Dr. Beckwith's Weight Loss Regimen
Under Doctor's Supervision Only

The Concept

Why do we not lose weight? Because we eat too much. Why is it difficult to eat less? Because we're hungry. What makes us hungry? In the United States, very few people are hungry because they require nourishment. Most of us get plenty to eat. So why are we hungry when we don't really need to eat? Why am I not satisfied with the chef's salad? Why do I feel that I HAVE to have that pizza? What makes us hungry is certain foods we eat. There are 4 groups of foods which make us hungry:

1. Sugar
2. Flour
3. Salty snack foods
4. Artificial sweeteners

Sugar and flour cause food cravings by raising the blood sugar. This rise in the blood sugar is followed by a precipitous fall in the blood sugar. The fall in the blood sugar causes cravings. The time between the consumption of the sugar or flour and the onset of the cravings is 2 hours.

I do not know why salty snack foods cause food cravings, but I do know that the potato chip slogan You can't eat just one is certainly true.

Nobody knows why artificial sweeteners cause hunger, but it has recently been proven that they do. Two groups of rats were given all the food they wanted to eat. One group's food was sweetened with sugar; the other with artificial sweeteners. The group who ate the artificially sweetened food gained more weight. Pretty amazing, huh?

Thus, in order to lose weight, all we have to do is stop eating those foods which make us hungry. Then we will lose weight effortlessly. Since we're not hungry, we will no longer crave more food than we need for our nourishment.

Of course, stopping eating these 4 groups of foods is easier said than done. This is because we are addicted to them. So we need to break the addiction. That's where diet pills come in.

Foods to Eliminate

• Sugar should be eliminated. This includes any foods containing sucrose (table sugar). You can still eat fruit (which contains fruit sugar). To tell whether a food contains sugar, look at the INGREDIENTS area of the food label. (Do not look at the NUTRITION area.) If in the ingredients area of the label you see the word SUGAR listed 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th, then you should not eat what's in that container. If SUGAR is listed 5th or higher, then you MAY eat it. Also look for the phrase HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. This is just another form of SUGAR.
• Bread is the next food to eliminate after you have eliminated sugar from your diet. The reason bread should be eliminated is that bread has the highest glycemic index of any food besides sugar. This means that bread is converted to sugar very quickly. It becomes sugar almost as soon as you eat it. Thus, it's almost sugar. All bread should be eliminated, even whole-grain breads. This category also includes pizza, crackers, pretzels, pancakes, waffles and wraps.
• Pasta probably should be eliminated as well. Some people are able to lose weight and keep it off by just eliminating sugar and bread. Most people, however, reach a plateau in their weight loss, at which point they need to cut out pasta as well.
• Artificial Sweeteners should also be eliminated. Even though artificial sweeteners do not cause weight gain, they keep us psychologically addicted to sweets. If you cannot imagine going through a day without eating or drinking food which tastes sweet, then this is probably why you are overweight. You may be surprised to discover that life can be enjoyed without sugar or sugar substitutes! Artificial sweeteners include diet drinks, most flavored waters, and sugar substitutes (such as Splenda and Nutrasweet). However, I do permit SUGARLESS GUM.
• Salty Snack Foods should also be eliminated. Chips are a food designed specifically with the purpose of causing addiction. That's why you can't eat just one. Other snack foods are salted popcorn, pretzels, and salted nuts. Unsalted popcorn and unsalted nuts are permitted on the diet plan.
• Alcohol probably should also be eliminated. The practice of consuming toxic hydrocarbons with the purpose of inducing a temporary state of dementia causes weight gain, since alcohol is loaded with calories.

It's Easier Than It Seems

Once you stop eating sweets, you will no longer crave them. It takes 3 days to break the addiction.

The Difference Between 99% and 100%

It is essential that the above categories of food be eliminated 100%. The reason for this is that these foods are addictive. If you eat one sweet thing, or take a bite of one piece of bread, or drink one diet drink, you will be hungry for the next 3 days.

Here are some examples of excuses patients make for not sticking to the diet:

• Doctor, they gave a birthday party for me, and baked me I cake. If I hadn't had a piece of cake it would have been rude.
• It was Thanksgiving. You know how it is on Thanksgiving.
• We went on a cruise, and, well, Doctor, you know how it is.
• I've been under a lot of stress lately.

Dietary lifestyle changes must be TOTAL and FOREVER. This is a huge commitment. In my opinion it must be made.

Because these foods are addictive, you must give them up 100%. 99% just won't do. As a wise man once said, there is a greater difference between 99% and 100% than there is between 0% and 99%!

As an example of the kind of commitment you need, think of a vegetarian. A vegetarian would not eat meat no matter how much stress she is under. It wouldn't even occur to her. When a vegetarian looks in the mirror, she sees a person who doesn't eat meat. When you look in the mirror, you need to see a person who doesn't eat sweets, bread, chips or alcohol.

Exercise

Daily exercise is essential to becoming and remaining healthy. It is also an essential part of any diet program.

If you diet without exercising, then you will be hungry. If you are hungry, you will not stay on the diet. Therefore, it is of vital importance to exercise daily.

Effective exercise is cardiovascular exercise. This means exercising to the point where you are OUT OF BREATH. The duration of the exercise is not so important as getting out of breath. For example, it's better to exercise for 5 minutes to the point of being out of breath than to exercise 20 minutes less vigorously.

In my opinion, using exercise ALONE to lose weight is foolish. There are several reasons for this assertion.

• You have to exercise an amazing amount to work off a small number of calories. Running a whole mile eliminates only 100 calories. This is approximately equal to half of a salad. To eliminate one candy bar containing 150 calories you would have to run a mile and a half.
• Preoccupation with lack of exercise serves as a distraction from what one should really be doing--eating less. As long as you think that the reason you are not losing weight is that you are not exercising, you are simply avoiding the task at hand--which is to eat less.
• Most people who exercise do not do so year-long. Many patients lose weight in the summer time then gain it back during the winter time, when the weather is not conducive to outdoor exercise.

Exercise is essential to good health. It results in cardiovascular conditioning, which extends your lifespan by many years. So by all means exercise daily. But if you want to lose weight, eat less.

Monthly Visits to the Doctor
My approach to helping patients lose weight involves monthly visits to my office. During these visits, the patient and I go over what did and did not work during the previous month with regard to diet and exercise. We discuss which foods to eat and not eat, and how to safely exercise considering the patient's medical conditions.

Depression & Anxiety
It is difficult if not impossible to lose weight if you have untreated depression or anxiety. This is because, when we get upset, some of us tend to reach for food as a comfort. Therefore, it is important when your doctor sees you regarding weight loss, for her to determine whether you have one of these conditions. If you have depression or anxiety, it is essential that you be treated for it.

Hypothyroidism
Another condition which can make it difficult or impossible to lose weight is a low thyroid. This is because the thyroid gland (located in the neck) determines your metabolic rate. If you have an unnaturally low metabolism caused by a malfunctioning thyroid gland, you will gain weight without having to eat very much at all. This problem is detected by a blood test, and is easily corrected with medication. So a thyroid blood test will need to be ordered at your first weight loss visit.

Diet Pills
The diet pill I prescribe is phentermine. This is a stimulant. It is only available by prescription. It is perfectly safe if used appropriately, and if prescribed for the right patient. You cannot take phentermine if you have seizure disorder or glaucoma or a cardiac arrhythmia.

Losing Weight WITHOUT Diet Pills
The only reason I prescribe diet pills for my patients is to make it easier for them to break their addiction to the foods which cause cravings. One can certainly do this without diet pills. If you are not interested in taking diet pills, or if your doctor does not wish to prescribe them for you, I would encourage you to follow this diet plan anyway. It will simply be a bit harder at first than it would be if you were taking a diet pill.