It is a New Year and most people are looking to create a “New Image” via diet and exercise. There are hundreds of fad diets on the market each with their own claim to fame. One of the latest diets is called the “Virgin Diet” and I do not believe that you have to be a virgin to participate in it. As with many other diets, this one claims that you can lose 7lbs in 1 week if you drop 7 foods from your nutritional protocol.
Celebrity fitness and nutrition expert JJ Virgin says it’s simple: Just drop seven foods from your diet, and you can lose seven pounds in one week.The foods you should drop from your diet include: gluten, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, corn and (grouped together) sugar and artificial sweeteners.The plan is laid out in her new book, “The Virgin Diet.”
“These seven foods are the very foods that people focus on putting into their diet in effort to be healthy,” Virgin told FoxNews.com. “When I start to show them the issues that soy could have on their metabolism, what gluten … can have on their joints, what dairy can do on their skin – they are blown away.”
So what is the real issue? Food intolerance, according to Virgin, which should not be confused with food allergies.
Food intolerance is a series of physiological responses that your body has to certain foods – like gas and bloating, joint pain, headaches, brain fog and fatigue. “These are things like, ‘Oh, I’m just getting older,’” Virgin said. “The reality (is) those can be huge signs of food intolerance.”
To get started on the Virgin Diet, remove the seven foods from your diet for three weeks. Then, over the next month, slowly reintroduce them, one at a time. “You might find this food works for you, but you might find this food is hazardous to your health, and it’s part of the reason you feel so rotten, and you can’t lose weight,” said Virgin, the co-star of TLC’s “Freaky Eaters.”
Virigin has some easy swaps for your favorite ‘go-to’ foods:
* If you love adding peanut butter to apples and celery – switch to almond butter
* Grabbing a Greek-style yogurt for breakfast? Try coconut yogurt instead
* Need something crunchy mid-day? Turn to brown rice cakes or kale chips and ditch the popcorn.
The main problem with most diets is that they are only good for a short period of time and then people revert back to their old habits. While I agree that dairy and gluten products can have an impact on weight loss to say that this will work for everyone is a radical statement. I would suggest varying the foods you eat, so that your body doesn’t become stagnant to consuming the same nutrients all the time. Another area that is typically overlooked is are you using stimulants like coffee, 5-hour energy, soda in your nutrition program that curtail your normal metabolic function. The best solution is to have a well-balanced nutrition program consisting of small frequent portions of a variety of foods. Most people forget that in order to see the muscles under the layer of fat, not only must you eat well but cardiovascular training at high intensities several times a week will help the process along. For more information on how to eat correctly stop by the gym and talk to us about your concerns.