Wouldn’t it be great to melt away pounds without depriving yourself of your favorite foods — and boost your metabolism, mood, and overall health at the same time? The good news is, you can!
Earlier this year, Mehmet Oz, M.D., host of The Dr. Oz Show, rolled out a new diet plan that he describes as “a comprehensive, science-based health overhaul you can actually live with.” Dr. Oz and his team worked on it for months, pulling ideas from the latest research and current trends to create a plan that allows cocktails and cheat days — perfect for the holidays! — while promising steady weight loss as well as improvements in mood, energy, and blood pressure.
Beans slash cholesterol better than meds.
Dr. Oz’s System 20 plan encourages enjoying at least one cup of beans daily — and research shows that it only takes a half cup per day to lower total cholesterol. “Making beans, plus fruit and whole grains, the centerpiece of your diet can lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol by 33 percent — that’s more than most drugs,” asserts Joel Fuhrman, M.D., a world-renowned nutrition expert and bestselling author of Eat to Live (Buy on Amazon, $9.99). Researchers credit the soluble fiber in beans, which binds to cholesterol in the GI tract so it can be removed from the body, as well as phytochemicals that ease blood-vessel inflammation, which can cause cholesterol to collect in the arteries.
Dr. Oz’s new slimming plan includes a powerful upgrade to the popular trend of intermittent fasting. In addition to eating meals within a set window (enjoying your first meal around 11 AM and finishing dinner by 7 PM), Dr. Oz’s System 20 (branded for the year 2020) calls for eating at least a half cup of beans twice a day. Why that’s smart: Regularly eating beans improves insulin levels by 73 percent and spikes fat burning by 25 percent — and eating meals within a set window gives the body ample time to use up excess blood sugar and switch to burning stored fat for fuel. As Dr. Oz explains, it’s a similar effect to “what happens when people go on the keto diet.” The difference? You don’t have to give up carbs!
Speed weight loss with a bowl of soup.
Supercharging weight loss on Dr. Oz’s plan is as simple as eating at least one bowl of soup each day. And the more soup you eat, the faster you’ll lose. That’s because soup gives the body a break from sugar and processed foods while flooding it with easy-to-absorb nutrients that heal tired cells and “help you burn fat and elevate your metabolism,” says Dr. Oz. The end result? “A total-body reset that helps you lose weight and gain energy!” The payoff: In a study published in the journal Obesity, women who enjoyed two servings of soup each day lost 50 percent more weight than those who didn’t regularly enjoy broth-based fare.
Combining these two strategies also alleviates hunger, a common problem for women who try fasting. “Studies show consuming soup is a healthy and effective strategy for weight loss because soup makes you feel full so you take in fewer calories,” Dr. Oz has said. That’s because soup activates stretch receptors in the stomach that send satiety signals to the brain more effectively than water or solid food — an effect Penn State researchers report helps soup eaters eat 20 percent fewer calories at their next meal.
