Dr. Kevin Weiland, M.D., F.A.C.P. is the author of “The Dakota Diet” and is a practicing physician, board certified in the specialty of Internal Medicine. He is a graduate of the Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota and received in Internal Medicine training at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison, Wisconsin. Dr. Weiland is actively involved in numerous non-profit organizations such as the Amercian Cancer Society, American Heart Association and the American Lung Association. He is a fellow in the American College of Physicians and is identified as a leader in preventative medicine.
As a columnist, Dr. Weiland writes a monthly article on preventative medicine. He is currently the “Supervising Physician” for the documentary movie Good Meat. The Dakota Diet was developed to realistically adress nutrition and health in his patients. The diet is a healthy lifestyle change not just a diet found only on the plains of the Dakotas.
He admits that he loved to eat meat. That was prior to appreciating the importance of dieting and health. At that point he was not worried about fat content or how the meat was raised and produced.
Being a physician one of the first orders of business when a patient was in the hospital was to determine what kind of diet they should be on. Most of the training on nutrition was limited to several brief lectures. Dr. Weiland began to research health and nutrition as well as changing his own eating habits. He lost weight without a major change to his lifestyle. He also lowered his LDL (bad cholesterol) and increased his HDL (good cholesterol). His focus was on eating nutrient-dense, low calorie foods such as fruits and vegetables. He avoided fast foods and processed foods high in calories with little nutrional value. While he continued to grill his steaks, he only ate animals that were allowed to graze on the grasses of the Dakotas such as buffalo (bison) and wild game.
Being a physician, he knew that little time was spent with patients discussing a diet plan with their patients. Most time was spent treating the disease rather than preventing the cause. Instead of focusing the limited medical resources on prevention of obesity (leading factor), billions are spent treating the diseases obesity causes such as diabetes and heart disease.
The best “diet” is a making healthy changes to your lifestyle that you can live with. Choosing the right foods and following a few simple tips (outlined below) may be more effective at keeping the weight off permanently. If you decide to diet, start with these very simple guidelines.
- Drink a minimum of 64 oz. of water daily. Drink one glass before every meal as this will aid in weight loss by filling you up faster. Dehydration can make you feel hungry. Drinking this amount of water will also help you to avoid constipation, especially as you increase your diet of fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Avoid all trans-fatty acids, as they will destroy your cholesterol profile, raising your total and bad cholesterol and reducing your good (HDL) cholesterol.
- Try to consume at least 30 grams of fiber per day, with at least 15 to 20 grams of fiber at breakfast.
- Eat often, at least five times a day will actually boost your metabolism and help you to burn more calories.
- Don’t skip meals. This will lead to overeating and extra calories that will be stored in the body rather than used as fuel for the day.
- Eat at least five servings of whole fruits and vegetables a day. By doing so, you will be certain to consume the necessary daily requirements of vitamins and minerals. Whole fruits and vegetables are considered “high volume” foods — high in fiber, water, and nutrients, and low in calories.
- Avoid processed foods, as they are considered nutrient-poor and high in calories.
- Eat a protein with every meal. This will help you to feel full and prevent you from having hunger pains 2 to 3 hours after a meal. If you love red meat, eat Bison as a better alternative to beef.
- Start a food diary. Keeping track of what you eat every day will be a constant reminder of the fact that you are dieting. There are a number of web pages that can easily calculate the number of calories you consume each day, based on the information you provide.
- Avoid eating food high in carbohydrates before bed. One of my patients had a bowl of breakfast cereal before he settled in for the night. By giving up this ritual, he was able to loose at least 5 pounds a month without a major change in his lifestyle.
Be realistic with your weight loss goals. Studies have shown that those who lose their weight quickly are more likely to gain it back on (and more). Modest weight loss (a pound a week) is easier to achieve and will have significant, life long benefits.
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