Weight gain and obesity is not just a cosmetic issue but can also lead to a variety of health and wellness issues as well if not promptly controlled. You may have come across a number of fad diets that are rapidly gaining popularity but are these equally healthy in long term?

The Ultimate Diet program by Dr Oz is different from traditional fad diet in a number of ways. It does not require you to drastically cut down your calories and most importantly, the diet plan has no side effects in long term or short term. As part of this diet plan, you are required to decrease your daily calorie intake by 100 calories only (fairly negligible) and compliment it with mild physical activity and simple healthy rules.

Other benefits of this diet plan are:

• Reduction in weight complimented by reduction in waist size
• Improvement in energy levels
• Reduction of fatigue, sleep issues and improvement of variety of other health issues

Which Foods to Have and Avoid in Dr. Oz Ultimate Diet

Foods to Throw away

As part of this diet plan, the first and foremost step is to purge your kitchen to remove all unnecessary and unhealthy foods from your pantry. This can be successfully accomplished by Dr. Oz rule of 5; according to which you should clear your kitchen from all these foods:

Read the labels carefully and throw away all these foods:

• Simple sugars. Simple sugars are readily metabolized by the body and include candies, sweets, cookies, sweeteners and similar foods.
• Heavy sugar syrups: These include maple syrup, corn syrup, heavy fructose syrup and honey
• Enriched Flour. Anything else other than 100% organic whole grain flour is fattening and unhealthy (and therefore should be thrown away)
• Fats obtained from animals. All types of saturated fats (especially lard, butter, milk fat, tropical oil and all other sources of animal fat)
• Trans-fat. Trans fat is considered fairly controversial and it is recommended to decrease its use by eliminating it from your pantry (most common sources are hydrogenated margarines, cooking blends, hydrogenated oils and partial fats in hydrogenated forms.

Foods to Eat

Once you have successfully discarded these foods from your pantry, next step is to add healthy substitutes like vegetables, fresh fruits, whole grains, yogurt, fish, beans, nuts, eggs, healthy fat sources, and lean cuts of meat.

The most important approach over here is to be sensible while choosing your foods in the super-store. The key concept here is; sugars that are contained in natural food sources like lactose in dairy sources and fructose in fresh fruits are highly recommended and preferred over the table sugars and artificial sweeteners.

Rules of Dr. Oz Ultimate Diet

After the complete kitchen make-over, here are the simple yet fundamental rules of Dr. Oz Ultimate diet plan.

1. Calorie Reduction. You are required to decrease your total calorie intake by 100 calories that can be accomplished by eliminating 2 cookies from your daily regime, can of soda or (a snack of 100 calories)

2. Planning Meals. Plan your meals in advance and have them ready long before the actual meal time to reduce the temptations and limit the cravings (resulting in excessive and unhealthy calorie intake).

3. Consume Small Portions. Make sure to consume smaller and more frequent healthy portions of meals to reduce over-stuffing feeling. This strategy is also helpful in stimulating your basal metabolism.

4. Other Helpful Strategies

• For ample support, look for a partner or friend who can morally and personally support you in your weight loss program by following it with you
• Avoid eating anything after 8 30 PM
• Make sure to choose your cheat-meals
• See your healthcare provider at periodic interval
• Incorporate brisk walking or any other form of physical activity in your lifestyle.
• Instead of practicing this lifestyle for a week or two, adopt this lifestyle fully
• Monitor your weight and waistline

Sample Meal Plan of Dr. Oz Ultimate Diet

Sample meal regimens proposed by Dr. Oz supply high fiber content that keeps you full and satisfied for longer period of time and reduce cravings or temptations. Below is a simplified diet plan

Breakfast	The most important meal of the day should be wholesome with ample proteins (especially in the form of Eggs). However, to enhance the benefits of egg, consume only egg-whites to prepare omelet. You can have it with your favorite beverage like tea, juice or/ and coffee.
Morning Snack	Ideally this should be rich in fiber and under 100 in calories. You can eat your favorite vegetables with dips.
Lunch	Simple and early lunch is an integral component of Dr. Oz diet plan. For lunch you can eat a healthy vegetable burger
Afternoon Snack	Yogurts are a healthy source of probiotics and healthy vitamins and minerals. Combining fruits in the yogurt can increase the benefits many folds.
Dinner	Thin and lean cuts of healthy proteins like fish are best for dinners. You can consume an Asian salmon with a small portion of healthy-cooked brown rice and salads. Yes, you are also allowed healthy amounts of wine (one glass should be enough for dinner).
Dessert	You can eat dark chocolate (about 1-ounce) at every other night with one sliced orange
Drinks	The beverages allowed on this diet regimen are water (as much as you want) with sensible amounts of coffee and tea
Evening Snack	You can get popcorns for evening snacks.

Experts' Views on Dr. Oz Ultimate Diet

Many experts suggest that this is indeed one of the healthiest approaches to lose weight while also incorporating healthy habits. The effects of this regimen are long-term and fairly healthy (as opposed to most fad dietary regimens that are short-term and hazardous for health).

Researchers, nutritionists and dietitians (like Giancoli and Blatner) agreed that this approach is effective for the health of bones and all other organs.

In order to improve your overall health and to learn about more effective weight loss strategies, consult a dietitian for individualized approach.