The Blog

O.K. I know it’s been a while but I was busy at Decision Nutrition helping my clients lose weight with my revolutionary Hydrophylic Diet. So let’s reiterate. The HD diet is hunger management by ingesting water absorbing foods. When you introduce these foods to your diet and combine physical exercise (like we all should be doing- EVERYDAY), the pounds will come off.

Now- here is a question I get so often- I need to address!!!

“If you are eating water- absorbing foods all the time- won’t my stomach get bloated and gassy- expand- and I’ll look fatter?”

I completely get the question. It sounds scary eating foods that expand with water in your stomach. But let me explain.

The ability for this water absorbing capacity in these foods is due to the soluble fiber that is in the foods. That’s really what we are talking about here- foods that contain what I like to call super fiber. All fiber foods have hydrophilic qualities. HD foods just have magnanimous hydrophilic capabilities. Now you get that we are talking about fiber. So how many times have we heard that fiber is responsible for so many health benefits like lowering serum cholesterol, blood pressure, diabetes risk AND improving digestive problems like reflux, irritable bowel, constipation and diverticulosis. Not to mention that it keeps you full for longer. Now imagine these capabilities magnified. If HD foods have the capacity for all these health benefits plus aiding in your digestion in a super way- they are certainly not making you fat! Now let me just say that if you are eating a common western diet that a typical American eats- a lot of processed foods, high fat protein foods and few fruits and veggies and introduce super fiber hydrophilic foods to your body – your dirty insides may have some adjusting to do. Imagine your sink clogged with a year’s worth of hair. In order to get rid of it- you bring in the Drano. That doesn’t work so you call in the plumber. After 300 dollars and a clump of hair the size of a tennis ball- you have a clog free sink. But it was expensive and annoying and could have been avoided if you cleaned out your sink once in a while!!! I shouldn’t talk because it’s happened to me more times than I care to share. THE POINT IS

The HD diet cleans out your body which makes you flatter not fatter. But all that work your body has to do to get back on track may cause some discomfort. Then you’ve got your clean slate to continue on your HD diet journey.

First, I will explain to you what hydrophilic means.

Hydrophilic foods are foods that are water loving. I like to think of it as hydro-water and philic-filled with. Foods that are hydrophilic offer extraordinary benefits to individuals seeking weight loss in addition to providing a long list of health benefits that I will discuss later.

So why do we want to incorporate hydrophilic foods in our diet? The soluble fiber of these foods come in contact with water, and forms a gelatinous substance. This gel forming phenomenon that takes place is the key to how the hydrophilic diet can be the diet you have been searching for. These gummy fibers known as mucilages when digested, becomes a gel in your stomach!!! The gel is the key to your weight loss and your new healthy body.

Sounds to good to be true- but I swear it is. Here is why.

1. The gel expansion makes you full.
2. You can mix hydrophilic foods into other foods as a calorie and fat displacer.
3. These foods slow down the absorption of carbs in your body, so you don’t have peaks in your blood sugar. So you don’t get those ravenous moments where you can eat the whole kitchen cabinet!!!
4. These foods act as a broom in your body, cleaning it out!! So your body is detoxifying on this diet. It’s a known fact that when you have a cleaner body, those nasty cravings for chocolate, chips and ice cream go away. You don’t have to only drink raw juices for 10 days straight to get this detoxifying benefit. The hydrophilic diet (HD) will provide you with that feeling.

On The HD Diet, you will experience all of these benefits all the while incorporating delicious foods that you love and even a couple of cheats along the way!!!

The king of all hydrophilic foods is the Chia seed. This is a food that will be used in the HD a lot!! The chia seed is the super food of the HD. Some other examples of foods that are hydrophilic are kanten or agar, edible seaweed, pectin fruits, beets, and okra. These foods are incorporated into the HD along with other foods that can be categorized as hydro neutral, and hydrophobic (to be talked about another time) to result in a lifestyle eating plan that will make you look and feel fantastic.

O.K.- I know. There are so many diets out there it can be really confusing. Atkins, South Beach, Grapefruit, Cookie, Cabbage,- just to name a few. But have you looked around you lately?? Even with all these diets circulating- Americans are still fat!!! In fact, during the past 20 years there has been a dramatic increase in obesity in the United States. Eight out of 10 people over 25 are overweight. As a nation, we don’t look so great. The worst part about it is that all this excess weight is killing us. Check out these statistics from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention-

• 80% of type II diabetes related to obesity
• 70% of Cardiovascular disease related to obesity
• 42% breast and colon cancer diagnosed among obese individuals
• 30% of gall bladder surgery related to obesity
• 26% of obese people having high blood pressure

I can even top that. Today’s generation is the 1st generation of Americans in 200 years NOT expected to outlive their parents. As a mom, that one takes my breath away. The point is that the food we take in and the lifestyle we live matters. ALOT.

So as a registered dietitian, an American and a mother- I decided it was time to come up with a revolutionary diet that can accomplish what a diet is supposed to accomplish. There is a formula to a working diet which includes the quantity you take in (volume,calories), the types of foods you put in your body(nutrients, minerals, vitamins), and we can’t forget about physical activity to burn calories and strengthen your heart and muscles. These three elements combined will lead to weight reduction and increased quality of life. So how do we get there?

THE HYDROPHILIC DIET is your answer. It will address all of these aspects in a way that will make sense to you and most of all make you feel and look great. You will look at eating in a different way, and ultimately you will attain your goals.