Taking Weight Off And Keeping It Off!
Power Surge™ Live!
Host: Dearest
Guest: Dr. Stephen Gullo
No Fad Diets!

About Dr. Stephen Gullo

The Thin Commandments Diet

Dearest: My guest tonight is Dr. Stephen Gullo, a psychologist who for more than a decade was a professor and researcher at Columbia University Medical Center. He is the former chair of the National Obesity and Weight Control Education Program of the American Institute for Life-Threatening Illness at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. Dr. Gullo's first book, Thin Tastes Better, was a national bestseller. Dr. Gullo is currently president of the Institute for Health and Weight Sciences' Center for Healthful Living in New York City. In his newest book, "The Thin Commandments Diet: The 10 No-Fail Strategies for Permanent Weight Loss". Dr. Stephen Gullo lets you in on his unique weight-loss program that has a success rate that is many times higher than the national average and has helped patients lose more than 100 pounds -- and maintain that weight loss for more than 5 years. It's a pleasure to welcome you to Power Surge, Dr. Gullo. Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: It's great to be here. Thanks for asking me. Dearest: Dr. Gullo, what with so many diet books being published, so many diet centers and even online diets, et al, why is it that obesity is at an all-time high in this country? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: Because diets and diet books only deal with half the weight loss equation, i.e. food, they are missing the other half which is strategy. Dieting is about calories in, calories out but success at weight control is about strategy. Dearest: Following up on the answer, let me ask this.... What do you mean by one of the most essential strategies being to think historically, not calorically? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: Dieting is the only area of healthcare where they ignore the central principal of healthcare, i.e. the patient's history. In this case, their food history. Hence, the same people gain back the same weight with the same foods again and again. Don't just ask what are the calories in this food. Ask what is my history with this food and you will change forever. Dearest: So, with regard to what you've just said about one's "history" with food - would you say that if someone has a problem with a certain food, they should keep that food out of their refrigerator? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: If you have a problem with a certain food, you have 2 choices. You could box it in OR out of your life. If you want to keep it in your life, it is best not to eat it at home, but to eat it outside the home where you can have a single serving. Or, if you buy it for the home, only buy an individual serving. PinkRose4955: I am 221 pounds and 4' 11". I am having a hard time losing weight. What should I do? I never been on a diet before. Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: It's not enough to want to lose weight. You need a plan that works for you. PinkRose4955: OK but how? I mean where do I start? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: To get there and to stay there, I don't think that you can do this alone. I suggest you start with The Thin Commandments since it has worked for so many thousands like yourself. Take one day at a time and believe in yourself! Dearest: Dr. Gullo, don't you think it's a better idea not to make long-term plans for weight loss - like I'm going to lose 50 pounds - but to make a smaller plan for each day or for the moment? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: Human motivation works best with small steps. It is most successful when you approach it one day at a time and in 5 pound increments Dearest: For the benefit of those who haven't had the opportunity to read your book yet, can you share with us what gave you the idea of the title, "The Thin Commandments"? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: I wanted to reduce everything I have learned from 15,000 patients into the 10 most essential strategies that will make you a winner at weight control. Hence, the name The Thin Commandments and the diet that goes along with it. Awoolsock: What if you don't have a problem with a specific food? Tell us more about the emotional aspect. Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: Sometimes eating is not about food. That's why diets fail so many dieters. For so many dieters, diets are just about food. To get your mood out of of your foods, remember one of the most important lessons: Stress eating takes place primarily in one place, your own home. It's not typically about food-food but about nibble-food or what I call "finger eating". Hence, if this is your issue, watch the types of nibble foods you buy for your home because the biggest stress of all will be to wear them. Remember, what I tell each of my patients, happy or sad, rich or poor, it's still better being thin. Even if you want to be miserable today, it's better to be thin and miserable than fat and miserable. KJanetLynn: What do you mean by foods you have a problem with? Foods you know you should not have and crave? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: No. Problem foods are foods that have consistently sabotaged your success at weight control. For some people they will be trigger foods. You don't necessarily need to give up the foods you crave. You need strategy how to take control of them, so they don't take control of you. Bronte7th: What if you honestly don't eat enough food in a day and still cannot lose any weight? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: It's not just how much food you eat, but the type of foods. In a quarter of a century and 15,000 patients, I have yet to have one who couldn't lose significant weight on my 10 day turbo-charged program. Certain foods actually work to promote weight loss. For example, in a study with 2 groups of dieters, both of which received the same amount of calories and exercise, one group lost 70% more weight. What did this group do? They ate 3 to 4 servings of high calcium/low fat dairy foods such as yogurt, Laughing Cow light cheese and milk. Dearest: Can you elaborate on your ten day turbo-charged program? How does it work? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: My favorite foods, out of all the thousands of foods in the world, the best for weight loss would be: fish/seafood, eggs/egg whites, low fat/no fat high calcium dairy foods, limited quantities of fiber, such as Scandinavian flat breads and a zero calorie food, cinnamon, which helps promote weight loss. 16 ounces of water at a time. A sports-bottle of water, along with the green and white non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, spinach, asparagus, mushrooms, cauliflower, zucchini and the 100 best light foods in America and my 5-Star dining recipes. The recipes can be found in The Thin Commandments. This delicious unique combination of foods works synergistically to promote weight loss so you can eat more and weigh less. Dearest: Can you share with us what the 10 Thin Commandments are? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: Yes. The first one is that Strategy is Stronger than Willpower. The winners at weight control do not have more willpower than those who fail - they have more strategies. These are the strategies that I have learned from the winners Think Historically, Not Calorically. If you just think calorically, you will probably fail. It's not just how many calories in a cookie or a candy, but how many or how much of this food do you typically eat. Always ask yourself, not just about the calories, but what is my history with this food? and you will not find yourself among the millions of dieters who gain back the same weight again and again with the same foods. The problem may be in the food, not in you. Certain foods affect the neurochemistry of the brain and actually trigger cravings and appetite especially in those who are genetically sensitive to such foods. Knowing this scientific fact helps you to understand. It may not be your lack of willpower or character, but your hypersensitivity to the taste or texture of a certain food which is actually creating losses of control and excess eating. Remember the potato chip commercial - "we bet you can't have just one"? Structure Gives Control. The structure of 3 meals and 2 to 3 snacks a day promotes metabolic efficiency and helps with cravings and going longer than 3-4 hours without a healthy snack or meal promotes cravings, hunger and failure. Separate Mood from Food. Sometimes eating is not about food. You can lose all the weight in the world but, if the next time you get upset you turn to food, your success at weight control will be temporary. Take control of your favorite foods. To succeed at a diet does not mean you have to give up your favorite foods but, if you have a long history of overeating them, you need new strategies to take control of them rather than letting them continue to control you. The slips should teach you, not defeat you. Thin is a life-management skill. It is not about being "good" or "bad" It is about learning what works. Part of any learning process involves making mistakes. This Commandment teaches you how to learn from those mistakes and never again to make the greatest mistake of all - saying "I blew it" and giving up. Stop feeling deprived. Dieting has always been associated with deprivation. This commandment teaches you how to overcome that feeling and to fully appreciate that in the end it is not about deprivation but about liberation. The greatest deprivation of all is to spend a lifetime of being heavy when you could have easily succeeded with strategies that could have worked for you Treat your calories like dollars. This commandment deals with the truth that our bodies have a budget like our checkbook. It teaches us the insider tips and foods that allow you to stretch your calorie budget so you can eat more and weigh less. Losing weight is half the job. Keeping it off is the other half. If you're 30 or 40 or 50 or 60 and lose weight today how do you keep this weight off for the decades to come? This concerns maintenance and the strategies that work best to keep it off for a lifetime without cravings or deprivation. It's about living in the world of food as a thin person. Dearest: Thank you, Dr. Gullo. Wonderful answers. I've had many weight experts in Power Surge; however, I found your theory about "the lure of food baby talk" fascinating and different. Can you explain to those who haven't yet read your book what "food baby talk" is and how it works, or more importantly, how it might sabotage our success? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: From our earliest life we have been taught the emotional meaning of food. Look at the language of love, even. "Honey", Cookie" Sweetie" and when you fall out of love, you call him "a crumb". Look also at your earliest life and the reward system of childhood. "Be a good girl and you can have a cookie..." "Eat, you'll feel better!" This thinking may have been fine for a child who didn't have a weight problem, but it may imprison an adult who does. Our thinking about food may be the only area of our lives that we have never updated since childhood. I say to my patients, you have lost weight many times but you have never once changed your thinking. By changing your thinking - the childhood programming - you diffuse the feelings of deprivation and you make the transition into the adult world where smart people do what works and you come to understand that it is not that you can't have it, for you can have it, but it's about what works so you can have the life that you want and deserve. About food whining... It is important not to lock ourselves into "food whining" or thinking things like, "I deserve it," or "I can't do it now, I'll do it tomorrow," "It's too hard." It's time to grow up in the world of food and to realize you've seen it all and tasted it all. It hasn't made you happy - it's only made you heavy. Next excuse! Wonka8896: Does your book tell us what foods promote weight loss? Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: Yes. It not only tells you what foods promote weight loss but, more importantly, how to keep it off. Success at weight control is not about deprivation, hunger or craving. My book teaches that "taste is king" and it tells not only the best light foods in America that are available in your supermarket but the best recipes so you can enjoy first class dining and a first class life. Dearest: Dr. Gullo, thank you for a fascinating chat about weight loss, proper eating and mind-set to achieve success on a weight-loss program. I've got dozens of "diet books," but Dr. Gullo's book, "THE THIN COMMANDMENTS" goes way beyond offering another diet. I recommend it highly! If you're interested in contacting Dr. Gullo, please call: 212-734-7200 - that's in NYC. Stephen Gullo, Ph.D.: It was great sharing thoughts with each of you. Remember, you didn't come this far in your life to lose to a cookie!

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Dearest
aka Alice Stamm
Power Surge
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