Six weeks to lose weight, reduce sugar cravings and addiction to sweets: this is what Dr. Mark Hyman promises with his new diet program, “The glycemic balance diet” (ed. Mondadori). An interesting book that explains a new dietary approach, based on the avoidance of blood sugar fluctuations during the day, thanks to the glycemic index theory: you eat frequent meals, you avoid fasting, you eat with a reduced glycemic load through balanced meals in whole grains, proteins and fats, as well as fiber from vegetables. This keeps you satisfied, doesn’t feel sudden hunger between meals, and keeps your blood sugar stable, according to Dr. Mark Hyman ., famous in America (he directs the Cleveland Clinic Center for Functional Medicine) and often guest of the Dr. Oz show.

Here are Dr. Hyman’s rules for healthy weight loss by regulating our glycemic balance:

The rules of the glycemic balance diet
1) Eat every 3-4 hours, starting with breakfast: in this way the glycaemia is kept stable and an excessive stress response given by the increase of cortisol in the blood is avoided.
2) Eat food slowly and regularly starting from breakfast
3) Eat a protein food at every meal: for breakfast it can be soy yogurt or an egg white omelette, or even tofu or seeds or dried fruit; for lunch lean meat or fish or legumes combined with whole grains in moderation and many vegetables
4) Avoid sweeteners and cooking sugar
5) Do not eat before bedtime: stop eating three hours before going to bed
6) Integrate your diet with omega-3 and vitamin D
7) Manage stress and exercise: you need to sleep at least 8 hours a day, avoid stress and do physical activity, starting perhaps with a walk and half an hour of morning stretching. A warm bath before going to sleep and learning diaphragmatic breathing is excellent.
8) Among the forbidden foods, those with gluten and dairy products: Hyman suggests that these foods can give allergies that favor overweight, so try to do without them for 6 weeks. Eat gluten-free whole grain cereals, from buckwheat to rice, and soy foods instead of dairy products.
9) Keep a diary: noting how you feel physically after each meal.

What is the glycemic balance diet?
The diet consists of a breakfast with egg or soy yogurt or a fruit and nut protein shake, two snacks in the mid-morning and mid-afternoon, a quick meal for lunch and dinner (there are many examples in the book).