Last week’s post promised that we would reveal a weight loss plan that essentially works like gastric bypass surgery–but without the “surgery” part. This is a very doable weight loss program that does not require special foods or medications or even an overnight hospital stay. It is based on fitness expert Chris Powell’s recommendations featured on Dr. Oz’s website. Aside from saving you the cost and risk of a surgical procedure, the best thing about this weight loss plan is that you can customize it to fit your lifestyle. It starts with adding one simple step to your day and includes several little tweaks to enhance your weight loss results. Do them all, or just do the ones that fit comfortably into your schedule.

While it may not bring immediate weight loss, this program does offer fairly fast results that can be maintained. A family member was used as a guinea pig to try this trick out, and he lost 5 pounds in one week by just doing the one basic step. Of course, everyone is different and results will vary depending on the foods you eat and how active you are. Still, even if you could consistently lose a minimum of 4 pounds a month, adding one step to your day is worth it.

The One Thing You Can do to Lose Weight

So, let’s get right to the point: the one simple step Chris Powell recommends that will make your brain think you have had gastric bypass surgery is to eat one measuring tablespoon of dietary fat–specifically almond butter–30 minutes before each meal, and wash it down with a full glass of water. Medical experts explain that this too-easy trick works because the fat will signal the pyloric valve at the end of your stomach to close. It takes about 20 minutes for this process, so that is why the advice is to eat the almond butter 30 minutes before your meal. Between the fat closing off the stomach valve and the water taking up space, your stomach will think that it is already mostly full. You will not be able to overeat, even if you want to. Instead, you will be satisfied to eat much less, just as if you had a gastric bypass.

Why Almond Butter?

There are actually a number of dietary fats you could choose to eat 30 minutes before a meal, but picking one and sticking with it makes this one step as simple as possible. We specifically recommend almond butter over avocados, coconut oil, or other types of nut butters because the flavor and texture are pleasant and because of the additional benefits of almond butter.

We’ve already expounded on the benefits of almonds including their effectiveness at defending from cell-damaging disease such as cancer in addition to reducing your risk of heart disease, Type 2 Diabetes, and Metabolic Syndrome. The vitamins and minerals in almonds boost your immune system, give you energy, and have also shown to increase alertness and improve memory.

Customizing This Weight Loss Program

You will benefit from the one step of eating almond butter before each meal, and you don’t even have to take it before every meal. Just ingesting it twice a day before meals will bring results. However, if you want to go all-out and follow a few more pieces of advice, you can optimize your potential weight loss results.

Eat like you have had a gastric bypass–people who have undergone gastric bypass surgery have to eat slower, take smaller bites, and chew their food extremely thoroughly. Everyone can benefit from that technique, even if they aren’t trying the dietary fat trick. This method works, though, because it gives your brain time to register when you truly are full–and you will be because your pyloric valve will be temporarily shut, and your belly will be almost full of water.

Eat high fiber foods–it takes longer to digest fiber, so eating almond butter before your meals offers two ways to curb your appetite. The result is that you will feel fuller longer and will not be tempted to snack.

Eat smaller meals, more frequently–divide your calories over four or five meals rather than just three. The advice is to eat every three hours, so you may end up eating as many as five times a day–what weight loss plan tells you to eat more?! It is logical, though. Giving your body a constant source of fuel will make it work more efficiently, including improving how well your body burns calories. Also, frequent eating keeps your blood sugar stable, which helps reduce the cravings that attack when your blood sugar drops.

Cycle your carbs–going low-carb every other day allows you to eat the bread and pasta you crave on a regular basis, so you will not feel deprived. The key is in keeping the calories of each meal between 250 and 350 and, on the alternate days when you allow yourself carbs, still keep your final meal of the day carb-free.

Exercise!–burn more calories than you take in for maximum weight loss.

Slow and Steady

Most people want quick weight loss and, as mentioned above, this is not that weight loss plan. Here is the truth, though: no matter how bad you want to lose weight quickly, slow weight loss is healthier and more likely to be long-lasting. When you want to lose weight, you really want to lose fat, right? Well, LIVESTRONG points out that you can only burn a limited amount of fat in one week, so much of the weight lost in a fast weight loss program includes muscle and water weight in addition to some fat weight. The fat will come off anyway with a slow-burn plan, and without slowing your metabolism down.

Fitday lists some additional benefits to losing weight slowly including:

• you won’t risk dehydration or nutrient deficiencies
• you won’t feel fatigued or lack in energy
• your body will adjust better to the changes in your diet and exercise

 

Plus, people who go through gastric bypass surgery typically have a lot of loose skin to deal with. The rapid weight loss doesn’t give their skin time to adjust to the change in body mass, resulting in saggy, loose skin all over the body. When you lose weight slowly, though, your skin will contract as your body shrinks.