I’m sure we have heard about different weight-loss diets such as the keto diet which calls for eating a lot of protein and fat but no carbohydrates but have you ever heard of the Dubrow diet?
The Dubrow diet is a type of food that was discovered and created by Heather Dubrow and Terry Dubrow. Terry happens to be a medical practitioner.
Just like every other diet plan, the goal is to enhance weight loss and increase energy. But how does this diet plan work and what makes it unique and different from other diet plans?
If you are a lover of carbs and that is what scares you about trying out the keto diet, well, you are just in luck because unlike the keto diet which eliminates carbohydrates, the Dubrow diet includes carbohydrates.
What the Dubrow diet includes, however, is the effect of eating on intervals as well as fasting for more extended periods. According to the Dubrows diet, they claim that this way of eating is best and much more sustainable than eating only fats.
They argued that it is difficult to maintain a high-fat diet partly because it is usually expensive.
What then does the Dubrow diet entail and how does it work?
According to Terry, he based his recommendations on not having to eat for more extended periods of time. This means that you might not be eating for 16 hours and sometimes a day can go by without you having to put anything in your stomach.
It has been discovered that one of the ways for weight loss to occur is Intermittent Fasting. However, using this alone as a strategy might work well for counting fewer calories but is it useful in fat burning?
The Dubrow diet involves eating in three different phases with each phase having its own periods of fasting. The stages according to the Dubrow diet include:
Step 1: This phase is supposed to shock your hunger system and reset your internal system so that it can begin to adjust to the new way of eating. To do this, you would need to go 16 hours a day without food.
For example, you can decide that your last meal which is your dinner should be taken around 8 pm and your next meal should be brunch (around 12 pm). This means that the time you would eat will only be within the hour of 12 pm and 8 pm. No more food after 8 pm.
Also, you must note, that when you are undergoing this phase, you must not take in any type of alcohol. You will keep doing this for a 5-day period so that your body can slowly conform to your new diet mode.
Phase 2:
In step 2, there are three fasting periods, and you should pick the one you want depending on how fast you want to lose weight.
Fasting period 1: You fast 12 hours a day. This means that you choose a conformable 12-hour window of your choice and you eat within that 12 hour period. You must not go beyond that 12-hour window, and if you miss it, you must wait for the next 12-hour window to eat.
This just means that in a day, you would eat only two times. This way, you would get to lose about 0.5-1.5 pounds per day. You are also not to take any form of alcohol or soda during this period. All you are required to take is water only.
Another fantastic thing is this, and if you can complete this in five days or one week, you are entitled to a cheat snack of your choice.
Fasting period 2:
During this period, you would be fasting 14 hours every day. This means that just like the fasting period 1, you can get to chose the comfortable 10-hour window of your choice and you must eat within that window.
You must not go beyond that 10-hour window to eat, and if you miss eating, you would have to wait until after the next 14 hours to eat.
This just means in a day, and you can either eat once or twice. This way, you would get to lose 1-2.5 pounds in a week. You must not take any type of alcohol or soda during this period as well. All you must take as liquids must be water. No fruit juices allowed either.
Just like the first fasting period, once you are done with this in a week, you are entitled to a cheat meal of your choice.
Fasting period 3:
During this period, you would be fasting for the same 16 hours as you did initially in the first phase. This means that you would only be maintaining the same way you started your first phase all through the month.
You go a day eating only within your 8-hour window to eat and after that, no more food till the next day. If you do this for a week, you will lose 2-4 pounds every week, and you can decide to have a cheat day after a week. The problem about cheat days, however, is that you might lose focus on what you intend to achieve.
So I don’t advise a cheat day for the first month. This is so that you can get the appropriate result you desire and you won’t lose focus. When running the fasting period 3, you are still not allowed to take alcohol, soda or fruit juice. It must always be water for maximum effect.
Remember, water is the only drink you can take in without the fear of adding calories. Don’t also be deceived by the diet sodas as well as sweetened drinks. Each of them contains one form of sugar or the other. This means that for your type of goal, sugar is detrimental to your health right now, so kindly avoid processed sugar.
There are some foods that you are allowed to eat. Although this kind of diet will enable carbohydrates, it only allows healthy carbs. This means you must cut down on all unhealthy carbs such as white bread, pasta, white rice etc. from your diet.
According to Terry, what you eat is just as important as when you eat. For this kind of diet, the Dubrow’s encourage you taking in lots of green vegetables, lean fats, healthy proteins as well as a little of healthy carbohydrates.
Here is a variety of what you can take in. They include Spinach, Arugula, Kale, Chard, green beans, leeks, seaweed, chicken, fish, nuts, beans, coffee, tea, avocado, nut jars of butter, non-fat yoghurt and coconut yoghurt. For healthy carbohydrates, you can opt for brown rice, wheat bread, wheat meal and so on.
Also, you must include fibres in your diet, and this is because they aid digestion. When a food nutritionist was consulted concerning if this plan is healthy or not, Jenna A. Werner says that there are lots of positives to the method.
Werner told Prevention magazine that the book is promoted to a lifestyle change and it also encourages planning and also promotes eating of vegetables. However this plan isn’t individually tailored which means you can always adjust it to suit your body needs, she says.
