Now here’s my kind of diet, and it’s one you don’t hear of every day.
Author and creator of the Burrito Diet Matt Lisk, at one point in time, was in the peak of his health, he said, weighing in at about 180 lbs with only 6 percent of his body being fat.
“I was in the shape that every person wants to be in,” he remembers.
But then, like many of us, Lisk slipped into the stresses of life and lost control of his eating. “The weight started to slowly creep back on top the point where I ended up at about 300 lbs.,” he said.
So, Lisk took control and started eating healthier, keeping a log of what he ate. Eventually, in 8 months to be exact, Lisk dropped 80 lbs. through healthy eating and exercise. Everywhere he went people asked, “What’s your trick?”
Looking back at the log, Lisk said he noticed something peculiar come up in most of his entries: burritos. He found that he had made several meals out of stuffing healthy contents into high-fiber tortilla shells, which he said, satisfied his dietary needs in three ways:
1.) By only eating as much as could fit into the tortilla shell, Lisk was able to maintain the perfect portion control with meals that would fill him but not have him overeating
2.) By putting a lean protein in every wrap (i.e. eggs in the morning or chicken at night) he was able to get the essential protein he needed for his healthy eating.
3.) The tortilla wraps themselves contained a good source of fiber, which he said is essential to weight loss as it regulates the digestive system.
Lisk said he brought his tortilla shells out with him when he went out to eat with friends even, which created some “socially awkward” situations, but he was able to cut hundreds of calories off of his meals, while at the same time gaining nutrients. If he was in a rush, he would get a chicken sandwich from a restaurant and dump the contents off of the bun and into a shell, he said.
“I use the term burrito a little loosely,” Lisk said. “Most people will call them wraps,” explaining that what he calls “burrito” is really just a wrap of whatever you want to put in it that you think would help you lose weight.
Lisk is currently seeking a publisher for his book, The Burrito Diet, though a digital copy is available online at www.burritodiet.com. In the book, Lisk provides several recipes for healthy burritos.
The most unusual burrito he said he ate was one with cottage cheese and peanut butter. “It sounds gross, but when you try it, it actually tastes pretty good,” he said.
Here is one of his recipes from the book to get you started on the Burrito Diet:
Chicken and Pear Wrap
1 high-fiber tortilla
4 ounces of chicken breast
1 pear, sliced thin
Arugula
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• Grill chicken, and when cool, shred with fork
• Bake pear slices in a 300° oven until dried and golden
• When pears cool, chop them into small pieces and mix them with arugula, chicken and balsamic vinegar
• Spoon into tortilla, fold and enjoy!
posted @ Wednesday, June 24, 2009 11:51 AM