The Life’s Points Diet

The Life’s Points Diet is a comprehensive programme, aimed at long term, gradual weight loss, which overhauls methods for counting calories or fat units in favour of a new approach – assessing and using foods in terms of their LifePoints or RiskPoints.

Recommended for
Permanent weight loss and maximizing health and vitality.

Not Recommended for
Anyone whose priority is fast weight loss.

The diet places emphasis on the importance of maintaining a balanced eating plan which allows the dieters to enjoy all the vital nutrients. Foods are assessed in terms of score for their healthy components (LifePoints) or their unhealthy components (RiskPoints). It is recommended that the dieter aims for a daily intake of at least 100 LifePoints and, initially, no more than 75 RiskPoints (a total that can be readjusted to a higher value of up to 125 once satisfactory weight loss has been achieved). To achieve an adequate nutritional balance, foods should be chosen from four specified food groups:

# Fruit and Fruit Juices
# Cereals, Grains and Pasta
# Vegetables and Vegetable Products and Legumes
# Nuts and Seeds

Foods from a further two categories – Meat, Fish and Dairy; and Drinks, Desserts, Snacks and Sauces – are optional.

In this way the diet can be used as a flexible tool for weight loss and for then establishing a healthy approach to eating in the long term.

To begin the diet it is recommended that all the dieter uses the Kick-start plan, a seven-day programme which will enable the slimmer to become accustomed to the LifePoints approach by using daily menu plan for breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks.

A typical day’s menu from Kick-start plan

Breakfast (LifePoints = 54/RiskPoints = 15)
Grape nuts cereal with skimmed milk
Half a cantaloupe melon
1 glass of fresh, unsweetened orange juice
1 cup of tea or coffee with milk
Morning Snack (LifePoints = 27/RiskPoints = 0)
1 carrot and 1 stick of celery cut into sticks with
3 oz (90 g) of Bean Pate (according to recipe)
1 glass of tomato juice

Lunch (LifePoints = 41/RiskPoints = 20)
1 Vegetable burger served in a bun with a mixed vegetable salad and low-fat French dressing
1 glass of pineapple juice
1 bowl of fresh raspberries or blackberries with a crisp bread or a rice cake
Afternoon Snack (LifePoints = 20/RiskPoints = 2)
1 handful of dried figs
1 glass of carrot juice

Dinner (LifePoints = 111/RiskPoints = 19)
Cream of Mushroom soup
Marinated Steak and Mushrooms with Roast Potatoes
Fresh raspberries or blackberries
Daily Total = 253 LifePoints/46 RiskPoints

After using the Kick-start plan the dieter will be able to go solo, using food charts (calculated to LifePoints and RiskPoints values) to establish an individual daily eating plan, with the added insurance of over 40 varied and imaginative recipes to fall back on.

There is plenty of scope for packed lunches and the plan is entirely appropriate for vegetarians. Each food’s value is calculated according to weight or size, so portion control is an important consideration in making the diet work effectively. However, the in-built flexibility of this approach means that a food which doughnut, can be incorporated into the diet on a particular day if the intake for the rest of that day is then controlled to ensure that the RiskPoints do not exceed their limit.

Eating Out
While there is no specific advice for eating out, the dieter will find that the comprehensive list of LifePoints foods can be used to cope with figuring out the most appropriate options on a restaurant menu.

How fast is it?
The LifePoints Diet aims for easy, enjoyable weight loss without traditional restriction or the risk of hunger pangs. The rate of weight loss will, therefore, be gradual. However, this is balanced in that the diet does aim for permanent weight loss and long-term re-education of dietary habit.

Exercise
The author of the LifePoints Diet emphasize the value of exercise for maximizing weight loss and vitality. The Kick-start plan includes a series of repetitive stretch exercises designed to improve suppleness and strength, which can be performed at home or even in the office. The dieter is invited to choose six of these exercises and perform them daily for a few weeks.

A walking programme has been devised to allow the individual to gradually develop a general level of fitness, which can then be extended to a more specific form of exercise. Recommendations are made for taking part in aerobic and anaerobic activity, such as swimming, cycling and yoga, along with sensible advice on how to enjoy the benefits of exercising without risking injury or illness. The general health benefits of physical activity are also fully analyzed.

Extras
The diet also includes a comprehensive analysis of vitamins and minerals and advice on how to maximise nutritional benefits from food through ensuring its freshness and using the best preparation and cooking techniques. Questionnaires and charts enables dieters to become more accustomed to the whole issue of nutrition and their individual approach to eating. In addition to this, handy dietary tips and facts are dotted throughout the book, reinforcing the philosophy that the diet can be used as a programme for weight loss and as a lifestyle guide for healthy eating.