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" &amp;quot;America&amp;#039;s Doctor,&amp;quot; Mehmet Oz, M.D., learned the benefits of the Mediterranean diet long before most of us did. When he was growing up in Delaware, his Turkish mother served vegetables and fruits of every hue \u2014 and occasionally some known here only as weeds that grow in cracks in the sidewalk. &amp;quot;Purslane is one of the best sources of omega-3 fatty acids in the plant kingdom,&amp;quot; he says. In Turkey, it&amp;#039;s part of a dish called semizotu \u2014 purslane salad served with yogurt. &amp;quot;Since it&amp;#039;s a weed, it&amp;#039;s very easy to grow,&amp;quot; he adds with a grin. &amp;quot;You just have to pick it and eat it.&amp;quot; Dr. Oz may be the only health expert in America who could inspire you to dig salad ingredients out of your front walk. People trust him. And it&amp;#039;s not just because he&amp;#039;s a celebrated heart surgeon, a pioneer in the use of alternative therapies, an Emmy winner (in 2010, Dr. Oz won best host in the Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards for The Dr. Oz Show), and coauthor of seven best-selling books (starting with You: The Owner&amp;#039;s Manual, written with his friend Michael Roizen, M.D., chairman of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute and founder of realage.com).  Tall, slim, and, in broadcast parlance, telegenic, he&amp;#039;s a walking advertisement for what he preaches. Except for being at high risk for colon cancer \u2014 he famously had a precancerous polyp removed on the 2010 season premiere of The Dr. Oz Show \u2014 he is health personified. Fortunately, when it comes to his &amp;quot;secrets,&amp;quot; Dr. Oz practices health philanthropy, generously sharing his knowledge on television, radio (he has his own SiriusXM satellite radio show), and the Web, as well as in print (including a syndicated column he does with Dr. Roizen). And now he&amp;#039;s shared his vast weight-loss wisdom with us, helping us craft this unique One-Day Diet.  Watch Dr. Oz discuss the five weight-loss myths holding you back.      A one-day diet? Ah, you&amp;#039;re thinking, there&amp;#039;s a trick to this. And you&amp;#039;re right. But it&amp;#039;s one that you&amp;#039;re going to want to play on yourself.  Of course, we all know that in one day you won&amp;#039;t fit into Angelina Jolie&amp;#039;s castoffs. But you will have proved to yourself that you can do it \u2014 which will give you the confidence and courage to try it for one more day. So often we lose sight of our goals, particularly when we catch sight of a slab of cheesecake that reminds us how &amp;quot;deprived&amp;quot; we&amp;#039;ve been. On the One-Day Diet, every day is the first day.  Now, here&amp;#039;s your first dose of motivation: You can lose up to two inches and 10 pounds in four weeks by following our meal plan. Just as important: Follow these simple rules that will help you zero in on key risk factors for weight gain \u2014 and conquer them once and for all.  Rule 1: Renew Your Vows Daily Start each morning anew, and recommit to sticking to the plan one day at a time, day after day. That helps you keep the energy and motivation that you always bring to a new project...and that can fizzle out once you see how challenging your undertaking is.  As you get out of bed, repeat this mantra: &amp;quot;I am going to follow my plan for the next 24 hours&amp;quot; \u2014 and remind yourself of the reasons (Your health? That gorgeous little black dress you bought on sale?) you want to lose weight. Rule 2: Do Something Completely Different Every Day Add what we call the &amp;quot;George Costanza element&amp;quot; daily. It&amp;#039;s based on the Seinfeld character who, in one episode, decided to turn his life around by doing the opposite of what he usually did. (And it worked \u2014 at least for 30 minutes.) Doing something different can help shake up your thought patterns and challenge old habits like &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m tired; I need a Cinnabon.&amp;quot; It&amp;#039;s like traveling in a country where they drive on the left-hand side of the road: You&amp;#039;re forced to pay more attention to traffic patterns and where all the gears and gadgets are in your car.  Being more mindful about how and when you eat, how you think when you&amp;#039;re under stress, and what you could be doing instead will put you in the driver&amp;#039;s seat when it comes to your diet. No more popping handfuls of candy, skipping breakfast, or reaching into your grab bag of excuses for why you can&amp;#039;t exercise today. Some suggested add-ons: I will try one new vegetable I will TiVo Jon Stewart and get to bed at a decent hour I will change my computer passwords so every time I log on, I will give myself positive advice like &amp;quot;Stay Strong,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Keep At It,&amp;quot; &amp;quot;Never Give Up&amp;quot; I will notice when I start to feel stressed out and want to eat, then do something totally different (see Rule 7) Rule 3: Set Your Kitchen on Automatic You want to arrange your pantry, fridge, and life so your only choices are good ones. Don&amp;#039;t worry; there will be a lot to savor. Since ours is a Mediterranean diet, you&amp;#039;ll get healthy fats in the form of olive oil as well as olives themselves, avocados, sunflower seeds, nuts, and other foods that are satisfying in small quantities. Fat makes you feel fuller longer, and it gives you that soul-pleasing taste that helps keep you on track.  While you&amp;#039;ll have lean meat or fish every day, the bulk of this diet is plant foods: vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. The fiber in these will \u2014 by slowing your digestion--help stave off hunger without adding a lot of calories. &amp;quot;But whole grains doesn&amp;#039;t mean just bread,&amp;quot; says Dr. Oz. &amp;quot;In the Mediterranean and the Middle East, bread tends to be very thin (pitas) and used mostly as a spoon.&amp;quot; Experiment with other grains, such as quinoa (&amp;quot;a whole grain high in amino acids,&amp;quot; says Dr. Oz) and even chia (yes, the sprouts that miraculously grow on your Chia Pet). &amp;quot;Serve it in or on another dish,&amp;quot; he advises. &amp;quot;It&amp;#039;s very chewy.&amp;quot;  Rule 4: Keep Your Belly Full Hard to believe, but one thing you can do to keep your metabolism in high gear is eat. By not letting yourself get too hungry, you&amp;#039;ll avoid the inevitable carb binge, which sends blood sugar soaring. In response, insulin rises, causing blood sugar to plunge again and setting you up for another food feast. You can still have your three meals (though they may be a little smaller than you&amp;#039;re used to), but Dr. Oz recommends adding two snacks that include belly-filling protein, such as a handful of almonds or a low-fat cheese stick. Protein makes you feel full, possibly because it affects hormones that rule appetite.  Rule 5: Extend the Burn  There are two easy things you can do to keep metabolism chugging: 1. Have water with every meal  A German study found that drinking 17 ounces of water (a little more than two cups) can increase calorie-blasting 24 percent. Research also suggests that green tea may help keep your metabolism in high gear and whittle away at body fat. 2. Take a 20-minute walk  Maybe after each meal? Three jaunts a day will give you a good start on the 60 to 90 minutes of daily exercise recommended for weight loss. &amp;quot;Walk at a strong pace, with good posture and your belly tucked in,&amp;quot; says Dr. Oz. This exercises your core muscles, helping to give you a firm base of support.  But walking alone isn&amp;#039;t enough. To build strong, fat-burning muscles throughout your body (alert: it&amp;#039;s almost sleeveless-shirt season), you need to do weight training. But you don&amp;#039;t have to hoist barbells. Use your own body weight, and you&amp;#039;ll get a bonus: &amp;quot;You&amp;#039;ll be motivated to eat less so you won&amp;#039;t have to lift as much,&amp;quot; Dr. Oz notes. (For an easy routine, try &amp;quot;The No-Weight Workout.&amp;quot;)  Rule 6: Check Portions Size counts. One small, naked potato is about 13/4 to 2\u00BD inches in diameter and contains 135 calories. If you eat a large potato \u2014 3 to 41/4 inches in diameter \u2014 you&amp;#039;re adding 293 calories to your meal, and that&amp;#039;s without slathering on butter or sour cream. Those additional 158 calories can make a difference: Most of us put on weight over the years just by eating an extra 100 to 200 calories a day.  Of course, unless you carry a tiny scale, a measuring cup, and perhaps a ruler with you at all times, you may have trouble assessing portions. Luckily, you can use your hand as a guide: A one-cup serving of cereal is about the size of your fist. A half-cup serving of pasta, rice, or ice cream fits in your cupped hand. A tablespoon of salad dressing, peanut butter, or cream cheese is about thumb-size, while the tip of your thumb represents a teaspoon of butter, mayonnaise, or oil. Rule 7: Chill Out Stress can undo your best intentions to eat right and exercise, especially if your usual response to tension is to keep your mouth busy and your body horizontal. Even worse, stress produces chemicals that can add inches to your waist. &amp;quot;For centuries, the main cause of stress was famine,&amp;quot; Dr. Oz explains. &amp;quot;Now, when you&amp;#039;re under chronic stress, the theory goes, your body perceives famine. That triggers your cannabinoid system, and like external cannabinoids \u2014 marijuana, for instance \u2014 it gives you the munchies. Then your body stores those calories as fat in your belly.&amp;quot; Talk about lose-lose (eating isn&amp;#039;t even an effective stress soother). Instead of nibbling: Be a Corpse This is similar to the couch-potato thing you do, but it&amp;#039;s really a yoga pose that activates your parasympathetic nervous system to counteract the stress response (flooding your body with stress chemicals, stiffening your muscles, setting your heart racing and your blood pressure soaring). Simply lie on a comfortable rug or yoga mat, arms at your sides, and let your muscles melt into the floor. Take regular breaths and pay close attention to the way the air enters your body and leaves it. Let thoughts come and go as they please, but don&amp;#039;t pay much attention to them. Try this for five to 10 minutes a day. Do Something Nice for Yourself It won&amp;#039;t break the bank if you buy a few stargazer lilies on your way home. You&amp;#039;ll love looking at them, and the scent will take you to tropical places.  Do Something Nice for Someone Else Invite your cranky colleague out for coffee. Write a note to someone who has been kind to you and tell her what the gesture meant to you. Studies have found that doing unto others \u2014 especially expressing gratitude \u2014 is one of the best stress busters around. (One great charity we love: the Box Project. This nearly-50-year-old program matches sponsors from around the U.S. with recipient families living in rural poverty. About once a month, you send boxes of food, clothing, supplies, and other aid to a family. For more info, go to boxproject.org.) Take a &amp;quot;Ha-Ha&amp;quot; Break Do you know what makes you laugh \u2014 physiologically speaking? Your epiglottis half-closing the larynx. That even sounds funny, but there&amp;#039;s copious research suggesting that if your epiglottis half-closes your larynx on a regular basis, it reduces stress, makes you feel more kindly toward others, and is healthy for your blood vessels. And it will discourage you from eating \u2014 it&amp;#039;s hard to guffaw and gulp at the same time. Get up and Dance Any kind can raise your feel-good chemicals (like endorphins), which also gives you a better sense of control (over your life and your food choices). So twirl to Pachelbel&amp;#039;s &amp;quot;Canon in D major&amp;quot; or shake your groove thing to &amp;quot;Poker Face&amp;quot; by Lady Gaga \u2014 whatever eases your stress. Let Meditation Take You Away If you think you have a crazy life, let the man who does heart transplants and has his own TV show, radio show, and newspaper column tell you how he tamps down the effects of stress. &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m a TM guy,&amp;quot; says Dr. Oz. &amp;quot;It helps me tap into the calm deep inside.&amp;quot; He does Transcendental Meditation (not twice a day, as recommended, but often) and, with wife Lisa, regularly practices yoga. &amp;quot;Or you can just take 10 minutes a day to go into your bedroom and focus on something that makes you happy,&amp;quot; he suggests.  Be Kind to Yourself &amp;quot;On our 100th show, our guest was [diet guru] Richard Simmons with 100 people who had lost 100 pounds or more,&amp;quot; reports Dr. Oz. &amp;quot;And they all said the same thing: When their self-esteem went up, the weight came off.&amp;quot; If you&amp;#039;re tempted to give yourself a hard time for slipping up, immediately remind yourself of all the times you stayed the course. Rule 8:Get Enough Sleep Put in fewer than seven hours a night, and you may see the scale moving up, Dr. Oz warns. Some of the reasons are obvious. Fatigue makes you more likely to nosh just to keep up your energy. It also makes the idea of even a short walk seem like a cross-country hike. But some of the explanation has to do with your body chemistry: After just a few days of sleep deprivation, the hormones that control appetite go haywire. Specifically, lack of sleep drives down your levels of appetite-inhibiting leptin and drives up levels of ghrelin, which tells your brain you&amp;#039;re hungry and that you need carbs now. Your body stores those excess carbs as fat (to keep you alive during a possible famine) while causing a surge in blood sugar. No wonder long-term sleep deprivation is associated with obesity and diabetes. Along with establishing a bedtime routine and keeping your bedroom dark and reserved for sleep and sex only, set the thermostat so you&amp;#039;re comfortably cool (no higher than 75 degrees). If it&amp;#039;s too hot or too cold, you&amp;#039;ll get sleepus interruptus. Rule 9: When You Blow It, Start Again As the front cover of the National Enquirer proves, even movie stars whose figures are their stock-in-trade flub up in the blubber department now and again. Here&amp;#039;s how to make a comeback when you&amp;#039;ve been waylaid by a chocolate donut, a bag of salt-and-vinegar chips, or the latest House marathon. You can also use these tips to avoid temptation in the first place. Forget Tomorrow  There&amp;#039;s nothing magic about the dawn. &amp;quot;If you make a mistake, get back on track immediately,&amp;quot; advises Dr. Oz. That means you need to put down what remains of that \u00E9clair and walk away \u2014 not finish it and binge for the rest of the day.  Do Yoga Poses They&amp;#039;re distracting, relaxing, and even soporific if you have trouble getting to sleep. One we especially like is downward-facing dog: When you&amp;#039;re upside down, you can&amp;#039;t eat. Take Baby Steps If you&amp;#039;ve blown your exercise commitment for a day or two, get going again with a five-minute walk. If that feels good, add another five minutes. Keep it up. You Say What? Dr. Oz responds to some popular &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;d like to lose weight, but...&amp;quot; excuses:  &amp;quot;I simply can&amp;#039;t give up sweets&amp;quot; If you&amp;#039;re the kind of person who has to eat a cookie if it&amp;#039;s there, then eat it. But after you&amp;#039;ve had your cookie, wash it down with a glass of water. It gets the taste out of your mouth, and gets rid of the hedonistic impulse to finish the box. Another trick is to choose treats you like but that don&amp;#039;t trigger the impulse to keep eating. When I want a sweet, I eat 70-percent-cacao chocolate. It&amp;#039;s not too sweet, and I find you really can&amp;#039;t eat too much.  &amp;quot;I&amp;#039;m trying, but the scale doesn&amp;#039;t budge&amp;quot; Some people are dealt a rough genetic hand that makes it harder to lose weight. But ask yourself: Would you let your best friend eat what you eat? That&amp;#039;s one reason I recommend people lose weight with a partner. A University of Georgia study found that willpower is contagious. So try hanging with someone who exerts self-control \u2014 it will boost yours. &amp;quot;I get so hungry&amp;quot;  Eat more! I&amp;#039;m guessing the plan you&amp;#039;ve adopted is so extreme you never feel satisfied. If that&amp;#039;s the case, you&amp;#039;re setting yourself up for disaster \u2014 you&amp;#039;ll be so miserable, you&amp;#039;ll eat way more than you would if you kept your intake moderate and steady. Dine-Out Choices Stay on track with one of these diet-friendly restaurant meals   Applebee&amp;#039;s  Grilled Dijon Chicken and Portabellos, plus a small side of seasonal veggies  Grilled Shrimp &amp;amp;amp; Island Rice, plus a side of fresh fruit Chili&amp;#039;s GG Salmon with Garlic &amp;amp;amp; Herbs (includes Rice and Seasonal Veggies) Chicken Fajita with 1 Flour Tortilla (no condiments) and Mandarin Oranges  Olive Garden Venetian Apricot Chicken with a cup of Minestrone Soup Grilled Chicken Spiedini P.F. Chang&amp;#039;s  Chicken Lettuce Wraps (\u00BD appetizer order), 1 cup Hot &amp;amp;amp; Sour Soup, and 1 Mini Tiramisu Asian Grilled Salmon on Brown Rice (\u00BD order), Shanghai Cucumbers, and 1 Mini Great Wall of Chocolate "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/advice/a13312/dr-oz-one-day-diet/>