NFNS diet questions

DEAR DR. GOTT: I love your No Flour, No Sugar diet but I am confused about one thing. I am a lacto-ovo-vegetarian (I don’t eat any meat but do consume eggs and dairy). Once in a while I like to eat the vegetarian meat substitutes that are on the market. Your list of approved foods in the No Flour, No Sugar book lists vegetarian meat substitutes as okay, but I have yet to find a brand that is totally void of sugars. I can tell by the ingredient list that the amount is minute, as the nutritional label lists one gram of sugar per burger. Some have a small amount of whole grain flours in them as well. Are these still okay to eat?

Also, I notice we can have low-fat mayo and soups, but again, I have yet to find a broth-based soup like lentil or veggie that doesn’t have a teeny amount of sugar it. There are no mayo products on the market that are totally sugar free, although the label lists 0 sugar gram [Read more...]

Diet causes blood pressure changes

DEAR DR. GOTT: I have been on your diet since February and have lost 10-15 pounds. I didn’t realize that it could lower my blood pressure in addition to the weight loss. I began noticing dizziness periodically during the day so my cardiologist reduced my blood pressure medicine. Recently I noticed I was still having some dizziness and got winded with little exertion so my doctor had me hospitalized where I was diagnosed with hypotension. All’s well now but I suggest that you make it clear that your diet can also cause lowered blood pressure so that those on medication can be alert to the problem of hypotension. Thanks.

DEAR READER: I do specifically mention that weight loss in general as well as from my diet, can reduce blood pressure (as well as cholesterol, blood sugar, and more) in my book “Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Diet”. I have also recommended weight loss as an aid to [Read more...]

NFNS diet questions answered

DEAR DR. GOTT: Thank you for your wonderful book. I’m sure you hear this a “bazillion” times a days but this I the only diet I can stick to. I’ve done Atkins’, Weight Watchers, MediFast, VLCD, and more but yours is just wonderful and I don’t feel deprived.

I have quick question. With the Ezekiel 4:9 bread, how many slices are allowed per day? I know you explained not to go “hog wild” and to watch portion control but at 80 calories a slice, I’ve been eating a slice with avocado for breakfast and then a 2-slice sandwich with eggs for lunch. Is this allowed?

Also, are other Ezekiel products allowed if they are sans flour and sugar? Their cereals and pastas are also made from sprouted grains and a flourless.
[Read more...]

Diet becomes a lifestyle change

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am writing because I have been a Dr. Gott follower for years. Thanks to a column years ago in which I read about thyroid symptoms, I went to my doctor and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I have battled my weight since my 30s. I lost weight on the Atkins diet but gained it back after a few years. Finally, this year at 52, I decided to try the No Flour, No Sugar Diet with my husband. I wanted it to be a lifestyle change that we could follow, not a diet. Of course, I wanted to lose weight but it wasn’t my number one priority, my health was. Four months later, I am 20 pounds lighter! Thank you. It’s easy and I feel better. My husband has lost about the same. We feel that it’s an easy lifestyle change that we can follow each day.

DEAR READER: Congratulations to you and your husband for not only losing the weight, but for taking an active role in improving your health.
[Read more...]

“Patient is Obese” hard to handle

DEAR DR. GOTT: The past six weeks have been amazing. I am a 46-year-old male, six feet tall. On October 13, 2011 I was at the doctor’s for a blood pressure check up. They weighed me and the scale said I weighed 244 pounds which is the highest I have ever weighed. In the lab room, I saw the computer terminal and it said in big red letters “PATIENT IS OBESE”. That got me thinking. I had already been miserable in my dress clothes at work for a few years. My doctor had said I needed to lose some weight and to check out a diet or two but those he recommended didn’t work for me. Then I decided to go without sugar sweet desserts at night, which since I was a kid, I had eaten each and every night no matter how full I was from dinner.
[Read more...]

Reader praises Dr. Gott’s diet

DEAR DR. GOTT: On March 05, 2011, a friend told me about your diet. Within a few days I had your no flour, no sugar book. At the time I had hit my top weight of 216.5 pounds. I am a 77-year-old male and had not been under 200 for many years. In December 2000 I had an open heart triple bypass. Now, thanks to your diet, today I am 177.5 pounds; the lightest I have been since I played football in the mid 1950s. Thank you.

DEAR READER: Congratulations on your success. I am pleased to know that my diet has helped yet another person.

As I have said in the past, I developed my diet plan to help my patients lose weight, but to do so in a healthful, easy manner. There is no counting, weighing, or feeling deprived. Cheating, on occasion, is allowed, especially around the holidays.
[Read more...]

Does Atkins or Gott have the right diet plan?

DEAR DR. GOTT: I started the Atkins diet three weeks ago. So far I haven’t lost anything. I’m trying to decide whether to continue. Basically it is no flour, no sugar, very restricted vegetables and no fruit. I am 72 and take medication for blood pressure, osteoporosis and cholesterol. I respect your opinion and hope you will respond.

DEAR READER: The Atkins diet is essentially a low-carbohydrate, high-protein method of weight loss. It was named after Dr. Robert Atkins, who allowed steak with bearnaise sauce, bacon, eggs, Roquefort dressing and cheddar cheese in his plan. The diet was based on the theory that obese individuals consume too many carbohydrates. [Read more...]

Dextrose is sugar

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am on your no-flour, no-sugar diet and using your cookbook. One recipe calls for dates. The dates I purchased have dextrose in them. Is this ingredient a sugar that is taboo on your diet?

DEAR READER: Dextrose, sucrose and glucose are all simple sugars. The primary difference between all three is in the way the body metabolizes them. Some manufacturers and packers for food-industry products prefer to use the word dextrose instead of sugar because the public is becoming more savvy and might not purchase a product if weight is an issue for them.
[Read more...]

Reader learns about self on Gott diet

DEAR DR. GOTT: I am a 72-year-old woman who has lived with a weight problem since puberty. My husband and I have been on the no-flour, no-sugar diet for the past 10 weeks. Although the weight loss is slow, there are some things I have learned about myself. First, after years of yo-yoing on Weight Watchers, including being a lecturer for them, I never learned how to keep it off. Secondly, I discovered that I have an addiction to flour and sugar products. I suffered withdrawal symptoms when I first gave them up. I don’t know why I didn’t know this before, but it is possible I didn’t want to face it. This program of eating is finally a way of life and not a diet. Thank you for helping me to become aware.
[Read more...]

Popcorn OK on Gott diet

DEAR DR. GOTT: I started your diet six days ago. I have lost one pound and am thrilled. I wonder if I can eat popcorn as a snack while on your diet. I pop it in olive oil and don’t use butter.

DEAR READER: Congratulations on your initial success. A weight loss of about one pound per week is average and healthful while on my no-flour, no-sugar diet.
[Read more...]