I love this diet idea. It's a really simple set of rules to follow:
No Sweets (foods where main ingredient is sugar)
No Snacks (between meals)
No Seconds
Except on days that start with S (weekends, special occasions, sick days)
I've given you some extra explanation to help your understanding of this diet, but in reality it is so simple. It is designed to fit in with our psychological tendencies. There is no deprivation in this diet, just waiting until meal time and a LOT of commonsense.
Even the crazy exercise program Reinhard suggests, the Shoveglove, is based on the psychologically insignificant timeframe of 14 minutes. I'm impressed. I'm really impressed.
Reinhard talks occasionally about the spiritual aspects of this diet,... but he doesn't really highlight them. I imagine he's referring to the deprivations and obsessions that so often occur when dieting begins. I can actually see in its detail some Biblical principles. Firstly, that each meal is not to be taken lightly, but to be appreciated and savoured. If it is not both delicious and nutritious, then it is not serving any real purpose. When you only have 3 plates of food a day, you make them count.
Not that Reinhard say this, but this is the sentiment behind the laws of Leviticus - If food is eaten without attention (like a snack), without gratefulness, or without true regard for the animal who gave up its life so you could eat, then it probably amounts to gluttony. An animal is sacrificed to the Lord and then the Israelites would seek forgiveness from God. They only ate meat when their hearts were right before God. I think that's important. It's obviously something vegetarians are sensitive to - even if they don't believe in God. They're aware that in eating meat they are taking away a life that has value, so they don't eat it. In the Biblical book of Daniel, he is only too aware of this and asks to be fed only vegetables, pulses and water. He was one of the healthiest men in the King's Court.
That's a tangent,... but most of us are overweight because we're gluttons, plain and simple. That said, learning to eat 3 round meals a day and no more, is a significant change for our bodies to accomodate. But Reinhard says that psychologically and physically our bodies adjust to this. We learn a new way of eating and the weight drops off.
"What is the best way to determine my "ideal" weight? I don't think there is much point in having an ideal weight. Have ideal behavior -- habits of moderate eating and exertion. Whatever you weigh then is ideal."
- Reinhard Engels
I'll let you know how I go.
