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The ten dietaGIFT® rules

This article describes the ten main rules we should follow to observe and get the best out of the GIFT diet (dietaGIFT^®).

A constant application of these rules gradually leads the body to achieving the most ideal physiological parameters, allowing it not only to reach the appropriate body mass index but also to reduce fat mass and optimize its biochemical and metabolic reactions.

Each rule is described simply, making its principles and how to adjust them clear to all, and, above all, making it easy to take the first step in this direction.

The detailed description of these rules, clinically applied in Milan’s SMA center, is featured in the book “GIFT diet- lose weight without counting calories ” (Fabbri editori) (DietaGIFT: “Slimming Without Counting the Calories”).

Ten rules to be healthy

The three foundations on which the concept of dietaGIFT and its rules are based, are the following:

·  metabolic activation,

·  insulin control

·  quality of nutrients.

The ten rules described below explain how these three main foundations must be applied in order to comply with the spirit of this new diet, which aims at reestablishing an appropriate weight and total psychophysical wellbeing. We call them “rules” because they clearly define what we need to do and what nutritional choices we have to make.

But let’s make it clear that these are not The Ten Commandments. The actual target is for individuals to integrate our recommendations harmoniously with their lifestyles, turning them into pleasant everyday customs.

This process may take longer or less depending on the initial situation and to what degree the “rules” are observed, but as a result we will have transformed our body and restored it to its ideal situation.

And it’s not purely by chance that the first three letters of the word GIFT coincide with the words “Graduality, Individualization, Flexibility”. Our ideal fat mass value or body mass index can be found in the life expectancy indexes used by insurance companies (there’s more about this in the book) and can in part vary from person to person.

Our work with people who came to us seeking help to improve their weight and general health conditions, led us to making an extraordinary discovery. When we reestablish a metabolic and nutritional activation similar to that of the primitive man of the late Paleolithic age, i.e. a hunter/gatherer, obviouslyadjusted to today’s cultural and social situation and in keeping with the pleasure associated to food consumption, such as luxury and hedonistic values, people are gradually restored to a state of fitness, improving their general physical condition (including altered cholesterol levels, high triglycerides or liver complaints).

We noticed that, despite some moments of exception and flexibility (provided for since the very beginning), those who comply with the GIFT principles lose weight gradually and regularly, proceeding unwaveringly towards the target that originally left them in disbelief (“What? Do I really have to lose 18 kilos?”).

We set the target only according to health and well-being parameters that have been sufficiently standardized over time (and therefore are absolutely set apart from the parameters of aesthetics, sport efficiency or of the compliance with specific biochemical-metabolic values such as glycaemia and triglycerides). And yet the target is experienced as a statistical abstraction, as long as it remains that way: a possible target, which is different from person to person.

Approaching that target step by step is the unquestionable proof that the body, through targeted food re-education, tends independently to bring all its parameters back to its ideal values.

We want to stress once more that everyone may apply different modalities. If someone has an injured knee and cannot run, he might walk instead, or swim, or practice some other dynamic activity specifically studied for his physical structure, his specific situation and according to his preferences.

What is really important is to set the metabolism in motion and activate it once and for all.

Before we describe the scientific and practical details of each rule, here’s a list of the rules, with their definition and a brief explanation of their meaning.

1. Combination of proteins and carbohydrates

To reduce the insulin rebound effect, it is necessary to add a protein source to each of the three main meals; the protein source should “visually” be approximately one third of the total volume of a meal. This balanced ratio can easily be achieved with the GIFT^® single-dish system (link in preparation).

2. Control of the glycaemic index and load

If we want dietaGIFT^® to work as it should, we need to control carbohydrate intake with a high glycaemic index(sugar, bread, white pasta) and prefer fruit and vegetables even when calorie supply is equivalent. In addition, we should also make sure that the total amount of carbohydrates in each individual meal is not excessive (again approximately).

3. Meal distribution

To facilitate the specific way in which the organism uses calories, daily calorie intake should be distributed as follows:

• High calorie supply for breakfast,
• Medium calorie supply for lunch
• Light calorie supply for dinner.

In other words: have a rich breakfast and a poor dinner. “Invite your friend for lunch and your enemy for dinner”

4. Eat fruit and vegetable freely

Fresh fruit and vegetables, raw and unseasoned, are allowed even between meals (with very few exceptions) in unlimited quantities. Watery fruit is not generally recommended during meals. Even if they do not give a total guarantee, organic fruits and vegetables certainly offer a reduction in the intake of polluting substances. Furthermore, beginning each meal with a small quantity of raw fruit or vegetables is an excellent habit.

5. Generous supply of water and fibers

A rich and constant daily supply of indigestible dietary fiber, similar to the quantity used by primitive man, ensures optimal digestive functions. Therefore, we recommend the use of wholemeal flours and of whole fruits and vegetables (with skins, seeds, leaves, etc.). The supply of water, both natural and from fruit and vegetables, should never be neglected, as it facilitates body waste disposal.

6. Prolonged mastication

Taste and chew food for a good length of time before swallowing. Focusing more on the food you’re having and taking longer over eating it will reward you with feeling satisfied earlier and digesting more easily. Furthermore, undesired fermentation will be reduced as well as the risk of degenerative phenomena of the intestinal tract. Learning to smell and taste the food enables to increase the feeling of being full.

7. Clear-cut reduction in the use of “junk food”

In order to lose weight according to the principles of dietaGIFT^®, it is important to avoid food that has been excessively impoverished by refining, overcooking and industrial processing (hydrogenated fats ); furthermore, the industrial addition of preservatives, coloring agents, antibiotics, hormones, flavorings, thickeners and additives in general should be avoided, since all these substances deceive our senses. They should obviously be replaced by healthy food .

8. Physical exercise

Make constant and regular aerobic physical exercise part of your daily routine right away. If you are completely sedentary you will not be able to reach the integrated psychophysical balance promoted by dietaGIFT^®; become more active and your physical parameters will go back to normal. Choose and gradually take up, one of the thousand possibilities (sport or non sport activities) that life offers us. 

9. Controlling intolerance and food hypersensitivities 

Suffering from one or more food allergies can hinder the process of dietary re-education, which should therefore be improved by the proper periods of rotation of foods causing the problem. Monitoring food intolerance makes it easier to reduce the general inflammatory state of the organism and those interferences that histamine determines on weight and on the regulation of the insulin balance. At the SMA center this check is performed by the DRIA TEST , available also in the MINI DRIA version.

10. Psychophysical balance

Physical well-being cannot be restored without a more thorough psychic balance. It is therefore very important to learn how food can condition our attitudes, our mood, and our subsequent dietary choices. But also to understand how stress, frustration and anger may lead us to look to food for comfort. Finally, DietaGIFT^® requires a deep understanding and an active rejection of these forms of slavery.

A REASON FOR EACH RULE

What these ten rules are telling us is that we can have a leading role as far as our well-being and health choices are concerned. These do not depend on something outside us, but only on the extent to which we are able to win over our state of inertia and our habits when trying to comply with these rules. The feeling of self-efficiency (in other words, the possibility of mastering those factors that influence our lives) is an ingredient that many people consider fundamental to the successful outcome of any diet.

No one is saying it’s easy, fast and painless. But no one is putting pressure on us. Our health and well-being lie in wait at the end of this road. And – as Lao Tzu once said - “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”. So, let’s take this step. In the book we are preparing, the details of each of these ten rules are organized as follows:

Rule:

1.       Why

2.       How to apply it

3.       Its scientific foundations

The first aspect explains the reasons that led us to choosing the dietary behavior described in each rule. The reason why we think a specific behavior – among the many others possible – deserves to be included in the ten most important factors of the GIFT^® Diet.

The second aspect (“how to apply it”) concerns the methods that should be used to put the recommendation into practice: specific suggestions about cooking the food, indication about quantities, possible combinations, meal times.

And finally, the third aspect (“the scientific foundations”) might be of greater interest to physicians, nutritionists and researchers, who may find in them the basis for further investigation, or discover what important studies (or daily practice) we referred to in order to define the main features of our diet.

(Traduzione di Daniela Massarani)

Italian version of this article available