The Ornish Diet

Description:

Dr. Dean Ornish was a revolutionary in 1993 when he published his first version of Eat More, Weigh Less. Instead of suggesting that people lose weight by filling up on unlimited quantities of meat and vegetables, Dr. Ornish stressed plant foods. Fat literally makes you fat, he wrote, and meat and animal products are full of fat. Even proteins with benign images like salmon and chicken have much more fat than plant-based foods. Foods that others touted as good for your health are not necessarily so, in Dr. Ornish’s view. After all, olive oil is 100% fat.

In 1910, Americans were eating a diet of 60% carbohydrates, 20% fat, and 20% protein. Today that ratio has changed to 40% carbohydrate, 40% fat, and 20% protein. Dr. Ornish believes that the increase in fat intake is what is causing the current obesity epidemic. He points to a Stanford University study that found fat and thin men ate the same amount of calories, but the overweight males consumed more fat.

His advice is simple: Eat foods low in fat and high in complex carbohydrates and fiber. Eat only when you feel hungry, and stop when you feel full but not “stuffed.” As any dieter knows, this is easier said than done, but Dr. Ornish understands that. He advises you not only to take a new approach to food, but to life in general. Take up exercise, meditation, and other spiritual practices. By learning to nourish your soul, you’ll lose your spiritual hunger and your physical “false hunger,” too.

If you concentrate on what you are eating, you will get more enjoyment out of it and eat less. “Eat like a gourmet,” he writes. “Eat with mindfulness, slowly savoring each bite.” Don’t drive, watch television, talk on the phone, or engage in any “multi-tasking” when you eat. Eating less is ultimately about exercising restraint at the table, and you will be able to do that if you truly enjoy your food.

The Ornish Diet is vegetarian, although he allows nonfat dairy products like yogurt and certain cheeses. The staples in the diet are legumes and grains. He emphasizes low-fat cooking, and most of the recipes use dry heats like grilling and roasting instead of oil or butter. You do not have to count calories, but since the diet is about fat, you have to become more conscious of the fat grams you consume. He provides approximate numbers of fat grams per day based on heights and weights.

See: Ornish, Dean (MD). Eat More, Weigh Less (Revised) (New York: Harper Collins), 2001.

Created: 1993

Categories: Fad

Website:

Meetings: No

Books: No

Sample Menu:

Here are two daily sample menus from the Ornish Diet’s Advantage Ten program.

BREAKFAST Oatmeal with cinnamon and raisins, nonfat yogurt, whole-wheat toast with preserves, orange juice, warm beverage

LUNCH Whole-wheat burrito with vegetarian red beans and seven-grain rice, salsa or chutney, chopped fresh cilantro, tossed green salad

DINNER Spinach Ravioli*, lentil soup with celery, croutons, tossed green salad, poached fruits

BREAKFAST Spice muffins, nonfat cottage cheese, cantaloupe, fruit preserves, warm beverage

LUNCH Lentil, celery and ginger salad with cucumber vinaigrette, eggplant with pita chips, Gazpacho, tossed green salad

DINNER Vegetarian red beans and seven-grain rice, okra and tomatoes, asparagus, green salad, bananas

*Spinach Ravioli (8 servings)

1 cup tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

One small onion, oven roasted and chopped

One clove minced garlic

½ lb. spinach leaves, blanched and chopped

½ cup nonfat cottage cheese

2 T. minced fresh basil

Salt and pepper

48 eggless potsticker skins

Combine tomatoes, onion, mushrooms and garlic in saucepan. Cook until mixture is somewhat dry, set aside.

In a large bowl, combine tomato mixture, spinach, cottage cheese, and basil. Lay out a single layer of potsticker skins and moisten edges with water. Place 1 tablespoon of the spinach mixture into the center of each skin. Cover with a second skin and press edges with a fork to seal. Cook ravioli in boiling water for three minutes.

Ratings:

Overall Rating:

Safety Rating:

User Ratings: Be the first to rate this diet

Email this |

| Add to del.icio.us | Rate this Diet