Did anyone happen to catch Dr. Wayne Dyer on “Ellen” last week? The renowned self-help author and inspirational speaker told Ellen that he had really been beating himself up over his expanding paunch–weight that had been creeping up gradually around his middle. In consulting with some fitness and nutrition experts about his “growing” problem, he found out that in the 19th century, the average person consumed only 13 grams of sugar per day. Today, that figure is an astonishing 285 grams per day! Go figure! No wonder 1 in 3 Americans are overweight, and so many are morbidly obese.
So he tried a simple experiment: He limited his sugar intake to 20-25 grams per day. Not easy, but doable. (Just to give you an idea of how much sugar is in stuff: 50 grams in a Coke, 40 grams in a large glass of orange juice, 11 grams in a serving of Kellog’s Frosted Flakes, 14 grams in a 100 gram serving of Activia Strawberry yogurt, 2.3 grams in a 10 gram serving of ketchup, 39 grams in a grande Starbuck’s Cinnamon Dolce Latte.) And whaddya know? The fat melted off! In one month, he lost 17 pounds. “It basically just melted off,” he said. Interesting.
So the next time you’re reaching for a banana-chocolate chip muffin to go with your latte, just remember the famous words of Confucious: He who eat too much sweet, have too much seat!
9 responses so far ↓
1 Lesley // Jun 6, 2009 at 1:04 pm
Hello Janet and Greta,
I know you have commented on this approach also in your earlier blogs, would this include not eating fruits also? I only ask because some fruits are sweet and I really like eating grapes and cherries. Is that a weird question?
2 margo // Jun 10, 2009 at 9:55 am
At the risk of sounding negative about the positive thinking guru’s experiment: what happens after the experiment? 17 pounds in one month is a lot to lose in a very short time; I’d be curious whether he kept that off long-term. Question is, was it an experiment / diet, or a lifestyle change that he plans to maintain? That said, it makes an amazing point about the sugar in our culture’s typical diet. Very eye-opening.
3 Billijon Morgan // Jun 11, 2009 at 11:57 pm
Margo brings up a good point…
I saw Wayne Dyer live about a month before his Ellen appearance and he was obviously pumped about his new bod. It sounded like it was a fairly recent change for him (ie: within 6 months). Kudos to anyone with the will power to conquer bad eating habits in a healthy, sustainable way!
I am all for eliminating refined sugar and highly processed carbs from our diet for sure, it’s so hard on our system on so many levels. But as a society that goes to extremes on the latest buzz in nutrition we have to keep in mind glucose is what fuels our body and brain and not mistakenly lump healthier sources of energy into the evil ’sugar’ category. Especially in the case of immediately after strenuous activity (ie: a workout)!
(Too many times we avoid the high intake of glucose rich food sources after a workout thinking it will ‘add calories’ and unwanted poundage, when in fact it does the opposite by revving up our metabolism and deterring our body from defensively storing fat the next time we eat carbohydrates.)
I think the key to remember, in order to maintain healthy blood-’sugar’ levels, is adding proper amounts of protein and healthy fats with any intake of essential carbs or items containing various forms of saccharides.
Cheers to conscious eating!
~BJ
4 Janet Podleski // Jun 12, 2009 at 8:56 am
I agree wholeheartedly with everything you said, Billijon. And don’t forget about fibre!
They key point to remember is that we’re eating far too much processed, refined, stripped-of-anything-good sources of carbohydrates, and sugary foods (especially containing High Fructose Corn Syrup) are at the forefront. Fruit, which is packaged conveniently in fibre, won’t make your blood sugar skyrocket to the moon and back, so it’s okay. Just don’t go crazy having sweet fruits all day long. It’s all about balance–lean sources of protein, good fats, good carbs and fibre.
5 Billijon Morgan // Jun 15, 2009 at 10:07 pm
I just learned something new about fibre!!
Thanks Janet:)
~BJ
6 Julie // Jul 1, 2009 at 9:59 pm
Please tell me name of author or doctor that Dr. Wayne Dyer said helped him realize he was eating a high amount of refined sugar. He said that name on The Ellen Show, but I did not get it - something like Oren Orvitz? No luck searching internet for it either. Thank you!
7 Janet Podleski // Jul 2, 2009 at 9:16 am
Hi Julie,
I’m sorry, but I don’t recall the name of the person who Dr. Dyer consulted about his diet. Too bad–this show was just repeated a couple of days ago on Ellen, but I didn’t catch it this time.
8 Terri // Jul 2, 2009 at 1:06 pm
OH lord! I heard about this show from my mother, who then proceeded to nag me about how much fruit I eat b/c it’s got sugar in it! I really wish people would think about what they say before they go on TV and start blabbing. Yes decreasing the amount of processed/refined sugars in your diet is good. NO reducing the amount of natural sugars in your diet isn’t good! Fruit is good for you! They should have had a nutritionist on that show to explain that to people, that it’s the refined sugars he was talking about.
I’ve lost almost 50lbs in the past year by changing my portion sizes and decreasing the amount of processed foods and refined sugar I eat. I don’t need to be nagged by my well meaning, but ignorant mother about how my healthy eating is actually unhealthy and attributing to my “belly fat”…
Sorry for the rant, but it really burns my biscuit when people go onto tv and talk and do not FULLY explain what they are talking about. Also I can’t see that losing 17 lbs in a month is either healthy for someone OR maintainable in the long term.
9 Gyda // Aug 5, 2009 at 7:56 pm
The name of this guy he was talking about could be “Jorge Cruise”
His name came up in this interview:
http://www.unified-health-journal.com/support-files/wayne-dyerint-living-whathe-teaches.pdf
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