I started the diet Monday and it is Friday and I already lost 5 Pounds! I feel great and am soooo excited. I have followed the diet without cheating and have worked out for 1 hour everyday so I am sure that has a lot to do with the fast weight loss. I am having a hard time thinking I can't have a glass of wine for a few weeks. I hope I can do it. Anyone else having a hard time giving up alcohol? The website should have a lot more recipes and ideas for snacks. I will be buying the book ASAP.

Melissa,

Perfect 10 Diet is cholesterol-friendly! Dr. Aziz believes that most cholesterol abnormalities can be corrected with a proper diet and natural hormone supplementation. There is an excellent chapter on cholesterol-related issues on page 271 of the Perfect 10 Diet. Good luck!

Hi, How should the diet be followed for those with high cholesterol?

I love this diet,it doesn't feel like a diet, and it is so easy, like eating the way I ate at home, growing up. I've been on it a week and I feel better already. It's hard to describe, but I have a feeling of well being, and I've dropped 5 pounds. I want to know what is the best brand of chocolate for when I can have some. I looked at several, but not sure what the best is for this diet. This weekend I've cleaned out my kitchen cupboards and fridge. I tossed so much stuff that it left me empty, and feeling wonderful.

Hi Jan,
Great question! Wild salmon is a protein source with one of the highest sources of omega-3 fatty acids. Its great for your thyroid, can help regulate leptin (the hunger hormone) and can can support your sex hormones (pg 220-221). Hope that helps!

Hi Anastacia,
Also a totally great question! This one though, I have to send to Dr. Aziz for him to answer. As soon as I here from him, I will post it here. Again, thanks for the great question! UPDATE: Here is Dr. Aziz's answer to this great question: "Grapes are allowed as they are rich in resveratrol which can help prevent heart disease. Fruits, contain fructose which has less impact on glucose level than starches. Carrots, are also allowed, but in small amounts, raw preferred. Beets, ideally should be reserved for stage three." Hope that helps!


~Lyron

Hi, I have a question about grapes. The book says that grapes are allowed on a diet. And that's all. But they have a lot of sugar...and high GI index too. so i'm a little bit confused, cause the carrots and beets (also high in sugar) are restricted.
so, any explanations about why grapes are allowed?
thank you so much.

Is salmon a fat, or a lean protein?

you look at your whole day, 40% of your food should be made up of carbs - but he is not saying bread, but veggies, fruits, legumes and whole grains (see page 89), 20% protien page 103 on talks about what type of protiens to eat, 40% (or a little less) fat are from cooking with butter, eating nuts, avacatos, SALMON, coconut. On page 180 he talks about what to buy for the week and what is a serving and page 181 has a good shopping list of what to have on hand
* have 5-9 servings of veggies and fruits a day - 1 serving is a cup for most; a whole banana, mango, or apple are two servings. For vegetables you can count on a cup being a serving unless it is low in fiber (potatoes, carrots, beets) then eat about 1/2 cup for a serving.
* 5-9 servings of fats, examples are 1/4 c nuts, 1 T butter, slice of cheese, nut butters, cream, yogurt,...
* 2-3 servings of lean protiens, 2 eggs, 3 oz SALMON, cup of beans, mushrooms, shrimp, ...

Hi Cheryl,
I hope some other Perfect 10 dieters can help you on this, but I wanted to quickly share that Dr. Aziz covers Diabetes on page 285 and Insulin, more generally, on page 247. If there is any additional information that Dr. Aziz could provide to help diabetics using the Perfect 10, please let me know and I will get in touch with him! Hope you are having a great start to your year!
-Lyron

Hi, Alona (written Dec 6) AND Barbara (written Dec 7) Alona, I have the same stats but am about 40 lbs heavier and Barbara, I, too, had stomach surgery (lapband, 1 year ago tomorrow, Jan 27). I have only lost 40 lbs and found Perfect 10 in the First magazine. This is only my first day. I did find some recipes on the Whole Foods Market website; broken out by breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, etc. Giving me some great ideas. How's your progress?

I am diabetic and would really like to hear other diabetic's experience with this diet. Historically, when I diet, my blood sugar remains totally under control and within near normal range on low carb diet. The minute I add carbs - and that includes fruits and veggies and little to no whole grains - blood sugar goes up out of sight. So am trying to get to grips with how this diet with 40% carbs can be a good thing for those of us who have to be careful with blood sugar. Thanks.

Hi Sheri:
Estorven is totally fine according to Dr. Aziz. So keep at it and let us know if there any other things we can do to help!

Hi Debbie:
As I posted in another place on this site Truvia is totally fine as a sugar substitute. Thanks for the question and let me know if there is anything else you need!

Hi Carol:
I am going to have to ask the Doctor about that sweetner as I haven't been asked that yet. As for Dairy it should only be had sparingly anyway (like a splash in your coffee) and Dr. Aziz recommends calcium suppliments if you get your calcium from a lot of milk a day. And it sounds like the milk you found at Walmart is organic. Hope this helps! If you need anything else, let me know!

Is the sweetner Xylitol permitted on the Pefect 10 diet?

Is it essential that milk be whole milk if lowfat has the same amount of carbs? Does milk have to be organic if it is free of antibiotics and hormones as Wal-mart milk is supposed to be?

I purchased Truvia instead of Stevia, because it was cheaper. Is it the same as Stevia, or has it been altered and therefore should not be used?

I will be turning 50 this year and have been taking Estroven for eight years to help me be less tired and sad. Should I continue with this as I begin to use your diet and try to balance my hormones? I am already sleeping better without it. I currently use a prescription for a thyroid problem, but that's my only medication I take.
Estroven is a safe, all natural dietary supplement containing Black Cohosh and Soy isoflavones, cranberry juice, a balancing herbal blend of (Green tea extract,date seed extract,cinnamon twig extract,galangal root extract, and magnolia bark extract) as well as many vitamins like B-6, B-12, D and calcium.

Hi Everyone,

First I want to apologize for not getting the questions on this portion of the website answered at all. That was a complete oversight on my part, as I was using software to post things and not double checking that they were going up on the site. So again, my fault entirely and it will not be happening again. You have my attention!

As I have mentioned elsewhere on the site, my name is Lyron and I am answering questions here, on Facebook and on Twitter about the Perfect 10 diet. If I don't know the answer to a question because it hasn't been asked before I run it by Dr. Aziz and then post what he says. So, on to questions:

40/20/40: I will be producing, with Dr. Aziz, a blog post this week on 40/20/40 rule, as this gets discussed frequently. In the meantime, the wonderful Erinn Kruser wrote the following on Facebook which people thought was very useful: "The 40/40/20 rule is you get 40% of your daily intake from carbs, 40% from good fats and 20% from protien. He doesn't really count calories, it is more about eating the right portion sizes and mix of foods. If you look at your whole day, 40% of your food should be made up of carbs - but he is not saying bread, but veggies, fruits, legumes and whole grains (see page 89), 20% protien page 103 on talks about what type of protiens to eat, 40% (or a little less) fat are from cooking with butter, eating nuts, avacatos, salmon, coconut. On page 180 he talks about what to buy for the week and what is a serving and page 181 has a good shopping list of what to have on hand
* have 5-9 servings of veggies and fruits a day - 1 serving is a cup for most; a whole banana, mango, or apple are two servings. For vegetables you can count on a cup being a serving unless it is low in fiber (potatoes, carrots, beets) then eat about 1/2 cup for a serving.
* 5-9 servings of fats, examples are 1/4 c nuts, 1 T butter, slice of cheese, nut butters, cream, yogurt,...
* 2-3 servings of lean protiens, 2 eggs, 3 oz Salmon, cup of beans, mushrooms, shrimp, ...
I hope this helps you."

Recipes: Lots of people are creating recipes now and putting them on the Facebook page. As they get tested we will be posting them here. As you experiment, please feel free to share what you are doing and what has tasted good, either here or elsewhere. I have heard a couple of times about the Chicken Wings, but when we had people replicate them it came out fine. Dr. Aziz stressed to use the full clove of garlic. Hope that helps with the Chicken Wing question!

Desserts: Desserts are discussed on page 164 but I understand the question from Christina above. The two Perfect 10ers that I asked right away said that they add the desert in place of one of the snacks and as long it is a healthy desert like the ones listed in the book it's fine. Hope that helps!

Portion Size: Rita asked what the portion size for protein was above. According to Dr. Aziz a good rule of thumb is always to use half up to two-thirds of the size of your hand. The cardinal rule of the Perfect 10 is balance, so as long as your whole meal is designed to leave you full (but not stuffed) and it has a good balance of veggies, protein, etc that is what matters.

I bought the book at Costco for $13.59! It's the least expensive I've seen anywhere no matter what the discounts. I'm thinking of buying a dozen copies for friends and families. My only issue is there are not enough resources for actual implementation. I LOVE THE BOOK.

I agree with Cheryl. I'm having a difficult time figuring out if we can eat anything other than what is on the menus. Can we add salads or fruits or do we just stick to the vary sparse meal plans? It seems like a lot of us NEED more guidance. Please help us! The theory is great but if this is going to take off and people are going to embrace it, there must be more support than the blogs. Especially when our questions don't get answered.

I agree with Cheryl. I'm having a difficult time figuring out if we can eat anything other than what is on the menus. Can we add salads or fruits or do we just stick to the vary sparse meal plans? It seems like a lot of us NEED more guidance. Please help us! The theory is great but if this is going to take off and people are going to embrace it, there must be more support than the blogs. Especially when our questions don't get answered.

I don't see any replies here to people's questions re how to calculate the 40-40-10. The book is WAY too vague on how to calculate.

We need a community on the website! Also, a telephone number would be nice for questions about the plan. It says it is easy to follow, but I already want to know - where are there different menu plans on pages 182 and 319 for stage 1, for example? How do you fit in the dessert recipes in the different stages, etc. Just started reading and am already confused!

My husband and I bought the book after Christmas after seeing Dr. Aziz on Fox and Friends. We're starting with Stage one this week. It all makes good sound sense and am looking forward to the overall healthy lifestyle we hope it brings.

I have received the book and began reading, I am committed, but in reviewing some of the recipes I noticed can not have some ingredients. Is There any food substitutions, for items maybe don't like or can eat like cheese?

I tried the Chinese sitcky wings recipe from the book but I am confused because there is no liquid in the recipe. The directions state that you should pour the marinade over the wings but, that is impossible as there is no liquid and not many spices to coat the wings. Other than that so far so good with the plan.

I ordered the book from Amazon and got it pretty quickly delivered to New Zealand! I have read it from cover to cover and am loving changing the way I eat (am on Phase 1). The book has all the scientific proof, and that's important to me to convince me why I'm doing this. You need to buy the book to understand why, and how with the phased plan. I have a hormonal balance, and my gyno is recommending a hysterectomy. I have tried the Endometriosis diet but this did nothing to help with heavy, painful, and irregular bleeding. I have tried accupunture and chinese herbs, but have had no improvement yet. This diet is my last hope. I am 5'3" and 66 kg. I am hoping if I can get down to a healthier weight that my hormones will re-balance and all my symptoms will go away. Here's to the perfect 10!

why is the coconut shake that was in the First magazine not in the perfect 10 book? And the portions are very vague. How do you fit the fruit & vegetables in when you follow the sample menus in the book. My friend and I are confused. What are portion sizes of the protein? We need to know this.......Thank you. Please respond as soon as possible as we are anxious to follow the plan.

It is VERY important to know portion sizes. How many ounces of protein per day or per meal, etx.. Percentages are oo vague. Thanks, Claudia

I just purchased the book and am looking forward to following this plan. My only question is in regards to gallbladder disease. Is it ok to follow this diet with this disease? I have had a couple of very painful attacks and am currently treating with beet root, increased fiber, healthy oils and vitamin C. Please advise and thanks so much!

Hello fellow dieters. Here I am ready to embark on yet another weight loss plan. I am excited about this one. Sounds easy enough. But I am very confused about the 40%,40%,20%....I understand it's a percentage of my daily calorie consumption....but what should that be? How do I find out? The book is pretty vague. Any ideas on anything would be WONDERFUL. I am not thrilled about giving up my coffee(my husband is looking for a hiding place-ha-ha),that is going to be ugly. I'm ready to begin but I don't feel like I have enough useful info,can anyone help me out? I don't want to get frustrated and quit.

Kim, where are you finding more info at since I have only seen the magazine and this website? I'm trying but need a little more info.

Good morning everybody! Today is my 9th day! As I am finding out more about the diet the more I am able to apply it daily. Also I guess ther's no caffien allowed and no carbs for the first 3 weeks. I've been eating whole wheat pasta, not much but enough that it has made a difference. Oh well, starting today it's only decaf for me and no carbs.I've been doing super on the veggies! Eating lots of cabbage with spinach both for salads and stir fry. I don't know if sesame oil is allowed but it sure adds lots of flavor. I'm also using lots of herbs and that is helping add lots of flavor too. I'm pretty much off meat of all kinds and eating more fish and the like.It's been 9 days and I've been enjoying the coconut shake without getting tired of it. But that is another thing that I'm confused about...in the magazine it says to add a banana and then on line it says not to eat bananas. It says to add blueberries or other low glycemic fruit. So, I bought some berries and they are super good too! So, Onto another day I go.Good luck everyone!

Hi Alona!
I am like you...waiting for the book to come out. I read Dr. Aziz article in woman First Magazine & felt that hopefully I have found a diet that will work for me. I have tried everything, even stomach stapling in 1981 only to lose 20 lbs. I had a 3 friends & a step father I referred who had that same surgery & lost like 100 lbs. They looked great.... but it just didn't do anything for me. Yea, 20 lbs was great, but not the result I needed. Dr said I must have a really slow metabolism. I never cheated either. So I am going to purchase his book asap.... cant wait for its availabiliy. Let me know how you are making out after you get started!

This is the first diet (and I think I have tried all of them!) that actually gave me medical reasons to do or not do something. I will be sure to get your book in January but until then, can you give me more guidelines on what to eat? I am, 57 years old, 5'2" and weight 220lbs!! I can't wait and though I did print all the recipes on this site I was wondering if you could be a little more specific so I can start now. I also enjoy my nightly cocktail but am willing to give that up (obviously) for my health, what other types of beverages are allowed?

Today is my 4th day on The Perfect 10! I am very happy to report that I feel pretty good and also lighter and my clothes are fitting better. I am enjoying the coconut shakes in the a.m.They really hold me over until lunch. I have not felt any hunger pangs either.I really feel like I'm doing something good for myself, which makes me feel better about myself. Even my husband says I look better and he doesn't even know I'm on the program. That's amazing to me!Well, I just take it one step at a time and try not to get too anxious about tommrow and what I'm going to eat. This aproach seems to be working well for me so far. But I've been down this road countless times and I really hope this will be the final time. I can only give it my best effort once again and hope that I will think enough of myself to keep on keeping on. You would think that at 54 I would have some things figured out, but at least I am still trying and will continue to do so with full effort. Have a great day everyone!