Can You Lose Weight on The Blue Zone Diet?
Dietary trends are rising, but so are rates of obesity and disease. So what if the answer was to stop "dieting" altogether? You need to lose weight and get in shape, but with all the weight loss meal plans out there, it can be hard to know what they are. Will a particular diet work? Will this diet help you maintain your weight loss in the long run? Is the diet really that healthy? You may have come across one plan that has caught your eye recently: Blue Zone. If you have questions about this new diet and what it entails, here is your guide to using the Blue Zone diet to lose weight and live longer.
So what exactly is the "Blue Zone"?
History of Blue Zone Diet
In December, a group of people in Naples, Florida faced an interesting challenge: form a social group of four or five and together, for ten weeks, make some kind of healthy potluck. Their diet is all centered on the Blue Zone diet, the way of eating of the five regions that the researchers have identified (and originally circled with a blue pen, thus the "Blue Zone") to have the highest concentration of centenarians in the world.
Behind the challenge is Dan Buettner, an author who studies these five areas: Nicoya, Costa Rica;, Okinawa, Japan; Icaria, Greek; Ogliastra, Sardinia Loma Linda, California, and has demonstrated nine habits that enable these people to live into their 80s and often into the 90s and 100s.
The average age for Americans, by comparison, is 78, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
After three months of eating a Blue Zone-approved diet with their group, nearly every participant lost significant weight—between 12 and 37 pounds to be exact—and improved their health markers like cholesterol.
If they stick with this process and incorporate some of the benefits of the Blue Zone, such as eliminating daily stress and living with purpose, it could eliminate their risk of metabolic disease and help them live longer than their fellow Americans.
By focusing solely on weight loss, people forget that their real goal is to lead a healthier life.
What is a Blue Zone Diet?
The Blue Zone is the region of the world where statistics show that there is the highest number of centenarians. Find out what they are eating and doing to achieve it.
Buettner identifies five known Blue Zones:
Ogliastra, Sardinia (Italy): The island of Italy is home to the world's highest concentration of male centenarians. Among the 14 villages, they are mostly herders, remain active their entire lives and eat mostly a plant-based diet along with some pork and red wine.
Icaria, Greece: This Greek island follows a Mediterranean diet more closely than anyone in the world. People here are living about seven years longer than most Americans—and with about a fifth of dementia. Among Ikaria people over 80, nearly 9 in 10 men and 7 in 10 women are still moving daily (compared to just 1 in 2 men and 1 in 4 women across Greece), says a research in Athens, Greece.
Loma Linda, California: Were you shocked to see America on the list? This zone is specifically for the Seventh-day Adventist Church, a religious community concentrated in this suburb of San Bernardino, which has avoided sugar, meat, alcohol, tobacco, and often caffeinated drinks and focused on a healthy diet and exercise. (FYI, breaking up with alcohol can do wonders for your health—take it from J. Lo.) Adventists, who live an average of 8-9 years longer than other Americans, also operate several health facilities around the country, enabling easy access to health care.
Nicoya, Costa Rica: The people of this central peninsula city are more than three times more likely than Americans to reach 90 (and do so in good health). Plus, this region of Costa Rica has the world's lowest middle-aged death rate (think: less heart disease and diabetes). The Nicoyan diet is based on beans and corn tortillas, and a culture of maintaining physical labor into old age. What's more, Nicoyans have a sense of purpose in life (another hallmark of the Blue Zone) which they call a "plan de vida."
Okinawa, Japan: The archipelago is home to the world's oldest woman—in fact, some parts of the country host 30 times as many centenarian women per capita as in the US. Their longevity is rooted in their strong social network and plant-based diet.
While this is the only area covered in Buettner's book, there may be many more areas of the world that have not been identified as Blue Zones.
Foods On The Blue Zone Diet
Plant-based eating:
People in the blue zone eat an impressive variety of garden vegetables in season, and then they pickle or dry the excess to enjoy during the off season. The best longevity foods are green leafy vegetables such as spinach, kale, beets and radishes, turnips, and collards. (womenhealthmag.com)
Eat fish:
If you have to eat fish, less than three ounces, up to three times a week. In the blue zones of the world, in most cases, the fish eaten is relatively inexpensive small fish such as sardines, anchovies and cod.
Cut down on your meats:
People in four of the five blue zones eat meat, but they do so sparingly, using it as a festive meal, a side dish, or a way to spice up dishes. Five times a month will be ideal.
Reduce dairy products:
Milk from cows is not really a blue zone diet.
Eat peanuts daily:
Consume at least half a cup of cooked nuts daily. Peanuts reign supreme in the blue zone. They're the cornerstone of every longevity diet in the world: black beans in Nicoya; Mediterranean lentils, garbanzo and white beans; and soy in Okinawa.
Eating eggs:
People in all blue zones eat eggs approximately two to four times per week. Usually they eat only one as a side dish with a whole grain or plant-based dish.
Less Sugar:
Consume just 28 grams (7 teaspoons) of added sugar each day. People in the blue zone eat sugar on purpose, not out of habit or coincidence.
Eating the best breads:
Eat only sourdough or 100% whole grains.
Snack on nuts:
Eat two handfuls of beans per day. A handful of beans weighs about two ounces, the average amount consumed by blue zone centenarians.
Drink mainly water:
Never drink soft drinks (including diet soda). With few exceptions, people in the blue zone drink tea, coffee and wine.
Eat wholefoods:
Choose foods that are recognizable. People in blue zones traditionally consume the whole meal.
How Do You Adopt a Blue Zone diet?
In the end, all these long-lived people have in common is a simple, social, and sustainable life that results in increased mental and physical satisfaction and a long life as a result.
If this research is anything to go by, there really isn't anything complicated about eating for a long life. By adopting some simple lifestyle changes, you may be able to live a long, healthy and happy life:
Eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables – especially legumes.
Only eat meat on special occasions.
Boost your water intake
Get active and get your body moving every day
Don't over indulge yourself with food – stop eating before you feel full
How To Lose Weight The Right Way?
In the last decade, the US has become more and more aware of its own weight. From new diets to government policies to reality television shows, the emphasis is on the importance of weight loss. But should weight loss be the only goal?
A Food and Health survey conducted by the International Food Information Council Foundation showed that about 77 percent of Americans want to and are trying to lose weight. The only problem is, roughly 70 percent of Americans are still overweight or obese.
Is The Blue Zone Diet Healthy?
This includes changing how you eat, changing how you view life, and changing how you move. The results-driven mentality of "I have to lose a few pounds" fails to address the basic principles of healthy living. Dieting often means that you change your eating and living habits over the course of eight to sixteen weeks. The problem comes after the initial weight loss, as data show us that most people regain all the weight they lost from their diet plans. Between one and two thirds of dieters actually gain back more than they initially lost.
If we adopt a broader approach to losing weight, that we want to be healthier, we give ourselves more room and flexibility to change our habits over time. We can start by making incremental changes that will last a lifetime. This includes not only eating healthier, but learning to eat less and staying active regularly. Weight loss should not be the goal, but rather a by-product of a healthy and active lifestyle. This includes moving naturally, eating wisely, and engaging with the right tribe, basic principles of the blue zone way of life.
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