Lose Weight with the Blue Zone Diet

Lose Weight and Live Longer with the Blue Zone Diet

Diet trends are on the rise, but so are rates of obesity and disease. So, what if the answer is to give up “dieting” altogether?  You need to lose weight and get fit, but with all the weight loss food plans out there, it’s tough to know what’s what. Will a specific diet work? Will this diet help you maintain the weight loss long-term? Is the diet actually healthy? You may have come across one plan that’s been getting some attention lately: Blue Zone. If you have questions about this new diet and what it entails, here’s your guide to using the Blue Zone diet to lose weight and live longer.

So what exactly is a “Blue Zone”?

History of Blue Zone Diet

At December, a group of people in Naples, Florida took on an interesting challenge: to form social groups of four or five people and together, for ten weeks, create a healthy potluck of sorts. Their meals were all centered on the Blue Zone diet, a way of eating from five regions researchers have identified (and originally circled with a blue pen, thus "Blue Zones") as having the highest concentrations of centenarians in the world.

Behind the challenge was Dan Buettner, an author who studies these 5 regions: Nicoya, Costa Rica;, Okinawa, Japan;  Icaria, Greece; Ogliastra, Sardinia;  Loma Linda, California, and has pinpointed the nine habits that allow these people to live through their 80s and often into their 90s and 100s.

The average lifespan for Americans, for comparison, is 78, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

After 3 months of eating Blue Zone diet-approved meals with their groups, almost every participant lost significant amounts of weight—between 12 and 37 pounds to be exact—and improved their health markers like cholesterol.

If they were to stick with this process and incorporate a few more Blue Zone hallmarks, such as daily stress relief and living with purpose,  it could eliminate their risk for metabolic diseases and help them outlive their fellow Americans.

By focusing solely on losing weight, people forget that the real goal is living a healthier life.

What is a Blue Zone?

Blue Zones are regions of the world where statistics indicate there are the most number of centenarians. Find out what they eat and do to achieve it.

Buettner identifies five known Blue Zones:

Ogliastra, Sardinia (Italy): The Italian island is home to the highest concentration of male centenarians in the world. Among 14 villages, they're mostly shepherds, staying active their entire lives and eating a mostly plant-based diet along with some pork and red wine.

Icaria, Greece: This Greek Island follows the Mediterranean diet closer than anyone in the world. The people here live roughly seven years longer than most Americans—and with about one-fifth the rate of dementia. And, get this: Among Ikarians over 80 years old, nearly 9 out of 10 men and 7 out of 10 women still moved daily (compared to just 1 of 2 men and 1 of 4 women throughout the rest of Greece), says a study out of Athens, Greece.

Loma Linda, California: Surprised to see America on the list? This zone is specific to the Seventh-day Adventists, a religious community concentrated in this San Bernardino suburb, who have shunned sugar, meat, alcohol, tobacco, and often caffeinated drinks and focus on a healthy diet and exercise. (FYI, breaking up with booze can do wonders for your health—just take it from J.Lo.) Adventists, who live on average 8-9 years longer than other Americans, also operate several health facilities across the country, allowing for easy access to health care.

Nicoya, Costa Rica: People in this central peninsula town are more than three times as likely as Americans to reach 90 (and do so in healthy shape). Plus, this area of Costa Rica has the lowest rate of middle-aged mortality in the world (think: less heart diseases and diabetes). The Nicoyan diet is based on beans and corn tortillas, and culture on keeping up physical work into old age. What's more, the Nicoyans have a sense of life purpose (another hallmark of Blue Zones) they call "plan de vida."

Okinawa, Japan: This archipelago is home to the world's oldest women—in fact, some parts of the country house 30 times more female centenarians per capita than in the U.S. Their longevity is rooted in strong social networks and plant-based diets.

Although these are the only areas discussed in Buettner's book, there may be more areas around the world that have yet to be identified as Blue Zones.

Rules of the 'Blue Zone' food

Eat plant-based:

People in the blue zones eat an impressive variety of garden vegetables when they are in season, and then they pickle or dry the surplus to enjoy during the off-season. The best-of-the-best longevity foods are leafy greens such as spinach, kale, beet and turnip tops, chard, and collards.

Eat some fish:

If you must eat fish, fewer than three ounces, up to three times weekly. In the world's blue zones, in most cases, the fish being eaten are small, relatively inexpensive fish such as sardines, anchovies, and cod.

Cut down your meat:

People in four of the five blue zones consume meat, but they do so sparingly, using it as a celebratory food, a small side, or a way to flavour dishes. Five times a month would be the ideal.

Reduce dairy:

Milk from cows isn't really included in any blue zones diet.

Eat beans every day:

Eat at least a half cup of cooked beans daily. Beans reign supreme in blue zones. They're the cornerstone of every longevity diet in the world: black beans in Nicoya; lentils, garbanzo, and white beans in the Mediterranean; and soybeans in Okinawa.

Eat eggs:

People in all of the blue zones eat eggs about two to four times per week. Usually they eat just one as a side dish with a whole-grain or plant-based dish.

Slash sugar:

Consume only 28 grams (7 teaspoons) of added sugar daily. People in the blue zones eat sugar intentionally, not by habit or accident.

Eat the best bread:

Eat only sourdough or 100 percent whole wheat.

Snack on nuts:

Eat two handfuls of nuts per day. A handful of nuts weighs about two ounces, the average amount that blue zones centenarians consume.

Drink mainly water:

Never drink soft drinks (including diet soda). With very few exceptions, people in blue zones drank coffee, tea, water, and wine.

Eat wholefoods:

Choose foods that are recognisable. People in blue zones traditionally eat the whole food.

How do you adopt a Blue Zone diet?

Ultimately, what these long-lived people all had in common were simple, social and sustainable lives that resulted in improved mental and physical satisfaction and consequent longevity.

If this research is anything to go by, there’s really nothing complicated about eating for longevity. By applying some simple lifestyle changes, you may be able to eat your way to living a long, healthy and happy life:

Eat more wholegrains, fruit and vegetables – especially legumes.

Eat meat only on special occasions.

Increase your water intake

Get active and move your body every day

Don’t over-indulge in food – stop eating before you’re full

What is the Right Way to Lose Weight?

In the last decade, the U.S. has become increasingly conscious of its own weight. From new diets to government policy to reality television shows, the stress has been on the importance of  losing weight. But should losing weight be the only goal?

A Food and Health survey conducted by the International Food Information Council Foundation shows that about 77 percent of Americans want to and are trying to lose weight. The only problem is, about 70 percent of Americans are still overweight or obese.

So how can this be?

This includes changing the way you eat, changing the way you look at life and changing the way you move,. A results-driven mentality of “I have to lose several pounds of weight” fails to address the fundamental principles of healthy living. Diets often mean that you turn your eating habits and your life upside down for eight-sixteen weeks. The problem comes after the initial weight loss, since data shows us that most people gain back all of the weight they lost on their diet plan. Between one and two-thirds of dieters actually gain back more than they originally had lost.

If we adopt a more broad approach to losing weight , that we want to become healthier,  we allow ourselves more space 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 stay active on a regular basis. Weight loss shouldn’t be the goal, rather, it should be the byproduct of a healthy and active lifestyle. This includes moving naturally, eating wisely, and engaging with the right tribe, the fundamental principles of the blue zones way of life.