An Irving family doctor says losing weight begins at the grocery store and he encourages shoppers to fill their carts by following a simple rule.
"Eighty-20 healthy to less healthy," Dr. Douglas Cluff said. "If 80 percent of what you eat is healthy, you can totally have fun with the other 20 percent."
The simple program emphasizes healthy eating, realistic goals, stress management, and regular exercise with routines he developed.
"I would love to kill diets," Cluff said. "People try to run the weight-loss race as if it were a sprint, and it's not. It's a long-term thing. It's a marathon."
Cluff's client Ashley Baxter said she struggled with her weight for years, and then lost 67 pounds over three years on his SvelteLife program.
"It's actually very easy. But the hardest part is the fact that it takes a long time," Baxter said. "You have to slowly change your life so that you can keep it that way and then your weight will come off slowly and surely and you'll become more healthy."
Cluff advises his clients and patients to read food labels, choose their food wisely and plan ahead for the holidays.
"Never go to a party on an empty stomach," Cluff said. "That's a big no-no. Try to eat and fill up before you go with healthy stuff and then don't deprive yourself. Take a little portion of this, a little portion of that."
The key is watching what you eat, and how much, he said.
"What people eat is nowhere near as important as how much of it they eat," Cluff said. "So in moderation, that 80-20 rule is crucial."
Cluff put his entire weight loss system online at www.sveltelife.com.
