Optimal Diet for Weight Loss

For over 30 years Jan Kwasniewski has treated thousands of people using his dietary principles and has cured people with diseases classified as "incurable" including diabetes, arthritis, asthma and multiple sclerosis.

In this article I will explain how the Optimal Diet works for weight loss.

What is the Optimal Diet

The premise of the Optimal Diet is that if the body gets the correct fuel it will not get fat or sick. The body is similar to a car in that sense. If you put diesel into a petrol car or vice versa, you're going to destroy the engine. Both are fuels, but only the correct fuel will keep the engine running.

According to the Optimal Diet, the correct fuel for human body is fat, predominantly animal based saturated fat.

So if you are going to adopt the Optimal Diet plan for weight loss, you have to eat much more fat and much less carbohydrates. And here Jan Kwasniewski gives you the magic formula that governs the proportion between the three main food components, protein, fat and carbohydrates, which must be followed for Optimal Diet to work for weight loss and good health:

1 (Protein) to 2.5 - 3.5 (Fat) to 0.5 (Carbohydrate)

This means that every day, for every gram of protein you eat, you need to eat 2.5-3.5 grams of fat and 0.5 grams of carbohydrates.

So, to work out the correct daily food intake using this formula, you first need to determine how many grams of protein you need to satisfy your body's requirements. This will differ depending on what your 'ideal' body weight is. And here Jan Kwasniewski gives us another useful formula. Your ideal body weight is your height in centimeters minus 100 (± 10%). So, if you are 180 cm tall, your ideal body weight is 80 kg ± 8 kg.
Now. getting back to the diet. If your ideal weight is 80kg± 8 kg, the ideal daily amount of protein for you will be 80± 8g. If you eat any more than that, and don't expand the energy, your body will convert it to fat. For weight loss to happen you need to stay within that protein range.

Now that you know how much protein you need, you can work out the fats and carbohydrates. If your ideal daily amount of protein is 80± 8g, your ideal daily amount of fat will be 200 to 280g of fat and 40g of carbohydrate. If you eat any more carbohydrate than that, and don't expand the energy, your body will convert it to fat. For weight loss to happen you need to stay within that carbohydrate range.

Exceptions to the Optimal Diet Rule

Exceptions to the Optimal Diet formula apply to those who are obese, that is if your BMI is more than 30%. In this case, the ratio of protein to fat should be 1 to 2 for the first 3-4 weeks of the Optimal Diet eating, in order to stimulate the catabolism of the stored fat. The daily carbohydrate should be kept low, no more than 50 g/day. When you start seeing the weight loss, you can adjust the amount of protein and fat to their ideal.

How does the Optimum Diet Work for Weight Loss

Eating a high fat diet teaches your body to burn fat for energy, so your body starts burning the fat you carry. Your body has a clever mechanism where it stops you eating too much fat, (you get nausea and diarrhea). Dietary fat will not turn into bodily fat easily, unlike carbohydrates which trigger insulin response and fat storage.

How is the Optimum Diet Different from the Atkins Diet

The Atkins diet is a high protein, low fat and low carbohydrate diet. The problem with this way of eating is that when too much protein is consumed your body turns it into fat. So it's really no different to the low-fat diets people try for weight loss.

What Kind of Foods Should I Eat on Optimal Diet

For Optimal Diet Jan Kwasniewski recommends animal-sourced foods, which include eggs, cheeses, cream, meats, and all types of animal fat. The best fats are saturated ones. However, vegetable oils rich in monounsaturated fats (e.g., olive oil, or some nut oils) are also good. Vegetable oils which contain polyunsaturated fats or products such as margarine which contains trans-fats must be avoided. They cause inflammation which can lead to heart disease.

I am Worried about Eating all that Fat and Cholesterol

There is now plenty of scientific evidence that cholesterol is actually necessary for your body. It is the good guy! The cholesterol in your food can never turn into a bodily cholesterol in the first place.

Here is a scientific study that has shown the safety of this diet. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19083495

References: http://homodiet.netfirms.com/

Life experience - I've lost 18kg following the Optimal Diet and doing absolutely no exercise!

This is a very general introductory article to the science and practice of Optimal Diet. If you, dear reader, would like to see more articles on this topic, including diet plans, please post a comment.