Taking several bites out of eating

A Burbank doctor has developed a weight-loss program that he said is as simple as it is effective.

Alwin C. Lewis, who specializes in internal medicine, is spreading his philosophy in his new book, “Why Weight Around? Changing the Weight Loss Strategy.”

While attending Burbank High School, Lewis said he was 6-foot and 150 pounds. But during college and as he started his practice, his weight went up to 190.

Now at 135, he said this new way of eating helped him shed the excess 50-plus pounds in one month.

“As I was losing the weight, I thought to myself, I’ve been able to do this so easily and effortlessly, and I thought the whole world should know about this,” he said.

He started to write the book in 2006 and finished it about a year later. He wanted to keep it simple, and the book is short, only 100 pages.

For his Five Bite Diet plan, he recommends skipping breakfast and eating only five bites of something for lunch and five bites for dinner, without snacking. He suggests that one bite a day should be of a high-value protein food and that dieters should also take a multivitamin.

Once his patients hit their goal, he said it’s up to them to find the volume of food that’s right for them to maintain that weight.

“There is a right amount for each of us,” he said

“You need to find out what amount is right for you. I don’t try to guess what that is. I leave it up to the individual. I give people the ability or tools to get to that magical weight quickly, safely and efficiently.”

Julie Christoni, 34, of Burbank, started the diet a year ago.

She thought she would starve, she said, so she ate five bites of a Big Mac for lunch and five bites of another one for dinner.

“The second day, I realized I wasn’t going to starve to death, so I ate a taco for one meal and a half a sandwich for dinner,” she said.

“The first three days were definitely tough, but it is amazing how quickly your body remembers what you are eating and your stomach starts to shrink, and you need less and less food.”

It took her five to six months to lose 50 pounds, she said.

“The weight just melted away,” she said.

Cathleen Bowley, of Burbank, went on the diet to prove Dr. Lewis wrong, she said. She was surprised to lose 80 pounds, she said.

“It’s so easy, it was shocking,” she said.

“It’s not hard at all.”

She started the diet in November 2005, and she’s been on it for two years.

“I lost the bulk of the weight pretty quickly, and by January, people started noticing,” she said. “By summer 2006, I was down to 80 pounds.”

The first five days were very difficult, she said. Lewis warned her she would feel like she had the flu, and she did. After four or five days, she felt normal again.

She stuck to the five bites twice a day for seven months and then adjusted her portions until she found the right amount to maintain her desired weight.

“I feel good,” she said. “It’s great to be able to move around. Dr. Lewis told me, ‘You’re going to have so much energy.’ And I don’t exercise, which is great for me because I hate exercising.”

Dietitians at Glendale Memorial Hospital and Health Center said people could lose weight by this diet, but it’s not the healthiest way to go.

“I think the bottom line for this diet is trying to find the easiest way to decrease calorie intake,” said Remi Hayashi, a registered dietitian and nutrition manager at the hospital. “You will lose weight; however, this is not the healthy way to lose weight.”

Nancy Neff, registered dietitian and clinical dietitian, agreed.

“There’s no way you can get enough vitamins, minerals and protein from this diet,” she said. “It would be better to eat three meals a day with protein at each meal and well balanced with carbohydrate, protein and fat. They want to eat less calories a day and exercise.”