micro-bio is not empty. Thank you.
10:35 PM on 04/03/2012
Great points and yes, I am a foodie and I eat healthy ... Have been at a plateau for several years, not gaining ... but not losing either and that is OK considering the "hormone induced weight gain."

The article did read more like an infomercial.. the reality of our brave new world.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
cheesecake chick
i want to be the person my dog thinks i am
03:40 PM on 04/04/2012
My mother (82 y.o.) has had cancer three times already in her life. Her current state of health is excellent. I believe that is because a>) she refused chemo and only did radiation and b) she changed her eating habits.
She now eats the recommended 9 servings of fruits/vegetables a day. Not as juice, the whole fruit and/or veggie.She drinks 2 quarts of water a day also. No coffee.
She says when you eat that much fiber, it reduces your cholesterol count, keeps your colon clean, and doesn't leave a lot of room for junk foods.
Every night, her snack is 1/2 cup ice cream. (she says for the calcium, i say it is because everyone loves ice cream!)
She is now the healthiest woman i know.
04:24 PM on 04/04/2012
I am a fan of you mother's. Pen fan might be a better term.

The human urinary system is a feedback system. Drinking eight glasses of water a day is an entire myth. As soon as a person drinks more water than the body needs, the urinary system gets rid of it. Not sure how many glasses make one quart, but it sound like a lot to me. Most of us (those who are not jogging, doing aerobics, etc.) get all the water we need in our food.

Nevertheless it seems as if your Mum is doing something right that doesn't need to be disturbed. Good for her.
07:43 PM on 04/03/2012
Couldn't agree more. I also like to eat more mini meals throughout the day. I find that this helps with my metabolism. Came across this great list "Top Reasons to Eat MORE Often". It's never a good idea to have big gaps in time between meals. http://www.skinnyscoop.com/list/you_camp/top-reasons-to-eat-more-often
06:42 PM on 04/03/2012
So, do you have to count calories or not?

The article says no, but the "tips" say yes.
noahmarder
Exposing the regressive lies, one by one
06:27 PM on 04/03/2012
Yet another article equating thinness with fitness. STOP IT Huffpost!
09:25 PM on 04/03/2012
Fit people are never overweight.
photo
HUFFPOST SUPER USER
tomteboda
10:02 PM on 04/03/2012
Untrue. "Overweight" is a statistical balance based on population averages, not individual fitness. This is why there is now a condition called "normal weight obesity" while many professional athletes are "obese" by weight.
noahmarder
Exposing the regressive lies, one by one
10:15 PM on 04/03/2012
Someone is defined as overweight when his body mass index is between 25 and 30 kg/m^2. There are plenty of fit people (including myself, at 5'10" and 190 lbs) with BMIs in that range. Any man with a respectable amount of muscle is likely to be at least overweight.

Fitness refers to physical health (aerobic capacity and muscle strength and endurance) rather than the number on a scale.
02:06 AM on 04/04/2012
Agreed. This is exactly what is wrong with our society. Fitness comes in every shape and size.
photo
ginadeoliveira2008
Seen a shooting star tonight and I thought of you
01:40 PM on 04/03/2012
Thank you for ten excellent tips. Always good to be reminded of them! I already lost all the weight I needed to shed, but keeping it off is the real challange to be faced daily. Yours is the kind of article that reads as real support!
07:38 PM on 04/03/2012
Completely agree, keeping it off can sometimes be the hardest!
01:37 PM on 04/03/2012
Papi Chullo found some Healthy advice about Virgin Coconut Oil - USDA ORGANIC...... at the BLOGsite below, with articles about healthy eating and lifestyle.

http://tony-baja-health-resort.blogspot.com/
This user has chosen to opt out of the Badges program
09:17 AM on 04/03/2012
It's a way of life not just for a little while it's for the rest of your life. Love it or Leave it.
Cannot just excercise and reap healthy benefits.