style="font-size:15px;"> Also, many studies have shown that apples can help in other aspects of health, such as preventing heart disease, stroke, and cancer and improving lung function and dental health.
The phenomenal increase in fat loss that thousands of Gold’s Gym clients experienced when they added apples to their diet plans, along with their personal testimonials naming apples as a key component to their success, is a more compelling reason for controlled studies to be done at the scientific level.
Right now, we’ll settle for what works!
Good news for people with Type 2 diabetes
The 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet is also used by Gold’s Gym of Wenatchee in other challenges. One of those, the Type 2 Diabetes Challenge, is a six-month program based on a point system. As with the Get-in-Shape Contest, using the same diet and measuring body fat only, the contestants were required to keep food, beverage, medicine, and exercise journals; to test their blood sugar twice a day and blood pressure once a week; and to have pre- and post-challenge lipid (blood fats) profiles, including cholesterol and triglycerides (see Chapter 10), and an A1C test (a measure used to determine long-term blood sugar control). The participants did not have any kidney dysfunction before starting or after finishing the challenge.
The results from the Type 2 Diabetes Challenge showed that the group that ate at least three apples per day lost an average of 19 pounds of body fat. The group that ate only one to two apples per day lost 11 pounds of body fat. The other group, which ate one or no apple per day, lost only 3 pounds of body fat. Overall, the average A1C reading was reduced from 7.5 at the starting point to under 5 (normal range) at the finish.
Similar results were obtained with our six-month Wellness Challenge. The parameters were similar as far as keeping food, beverage, medicine, and exercise journals plus pre- and post-challenge lipid and glucose panels. Again, we saw a correlation between eating three apples a day and the greatest fat loss and a lowering of total cholesterol (mainly LDLs).
Worried about cholesterol? More good news
Most people who had high blood lipids before following the 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet experienced dramatic changes in their blood work afterward. Exercise and eating the foods on the plan not only lowered their total cholesterol, LDLs, triglycerides, and blood pressure, but increased their HDLs (good cholesterol).
Here’s a great example. Byron, a 40-year-old male, started with an unhealthy cholesterol level of 211 and triglycerides level of 637. In week 11 of the program, his cholesterol fell to an amazing 97 (the low end of the range) and triglycerides to 51 (normal range)! On top of that, his HDLs improved from a low of 25 to a normal level of 35. With astonishment, his doctor asked if he felt OK and suggested they double-check to make sure the readings were accurate. Byron said he hadn’t felt this good since high school. And yes, the reading was accurate!
Others around the country also noted improvements in their blood work. Richard from Utah lost 36 pounds and lowered his cholesterol from 218 to 152. More important, his LDLs went from 128 to 86 and his triglycerides from 270 to 61. His HDLs increased from 36 to 49.
Scott from Maine lost 83 pounds and lowered his cholesterol from 243 to 125. His LDLs dropped from 133 to 58, and his triglycerides fell from 220 to 55.
Pete from Florida lost 53 pounds, lowered his cholesterol from 278 to 176, decreased his LDLs from 180 to 116, and his triglycerides from 309 to 58. His HDLs improved from 36 to 48. Pete’s doctor told him he was a heartbeat away from a heart attack before he started the 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet. When his final blood work was done, the doctor couldn’t believe the improvements Pete had made in just 12 weeks!
Who can use this plan?
The 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet is useful for most people. My clients consist of women and men of all ages—ranging from 18 to 80—many of whom have adopted the plan for their entire family. Others, who have heart disease, high blood pressure, thyroid dysfunction, and Type 2 diabetes, are interested in improving their health and reducing their medications.
As mentioned earlier, people with Type 2 diabetes have been very successful using this plan. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are 17 million Americans with Type 2 diabetes, currently termed the “obese disease”. This number has tripled since 1960 and is anticipated to triple again by 2050. By that time, one in three children born in 2000 will have diabetes if people don’t start adopting a healthier lifestyle—meaning healthier eating and more exercise. What’s even more frightening is that the CDC estimates 70 million Americans are currently overweight, including one out of four children! And the numbers are rising in the UK, too, as more and more adults and children are becoming overweight or obese.
What exactly do we mean by “overweight”? That’s a tricky question. I’ll discuss it in the next chapter. The answer may surprise you, and it is one of the things that sets the 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet apart from any diet you’ve tried before.
Always check with your doctor before starting a food program, especially if you have had previous health risks.
What’s the difference?
Researchers have learned that body fat, instead of weight, is a better predictor of health. High body fat, or “overfat”, is associated with conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, and cancer.
Being overfat is more dangerous to your health than being overweight. Traditionally, being overweight has been defined as weighing more than the healthy weight listed for your age and height in a weight table. But that doesn’t account for differences in body composition. For example, athletes are often overweight according to the weight-table standards because of muscle development or large body frame, but they are probably not overfat.
The 3-Apple-a-Day GI Diet was specifically designed and developed for permanent fat loss and muscle retention (keeping lean muscle tissue). This plan was not necessarily designed for weight loss—at least using the traditional method of measure, the scales. Other measuring techniques to determine progress have been highly effective and motivational. These include girth measurements (waist, hip, and thigh), body composition testing, and body mass index, which we’ll get into later.
The scales tells you only the partial truth
Weighing yourself on bathroom scales tells you next to nothing about how healthy you really are. Gaining or losing a pound doesn’t always mean it’s a pound of fat. In fact, small, frequent shifts in weight typically reflect fluid changes in your body. Your body’s fluid levels vary depending on the amount of salt you eat, your activity level, and hormonal changes. It seems that many people, mainly women, are controlled by the numbers on the scales. If the number goes up, they’re discouraged. If the number goes down, they are motivated and happy. The numbers on the scales do not measure the progress you have made, and they can even be detrimental to your program. Why not break those barriers and get permanent results without the frustration of the scales? The following photos show how people with different body types and levels of body fat, and different degrees of lean muscle can weigh the same.
Males 40–49 years old
All
