The No Flour, No Sugar Diet Plan

Just as you'd expect from its name, Dr. Gott's No Flour, No Sugar Diet requires you to stop eating anything and everything that contains flour or sugar. No cakes, cookies, dessert, pasta, or bread. You may eat whole grains as long as they do not contain flour. Yes, that does include omitting whole-wheat flour from your diet. The theory is that if you eat food that you digest quickly, you will soon become hungry again. Then, you eat more all day than your body actually needs. Flour and sugar are simple carbohydrates that the body digests quickly and which make you hungry soon after you eat them. They also provide "empty calories," with minimal payback in nutrition. Your goal is to eat nutrient-dense foods such as fruit, vegetables, lean meats, whole grains, non-fat or low-fat dairy, and legumes like beans and lentils. You'll also need to add exercise to your daily life.

What makes The No Flour, No Sugar Diet a different weight loss plan?

The No Flour, No Sugar Diet is a member of the low-calorie family, though it may not seem like it because you don't actually count calories or food servings. Rather than counting, you are completely eliminating foods that would contribute to a higher calorie count. This is not a low-carbohydrate diet because the No Sugar, No Four Diet plan allows for whole grains, fruits, and even for some potatoes and starchy vegetables like corn. Carbohydrates can comprise half of what you eat, as long as you're not eating bread, pasta, pizza, desserts and other foods containing flour or sugar.

What is The No Flour, No Sugar Diet?

The No Flour, No Sugar Diet is simple to understand, but not necessarily easy to follow. You eliminate foods that contribute to hunger and that do not provide much nutritional value. You eat moderate portions of healthy foods such as vegetables, fruit, lean meats, and whole grains. You avoid any foods made with flour like bread, crackers, cookies, pastas, pizza, and most cereals.

Also, you'll skip eating any foods that contain sugar whether it's beets, cane or brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, or any other sugars.

Essentially you abandon most desserts, pastas, breads (including sandwiches), bagels, and crackers - what most of us consider the good stuff. To replace bread, look for corn tortillas made of corn and not corn flour. You get to experiment with whole grains like bulgur, quinoa, and barley. And, you'll have to come up with alternatives to satisfy your cravings for fresh bread, pizza, sweets, and pasta.

On the No Flour, No Sugar Diet plan, you control your portions by divvying up an average-sized dinner plate. Fill half of it with non-starchy vegetables (or a combination of half non-starchy vegetables and half fresh fruits). The remaining half is a 50-50 split between meat, poultry, fish or tofu, and whole grains or starchy vegetables such as corn and brown rice.

You should eat normal portion sizes, assuming you can figure out what that means. You'll also benefit from reading nutrition labels on packaged foods so that you can be alert to hidden sugars and flours and be aware of calorie counts. Turns out the No Flour, No Sugar Diet is not quite as simple as it bills itself to be. Being knowledgeable about calories will help enhance your weight loss and help you maintain a healthy weight once you reach it. Remember, this plan wants to help you lower your overall calories, not just cut out certain foods. To help you keep track, the plan encourages you to write down all the foods and beverages you consume daily.

So far, so good. But it does become confusing once you try to reconcile the conflicting information about how to fit some foods into your diet. The No Flour, No Sugar Diet states that rice and potatoes are definitely okay to eat. Then, it recommends that you restrict these foods when you are about to go on vacation - be "extra-stringent" so you can save up "credits" for your trip.

What does this mean? Can you eat these foods everyday or are these foods that you should only have on occasion? It's clear that you should be eating whole grains like bulgur and brown rice, lean meats, seafood, non- or low-fat dairy, most vegetables, most fruits, legumes like beans and peas, nuts, seeds, and soy foods like tofu.

Once you reach your weight-loss goal, you can maintain your new figure by occasionally eating foods that contain flour. Keep avoiding sugar, which you may have only once in a blue moon. Weigh yourself every week so that you can monitor any weight changes and take action if you're gaining weight.

What are the weight loss expectations?

By following the No Flour, No Sugar Diet properly, you can expect to lose one to two pounds per week.

Is exercise promoted?

The No Flour, No Sugar Diet recommends exercise even though you can lose weight just by following the eating plan. Choose an exercise that you enjoy and spend 30 to 60 minutes exercising daily. Spending an hour daily is even better and accords with the United States Department of Agriculture's recommendation. If you loathe exercise or can barely fit in enough sleep time, you may not be able to squeeze in 60 minutes all at once. What you can do is fit in your activity in ten-minute intervals throughout the day. The idea is that you should do what you can: any activity is better than none. You can start out by doing a shorter daily exercise regimen and eventually work your way up to 30 to 60 minutes a day.

Are supplements recommended?

No specific supplements are recommended on the No Flour, No Sugar Diet.