Statistics say the term “diet” is out. But everyone still wants to lose weight. flagellate yourself for it? Nobody has wanted that for a long time. The days of cabbage soup diets, shakes and extreme diets are over. But how can sustainable weight reduction be achieved? So, lose weight in such a way that there is no yo-yo effect, you don’t have to starve or suffer and you finally keep your desired weight? Four experts, all trained scientists and nutrition professionals, have found out how to do this: with a Nordic diet.
For the past 30 years, consumers have been bombarded with diet books all promising long-term weight loss. None of them really kept their promise. Although the pounds even tumbled, you quickly regained them. The Nordic diet also promises great things, it is the only true way to eat, you should never gain a kilo from it again. Nordic weight loss is not a diet, but a nutrition plan.
The focus is on nutrient-dense foods like unprocessed whole grains, high-fiber vegetables like cabbage, oily fish that contain omega-3 fatty acids, and protein-rich dairy products. The authors of the book “Nordic Weight Loss” evaluated the results of the world’s largest nutritional study “DiOGenese” and got an explanation of why eating Nordic food is so good for our health and a healthy body weight. It’s all based on restricting high glycemic index (GI) carbohydrates (see box below for explanation of GI). The result is said to be a whole new way to shed pounds and just as importantly, keep the new weight off.
Foods with a high glycemic index (GI) cause blood sugar to spike quickly. For example white bread, rice, many types of potatoes. They have a high GI around 70 or more. Whole grains, beans, pasta and low GI dairy products of 55 and below are broken down and absorbed more slowly. Blood sugar rises more slowly. So far, the GI has been controversial. However, the results of the DiOGenes study are convincing that they can have an impact on weight. Experts say that those who replace high-GI foods with low-GI varieties will lose weight more easily.
It is very important for the authors to emphasize that nothing is forbidden in the Nordic diet. After all, the problem with most diets is that whole food groups like carbohydrates are taboo. But most people find it difficult to cut pasta, rice, potatoes, couscous, bulgur and so on forever. If you eat Nordic food, you don’t have to do without anything.
“The Nordic diet was developed parallel to the Mediterranean diet – with regional foods from the north. So lots of Atlantic fish, which have more omega-3 fatty acids than Mediterranean fish. With oats, buckwheat and rye as an alternative to wheat. With sourdough instead of yeast bread. With Rapeseed instead of olive oil. With lots of root vegetables, but also peas, spinach and cabbage. With the berries of the north alongside apples and pears,” says nutrition expert Dagmar von Cramm. “This mix has at least as many health benefits as the Mediterranean diet and takes regional habits into account. It is more sustainable to use food from regional and seasonal production anyway.”
The main part of the meal should be vegetables, fruit and berries, and you should also eat protein, preferably vegetable protein, as it provides fiber. Rice, pasta and potatoes are allowed. In total, however, these carbohydrates should only make up about two-thirds of the protein volume. What can that look like? For breakfast there’s natural yoghurt with berries and crispbread with cheese, after which you can snack on vegetable sticks or nuts. For lunch, eat a lean meat sandwich with lettuce and pickles, or a chicken and feta coleslaw. When the afternoon slump comes, you can treat yourself to a cottage cheese with peppers or a smoothie. For dinner there is turkey with vegetables and wholemeal pasta, plus an avocado salad or fish with beetroot salad.
Can you lose weight from it? In the end, it all depends on the crowd. However, the authors promise that their dishes not only taste good, but also fill you up.
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