If You Want a Health Do-Over, Ban These 5 Food Felons Now

For the next two months, I'll be writing about Jolyn Bennett, who is working toward a personal do-over, and sharing her action items with you.

At the start of this process, Jolyn was overweight and strugglin with food intake at happy hour gatherings. She also unexpectedly learned she has very high blood pressure. To see more, check out this video.

Now, she's still overweight -- but less so.

The first two steps of her 7-Day Do-Over Preparation Plan were to buy a pedometer and figure out who her buddy would be. Now, we're on to days three and four.

Day Three: Set Your Goals

Write down (and give yourself space for answers underneath) these questions:

-- What about my health or wellness has not been going how I'd like it to? (Sample answer: "I feel sluggish all day; I'm resigned about my weight; my blood pressure is on an upward march; I feel good about where I am, but I'm looking to get to the next level.")

-- What do I want for myself with my health and wellness? In my wildest dreams, what does that look like? ("I race my grandkids to the top of the hill; I look forward to the thrill of exercise; I master the use of my knife; I feel at home in my clothes again; I win the local 5K race; my neighbors beg to come over to eat my impossibly delicious felon-free meals.")

-- What negative thought(s) or mantra(s) do I usually turn to when I think I've failed? ("I can't be counted on," or "I'm such a dummy.")

-- What playful, positive or relieving declaration(s) can I substitute for the less fun (and less useful) ones? ("Wow, I messed up -- now back to it!")

Jolyn hasn't shared her mantras with me yet, but there is great news on her goal-setting and successes to date:

She has begun to change her shape (following the do-over steps we described in the last blog), and she's nearly lowered her blood pressure to the normal range without medication. Jolyn and I made a deal: If she was showing progress and her blood pressure was less than 135/90 in two months, and less than 130/85 in six months, she wouldn't have to go on blood pressure medication. (She agreed to go on those to avoid big league health problems if her readings were greater than that). So she had two strong motivations: "to get her curves back'" and "to keep her vigor and vitality."

Day Four: Dump Your Fridge and Go Shopping

This step should happen on a day you can devote to your plan, such as a Saturday or Sunday.

Before you go shopping, dump out -- and never replace -- foods from your pantry and fridge that include any of the five food felons as one of their first five ingredients. Here's how:

Read the ingredient labels on everything in your kitchen cupboards, refrigerator, breadbox and everywhere else you stash food. If you find any of the felons, which are listed below, get rid of the items. Eating these foods can turn on aging and damaging genes, and prevent you from losing weight and reaching optimal health. In Jolyn's case, this step isn't as important as it might be for you, since she has trouble when eating out and not at home. Still, this part of the action plan helps everyone learn what kinds of food will help them get and stay thin, and have energy along the way. We understand you may not be willing to throw everything out right away, for reasons such as cost or wanting to ease into new foods. However, throwing out as many of these items as possible right away will be the most beneficial for your health and weight loss goals. When you're ready, ditch the:

-- Trans fat

-- Saturated fat

-- Enriched grains

-- Added sugars and syrups

We'll discuss more about this key step, plus how to replenish your pantry, next time.

Jolyn has gotten ahead of you -- she's already started these positive habits. She's lost weight and waist, as her cloths are beginning to fall off her (not in public, we hope), and her blood pressure is coming down.

Thanks for reading. Remember these are the views of Dr. Mike Roizen only, and do not necessarily reflect those of any organization he is or was affiliated with.

An esteemed authority on health and wellness, Michael F. Roizen, MD, chairs the Wellness Institute at Cleveland Clinic, the first such position at any major healthcare institution, where he actively coaches patients. He is a former editor of six medical journals and has published more than 175 peer-reviewed scientific papers. Board-certified in internal medicine and anesthesiology, Roizen co-founded with Mehmet Oz YouBeauty, a media company focused on helping women lead healthier, more beautiful lives, and RealAge. His RealAge series of books as well as his "YOU" series, written with Oz, are worldwide bestsellers, with four No. 1 bestsellers in the U.S. and No. 1 bestsellers in at least five other countries. Roizen and Oz write a daily syndicated column that appears in over 130 newspapers. Roizen has appeared regularly on Oprah, Today, 20/20 and Good Morning America and has a two-hour, 33-station radio show. He is 67 calendar years of age but his RealAge is 48.7 He routinely tweets the week's top medical stories @DrMike Roizen.