Keri Gans - The Small Change Diet: 10 Steps to a Thinner, Healthier You

Dont bite off more than you can chew. Successful weight loss is achieved one small change at a time.

The Small Change Diet is based on ten key steps that will help you turn your bad habits into good ones and give you immediate weight loss results and a lifetime of health:

1. Create a healthy eating schedule.

2. Eat more fruits and vegetables.

3. Cut empty beverage calories.

4. Increase fiber intake.

5. Reduce the undercover calories of dressings and sauces.

6. Eat leaner meats.

7. Find the right fats and lose the bad fats.

8. Curb sugar and salt cravings.

9. Stay healthy in social situations.

10. Exercise.

The Small Change Diet is also available as an eBook.

This publication contains the opinions and ideas of the author. It is sold with the understanding that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering health services in the book. The reader should consult his or her own medical and health providers as appropriate before adopting any of the suggestions in this book or drawing inferences from it.

The author and publisher specifically disclaim all responsibility for any liability, loss or risk, personal or otherwise, which is incurred as a consequence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.

Copyright 2011 by Keri Gans

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Pocket Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020

First Gallery Books trade paperback edition March 2011

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Designed by Level C

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gans, Keri.

The small change diet : 10 steps to a thinner, healthier you / Keri Gans. 1st Gallery Books trade paperback ed.

p. cm.

1. Reducing diets. I. Title.

RM222.2.G347 2011

613.25dc22 2010044182

ISBN: 978-1-4516-0888-5
ISBN: 978-1-4516-0893-9 (ebook)

The Small Change Diet

INTRODUCTION

We live in a fast-paced world of express lanes and overnight delivery. To get ahead, we juggle work and family and often tackle more than we can handle. No pain, no gain, we preach. We are conditioned to believe that faster is better and that the more you do and the harder you work, the more successful you are. As a result, most people imagine the only way to lose weight is to do something drastic and severe. They spend way too much time counting calories, restricting their food choices, and eliminating entire food groups. They create too many unrealistic food rules for themselves, and theyre miserable. At the end of the day, they find themselves discouraged when the pounds dont drop off fast enough or they gain back all the weight. Some people become so disappointed that they stop trying altogether. Sound familiar?

It sure sounds familiar to me. As a registered dietitian with a private practice in Manhattan, I see this folly all the time in my clients. They sincerely want to lose weight, but theyve been on so many fad or crash diets that theyve lost sight of a very important truth: To lose weight, you must eat normally . With portion size, and health, in mind. I help them accomplish this by retraining their habits, so they can form new habits that have a decisive impact on their weight. The cornerstone of my belief: The changes that will make the most impact are often the smallest ones, including, Dont be in a hurry.

The real truth is if you take on too much and lose weight too quickly, you will gain it all back, and then some. Why doesnt quick weight loss stick? Because when it happens too fast, it means you didnt train yourself to change bad habits for the long haul, and without these long-term changes, eventually you are right back where you started. Many of my patients continued to make this same grueling, quick-fix mistake until they came to see me. I taught them to slow down and focus on ten key changesthe Small Change Diet that I am about to share with youthat finally gave them the weight loss success that lasts a lifetime. Ive worked with hundreds of clients who have lost an average of ten to sixty pounds, and they have all kept it off for years. So can you.

Weight loss doesnt have to feel like another race to the finish line, another unrealistic pressure you have to manage. Whether you are trying to shed ten pounds or a hundred, it didnt take you days to gain that unwanted weight. It took months, probably years, of not-so-great habitslike skipping meals, reaching for fried food, sipping sugary beveragesto pack on the pounds. Why should anyone, including you, expect to lose the weight overnight? Im here to tell you that consistency wins the race. Relax. Take a breath. Dont bite off more than you can chew. Healthy weight loss is achieved one change at a time.

Dont get me wrong; all of my patients also lose weight immediately, and so will you. For instance, most people lose five to ten pounds with each incorporated change over several weeks, depending on their lifestyle and weight. Stop drinking soda every day: Drop five pounds. Start eating breakfast: Drop another five pounds. Eat fish once a week: bam , another two pounds. Each change delivers its own instant results depending on your lifestyle and needs.

The big difference between my plan and so-called quick fixes is that the Small Change Diet doesnt require you to be perfect from day one. Its about really training yourself to do one healthy change before expecting yourself to tackle another. Its turning smart habits into second nature. And best of all, by making one change at a time, you dont feel deprived as you lose the weight. I always ask my patients the same question: Do you feel like you are on a diet? The answer is almost always nomake that, No! The Small Change Diet gives you permission and the tools to adopt a healthier eating regime, one Small Change at a time. Are you with me? Then lets go!

The Small Change Diet is based on the following ten key changes that will help you turn your bad habits into good ones and give you immediate weight loss results and a lifetime of health:

1. Create a healthy eating schedule.

2. Brighten your plate, naturally.

3. Think before you drink (sip, guzzle, or chug).

4. Give your carbs a makeover.

5. Go easy on the extras and make savory swaps for old standbys.

6. Skinny your meat.

7. Eat the right kinds (and amounts) of fat.

8. Tame your sweet tooth and your saltshaker.

9. Share food and good times with advance planningand without guilt.

10. Get moving.

The book is organized around ten key Small Changes, each providing a progressive Small Change Plan for you to master and reap its instant rewards. Once you train yourself to adopt one change, you move on to another. You decide which changes to focus on and when it is time to make another. Once youve made all ten Small Changes, you will not only achieve an entirely healthier, thinner you, but you will also be able to easily maintain your weight loss for good.