The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet - Mind Body Medical

The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet

May 24th - Aug 15th 2021

1

We are so excited to welcome you to the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet. Designing anddeveloping a programme such as this has been a primary goal of ours for many years,quite simply because we see such a large and increasing demand for it.

Having worked in medical research and clinical practice for many years, we spend somuch of our working life around those with illness and disease, both physical andmental. It is an absolute privilege to be in a position to help such people and thealleviation of physical and mental suffering is, and always will be, at the very core ofour work.

But an ounce of prevention is infinitely better than a pound of cure and so many ofthe people we see every week in clinic have illnesses, diseases and disorders thatcould so easily have been prevented by living a healthier lifestyle.

Crucially, the clinical evidence supports this notion; we now know that around 80% ofall chronic disease in the developed world (such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease,hypertension, strokes and many forms of cancer to name a few) have their origin inpoor lifestyle behaviors. Chief amongst these are the so called “Trilogy of Killers,”namely poor diet/obesity, high stress and insufficient physical exercise.

Mind Body Medical

Chapter 1

Introduction

2

These “Trilogy of Killers” are not to be taken lightly; it is believed that fewer than 1 in10,000 people die of old age. The vast majority of us sicken and die prematurely,picked off by largely preventable diseases long before our biological lifespan has runits course.

Whilst average life expectancy in the Developed World averages around 75 years formen and around 82 years for women, cutting edge evidence shows our true andobtainable lifespan should be around 100-105 years of age. Indeed, cell studies nowshow that our DNA can effectively facilitate healthy cell regeneration for up to 120years! As such, the fact that average life expectancy is hovering between 75-82 years isa public health abomination.

It's unquestionable that the reason why living such a long, vital and healthy life is ararity and why so many people are developing preventable chronic disease is almostentirely down to poor lifestyle behaviors. But the CRUCIAL point here is that almost allof these chronic diseases have incredibly long latency periods before their symptomsappear.

These diseases do not develop overnight, although their symptoms may. By naturethey are slow to develop and slow to progress and can take years and in many casesdecades to develop into a fully-fledged health crisis.

The famous English proverb “For the Want of a Nail”, once recited by virtually everychild in Britain, best illustrates this point:

For want of a nail the shoe was lost

For want of a shoe the horse was lost

For want of a horse the rider was lost

For want of a rider the message was lost

For want of a message the battle was lost

For want of a battle the war was lost

Thus everything was lost for want of a horseshoe nail

3

BRIDE GUIDE TEMPLATE | 2018-2019

WWW.MINDBODYMEDICAL.CO.UK

Our war on disease and premature ageing is thus being lost less in the treatmentof such diseases but rather in our ability to prevent them; in other words, weneed to focus more on the nail in the shoe rather than on the details of the battle.

In this case, unequivocally and without exception, the proverbial horseshoe nail isour lifestyle. Our behaviors and our daily choices; our diet, our ability to managestress, our adherence to self-care practices, our sleep quality, the toxins we areexposed to and the levels of exercise we obtain.

It is for this reason that the vast majority of generally healthy people aged 40years and older are what could be labelled as “covertly ill.” In other words theycontain in their bodies the seeds of an illness that, if left unchecked, may go on todevelop into a fully-fledged disease that could very well kill them. An artery mayalready be silting up, increasing the risk of a heart attack. The plague responsiblefor Alzheimer’s disease may be slowly and covertly developing in the brain. Bonesmay already be thinning, predisposing osteoporosis and fractures. Subtle insulinresistance may already be resulting in a gradual increase in blood sugar levels,predisposing type 2 diabetes.

The list goes on but the point remains; the evidence clearly shows that if weintervene with preventative lifestyle interventions, we can stop and in manycases reverse this stage of covert illness. In doing so, we prevent the subtle andunobserved symptoms going on to develop into a full-blown disease whichthreatens our quality of life, health, happiness and longevity.

We developed the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet to draw together thesepreventative approaches into one profoundly effective and evidence-basedintervention that can be used by anyone, in any context, to drastically improvetheir health, wellbeing and longevity profile.

4

BRIDE GUIDE TEMPLATE | 2018-2019


As such, the Ayurvedic Abundence Diet

is all about empowerment:

It’s about empowering you with the positive message of hope thatultimately your disease risk factors, health and longevity are in your handsand thus under your direct control.

It’s about empowering you with an “abundance diet” that does away withdeprivation and yoyo dieting and replaces it with a commonsensical,simple and enjoyable way of eating that floods the body with whole-foodnutrition, optimises health and vitality, supports optimal weight (andweight loss if required) and reduces disease risk factors.

It’s about debunking the exercise myth and showing that when it comes toobtaining the full health promoting benefits of exercise, “less is definitelymore.”

It’s about empowering you to embed simple self-care practices into yourlife that can have profound impacts upon boosting your physical andemotional health and vitality whilst reducing stress, anxiety andoverwhelm.

Thank you for joining us and we look forward to progressing down thisjourney with you.

5

We are what we eat

Chapter 2

6

The whole aim and motivation behind the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet is thecultivation of unparalleled levels of health and vitality, sustainable weightmanagement and the reduction of disease risk factors.

And at the very foundation of this aim is what we eat and the food we fuel our bodieswith. In other words, our diet. The reason for this is that food provides thephysiological building blocks from which our cells, organs and body are built. Thus itstands to reason that if these building blocks are health promoting and diseasepreventing, then we move towards optimal health. If, however, they are diseasepromoting and health inhibiting, then we move towards disease. It was for this reasonthat thousands of years ago, the founding fathers of Ayurveda famously said:

“When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use. When diet is correct,

medicine is of no need.”

Modern day scientific research now unequivocally supports this view, showing thatour diet is arguably the single biggest factor impacting upon our health andwellbeing.

But the key point here is that loaded word “diet.” In today’s world, the word “diet”refers to some alien and abstract eating plan aimed at crash weight loss, the keycharacteristics of which are mundane calorie counting, excessive portion assessmentand ultimately an overwhelming sense of deprivation.

The problem with such approaches is that whilst many of these innumerable dietsmay excel at facilitating weight loss, they do very little to enhance health.

We are what we eat:

Food as the foundation of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet

MIND BODY MEDICAL 7

MIND BODY MEDICAL

This is counter-intuitive; where is the value inlosing weight whilst at the same timeincreasing our risk factors for the types ofchronic diseases we are trying to prevent?

The Atkins Diet is a fantastic example of this.The weight loss potential of following such adiet is profound but with it comes elevatedcholesterol and blood pressure, impairedimmune function, increased inflammationand much else besides.

The reverse is also an issue. There are manyhealth plans that focus on optimising healthwhilst failing to realise that unless we floodthe body with whole food nutrition andmove towards achieving/maintaining anoptimal weight, we will never fully realise thelevel of health, vitality and longevity that istruly available to us.

As such, what is needed is a safe, effectiveand “doable” programme that excels in bothareas. Such a programme should powerfullyelevate the collective health of the body,boost energy and vitality and reduce our riskfactors for disease whilst at the same timehelping to achieve/maintain optimal weight.

And that, in a nutshell, is the whole focusand aim of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet.By combining the time-tested nutritionalapproaches of Ayurveda with modern-day,cutting edge nutritional research, we havebeen able to create a 12-week programmethat is truly unique.

8

Abundance Orientated:


Virtually every other dietary plan on the planet, particularly those that are primarilyfocused on weight loss, are based upon deprivation; counting and logging daily calories,missing meals, hunger and suffering. Even if such approaches were successful, whowants to spend their life in a mindset of “missing out?”

In contrast, the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet is based on just that, abundance. Byharnessing the power of a nutritional approach called “high volume, low calorie densityfoods,” which we will explain in much more detail later in the course, we are able to eatabundantly each day. This allows us to flood the body with health boosting and diseasepreventing whole-food nutrition whilst also facilitating gentle weight loss/maintenance.

How is this possible? It is possible by ensuring that we are eating nutrient dense, tastyand enjoyable whole-foods that leave us feeling fuller with fewer calories.

This means we can eat larger volumes of food, feel full and satisfied, flood the body withoptimal nutrition and still reduce our daily calorie intake to facilitate optimal weightmanagement. It is also achievable by prioritising metabolic stimulation.

To lose weight (and to maintain an optimal weight) we need to burn more calories thanwe consume. One way of doing this is to modify our diet, as described above. The otherway is to ensure than our bodies are in metabolic hyperactivation. This ensures that weburn calories in a more effective and efficient manner which prevents the deposition offat. This also means we extract more vitamins, mineral and nutrients from the food weeat, which is essential. The recipes provided within the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet arebuilt around these two key concepts, as we shall explore later.

9

Whole Body Focused


The second variable that makes the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet so unique is that it is notexclusively a nutritional or dietary programme. Yes the dietary aspect is a primarycomponent of the overall plan and if you are looking to lose weight, following theAyurvedic Abundance Diet will help you achieve this in an effective and sustainable way.But in and of itself, that is not enough. To facilitate optimal health and vitality, we needto target our whole body, not just what we eat or how much we weigh.

For this reason, the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet contains detailed chapters on emotionalwellbeing, meditation, herbal medicines, exercise, fasting and sleep optimisation toname but a few.

These approaches are essential self-care tools that are proven to support optimalphysical and emotional health whilst also helping to facilitate more effective weightloss. For example, high levels of the stress hormone cortisol causes the body to store fatcells in the abdomen.

By engaging in meditation-based approaches, we lower our cortisol and thereby reducethe risk of excess abdominal fat storage. This single issue highlights why it is soimportant to take a whole-body focus when developing programmes that supporthealth optimisation and effective weight management.

10

The Mindset and Neuro-Psychology

of Weight Loss.


Research shows that the single biggest reason that so many weight loss and healthpromotion programmes ultimately fail in the long term is that they fail to target andaddress mindset.

More specifically, when we just “jump feet first” into a weight loss plan without reallyunderstanding our deepest motivations for doing so, we very often fail at the first fewhurdles.

In contrast, when we really dig down to “why” we are trying to lose weight and improveour health, we develop a powerful foundation to base behaviour change on; when thegoing gets tough and we find our motivation ebbing, referring back to our “coremotivators and drivers” is proven to help re-engage, re-energise and re-inspire us backon track.

The upshot of this is greater compliance and thus great weight loss success. Because ofthe importance of this, we provide a powerful framework for helping to develop aneffective mindset that taps into the most recent evidence around the neuro-psychologyof weight loss.

11

Support and Accountability


Last but not least, the real power of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet is the continualsupport you will receive both from us and also your peers who are also enrolled in the12-week programme.

This really is key because cutting edge research shows that those who engage in weightloss and behavioral change programmes as part of a supportive group are over 70%more successful than those going it alone. Via the private Ayurvedic Abundance DietFacebook page and the fortnightly live and interactive online coaching sessions, youhave the ability to ask questions, receive tops tips and advice and tap into the benefitsof accountability that comes from the energy of such a group.

Join us in the next chapter to learn more about why the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet issuch an effective way of facilitating healthy and sustainable weight loss by tapping intothe benefits of calorie density and why feeling full with fewer calories is the blueprint ofoptimal weight management.

12

Overview of the abundance diet

Chapter 3

13

As we discussed earlier, what makes the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet so unique is thatit is not exclusively a nutritional or dietary programme.

Yes the dietary and weight loss aspect of the programme is a key one but theAyurvedic Abundance Diet is so much more than this.

To facilitate optimal weight, enhanced health and wellbeing and reduced disease riskfactors, we need to target our whole body, not just our digestive system.

For this reason, the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet is a whole-body focused programmethat takes into account our diet, our digestive system, our mind and also thecollective physiology of the body.

Before we get started and jump into the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet, it is important toprovide a brief overview of the five individual but connected aspects of theprogramme that we will be engaging with over the next 12-weeks. These five aspectsof Ayurvedic Abundance Diet we have called the “Five Pillars of Optimal Health.”

The reason for this is that the published medical evidence unequivocally shows that ifwe are attending to these Five Pillars, we are ticking the most important boxes whenit comes to the optimisation of health and wellbeing and the reduction of our diseaserisk factors.

Overview of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet


14


The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet Pillar 1: The Eating Plan

The foundation of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet is the eating and nutritional plan. Thissection of the programme will provide you with an incredibly clear and easy to follownutritional plan that will allow you to fuel your body with an abundance of incredibly tastywhole food nutrition that will allow you to lose weight and boost your health withoutexperiencing hunger or deprivation. We also provide you will an extensive meal plan thatprovides a wide variety of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack options that all comply with thescience behind Ayurvedic Abundance Diet.

Following these meal plans will make life so much easier over the next 12-weeks as it narrowsdown the scope for deviation away from the core dietary principles that make the plan soeffective.

The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet Pillar 2: Stoking the Digestive Fire

Thousands of years ago, the founding physicians of Ayurveda stated that “we are not justwhat we eat but rather how we digest what we eat.” It is fascinating that this concept, whichhas been the message of Ayurvedic nutrition for thousands of years, is now being powerfullyproven and validated by Western science. To lose weight and boost health it is crucial that ourbody has the ability to effectively and efficiently digest and metabolize the food we eat. If wedo this, it ensures we extract more nutrients from the food we eat, burn fat and calories moreeffectively, clear waste and toxins more efficiently and experience heightened levels of energyand vitality. In this chapter we will explore a variety of different approaches that can beeffortlessly integrated into our life to turbo-charge our digestive system to turn it into a highlytuned calorie burning machine!

The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet Pillar 3: The Movement Plan

Physical inactivity is now believed to kill more people than smoking and drug use combined.And when it comes to enhancing health, preventing disease and supporting safe andsustainable weight loss, physical activity is integral. The reason for this is that the body workson an energy deficit or energy surplus spectrum. If we consume more energy/calories than weburn then we move into calorie surplus which leads to sluggishness, fatigue and weight gain.If we consume less calories than we burn, we move into a calorie deficit. This leaves us feelinglight and energetic and optimises our ability to lose or maintain our weight. One way ofachieving calorie deficit is to eat high volumes of low calorie foods, as we will cover in moredetail later. The other way is to burn off more energy each day through moving the bodymore. In this section of the programme we will provide a simple, sustainable and effectivemovement based regime that will help move your body into energy deficit to further supportweight loss and the optimisation of health and vitality.

15

The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet Pillar 4: The Happiness Plan

Having taken care of our body, we next need to turn our attention onto our mind. This isessential as there is very clear evidence that enhanced emotional health is predictive of higherlevels of physical health, reduced disease risk factors and more effective long term weight losssuccess. In this section of the programme we will provide a selection of simple but incrediblyeffective tools that you can effortlessly integrate into your life to elevate your mood and overalllevels of emotional health whilst reducing the negative effects of stress on the body.

The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet Pillar 5: The Tribe Effect

The research is absolutely clear on this point: any health optimisation and/or weight lossprogramme that is undertaken as part of a group is over 70% more effective than when thesame programme is undertaken alone. This massive benefit is often called the “tribe effect”and tapping into it provides us with motivation, interaction, engagement, inspiration,accountability and the capacity to ask questions. It is for this reason that as part of theAyurvedic Abundance Diet we all meet up virtually every 2-weeks for a check in to see howeveryone is doing and also to provide the opportunity for you to ask questions. During thesecoaching sessions we will also introduce our "Progression Challenges" which will provideprogressive tips and advice to keep you successfully moving forward. To provide additionaldaily support during the 12-weeks of the programme, you will have access to the privateAyurvedic Abundance Diet Facebook support group. This is a safe place where you can askquestions, interact with us and your peers and tap into the motivating and inspiring benefitsof the tribe.

16

As the famous saying goes, “the best changes start with a challenge.” As such, a coreaspect of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet is the Progression Challenges.

Every 2-weeks over the duration of the 12-week programme we will give you a newdietary or lifestyle based challenge or goal to adopt into your life. These are small,simple and easy to do but over time can induce massive gains when it comes toweight loss and health promotion.

These Progression Challenges will be introduced via live videos and supported withaccompanying PDF guides. The dates for the live videos are at the back of thisworkbook.

Progression Challenges

17

Setting yourself up for success

Chapter

4

18

Before we jump into the specific details of the AyurvedicAbundance Diet, it is worthwhile spending a little timesetting yourself up for success.

There is very clear evidence that weight loss and healthoptimisation plans that are undertaken with a specificgoal or intention are significantly more successful thanones that aren’t. As such, before beginning the 12-weekAyurvedic Abundance Diet programme, it is incrediblyimportant to spend some time really digging deep intowhy you are completing this programme.

More specifically, what is it that has motivated you tosign up for this process? Is it to lose weight, have moreenergy, feel healthier, eat less processed food, lookbetter or simply to just feel better about yourself?

Immense power lies in this information. During the next12-weeks there are going to be times when you struggle,“fall off the wagon” or feel tempted to eat junk food.During these times, referring back to why, exactly andspecifically, you are on this journey is absolutely the mostpowerful and effective way of getting back on track.

In the sections below you will find three key tasks thatwe recommend you complete before starting the 12-week programme and also all the way through it tomaximise compliance and thus success.

Setting yourself up for success


19

The Neuro-Psychology of Success


When it comes to effectively losing weight and optimising our health, around 80% ofeffective and sustainable long term success is dictated by the way the brain works andour mind-set. More specifically, the brain works along very rigid neural pathways whenit comes to established thoughts and beliefs.

If these pre-existing beliefs are negative, as they so often are when it comes to healthand weight loss, they very often sabotage our efforts, be that consciously orsubconsciously.

But the key point here is that this is not our fault! It is the way the brain has beenprogrammed to work from an evolutionary perspective.

Consider this example.

After reading this sentence, I would like you to close your eyes and whatever you do,don’t think about a big pink elephant! Absolutely try your hardest to not let that bigpink elephant hijack your thoughts!

If you attempted this, you’ll know that the very first thing that happened when you triedto not think about the pink elephant was that you thought about it.

The reason for this is that, neurologically speaking, the brain is unable to “not thinkabout something.” To not think about it, you actually have to think about it, whichmeans that the very thing you are trying to ignore becomes even more dominant inyour mind.

20


If we apply this to the field of weight loss, we can see why this is such an important issueto address.

If you are saying to yourself:

“I am not going to eat that pastry or chocolate bar.”

Or:

“Whatever I do, I am not going to eat pudding tonight.”

Or:

“Today I will not snack between my main meals.”

All the brain actually hears, at the neurological level, is pastries, chocolate, puddings andsnacks. This then activates the rewards systems of the brain in a way that actuallymakes you want those things even more. Sometimes to such an extent that ignoringthem is often neurologically impossible. Contrary to popular belief, willpower has verylittle to do with it.

Fortunately however, we can use this system to our advantage to drastically reduce ourcravings for less healthy food and instead support healthier choices.

We can achieve this by tapping into the science of “neural-plasticity.” Whereas it wasonce thought that the brain was fixed and couldn’t change, neuroscience now shows usthat we can actually change the neural networks of the brain depending upon how wecondition it.

For example, if we practice more gratitude in our life and focus on what we do haverather than on what we don’t have, new “gratitude neural networks” develop in thebrain. And the more we use them, the more dominant these new networks become,which in turn makes them more habitual. Over only a few short weeks, we canessentially re-wire the brain in a way that makes us happier, more contented and moregrateful.

And when it comes to weight loss and making healthier dietary and lifestyle choices,this is integral. More specifically, if we are craving a chocolate bar and our mind issuffused with the desire for it, we need to replace this negative thought process with apositive one, such as “I nourish my body to achieve my weight loss goals.” And here’s theamazing bit; if we can do this within around 90-seconds of the craving or negativethought happening, it not only makes the positive neural network more dominant andthus more hapitual, it can actually reduce the cascade of bio-chemical changes thatoccur as a result of the craving.

21


Over time, using a short affirmation in this way can re-wire the brain in such a way thatmaking healthy choices, and being free of negative craving-based desires, becomes ournatural default setting. Not because we have an iron willpower but because we have re-modelled the brain.

And at this point, it becomes game changing because suddenly things become muchmore effortless. And for this reason, and to tap into the benefits of neural-plasticity, it isimportant to the success of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet that you create a deep andmeaningful affirmation that you repeat whenever a thought or decision arises thatthreatens to take you off the path of weight loss and health.

Task 1: As such, it is really important that you use and engage with both the HealthMotivation Assessment form and the Daily Habit Tracker that can be found in theAyurvedic Abundence Diet web-platform.

Task 2: Once you have completed the Health Motivation Assessment, please refer backto your answers in Questions 1 and 2 and use these to create a short one-sentenceaffirmation, similar to that provided in question 2 of the Health Motivation Assessment.

The aim then is to memorise this and repeat it as often as needed to help you, andmore specifically your brain, make the best possible decisions. If you use this approachfor 6-weeks, the neuroscience research shows that it will have fundamentally changedthe structure of the brain in a way that will support weight loss and health promotion!

Having introduced the theory behind the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet, let’s now jump into explore the Five-Pillars of Optimal Health in more detail, starting with Pillar 1: TheAyurvedic Abundance Diet Eating Plan.

22

The Ayurvedic Abundance Eating Plan

Chapter 5

Pillar 1

23

Here is where we really begin to dive into the programme and look at exactly what wewill be doing over the next 12-weeks in terms of what and how we will be eating andwhy.

One of the underpinning foundations of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet Eating Plan isthat there mustn’t be any form of deprivation. As soon as a diet induces a sense ofdeprivation it brings with it suffering, discontent and ultimately a reduced quality of life.No diet is worth that.

And the reason that the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet allows us to flood the body with anabundence of tasty, whole-food goodness, optimise health and lose weight without anyform of deprivation or hunger is by tapping into the science of “high volume, lowcalorie density” foods, as we discussed briefly in the introduction. This is heralded as the“new frontier” of nutritional science and yet it is an approach that Ayurveda hasadvocated and utilised for thousands of years.

High volume, low calorie density diets are based around the concept that when wethink about what governs and dictates how much we eat, it is almost never calories. Wedon’t typically find ourselves saying, “I’ve just eaten 1000 calories and now I am full.”

What governs how full we feel is the volume of food we eat. If we eat a good volume offood we feel full and satisfied. If we eat only a little food, we feel unsatisfied and hungry.If we are to follow an eating plan that allows us to reach/maintain an optimal weightand feel happier and healthier without any suffering, we need the former; we need toeat an abundence of health boosting whole-foods that leave us feeling full and satisfiedas opposed to hungry and unsatisfied.

Pillar 1:

The Ayurvedic Abundance Eating Plan

WWW.MINDBODYMEDICAL.CO.UK 24

And this is why the concept of high volume, low caloriedensity diets is so important.

If we eat meals that provide plenty of whole-food volumeand bulk with fewer calories, then we can eat plenty offood, feel full and satisfied, and still lose weight. Perhapseven more importantly, foods that are inherently low incalorie density are also the ones that contain the highestproportion of nutrients, nutrients that are integral to theoptimisation of health and the reduction of disease riskfactors.

This is best illustrated by the following two images. If we were to eat the food presented in picture 1 forbreakfast, it would leave us feeling full, satisfied andsaturated with an abundance of health promoting anddisease preventing goodness for a minimal 300 calories.In other words, the perfect start to the day that willcomfortably see us through to lunch.

However, if we were to have a pastry or sugary bowl ofcereal for breakfast, we would still be consuming 300calories but with hardly any food volume or goodness.This would leave us feeling hungry, empty anddissatisfied soon after, (not to mention the inflammatoryand disease promoting ingredients it contains), meaningwe need to eat more food to feel satisfied which leads toexcess calories, weight gain and health suppression.

High Volume, Low Calorie Density Foods


25

From this we can see all the power and beauty of structuring our diet on high volume,low calorie density foods. We get to eat an abundance of great tasting, health boostingmeals and still consume less calories, thereby helping us to reach or maintain optimalweight without any sense of deprivation, hunger or suffering. But this concept doesn’t just apply to our meals. If we need an energy pick-me-upbetween meals then having a cupful of berries, a few nuts and a chopped apple will stopus feeling hungry, flood the body with essential vitamins and minerals and provide ahuge energy hit for only 150 calories. In contrast, mindlessly eating a chocolate bar thatwill still leave us feeling hungry will result in the consumption of over 300 calories. Thismeans we could eat over two cups of raw fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds, which wouldleave use feeling full and satisfied, for the same calories intake as one very smallchocolate bar that is guaranteed to leave us wanting more!

And the clinical research supports this, showing that those following high volume, lowcalorie density diets lose more weight, and just as importantly keep it off long term,

compared to those eating a low food volume diet.

The reason for this is that when we deprive ourselves of food by restricting food intake,as per most diet plans, our body responds by holding onto fat cells to compensate forthe reduced food intake. This is an ancient survival system that protects the body duringtimes of hunger and starvation.

As such, when we reduce the volume of food we eat, our fat cells may reduce insize but the number of fat cells doesn’t actually reduce. As such, as soon as wecome off the diet and resume normal eating, the fat cells swell in size and allthe illusionary weight loss we may have observed comes back, for the simple

fact that the fat cells never actually left.


However, when we eat a high volume,low calorie density diet, as used in theAyurvedic Abundance Diet, the bodynever senses any form of hunger orstarvation because the volume of food weare eating hasn’t dropped.

As a result, our body has no reason tohold onto fat cells which then actuallyallows us to reduce the number of fatcells in the body rather than just theirsize.

This represents the ultimate form ofsustainable weight loss because we areactually reducing the volume of fat in thebody but without any form of deprivationor hunger.

As such, this powerful and

proven new approach to eatingallows you to have it all; it

allows you to feel great, reduceyour disease risk factors,

optimise your health and loseweight without any sense of

deprivation, hunger or suffering.


Now that we have discussed the science behind the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet, we willnow overview the whole framework of the dietary plan that we will be following for the next12-weeks (and ideally well into the future!).

By the end of this chapter you should have all of the knowledge and information you needto confidently adopt the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet eating plan.

Top Tip: ASK, ASK, ASK!

Remember, should you have any questions about any of this information, or how it relatesto you, please just ask in the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet private Facebook support group orvia in one of the fortnightly interactive Zoom coaching sessions.

Adopting The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet


28

The foundation of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet eating plan is the consumption of apowerfully health promoting whole-food diet, the hall mark of which is an abundance ofvegetables and fruits. Remember that doing so allows us to eat abundant volumes offood whilst maintaining a low calorie intake. This ultimately mean we can feel fuller withfew calories.

However, eating in this way is about far more than simply losing weight. The weight lossthat comes off the back of this way of eating is more of a “positive side effect.” The realgain from this way of eating is a profound elevation in health and a significant reductionin disease risk factors. For example, there is now very clear medical evidence thatunequivocally shows that consuming a largely plant-based diet:

1. Boosts immunity and reduces infections.2. Reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, stroke andAlzheimer’s disease.3. Protects the heart.4. Lowers blood pressure.5. Lowers harmful cholesterol.6. Elevates mood and protects against stress, anxiety and depression.7. Protects the eyes from age related disease.8. Increases physical energy and vitality levels.9. Enhances sleep quality.10. Reduces inflammation.11. Stabilises blood sugar levels and prevents food cravings.12. Prevents nutritional deficiencies.13. Enhances the quality of your skin, hair, eyes and nails.14. Extends healthy lifespan.15. Helps maintain optimal weight whilst preventing weight gain.

It is hard to over-emphasise the significance of the collective impacts of these gains interms of our levels of health, happiness and longevity.


Plant Power

29

Aside from the many benefits of eating a predominantly plant-based dietas discussed above, there is another specific reason that we need to reallyprioritise a plant-heavy diet over the next 12-weeks (and ideally forever);fruits and vegetables contain a selection of plant-based chemicals, calledphyto-chemicals, that are proven to help lower body weight and preventthe storage of body fat. More specifically, there are three primary phyto-nutrients that we need to prioritise due to their health promoting andweight reducing benefits:

i. Catechins: These are an essential phyto-nutrient found in many fruitsand also legumes, nuts and also black, white and green teas. Withevidence showing that diets high in Catechins reduce the risk factors formany forms of cancer and heart disease, these foods need to be anintegral aspect of our daily diet. Furthermore, high Catechins diets havealso been associated with lower waist circumferences, lower body massindexes and more effective weight loss.

ii. Anthocyanin: This is a powerful and important phyto-nutrient that isfound abundantly in most dark coloured fruits and vegetables such asblue berries, aubergines, beetroot and red cabbage. Anthocyanin has anintegral role to play in weight loss and weight maintenance because itcontains chemicals that are proven to instruct muscle cells to burn fat astheir primary source of energy, thereby facilitating more effective weightloss.

iii. Thylakoid: When it comes to weight loss, this phyto-nutrient is crucial.This is because Thylakoid stimulates the release of a hormone calledcholecystokinin. This is important because cholecystokinin promotes thefeeling of fullness and inhibits the body’s desire for food and there is clearevidence that having higher levels of cholecystokinin results in less foodconsumption and better body weight profiles.

As such, consuming an abundance of different fruits and vegetables eachday will ensure a high level of these key phyto-nutrients in our body, theend result of which is enhanced level of health, reduced disease riskfactors and optimal internal conditions in the body to facilitate weight loss.Following the meals plans included within the Ayurvedic Abundance Dietwill ensure an abundant daily intake of these key plant-based nutrients.


Fat Burning Phyto-Chemicals

30

How the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet Works

One of the reasons that so many dietary plans fail is that they are too complex andtoo rigid; there are too many rules to follow, too much effort required and it is tootime consuming to adhere to long term. All of these factors conspire to make it veryhard, even for the most motivated person, to stay on track for any meaningful periodof time.

Furthermore, if you “go onto” a diet, there is a very high chance that you will soon“come off” it. In contrast, if you can adopt a new way of eating, it can become alasting and sustainable habit that you never lose, and with that comes higher levelsof health and wellbeing and optimal weight management.

As such, for an eating plan to be effective and enjoyable, it must be simple. And thepublished evidence clearly supports this idea, showing that the easier a plan is tofollow, the more successful it becomes.

As such, simplicity was the “buzz” word that was at the forefront of our minds all theway through the research and development process of the Ayurvedic AbundanceDiet. As such, there are:

·No calories to count·No food to weigh·No portion sizes to measure·No points to count·No deprivation, hunger or suffering

In contrast, the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet is about health promotion, enjoyment,simplicity and common sense; if we eat the right foods in the right volumes in theright way, radiant health and sustainable weight loss will naturally follow.

In the sections below we provide a simple overview of the key aspects of theAyurvedic Abundance Diet Eating Plan and how to complete it:

31

Remember, the whole focus of the Ayurvedic Abundance Dietis to optimise health and wellbeing, reduce disease risk factorsand facilitate effective weight loss. To achieve this, we need tobe eating an abundance of plant-based foods and smalleramounts of lean protein and heart healthy fats. By eating inthis way, we naturally consume a high volume, low caloriedensity diet that will allow us to lose weight, eat abundantlyand feel fuller with fewer calories.

To facilitate this, we have carefully constructed a wide varietyof recipes that provide the optimal ratio of food groups in anygiven meal, all of which can be found in the AyurvedicAbundance Diet webpage.

Integral to the success of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet isthat, as much as possible over the next 12-weeks, you:

"Try to ensure that every meal you eat, and all of the foodsyou snack on, come from the provided meal plan or are

fundamental powered by plants."

It is hard to over-emphasise the importance of this; the moreyou comply with this priority, the bigger the gains you willobserve.

In light of the sheer abundance of recipes that we haveprovided and the variety inherent within these recipes, thiswill be an incredibly easy and enjoyable thing to do; the mealsall taste amazing, are quick and easy to make and take theguess work out of deciding upon what you should and shouldnot eat over the next 12-weeks.

Please refer to the recipes and meal plans in the AyurvedicAbundance Diet website so that you can review the types ofamazingly tasty, healthy and nutritious food we will be eatingover the next 12-weeks.


1. Eat from the Meal Plan

32

The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet is a 12-week programme that isbest completed as part of a group. This allows for you to benefitfrom the support you will receive both from us and also yourpeers who are also enrolled in the 12-week programme.

This really is key because cutting edge research shows thatthose who engage in weight loss and behavioral changeprogrammes as part of a supportive group are over 70% moresuccessful than those going it alone. Via the private AyurvedicAbundance Diet Facebook page and the fortnightly live andinteractive online coaching sessions, you have the ability to askquestions, receive tops tips and advice and tap into the benefitsof accountability that comes from the energy of such a group.

The group based Ayurvedic Abundance Diet starts on May 24thand we would really encourage you to start at the same time sothat we can all progress through this journey together.

A detailed time-table of the 12-week programme, includingwhen the fortnightly interactive group coaching sessions arehappening, can be found in the group calendar on theAyurvedic Abundance Diet website.


2. Join The Group!

33

This is integral to the success of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet.Science tells us that constant snacking and grazing is one ofthe most important factors in the escalating levels of obesity inthe Developed World.

The human digestive tract was not designed, evolutionaryspeaking, to graze. It was designed to receive food, then gothrough a period of fasting for at least 3-hours, before eatingagain.

This 3-4 hour period of fasting between meals provides thedigestive system with the time it needs to efficiently andeffectively digest, metabolize, assimilate and absorb theprevious meal before the next meal is consumed. This results itbetter nutrient profiles, higher levels of energy, the moreeffective burning of calories and thus the facilitation of weightloss. Eating in this way also helps reduce inflammation, supportoptimal immune function and optimise the health of the gutand microbiome.

Thus upon commencing the 12-week programme, a realpriority is to ensure that you only eat three meals (from the

Ayurvedic Abundance Diet meal plan) each day.

Doing so is easy because you should not be feelinguncomfortably hungry between meals because we will beeating a high-volume diet that will leave us feeling fuller forlonger with fewer calories.

For more detailed information on this important issue, pleaserefer to Chapter 7, “Stoking the Digestive Fire.”


3. Eat Only Three Meals a Day

34

Almost all plant-based foods are low in calories and filled with an abundance of health promoting nutrients, vitamins and minerals. As such, if you do feel hungry between your three meals a day, you can snack as much as needed on whole fruits and vegetables. Great options include raw carrots, applets, bananas or if you have aparticularly active day, then one of the active treat recipes which can be found in the recipe section.


4. Snacking on Fruit and Vegetables

35

Eating whilst watching television, scrolling on your phone or whilst engaged in any form of digital stimulation has been shown to result in theconsumption of more calories, over-eating and a reduced ability to lose weight in comparison to those eating mindfully.

As such, over the next 12-weeks it is important that when it is time to eat, it is time to eat. Engage in your cooking and eating with a degree of reverence. Savor the smells and appearance of the food you are creating and make dining an “event.”

Sit down at the table and make time to enjoy the meal, savor its flavors, draw your attention to the healing nutrients and goodness contained within it and acknowledge the effort and commitment you are making to improving your health and wellbeing by committing to this programme over the next 12-weeks.


5. No Mindless Eating

36

In Ayurveda, there is a meal called Kitchari. This is arguably the most important, health promoting and revered recipe in the whole of Ayurveda, and for good reason.

Western science now tells us that Kitchari is arguably the most therapeutically powerful, nutrient dense and easy to digest meal that you can put on one plate! We will explore Kitchari in more detail in the next chapter but for now it is worth touching on the concept of the Three-Day Resets.

These are three day Ayurvedic Kitchari cleanses where we aim to reset the gut, ramp up metabolism and consolidate weight loss and detoxification over a short three day period.

We perform three of these resets over the 12-week programme, the dates for which can be found in the Course Calendar in the Ayurvedic Abundance Dietwebsite.

Having used these resets in our clinic for many years, I can attest with absolute sincerity to the impact they canhave upon increasing our energy and vitality whilst stimulating further weight loss gains.

As such, we really encourage you to commit fully to these monthly three Day Resets.


6. Three Day Resets

37

And that's it!

Following the AyurvedicAbundance Diet for the next 12-

weeks is really as simple ascomplying with these eating

guidelines.

.

38

The three day resets

Chapter 6

39

When aiming to lose weight, enhance health and increase general levels of vitality andenergy, engaging in short and gentle periodic cleanses can make a huge impact.

The reason for this is that we live in a toxic world. The air we breathe, the water wedrink, the food we eat and the household products we use are commonly laced with alevel of toxicity that regularly exceeds international safety standards.

This toxic onslaught drastically and negatively impacts upon the physiology of the bodyin many ways, including the suppression of immunity, the disruption of hormones, theelevation of inflammation and much else besides.

These toxins also make it harder to lose weight. There are many reasons for this but oneof the most important is that the majority of the toxins we ingest are called “fat-soluble”toxins. These are toxins that lodge into the areas of the body with a high concentrationof fat cells, such as the thighs, hips, and tummy. These toxins then become “stubborn”as once lodged into our fat cells, they are incredibly hard to mobilise and clear from thebody. The upshot of this is the dysregulation of fat cell physiology.

This dysregulation reduces our ability to break down fat cells which then makes it veryhard, and sometimes even physiologically impossible, to lose weight. Indeed, there isnow clear and published evidence to show that environmental toxins in the body cancause us to gain excess fat, increase blood sugar levels (thereby increasing our diabetesrisks) and make it much harder to reduce weight and body fat levels.

As such, supporting the body against the threat caused by environmental toxins isimportant. And the whole aim of the Three-Day Resets is to do just that.

40

Fire up our metabolism to support optimal weight loss.Support the body with optimal whole-food nutrition.Facilitate enhanced detoxificationIncrease our energy and vitality levels

Fortunately, clearing excess levels of environmental toxinsfrom the body is not particularly hard. Nor does it requirethe use of extreme detoxification regimes, fasting ordeprivation. It simply needs a gentle approach that workswith and further supports the body’s natural inherentdetoxification pathways.

And this is one of the areas that Ayurveda truly excels in.The cleansing regimes of Ayurveda are time-tested andfamed and having both used them and taught them formany years, I have seen first hand how effective they are.

The Three-Day Resets used during the AyurvedicAbundence Diet are essentially mini-Ayurvedic cleanseswhich, at the name suggests, last for three days. This isenough time to physiologically support the body in theclearing of toxins but not too long as to become a burdenor challenge. Remember, the guiding principles of theAyurvedic Abundance Diet are simplicity, effortless andeffectiveness and the Three-Day Resets are no exception tothese rules.

During these three days, we will all follow a specific eatingand detoxification plan that will:

And the success of the Three-Day Resets is built upon themost famed meal within the Ayurvedic framework, Kitchari.


What are the three day resets?

41

High levels of hard to obtain minerals includingmagnesium and potassiumVery high levels of antioxidants that provide powerfulcell defence Regulation of healthy blood sugar levels Increased secretion of the “I am full hormones”,meaning we crave less foodPowerful anti-inflammatory properties

What Is Kitchari?

Kitchari is one of the most revered meals in Ayurvedicmedicine and was traditionally used during times ofdetoxification, purification, cleansing and during times ofsickness and ill health to provide optimal nutrition, enhanceimmunity and speed up recovery. As a meal, Kitchari ismade up of white rice, mung beans, cleansing vegetables,herbs and spices.

Why White Rice?

For the purposes of Three-Day Resets, it is important thatyou use white basmati rice, not brown rice. This soundscounter-intuitive as brown rice is better for us and doesprovide more nutrients. However, the bran and germ that isincluded in brown rice makes it a lot harder to digest. Asthese are removed from white rice, it makes it much easierto digest than brown rice. During a cleanse when we areaiming to optimise digestion and place as little strain ontoour digestive processes as possible, it is generally better touse only basmati white rice which has a lower glycaemicindex than short grain white rice, meaning it creates lessblood sugar spikes.

The Importance of Mung Beans

Mung beans are an integral component of kitchari. Theseare by far the easiest form of legume to digest and areclassified as anti-flatulence, meaning they are one of theonly beans that do not produce intestinal gas. The manyand varied benefits of mung beans include:


42

The Power of Herbs and Spices

The culinary herbs are an essential part of the therapeuticproperties of kitchari. The herbs typically used includecoriander seeds, cumin, fennel, turmeric, black pepper andsea salt. These herbs encourage optimal digestion, reducegas and bloating, support optimal liver function and help toregulate the microbiome in the gut. However, feel free toexperiment and use any herbs that you enjoy, as long asthey are not overly heating or spicy.

Optimal Protein Delivery

The last primary therapeutic benefit of kitchari is that itprovides optimal protein delivery. There are 20 amino acidsthat combine with one another to make all of the proteinsthe body needs. The body can synthesize 10 of them on itsown. The other 10, called essential amino acids, are notmade by the body, meaning we must get them from ourfoods. Animal proteins are “complete” in that they containall 10 essential amino acids, but plant foods need to becombined to make a complete protein. The marriage of riceand beans, as found in kitchari, provides all 10 essentialamino acids whilst providing complete protein delivery. Thisis vital as during cleanses such as the Three-Day Resets, it isessential to have adequate protein to keep the blood sugarstable and the body burning fat.

How to Make Kitchari

Fortunately, kitchari is incredibly easy to make and the fullinstructions for making it are included in the Recipe sectionof the course. Furthermore, we will be posting up a detailedvideo tutorial of how to make kitchari in the privateAyurvedic Abundence Diet Facebook support group.


43


Morning Ghee Drink

Ghee is one of the most important foods in Ayurvedic medicine and modernscientific research is now proving the many and varied health benefits of thissuper food.

Ghee is a dairy free oil that is solid at room temperature and melts into a richgolden colour when heated. It is made by boiling off the solids from full fat dairymilk (casein, whey and lactose) to leave a totally unique and powerfully hearthealthy blend of short, medium and long chain fatty acids.

The reason we use ghee in the Three-Day Resets is because most of the toxinsthat enter into the body are stored in fat cells. To help remove and excrete thesetoxins we need to utilise an approach called “lipophilic-mediated detoxification.”This means that heart healthy fat (in the form of ghee) is ingested to “pull” the fatsoluble toxins out of the cells so that they can be sent to the colon to be fullyexcreted from the body. Rigorous Western research exists to support thisapproach of using healthy fat such as ghee to chelate or “pull” stubborn, diseasepromoting fat-soluble toxins out of the body.

Aside from detoxification, ghee is also a powerful weight loss stimulant, primarilybecause it is one of the highest natural sources of conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).CLA has numerous health benefits that include boosting immunity, optimisingliver function, glucose metabolism, weight regulation and heart health. However,the most well documented benefit of CLA is its ability to help the body facilitatefat burning, meaning it has a fundamental role to play in all weight lossprogrammes.

Furthermore, ghee is also the highest known source of butyric acid, high levels ofwhich have been proven to optimise digestion, support healthy gut andmicrobiome function, boost immunity and optimise bowel function. Because of these profound benefits, every morning of the Three-Day Resets youshould have a morning ghee drink, which is much nicer than you might expect!You should have this drink on an empty stomach and wait 30 minutes before youeat anything else.

44

1-2 teaspoons of gheeHalf a cupful of almond, coconut or dairy milk Pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg

Add the ingredients into a pan and simmer on a low heat untilthe ghee has melted and is warm. Pour into a cup and drink If you dislike the taste after drinking, sip on a cup of freshginger and lemon tea. Most people enjoy the ghee drink and do not typicallyexperience any adverse reactions or side effects. However, ifyou do notice any side effects then please stop taking themorning ghee for 24 hours to let everything stabilise. Then,once things have improved, start the morning ghee regimeagain but this time at half dose and be sure to let us know viathe private Facebook group.

Ingredients:

Instructions:


Morning Ghee Recipe

45

2 crushed cardamom pods2 thin slices of fresh ginger root 2 black peppercorns 1 allspice berry1 tsp of fennel seeds 1 clove and ½ inch piece of cinnamon stick

This famed and revered tea blend has been pressed into service by Ayurveda forthousands of years as a primary digestive stimulant. This means that it increases ourmetabolism and speeds up how effectively and efficiently we digest and metabolise thefood we eat. This is essential as by digesting our food more effectively it means that weminimise toxic build-up. Furthermore, “firing up” our metabolism in this way helps tofacilitate additional weight loss.

As such, during each day of the Three-Day Resets it is recommended that you sip on theDaily Detox Tea from 8am until around 5pm. The impacts of doing so can be profound,particularly if you suffer with problems such as bloating, distension, wind and generaldigestive sluggishness.

Each morning please boil 1 litre of water and pour into a thermos flask. Add:

Leave to steep and sip this over the course of each day, aiming to have drunk it all by5pm.

Daily Detox Tea


Daily Detox Tea Recipe

46

As we have previously discussed, undertaking any form of weightloss or health optimisation plan becomes significantly moreeffective when completed as part of a group. Doing so allows us totap into and feed off of the collective motivation and energy of thegroup. The upshot of this is that we feel more inspired andmotivated to stick with the plan.

As such, we have scheduled in one Three-Day Reset every monthfor the duration of the 12-week Ayurvedic Abundance Dietprogramme on the following dates:

Three Day Reset 1: 14th, 15th and 16th JuneThree Day Reset 2: 12th, 13th and 14th JulyThree Day Reset 3: 9th, 10th and 11th August

Whilst we recommend that you complete the Three Day Resets aspart of the group on these dates, you can of course complete themon your own whenever you want over the duration of the 12-weeks!


Three Day Group Resets

47

During the Three Day Resets we will be eating simply but incredibly nutritious food thatresets the functionality and effectiveness of the digestive system, using the followingprotocol:

Breakfast: To be eaten between 7:00 - 8:30am

Cleanse porridge from recipe book

Lunch: To be eaten between 12:00 - 1:30pm

Kitchari or one of the soups from the recipe book

Dinner: To be eaten between 6:30-7:30pm

Kitchari or one of the soups from the recipe book

During the Three Day Resets it is important that you have Kitchari at least once a day butif you enjoy it and make a bigger batch, you can eat it twice a day (i.e. for lunch anddinner).


Three Day Resets Protocol

48

Chapter 7

Stoking the Digestive Fire

Pillar 2

49

“In the previous chapters we have discussed the fundamental importance of eating theright kinds of foods in the right way to optimise our health and support effective andsustainable weight loss/maintenance.

We now need to turn our attention to the last piece of the dietary puzzle which is tooptimise and support our digestive function. And it is really important that we do sobecause there is very clear evidence to show that our digestive strength is predictive ofboth how much goodness we extract from the food we eat and also our ability to loseand maintain optimal weight.

More specifically, if we are fueling the body with masses of health boosting whole foodgoodness (as provided by the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet Meal Plans), this goodness isonly helpful if we can physically extract the nutrients from the food and send them intoour cells. If we can’t do this, we simply excrete out much of the goodness we are eating.This can result in nutrient deficiencies, weakened immunity and a general reduction inhealth, energy and wellbeing.

Likewise, science tells us that weight gain, and the inability to lose weight, is almostalways exacerbated by poor digestion and a “sluggish” metabolism. When ourmetabolism is sluggish it is much less efficient, meaning that our body doesn’t burn upand use the calories we are consuming in an effective way. If we burn calories lesseffectively, then it is very easy to end up in a state of “calorie excess,” which will at bestresult in a reduced ability to lose weight or worse still, result in weight gain.It is for this reason that Ayurveda places such importance on cultivating optimaldigestive function. Indeed, strengthening digestion is of such importance withinAyurveda that there is a whole clinical discipline devoted exclusively to this issue, calledAgni Deepana.

Whilst the science of Agni Deepana is a large one, all of the many and variedapproaches that it employs ultimately have one goal, and that is:

To optimise the strength, efficiency and effectiveness of our digestive and metabolicsystems to facilitate the cultivation of radical levels of health. And that includes

supporting weight loss and optimal weight maintenance.

As such, it is integral to the success of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet that we integratea selection of the time-tested and clinically proven approaches into our daily routine.To facilitate this, we have provided three simple approaches for you to adopt into yourlife. Doing so is simple, quick and sustainable. These approaches are also profoundlyeffective and when we use them in our clinic, it is common for them to induceprofound benefits.

50

Over the last 10 years there has been a huge sea-change in the understanding of thefunctioning of the human digestive system.

Going back 8-10 years, there was a big drive to suggest that eating four, five or even sixsmall meals a day was the best way to fuel to body to support optimal weight andenergy.

However, this model was based upon research on elite athletes, probably the onlygroup of people who benefit from eating in such a way, for the simple fact that theirenergy and calorie demands are so high.

But when this approach to eating was then transferred across to non-elite athletes (i.e.almost everyone else) it was consistently shown to induce a whole host of digestiveissues such as weight gain, digestive sluggishness, bloating, gastric cramping, poorenergy, low mood and general digestive discomfort to name but a few issues.

There are many reasons for this but the main and most important one is that thehuman digestive tract was not designed, evolutionary speaking, to graze. It wasdesigned to receive food, then go through a period of fasting for at least 3-hours, beforeeating again.

This 3-4 hour period of fasting between meals provides the digestive system with thetime it needs to efficiently and effectively digest, metabolize, assimilate and absorb theprevious meal before the next meal is consumed. This results it better nutrient profiles,higher levels of energy, an optimised ability to lose weight, a reduction in dysbiosis/gutbased toxins and a healthier microbiome.

But if we eat our breakfast, then snack through to lunch, eat lunch and then snackthrough to dinner, eat dinner and then continue to snack into the evening, thedigestive system never gets a rest.

And like everything else in existence, the functioning of anything that runs without arest deteriorates until it breaks down.

In terms of human digestion, this “breaking down” looks like weight gain, fatigue,reduced vitality and the common digestive symptoms that are so endemic in ourWestern cultures.

1. Eating Times

51

Breakfast: Between 7:00-8:30amLunch: Between 12:00-1:30pmDinner: Between 6:00-7.30pm and never any later than 8:00pm

As such, it is integral to the success of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet that we only eatthree meals a day at the correct times each day.

The reason this is so important is because over the course of each day, the humanmetabolism experiences three digestive peaks. During these peaks, our body secretesmore hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes and much else besides to ensure that wefully and effectively digest the food we eat. Thus if we “hit” these peaks, it means thatwe digest our food more effectively, extract more nutrients from the food we eat andclear waste from the body more efficiently. The upshot of this is a fired up metabolism,increased nutrient absorption and an optimal metabolic state to facilitate weight loss. Thus to ensure we hit these digestive peaks, it is strongly recommended that wherepossible you aim to eat your three meals of the day at the following times:

KEY POINT: If it gets later than 8:00pm and you still haven’t eaten dinner, then aim tosimply miss your meal altogether and fast until the following morning to tap into thebenefits of Intermittent Fasting.

What If I Need To Snack? Remember that the real power and beauty of the AyurvedicAbundance Diet is the complete absence of hunger, suffering or deprivation becausewe are adopting a high volume, low calorie density diet that leaves use feeling fullerwith fewer calories. As such, it is unlikely that you will get uncomfortably hungrybetween meals (remember that a little bit of hunger is good for us) but if you do needsomething small to eat then feel free to snack on fruit or vegetables or if you are reallyhungry one of the snack options provided in the meal plan.

52

Generally speaking, the single biggest factor responsible for digestive problems, weightgain, lethargy, headaches, general sluggishness and poor detoxification functioning isinadequate hydration.

The crucial point here is that “optimal hydration” is distinctly different to “beinghydrated.” We can drink litres of water each day but for many of us, we simply pass thiswater through and out of the body via the kidneys before it can deeply hydrate us. Inother words, we don’t drive the water deeply into our cells.

To prevent this, Ayurveda has a time-tested tool for facilitating optimal hydration. Thisinvolves the sipping of hot herbal water over the course of the day. Frequent sipping ofhot water helps dissolve impurities and cleanse the entire digestive and eliminativesystems. This result is an improvement in digestion and assimilation of food, optimisedmetabolic function, improved elimination and the prevention of the formation of toxins. Also, the hot water with its special quality is absorbed into the circulatory system andtravels throughout the body. The extra warmth and fluid aids in opening circulation,dissolving accumulated impurities in the bodily tissues, and flushing them out of thebody. This in and of itself can induce huge gains when it comes to weight loss.

Indeed, many people report that after just a few weeks of sipping on hot water, theirdigestion and elimination improve, and they feel lighter, fresher and more vibrant. Evenmore so, a significant number of individuals have also attributed improvements inoverall health and the reduction of a diverse range of symptoms by simply following thehot water recommendation.

To realise these benefits:

1. Adhere to Hot Herbal Sips: Each morning, add 1 tsp each of whole coriander seeds,whole cumin seeds, whole fennel seeds and a 2-inch piece of ginger root into a 1 litrethermos flask and fill with boiling water. As an alternative, any of the digestionsupporting herbal teas produced by Yogi Teas or Pukka are an excellent choice.

Take this with you to work or when out and about and aim to sip a few mouthfuls of thehot herbal water regularly throughout the day, aiming to have drunk it all by 5pm.These four herbs are all clinically proven in their capacity to optimise digestion, cleartoxins, increase the absorption of nutrients, support optimal gut health, stimulatehealthy bowel function and support a healthy appetite (and much else besides).

2. Additional Hydration: Alongside the Hot Herbal Sips, please aim to also drink at leastanother litre of water throughout the day.

2. Hot Sips

53

In Ayurvedic medicine, Triphala is the most revered of all the herbal formulas. Made upof equal parts of three super-fruits, it truly excels in its ability to help support optimalweight, combat digestive sluggishness, constipation, bloating, gas, abdominal pain,indigestion, gastric inflammation and general gut-based toxicity.

Furthermore, modern day Western research has now shown that the unique phyto-chemicals found in Triphala help facilitate the increased burning of fat and speed upweight loss. This makes it an integral “herbal ally” when it comes to losing weight. Triphala also helps to strengthen our digestive capacity, regulates hunger and stripstoxins from the colon whilst acting as a powerful and clinically proven immunemodulator that is very high in health promoting antioxidants.

For the duration of the 12-week Ayurvedic Abundance Diet it is highly recommendedthat you consume 2000mg of Triphala each day. This is best done by taking two 500mgcapsules in the morning and another two 500mg capsules in the evening.

Top quality organic and certified Triphala can be sourced from our website -www.mindbodymedical.co.uk

We will be discussing the uses and merits of Triphala in more detail in the first livecheck-in session of the programme.

3. Triphala

54

Chapter 8

Movement

Pillar 3

55

“Worms will not eat living wood where the vital sap is flowing; rust will not destroy themetal of a gate when the hinges are used each day.

Movement gives health and it gives life. Stagnation and inertia brings disease anddeath.

Therefore move every day and experience the joy of vital health. Ancient Ayurvedic Proverb

The third pillar of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet for achieving optimal weight, optimizingour health and reducing our disease risk factors is the integral role of physical movement.Research over the last 10-15 years has shown, in a profound way, that exercise has apowerful and clinically proven protective impact upon most forms of illness and disease,whilst also helping us to feel healthier, happier and younger.

Furthermore, when it comes to supporting weight loss and maintaining an optimal bodyweight in a sustainable way, movement is often the difference between success andfailure. The reason for this is simple; to lose weight, we need to burn more calories thanwe consume. There are only two ways to achieve this. The first is to consume less caloriesand the second is to burn more calories.

The eating plan that informs the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet will take care of the first point(without any form of hunger or deprivation!), which leaves us with the second point; theneed to burn more calories. And the best and easiest way to achieve this is to move thebody more. Every time we move the body, be that to wash the floors, mow the lawn, walkor ride our bike, our body burns calories to fuel the movement. The more we move, themore calories we burn and thus the more effectively we lose body weight.

As such, gently moving the body on a daily basis is an integral aspect of this programme.However, so much confusion surrounds the area of exercise that for many people it ishard to know where to start. For example, what type of exercise do we need to do, for howlong and how often per week to obtain the health protecting benefits.


Movement

56

Fortunately, it doesn’t need to be this confusing. Go back just 100 years and the rates ofobesity, heart disease, many forms of cancer and most other chronic lifestyle disease wereonly a tiny percentage of what they are now. Why was this the case?

The evidence suggests there are two key reasons:

1. We were much more physically active2. We ate less processed foods and sugars.

But the key point is that people 100 years ago didn’t follow strict exercise regimes or tracktheir daily activity levels; they just moved. Movement was an integral part of their day.And to tap into these benefits, we just need to do the same. We simply need to ensure abaseline level of movement into our life each day. Anything above and beyond this isgreat and is to be valued but it is not essential.

I am not devaluing gym classes, sports training, running, weight training or any otherform of exercise; if you do these and enjoy them then absolutely stick with them. But you don’t need to engage in these kinds of activities to obtain all of the healthpromoting, weight reducing and disease prevention benefits of exercise. To repeat myself;you just need to move the body.

Fortunately, there is absolute clarity in terms of robust scientific evidence around howmuch you need to move your body to tap into these benefits. And the good news is that itis not much!

Thus as part of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet, we are not going to stress the need to joina gym, hire a personal trainer or join expensive exercise programmes (unless you want toof course).

What we are going to advocate is a simple, achievable and sustainable daily movementplan that is based upon robust evidence that is made up of just two techniques.

1. Varying tempo walking2. Gentle body stretches


Movement

57

It prevents heart diseaseIt lowers blood pressuresIt prevents plaque build-up in the arteriesIt reduces the risk of blood clots and strokesIt reduces inflammationIt lowers blood sugar levels and prevents type 2 diabetesIt is proven to help people lose weight and reduce body fatlevels in a sustainable, long term wayIt reduces the risk and prevalence of many forms of cancerIt reduces the risk of osteoporosis and fracturesIt strengthen immunityIt supports cognitive health and memoryIt eases and prevents arthritisIt enhances quality of life, emotional wellbeing and happinesslevels• And much more besides!

When it comes to reviewing the evidence around the weightreducing and disease preventing benefits of different forms ofexercise, one activity reigns supreme, and that is walking.

More specifically, there is robust evidence to show the followingprofound benefits in those who embed walking into their daily life:

Those are pretty impressive and significant benefits fromsomething as simple as walking! Based on this evidence, and theease and cost benefits of walking (in addition to its many secondarybenefits such as more time outside in nature, higher vitamin Dlevels et cetera), I think it is essential that everyone taps into theabundant benefits it affords us.


Varying Tempo Walking

58


Why Varying Tempo

is Important

5-minutes of walking at normal speed5-minutes of walking at a pace that makes having a conversation difficult5-minutes of walking at normal speed5-minutes of walking at a pace that makes having a conversation difficult5-minutes of walking at normal speed5-minutes of walking at a pace that makes having a conversation difficult

5-minutes of walking at normal speed10-minutes of walking at a pace that makes having a conversation difficult5-minutes of walking at a normal speed10-minutes of walking at a pace that makes having a conversation difficult10-minutes of walking at normal speed

Whilst all and any form of walking is beneficial, the gains obtained with regards to bothweight loss and health promotion can be significantly enhanced by varying the tempo atwhich we walk.

The reason this is so important is that periodically increasing the tempo/speed at whichwe walk puts more demand upon the heart, lungs and muscles. This means that we burnmore calories to supply the additional energy demands, the upshot of which is anenhanced ability to lose weight.

Just as importantly, walking more strenuously for short periods of time has a reallyimportant impact upon strengthening the heart and lungs as organs. And there is clearevidence that doing so significantly reduces the risk of heart and vascular diseases, such asangina, hypertension and strokes and also many common forms of cancer.

Daily Requirements: Committing to a structured daily varying tempo walking routine is anabsolutely integral aspect of the success of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet. However,because this doesn’t require much time, it is generally a realistic goal for most people mostof the time.

The aim is that for at least 5-days each week you commit to the following:

Option 1: A daily 30-min walk consisting of:

Option 2: A daily 40-min walk consisting of the following (this is a better option if you arealready quite active):

Important: If you have any form of heart or vascular disease then please check that it issafe to so with your GP before starting this walking routine.

59


Gentle Body Stretches

Both Ayurvedic medicine and Traditional Chinese Medicine - two of the most profoundlysystematic and whole-body focused forms of healthcare available anywhere in the world –have long advocated the use of gentle flowing stretches as a panacea for health anddisease prevention.

In Ayurveda, these movements took the form of Yoga whilst in Chinese medicine they tookthe form of Tai Chi. But in essence Yoga and Tai Chi do not differ; they are simply two sidesof the same coin.

And what these incredibly potent practices advocate is that flowing, gentle movementsafford the body with benefits that are not obtainable from more powerful or aggressiveforms of exercise. That is not so say that more vigorous or intense exercise is bad orunwarranted; if you practice such forms of exercise and feel good with them, then withoutquestion continue with them.

But what the scientific evidence shows is that when it comes to health promotion, diseaseprevention and the optimisation of energy and vitality, less vigorous, flowing basedmovements are superior.

This is because they still excel as working the heart and lungs, strengthening the vascularsystem, supporting lymphatic health and strengthening the muscles but withoutexhausting the body, depleting our energy reserves or injuring us.

As such, these forms of exercise switch the maxim from “no pain, no gain,” to “all gain, nopain!”

And the Western evidence supports this, showing that those who regularly engage inpractices such as Yoga or Tai Chi have better health profiles than those who don’t,including lower body fat levels and better weight profiles.

As such, the integration and adoption of these kinds of gentle flowing movements into ourdaily life represents a core aspect of the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet.

60

From the Ayurvedic side, we will be using the famedand revered Sun Salutation sequence, which you maybe familiar with.

From the Tai Chi side we will be using a time-tested,powerful and incredibly simple sequence that worksthe whole body and also our key energy systems.

Please refer to the supporting videos and Youtubelinks in the Ayurvedic Abundance Diet website forguidance on how to practice these two sequences.

How Often to Perform These Practices: As a minimum, we recommend practicing onesequence three times per week.

However, as they only take around 10-minutes tocomplete, if you have the time then it would befantastic if you could complete them on a daily basis.

But as with every aspect of the Ayurvedic AbundanceDiet, just do the best you can on a day-by-day basis.


Chapter 9

The Happiness Plan

Pillar 4

62

When it comes to losing weight, reducing our disease risk factors and increasing ourlevels of wellbeing and vitality, being happy is so important!!

In many ways this is obviously very commonsensical; living in a state of happiness andcontentment is one of the highest goals of human existence. Everything else wepossess and experience becomes largely meaningless if we are doing so from a place ofunhappiness.

Even more so, being happy keeps us healthy. There is very clear evidence that when weexist in a higher state of happiness and contentment, we reduce our disease risk factorsvery considerably. This is particularly true for some of the Developed World’s biggestkillers, with evidence showing that our risk of developing certain cancers and heartdiseases are significantly reduced in those who rate themselves as being happier.And whilst the mechanisms behind this relationship are complex and multifactorial,what is very clear is that the hormone cortisol is almost always implicated.

Cortisol is a steroidal hormone that is produced in the adrenal glands which sit atop ofthe kidneys. Cortisol is commonly referred to as the “stress hormone” due to the role itplays during periods of stress. More specifically, when we go through periods of stress,anxiety, fear or overwhelm, the body will increase the production of cortisol to help thebody deal with this stress.

For short term stress, such as a near miss whilst driving, this is incredibly helpful. But forchronic long term stress, such as relationship problems, health concerns, financialworries, an unhappy professional life et cetera, high levels of cortisol creates a viciouscircle.

This has many negative impacts upon the body, such as supressing immunity,increasing inflammation and impairing digestion, all of which conspire to reduce ourhealth profile and increase our disease risk factors. Indeed, there is incredibly robustevidence to show that the risk of certain cancers, cardiovascular diseases and strokescan increase exponentially in the 12-months subsequent to a major life stressor.

63

When it comes to weight gain, and the reduced ability to loseweight, cortisol is again a real problem, for three key reasons:

1. When we are stressed, high cortisol levels stimulate theincreased secretion of insulin which in turn results in our bloodsugar levels falling. As a result, we gravitate towards and cravehigher energy and higher calorific foods that the body thinks itneeds to provide “fast-energy” to deal with the falling bloodsugar levels. It is for this reason that over 75% of people willgain weight and eat less healthy food when they are stressed.

2. Of even more importance is the way in which cortisolactually effects our metabolism. More specifically, when ourcortisol levels are high, our metabolism slows. This means thatover any given period of time, we burn less calories that whatwe would in an unstressed state. This can very quickly put usinto a state of calories excess, the upshot of which can beweight gain or the inability to lose weight.

3. Last but not least, published evidence shows that elevatedcortisol levels increase the deposition of fat specifically in theabdomen rather than more evenly throughout the body. This isan important issue because fat that is stored in the abdomen isreferred to as “toxic-fat” because it is clinically correlated tohigher levels of heart and vascular disease and strokes.

As such, existing on a daily basis with chronically elevatedcortisol levels poses a very real risk to our health and also ourability to lose weight. It is for this reason that the proactivetargeting of cortisol, and the adoption of approaches that areproven to flood the body with an abundence of “feel-good”happy hormones is such an integral aspect of the AyurvedicAbundance Diet.

Fortunately, there is much that can be done in these capacitiesin terms of self-care practices, herbal medicines, dietaryapproaches and much else besides, some of the mostimportant of which we will be covering in much more detail inthe fortnightly Progression Challenges, so stay tuned for these!

Cortisol and Weight Gain

64


Meditation

Headspace: www.headspace.comInsight Timer: www.insighttimer.comCalm: www.calm.com

It is essential to emphasise how important daily meditation is to optimising overall healthand wellbeing. Daily meditation de-activates the stress response and through doing so isclinically proven to significantly reduce the circulating levels of cortisol in the body.Furthermore, just a little time spent practising meditation or mindfulness activates thebody’s relaxation response, the impact of which is an optimally regulated endocrine system,an upregulated immune system, lower levels of inflammation, lower levels of stress andanxiety and an enhanced state of being centred and in control.

More specifically, when it comes to the cultivation of higher levels of happiness, joy, peaceand contentment, meditation is perhaps the most important tool of all. This is because of itsclinically proven ability to radically enhance our biochemistry in a way that supportssignificantly higher levels of emotional health and wellbeing.

As such, if we are serious about losing weight, enhancing our health and reducing ourdisease risk factors, spending a little time every day tapping into the benefits of meditationshould be a real priority for us.

If you are new to meditation then there are lots of resources to help you get started; a fewthat we recommend include:

Top Tip: To get all of the benefits of meditation, it is recommended that you practice foraround 10-15 minutes a day; this can all be in one go or it can be broken down into smallerchunks over the day. Much research has been done to try to understand the best way ofhelping people to achieve this, the most important of which is the “self-care stacking”approach. More specifically, there are things we all do everyday as a habit, such as washingour teeth, showering, brewing coffee or watching telly for example. If you can “stack” yourmeditation practice on top of one of these habitual behaviours then in time the meditationwill become habitual too.

For example:

• When brewing coffee, sit down for 5-minutes and just mindfully breathe.• Before turning the TV on, sit quietly on the sofa and observe your breathing.• Before heading up to bed, sit quietly, reflect on the day and practice a short 5-10 minutemeditation.

65


Happy Herbs

When it comes to elevating the levels of happiness and contentment we experience on adaily basis, herbs can really help.

This is because many herbs contain an abundance of plant-based chemicals that can help torelax us, elevate our mood and raise our spirits.

And when we consume these herbs every day or several times a week, it ensures that wecontinually “top-up” the levels of these happiness inducing chemicals in the body on aregular basis. The upshot of this is a discernible enhancement of the levels of happiness, joyand contentment we experience on a daily basis.

This is particularly true if we are having a difficult time; stress, anxiety, overwhelm, fear anduncertainty can all conspire to rob us of any sense of contentment or peace because of theimpact these emotional states have upon our cortisol levels, as discussed above.

Herbs obviously don’t have the ability to completely eradicate such problems, but what theycan do very effectively is buffer just how much of an impact cortisol has upon us, whilst alsohelping to elevate our mood.

Below you will find our top two approaches for using herbal medicines to elevate our levelsof happiness and emotional wellbeing whilst also buffering against the damaging affects ofcortisol on the body.

Ashwaghanda

Very few herbal medicines in the world are as broadly beneficial as the reveredAshwaghanda, arguably the most important individual herbal medicine in the whole ofAyurveda. Ashwaghanda is listed as an “adaptogenic” herb. Adaptogenic herbs are thosethat help to modulate the body’s physiology during times of stress, primarily by regulatingthe functioning of the endocrine, or hormonal, system of the body. More specifically,Ashwaghanda is clinically proven to help lower cortisol levels in those who are stressed andoptimally balance it in those who aren’t. This makes it a truly unique and exceptional herbalmedicine to reduce the disease risk factors and weight loss inhibiting impacts of chronicallyelevated cortisol.

Dose: To tap into all of the myriad benefits of Ashwaghanda upon both mind and body, werecommend taking 2000mg per day, ideally as 1000mg (2 x 500mg capsules) in the morningand again in the evening.

66


Tulsi Infusions

Tulsi is arguably one of the most revered herbal medicines within Ayurveda and one that isendowed with myriad emotional, physical and spiritual benefits. And in the context ofelevating our mood, it truly excels as it contains an abundance of chemicals that help bufferagainst stress and anxiety, replenish emotional reserves and elevate our spirts and sense ofemotional vitality. Indeed, Tulsi has been used by Yogis for thousands of years to help unlockconsciousness and elevate mood and spiritual freedom; what’s not to like!

Sourcing top quality Tulsi tea is very easy these days and we recommend the Tulsi ClarityTea produced by Pukka, more information about which can be found here:https://www.pukkaherbs.com/us/en/products/organic-teas/tulsi-clarity.html

67


Daily morning Ayurvedic oil massage is one of the most powerful rejuvenation regimens thatyou can add to your daily routine. The motion and pressure of the massage creates heat andfriction on the skin which has been proven to stimulate immunity, reduce inflammation,loosen up impurities, improve circulation, increase the health and vitality of the skin andenliven the energy systems of the body.

Furthermore, daily self-massage can also induce profound gains upon our emotional andmental wellbeing. The skin is the single biggest regulator of hormones in the body andgently massaging the body every morning helps optimise our hormone profile. This resultsin an increased secretion of our mood boosting “feel-good” hormones such as dopamineand serotonin whilst also helping to reduce the levels of cortisol in the body.

And the power of this is that by practising it in the morning we will have optimised ourbiochemistry in a way that will induce higher levels of happiness and contentment beforewe have even begun the day. This in turn increases our ability to maintain an optimalbiochemistry, including the balancing of cortisol, throughout the day, meaning thatdevoting 5-minutes to this practice each morning can support our physical and emotionalwellbeing all day long.

How to Perform a Self-MassageTo perform your self-massage, take a small amount of warm oil such as coconut, olive,almond or sesame (a simple way to warm the oil is to just leave the bottle in a bowl/sink ofhot water whilst you are making your tea or having a shower) and gently rub this over yourwhole body. Then using slow rhythmic strokes, massage your right foot, right low leg andright upper leg; it is helpful to use long flowing strokes over your long bones and roundcircular strokes on your joints. Then repeat on your left leg. Then gently massage yourtummy using clockwise strokes before moving to your right hand, right lower arm and rightupper arm. Repeat on your left arm. Then massage both shoulders (spend more time here asthis is where we hold lots of tension), your neck and face and try to be present and mindfulduring these precious 5 minutes!

If you are doing the self-massage before you shower, then simply hop in and wash your bodyas per usual.

If you are doing it after you shower, then just gently pat down your body with a dry towel toremove any excess oil and get dressed; if you find there is still too much oil on your skin, justuse a little less next time.

Top Tip: Remember the “Self-Care Stacking” concept we mentioned above when discussingmeditation. This concept also applies to self-massage and by “stacking” it onto your shower,over time the daily practice of a morning self-massage will become as habitual as a showeror bath!

Ayurvedic Self Massage/Self Abhyanga

68

Chapter 10

The Tribe Effects

Pillar 5

69

We've got your back.....

During the next 12-weeks, we will be supporting you all the way through the wholeprogramme and no matter what the question, we will always be here to help via thefollowing mediums:

Facebook Group:

During the 12-week programme there will be a dedicated private Facebook SupportGroup for those taking part. This group will be a positive space where you can askquestions, stay motivated and be accountable! Join HERE now.

Live and Interactive Coaching Sessions:

Sam will be hosting a live coaching session every fortnight for the 12 weeks, helping youevery step of the way. We have varied the days and times to try and offer everyone anopportunity to attend. The dates for these are as follows:

Sun 23rd May - 7:00PM - Welcome!Thurs 27th May - 7:00PM Thurs 10th June - 9:00AM Friday 25th June - 12:00PM Wednesday 7th of July - 7:00PMSat 24th of July - 9:00AM Tues 3rd of August - 12:00PM Sunday 15th of August - 7:00PM

70

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1194100587727048

We hope that you enjoy The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet and that the 12-week programme sets you up with new habits and approaches to health. Thanks for joining us! Sam and Holly

T

h

a

n

k

Y

o

u

.

.

.

71

The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet - Mind Body Medical

Documents

Transcript of The Ayurvedic Abundance Diet - Mind Body Medical