I have formulated this diet over the last several years, taking the best approaches from a variety of different nutritional sources. Additionally, I have tried to incorporate products that are convenient and of high quality, to make the program easier to follow. You won't have to count calories or carbs, but you will have to watch your portions. In some cases, where the available products were not up to my guidelines, I have developed products that were a better fit.
Since minimizing or eliminating carbohydrates will promote the most rapid weight reduction, most people should start with this approach to achieve rapid results and get the process started. I call this starting point the Rapid Reduction phase. It is here that you will achieve your quickest -- but not all of -- your weight reduction.
One great way to guarantee success is to keep a food diary. If you get into the habit of writing everything down that you eat or drink, it will help you pinpoint problem areas, especially if you are not losing weight as rapidly as you desire. It will also give you an eye-opening view of how much you are really eating.
I am not going to give you many specific menus; this may make you feel constrained to eat just what is on that day's meal plan. Instead, I would like to give you the building blocks, and have you create your own foods. You can be as creative as you like, as long as you keep your food choices on the acceptable foods lists.
Rapid Reduction: Breakfast
This is an essential meal, as it gets your metabolism going and provides your energy to start the day. Eggs are a great choice, especially if you leave out some of the yolks. I recommend eating 3 eggs, using the white from all 3 eggs and the yolk from just one. You can hard-boil or fry the eggs. If you fry, use a light mist of olive oil or a light spray of cooking spray, but keep it to a minimum. Better yet, get a good quality no-stick pan and leave out the spray. It will cut down on the fat and calories. You could also eat 2 or 3 slices of turkey, or some turkey sausage. Light sausage is also okay, but only once during the week. Remember, we want to watch the fat content.
I find the most convenient alternative for breakfast is shakes. I have been using a variety of shakes over the years, and was not entirely pleased with the available options. Some were too thin and not filling enough, some had too much fat, and others just didn't taste good. I have developed a line of shakes that improve on the available choices, and fit perfectly within the Walker Diet. These shakes come in delicious flavors, have excellent sources of protein and fiber, and are lower in fat than the competition. When you combine this with the superior formulation of nutrients and their lower cost, they represent a greater value. I use shakes Monday through Friday, and have eggs and/or sausage on the weekends. If you mix the shakes with some ice in a blender, they come out smooth, creamy and they are quite filling.
Rapid Reduction: Snack
You should always remember to eat a mid-morning snack, and here again there are several good choices. If you have had a shake for breakfast, a hard-boiled egg makes a quick, satisfying snack. Also, low-fat cheddar or mozzarella cheese sticks are good options. The calcium is good for your bones, and some studies have shown that ingesting more calcium is helpful in weight reduction. If you are cutting cheese from a block, give yourself about 1/2 inches, and if sliced, 2 thin slices. I like the pre-packaged mozzarella sticks. They are quick and easy.
Rapid Reduction: Lunch
For lunch, you can rotate things like turkey breast, chicken breast, or lean ham (not sugar cured). If you use chicken breast, use one average size breast. If you are using sliced turkey breast, 3 to 4 slices would be good. You can put a little (emphasis on little) mayonnaise or mustard on these, and roll them up into a no-carb roll-up. Having some broccoli florets or a small salad with oil and vinegar dressing adds some healthy fiber. Other good choices for on-the-go vegetables are cucumber spears, cauliflower pieces or red or green pepper strips. These can all be cut up ahead of time and put in a bag for convenience. Many low carb diets suggest that you avoid carrots. While it is true that they have a high glycemic index, because of the fiber, they have a low glycemic load. In other words, your body won't be overloaded with sugar. Just have 4 or 5 baby carrot sticks at a time, and don't do this every day. Rotate the vegetables for variety.
If you are on the go, Walker Diet Low Carb bars are a good choice for a one-minute meal. They can be eaten "on the run," so you can use your usual lunchtime to go for a walk and burn up some more calories. The Atkins ready-to-drink shakes are another good alternative. There are 4 flavors, and they all taste good, so you can rotate these to prevent boredom. Just make sure that you drink them cold, or over ice. They are much tastier this way. You can also have the veggies described above.
Rapid Reduction: Snack.
One of the most convenient mid-afternoon snacks is 15 to 20 almonds (unsalted). You can put them in a Ziploc snack size bag and take them anywhere. Other nuts listed below are also acceptable. Be sure to drink plenty of water. Another good choice would be a low carb food bar, such as one of the NSI flavors. Or you can have your slice of cheese now.
Another snack you can use for variety would be homemade turkey sausage patties. Take one pound of ground turkey, 1 teaspoon each of garlic and onion powder, and one tablespoon of Italian blend herbs. Mix thoroughly and fry or grill. You should make 6 to 8 patties from each pound. They last about one week in the fridge, and they are a convenient snack, because you only make them once for the week.
Rapid Reduction: Dinner
Dinner consists of low carb vegetables or salad (with low carb dressing-oil and vinegar is best) with chicken, turkey, or lean beef or pork. Fish is also a good choice, but I would avoid tuna, swordfish or mackerel more than once per month, because of the high mercury level. Lean cuts of steak are fine once per week. If you need to use steak sauce or ketchup, chose one of the low carb Atkins or Keto products. They really taste pretty good. Or better yet, season your meat or chicken with low salt seasoning. Fresh ground pepper, garlic and onion powder can be rotated for variety. There are also several pre-packaged seasonings that you can use: just make sure they do not have a lot of salt. Worcestershire sauce is fine for steak or burgers. The amount of carbohydrates is negligible.
A word on salad dressing. The best choice is using extra virgin olive oil, vinegar and water. You can vary the type of vinegar for variety, such as using balsamic vinegar. Or you can add some lemon juice to make a Greek-type dressing. Go easy on the salt, but add other flavors to your taste. Experiment and have fun. You can come up with some nice alternatives. We have an organic extra virgin olive oil which would be excellent for salad dressing.
For dessert, if you need it, try having a cup of decaffeinated coffee with Splenda or xylitol as a sweetener. While you are on the rapid reduction phase of the diet, this is the most you should have. When you get to the maintenance phase, we will introduce you to some good, low carb desserts. If you absolutely need something, have another shake, or if you need a chocolate fix, you can use Keto Hot Cocoa mix.
Rapid Reduction: Other Principles
Alcohol: It is best to avoid alcohol for the first 3 to 4 weeks of your weight reduction program. A reasonable compromise would be to have a glass or two of red wine on the weekend as a treat. I would avoid beer -- it contains too many carbohydrates. (Don't worry, we will reintroduce this later).
Water: You must drink 8 to 10 glasses of filtered water each day. If you don't have a water filter on your drinking tap at home, get one now. You need to make sure that you remove as many of the impurities that you can. Vitacost.com offers some good options. As for bottled water, you need to make sure that it is really pure. The bottle should indicate that it has been triple-filtered, or processed by reverse osmosis. This would insure maximal purity. Aquafina, Dasani and Sam's Club are good choices.
Exercise: As we discussed under "Principles," exercise is important, so don't wimp out on this.
Supplements: These are also very important to helping you achieve your weight reduction goals, as we discussed in the "Principles" section. Don't forget to take your supplements.
Breathing: That's right, breathing. There is some evidence that proper breathing may improve weight reduction. The theory behind this is that your metabolism is fueled by oxygen, and by taking deep breaths you give your body the most fuel to burn. I recommend that you try and take 10 to 15 deep breaths at least once each hour, or whenever you think about it. Take a big, slow and deep breath in through your nose, and out through the mouth. It may also help your relax and focus.
A word about calories. I have not asked you to count calories, or weigh your portions, but it is important to remember that even if you consume no carbohydrates, if you consume an excessive number of calories, you will gain weight. One of the benefits of a low carb diet is that you seem to be able to consume more calories than on a low-fat diet, so counting the calories is not that critical. In fact, one recent study presented at a national meeting on obesity found that people on a low carb diet could consume up to 300 more calories per day, and still lose more weight than people on a low-fat diet. Nonetheless, portions should be reasonable. For example, one to 1½ chicken breasts with dinner, 6 to 8 oz. of steak, and enough green leafy vegetables to fill the plate. For other meats, use ½ inch slices, and cover 1/3 of the center of a plate (an average size dinner plate). And by this, I do not mean having the meat overflow the edges.
This is going to be the "tough" part of your lifestyle change, but you can still eat lots of tasty food and low carb vegetables. Make the initial commitment to follow this as closely as possible, and watch the pounds come off. After 2 to 4 weeks, when you have lost a good portion of your weight, congratulate yourself and move along to the continued reduction phase. Here, we will reintroduce some healthy carbs and try and "retrain your brain" on how to look at food.
Building Blocks: What you can have during Rapid reduction phase
Acceptable vegetables: Any variety salad, with low carb dressing (keep dressing to 1 or 2 tablespoons), Asparagus, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Celery, Collard Greens, Cucumber, Eggplant, Onion, Peppers, Radishes, Spinach, Sprouts, Squash (yellow and zucchini, not acorn or butternut). Raw carrots are allowed, but in small amounts.
Regarding lettuce for salad: Skip the iceberg -- it has almost no nutritional value. Go with romaine, endive and similar leafy greens.
Meat: Chicken breast (1 to 1½ breast), 6 to 8 ounces broiled or grilled fish (bass, haddock and perch have lower mercury levels), enough turkey breast to cover 1/3 of a dinner plate (cut ½ inch thick), 6 to 8 ounces lean steak, 6 ounces lean ground beef patty, lean pork (1/3 plate, ½ inch thick), Cornish game hen (one small), seafood (shrimp, scallops broiled with lemon, seasoning and a drizzle of olive oil)
Snacks: Low-fat cheeses (mozzarella, cheddar, cottage cheese, feta, parmesan, provolone, or ricotta)
Nuts: Almonds (15 to 20), Almond Butter (1 tsp), Macadamias (10), Peanuts (15 to 20), Natural Peanut Butter (1 tsp), Pistachios (20 to 30)
Seasonings: Any seasoning without added sugar, but watch the salt content. Fresh ground pepper is an excellent choice, or Mrs. Dash. Mayonnaise (not light -- use sparingly), Mustard, Worcestershire sauce. "Hot Sauce," such as Frank's, is also acceptable in small amounts (because of the sodium).
Summary
| Breakfast: | 3 eggs (one yolk), or
Walker Diet Shake, or
Turkey breast or 3 turkey sausage links |
| Mid morning snack: | Mozzarella or low-fat cheddar cheese
Hard-boiled egg (if you did not have it for breakfast) |
| Lunch: | Low carb bar, or
Shake, or
Turkey roll-up, or
Chicken breast |
| Mid-afternoon snack: | Turkey Patty,
or Portion of nuts (see above) |
| Dinner: | Meat Portion (as above)
Acceptable vegetable |
| Dessert: | Decaffeinated coffee with Splenda
Keto Hot Cocoa mix |
| Don't forget your supplements: | Walker Diet Low Carb Multi
Walker Diet EFA formula
Walker Diet Tonalin XS-CLA |
