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The Popcorn Plus Diet

Theory:

The Role of Popcorn

This well-known, lightly regarded snack is actually a highly nutritious food.  Rich in complex carbohydrates and fiber, it’s anything but a “junk food.’ Having popcorn readily available always prevents you from making impulsive, unwise food choices.  Popcorn can also be eaten before meals to blunt an overwhelming urge to overeat at mealtime, or you can have it as a midevening “mini-meal.:

Why does popcorn work?

Consumption of high carbohydrate foods leads to the production of the chemical serontonin, which acts upon centers in the brain that shut off hunger

Popcorn and Calories

Eat only popcorn popped with an air popper. Depending on kernel size, popped corn contains 40 to 50 calories per cup.  During the weight loss phase, a pinch of salt or a sprinkling of grated cheese is allowed – no margarine until the maintenance phase                        

Determining your caloric allotment

1. Write down your current weight and multiply by 10
2. Add 20 percent, 30 percent, or 50 percent for activity level
3. Add Step 1 and Step 2 for your current caloric level
4. Write down how many pounds you intend to lose and multiply by 3,500 (the number of calories per pound).
5. Divide this figure – from Step 4 – by the number of weeks over which you plan to lose weight.
6. Divide this figure by 7.
7. Subtract this number – from Step 6 – from your current caloric level. 

Light Meals

For breakfast, a 200- to 300-calorie meal. For example, a bowl of dry or cooked cereal with half a cup of skim milk and an orange.  A light lunch totals 300 to 400 calories.  Supper is a 400- to 500-calorie meal.  Try to have supper around 6 p.m.  If you eat much later than that (more than three hours after your afternoon snack) you could be setting yourself up for a dissatisfying meal.

Popcorn and Other Snacks

Include 200 to 400 calories of popcorn in your diet everyday.  For your other snacks, use cut-up fresh vegetables, such as carrots, celery, green beans, cauliflower, and peas.  Remember that popcorn and other snacks are not “add-ons.”  They are an essential part of the Popcorn-Plus diet, satisfying your hunger and preventing panicky, impulsive eating.

If You Don’t Like Popcorn

Substitute an appropriate high-carbohydrate, low-salt snack. Rice cakes are ideal. Puffed-wheat and puffed-rice cereals are other excellent alternatives.  

Calcium

The Popcorn-Plus Diet includes one or two servings daily of dairy products such as skim milk, yogurt, ricotta or cottage cheese

Some Weight Loss Tips to Live By

1. I drink at least six glasses of water a day
2. I carry popcorn with me to prevent hunger and desperation
3. I try to eat when I’m hungry, and only when I’m hungry
4. I eat desserts only on weekends and special occasions
5. I eat portions of reasonable size
6. I try to eat slowly so that I can readily appreciate when my hunger is satisfied
7. I eat a diet high in starches and low in fats.

Maintenance Phase

Since you no longer need to lose weight, you can add 200 to 300 calories to your diet. You can continue nibbling popcorn at various times during the day, scheduling morning and afternoon snacks, or having a midevening mini-meal.

Meal Plan for Weight Loss – 1,200 calories (does not include calories from popcorn)

• Breakfast – ½ grapefruit, ¾ cup shredded weight, ½ cup low-fat (1%) milk, 1 slice toast, 1 tsp margarine
• Snack - popcorn
• Lunch – 8 oz low-fat (1%) milk 2 slices whole wheat bread, ½ cup Tuna-Apple Salad, 1 cup cut-up raw vegetables, zucchini, green pepper, cucumber
• Snack - popcorn
• Supper – 1 serving Baked Mini- Meat Loaf, 1 cup mashed potatoes, 2/3 broccoli, 1 tsp margarine
• Snack - popcorn

Joel Herskowitz, M.D. 1987. New York : Pharos Books

Information provided on this website is not meant to replace the services of your physician, but only to act as an educational tool. The diet summaries are by no means a substitute for reading the actual diet programs, but rather are synopses of basic principles meant to pique your interest and help you select a diet. Be sure to consult your physician and read the entire diet book before beginning any weight loss program.