Releasing Fat and Loving Every Sip

The cover of this month's Reader's Digest looks like an infomercial. It screams out...

Eat to Release Fat

Revolutionary Diet Plan!

Drop up to 21 pounds in 21 days!

If this were any other magazine, I would probably  walk on by without a second glance, but I LOVE Reader's Digest and subscribe to it on my iPad. So I read the article. It turns out it is mostly an advertisement for a new book they are hawking, The Digest Diet. 

I told myself a long time ago that I was never going to buy another weight loss book or gadget ever again. My struggle with weight is definitely not due to a lack of knowledge or a lack of gadgets. But this is READER'S DIGEST and, as I have mentioned before, I am a sucker for infomercials (and apparently, things that look like infomercials). So I bit and ordered the book. (It comes with a 14 day-money back guarantee and they pay return shipping so I figure, what's the harm?)

Since I do not intend this posting to be a book review, I am not going to go into much detail about the content. I found it to be consistent with what I know about diet, exercise and general healthy living. What it does do very nicely is pull together information about foods that the author says helps your body release fat and provides recipes and menus for a 21-day Fat Releasing plan.

I've decided to give it a try. I've started adding nonfat yogurt, light coconut milk, and flaxseed meal to all my smoothies. I'm experimenting with new flavor combinations that I would not have considered previously, like banana and peanut butter. (According to the book, nuts are a good source of protein, healthy fats, and fiber, all of which are fat releasers.)

In the photo:

• Coconut milk
• Cabbage and cauliflower
• Natural, no-salt-added peanut butter
• 6 oz nonfat yogurt with flaxseed meal
• An overly ripe, but perfectly sweet, banana 
• Not pictured are a splash of low-fat milk and water, to liquefy
• Also not pictured are soy protein powder and fiber

I'm still adding protein powder and fiber to my shakes (this plan seems to be a little light on protein, especially in the first four days). So far, things are going well, and I am finding my smoothies to be a lot more satisfying (calorie-wise thanks to the yogurt and milk) and actually, a lot more delicious too.