The Drop 10 Diet

After reporting on diets for many years, the editor of SELF magazine created a diet of her own. Lucy Danziger wanted to eliminate the constant hunger and feeling of deprivation that come with so many diets. Her Drop 10 diet suggests that you lose weight by ADDING foods to your meal plan.

Danziger identified 30 foods that she says "turn on" your body's natural ability to burn fat. These foods serve double duty because they make you feel full, so you eat less, and speed up your metabolism so you burn more calories. By adding these foods to your diet, Danziger claims that you can lose 10 pounds in 5 weeks.

The 30 super foods are the core of the Drop 10 diet. Danziger references medical studies that found that certain common foods had a positive impact on metabolism and fat reduction. For example, she says that yogurt can increase fat loss by more than half, compared to diets without yogurt.

The Drop 10 diet pays special attention to foods that digest slowly. Some diets call this attribute the glycemic index. The theory is that eating foods that digest quickly tricks your body into storing some of that avalanche of blood glucose in the cells as fat because your body doesn't need that much energy at that time. By eating foods that convert to glucose more slowly, your cells have a chance to use the energy as it is available and don't store it as fat for later use.

A happy coincidence is that many foods that digest slowly also contain a lot of fiber. Not only does that slow digestion, it also makes you feel full. That means that you are satisfied sooner and therefore eat less. And by avoiding the sudden spikes in blood glucose, your natural longing for sweets is decreased.

The Drop 10 diet recommends foods with a lot of fiber, protein and complex carbohydrates. That means eggs and lean meats, fruits and vegetables, nuts and lentils. Oh, and don't forget the yogurt!

By adding these super foods to your diet, you aren't taking away the foods that you love. But after eating a nice chicken breast with broccoli and brown rice, you may not be as hungry for that slice of apple pie. Bingo! You are on the road to weight loss. As a side benefit, these super foods fall neatly into the government's recommended balanced diet, as seen in the new My Plate replacement for the food pyramid.

So what's to lose? Adding these foods to what you're already eating is a pretty sweet deal, diet-wise. Your nutrition will improve, you will probably feel better, and who knows, you might actually lose some weight. So grab a diet buddy and fill those plates!