What I Learned from Alton Brown

I have been a fan of Alton Brown for a long time. Something about his wit and dry humor that just makes me laugh. I had noticed a transformation in him from “thicker” to “thinner” over the years and always wondered what it was that helped him lose his weight.

This past weekend I was looking on Twitter and saw a post from Alton.

Needless to say, this peaked my curiosity. Could this be the answer to how Alton lost his weight and was able to keep it off. Upon doing a search on YouTube, I found the answer I was looking for. (Here is a link to the full episode.) The entire concept seems to be based upon the idea of switching from an energy rich diet to a nutrient rich diet.

Alton talks about his four lists. When preparing for his journey he found that four lists helped him quite a bit. He lost 50 pounds doing this, so I think it is worth looking into at the least.

List 1: Foods to Eat Daily

  • Dark leafy greens
  • Nuts
  • Carrots
  • Green tea
  • Whole grains
  • Fruits

List 2: Foods to Eat Three Times a Week

  • Yogurt
  • Cauliflower
  • Broccoli
  • Sweet Potato
  • Avocado
  • Oily fish
  • Tofu

List 3: Foods to Eat Once a Week

  • Red meat
  • White starch
  • Desserts
  • Alcohol

List 4: Foods to Never Eat / Foods to Avoid at All Times

  • Soda
  • Processed meals
  • Canned soups
  • “Diet” anything

First impressions on the list? Mine were those of, seems doable but there is a little voice in my head that says, “What about this or that?” At a minimum, I do not think it would hurt to incorporate a few of these ideas into my low calorie diet, which I have lost 14.8 pounds in three weeks, so I am super proud of myself.

He then proceeds to discuss how he does this. His breakfast smoothie looks delicious. The acai juice, soy milk (never really had it but worth a try), frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, frozen peaches, and frozen blueberries (all six ingredients at 4 ounces each) look like they would taste amazing together. I love the idea of putting the blender on the scale and zeroing out the scale before each ingredient is added. I was surprised how long it was blended.

The whole segment on brisling about made me want to throw-up, but I am willing to try anything once. My only hope while watching would be that they taste better than sardines. But, alas, upon further viewing… well, I’ll let you decide.

Snack foods are not left out. Gone are the chocolates and in are almonds. Yum! I must admit the recipe he shared looked AMAZING! I must try them. The hardest part is limiting the serving to one ounce eaten once or twice a day. Discipline is so hard, isn’t it?

What did I learn from Alton Brown? That making healthy choices takes discipline and that you can have delicious foods (jury is still out on the brisling thing) and still reach a healthy weight loss goal.