Most weight loss plans are difficult precisely because they involve cutting yourself off from food, and depending on the psychological issues that may have been the root of your weight gain in the first place, this can be a particularly difficult thing to do. You may find yourself rebelling, even if you are mentally committed to the idea of losing weight. You might even find that the feeling of deprivation leads you to other self-destructive behaviors, such as smoking or drinking. If this describes you, you may benefit from counseling to treat your weight problems and other problems underlying your weight problems.
Meanwhile, eating plans that promise to help you lose weight by adding rather than taking away food may appeal to you and might actually work much better. This may seem counterintuitive, in a way, because losing weight always seems to require eating less. However, there are some exceptions. One of them is a time-honored method that involves adding a meal of semolina, a cooked grain, similar to cream of wheat, three times a day. The argument is that if you eat 300 grams of cooked semolina three times a day, you will feel too full to binge on other foods. Your intake of other foods will be reduced to a minimum and you will lose weight.
This approach is somewhat controversial and may work best as a temporary transition method. For one thing, proponents of low-carb, high-protein eating would be horrified by this plan. Dr. Atkins himself would roll over in his grave! Semolina is a high carbohydrate, high glycemic index food: it is pure starch. Also, eating that much tends to make you less hungry for all other foods, including protein. Proponents of Atkins and other high-protein plans would argue that this is the worst thing you can do for your body. Of course, we must remember that the high protein approach is also controversial, however. From a nutritionist’s point of view, neither the high protein nor the grits plan would be ideal. However, most nutritionists’ dietary guidelines put grains at the top of the chart, so the grits plan more closely adheres to a standard dietary guide, as long as you make an effort to also eat enough fruit, vegetables and protein to stay in balance.
And if you do, that would almost automatically eliminate junk food and empty calories. Few of us would be able to eat 300g of semolina three times a day, and an adequate amount of fruit, vegetables and protein, and still be able to eat foods with excess calories or fat. In a sense, grits replace the other ’empty’ calories that many of us (if we have a weight problem to begin with) eat as a regular part of our diet. Eating grits may not represent optimal nutrition, of course, but it’s preferable to eating foods full of fat and additives, like chips, chocolate, or candy. Of course, the semolina diet doesn’t ban any of these junk foods, it just specifies that you should eat a certain amount of semolina daily and make sure you’re getting enough vitamins and protein in your diet. Most people would automatically eliminate a lot of junk food because we just don’t have room for it.
By itself, grits really aren’t all that bad of a shelf-stable food, unless you subscribe to the ‘low-carb’ philosophy (in which case, you’d probably never choose this diet to begin with!). It is low in fat, it is a natural food and, like other cereals, it is fortified with vitamins and minerals. If eating carbs is your preference, and many of us gain weight from eating excessive amounts of pasta or bread, then grits will do the trick. You are less likely to crave other carbohydrate-rich foods. Also, consider the fact that the grits plan is quite similar to the way many traditional cultures ate. In traditional Asian cuisine, for example, rice was a staple and was eaten at most meals. In some European cultures, porridge (oats) would have had the same function. Although these diets may not seem balanced to us today, they have kept people alive, and within a healthy weight range, for millennia!