The All-Day Fat-Burning Diet: The 5-Day Food-Cycling Formula That Resets Your Metabolism To Lose Up to 5 Pounds a Week (32 page)

1-Day Feast = 5 thumb-size portions (women)/10 thumb-size portions (men)

1-Day Fast = none

Regular-
Cal Day = 3 thumb-size portions (women)/6 thumb-size portions (men)

Low-Cal Day = 3 thumb-size portions (women)/6 thumb-size portions (men)

Palm = Protein

Low-Carb Day = 3 palm-size portions (women)/4 palm-size portions (men)

1-Day Feast = 2 palm-size portions (women)/3 palm-size portions (men)

1-Day Fast = none

Regular-Cal Day = 2 palm-size portions (women)/3 palm-size portions (men)

Low-Cal Day = 1 palm-size portion (women)/2 palm-size portions (men)

Fist = Starchy Carbs and Fruit

Low-Carb Day = up to ½ fist-size portion

1-Day Feast = at least 3 fist-size portions (women)/4 fist-size portions (men)

1-Day Fast = none

Regular-Cal Day = 2 fist-size portions (women)/3 fist-size portions (men)

Low-Cal Day = 1 fist-size portion (women)/2 fist-size portions (men)

Hand Bowl = Fibrous Veggies

Here’s a little secret: There’s actually no maximum serving size for fibrous veggies—salads, green leafy vegetables, or cruciferous vegetables. They’re loaded with amazing nutrients and very few net carbs and calories, meaning you can eat as much of them as you want.

That said, there is a minimum. Fibrous veggies are such a crucial part of this plan that you don’t have the option of skipping them
except
during your 1-Day Fast. For maximum effect, load up on veggies, and try to eat quite a bit more than the bare minimums listed below. (For easy reference, a hand bowl is the bowl formed when you cup both hands together; 2 hand bowls equals the size of a small bowl of salad.)

Minimums

Low-Carb Day = 2 hand bowls

1-Day Feast = 3 hand bowls

1-Day Fast = none

Regular-Cal Day = 2 hand bowls

Low-Cal Day = 2 hand bowls

You might not have noticed, but there’s actually a formula at work here: The amount of food you eat on your Regular-Calorie Day is your baseline. The amount you eat on your feast day is 50 percent more than you’d ordinarily eat, and the amount you eat on your Low-Calorie Day is 25 percent less. You’ll be amazed at how well this simple system works.

STEP
2: EAT AT THE RIGHT TIMES

Just as you’ve received a great deal of confusing inherited wisdom regarding how
much
you should eat, there’s a great deal of junk floating around out there about exactly how
often
you should eat. Some experts say you should eat no fewer than five or six times per day—otherwise your metabolism will “shut down.” Others say that eating far less is necessary for weight loss. Those are the two extremes, but there are plenty of other eating timetables in between. At this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if there are some diets that tell you to eat only when there’s a full moon!

The truth is that you should eat only when your body tells you to. As I’ve found time and time again, the truth about anything is often very simple, and the same goes for eating. I have only two rules for you to follow.

1. Eat when you’re hungry.

2. Stop when you’re 80 percent full.

That’s it.

For years, we’ve been led to believe that there was some magical meal frequency that would speed up our metabolisms, control our insulin and cortisol levels, and manage our appetites. However, a recent review of the literature in the
Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
suggests otherwise.
¹
In a nutshell, all that matters is that you eat the right foods in the right amounts. Once you’re doing that, meal frequency is really just a matter of personal preference. You can eat lots of small meals each day, eating every few hours, or eat a few big meals each day with bigger time gaps between them. It’s not rocket science. Eat when you’re hungry. Stop when you’re 80 percent full.

Your body always tells you what it needs at any given time, but we’ve become so disconnected from ourselves that we don’t understand the signals it sends us. By listening to your body, you’ll know how much or how little to eat. Similarly, you’ll also know if you’re legitimately hungry or feeling tempted to eat out of anxiety or depression.
As
a general rule of thumb, your biggest meal of the day should come right after you work out (except on your Low-Carb Days). That’s when your muscles are hungriest and most receptive to nutrients. After you’ve put them through their paces, you also need to replenish the carbohydrates they store. Aside from that, meal timing has very little impact on your ability to burn fat.

Here’s a confession: Most mornings, I don’t even eat breakfast. Sure, I know it’s considered by many to be the most important meal of the day, but that simply doesn’t work for me. I’ll regularly go for several hours on water with apple cider vinegar or even a green juice, and come lunch, I’ll have a big smoothie, salad, or leftovers from the previous day. Evenings are generally when I load up with a big dinner. That’s what works for me. It may not work for you, but only you can determine that.

You have to think of yourself as both scientist and subject, conducting a series of experiments on yourself, making notes along the way. You’re not looking to transform yourself into Frankenstein’s monster, but rather a lean, optimized version of your current self. The results you get along the way should be your guide. For example, if you’re eating five or six times a day and still not looking and feeling the way you want, it’s time to try something different.

Maybe you need to start your day with a big workout, followed by a substantial breakfast and fewer calories throughout the rest of the day. Perhaps you skip breakfast entirely, have a small lunch, and dig into a hearty dinner. It really doesn’t matter. You simply have to determine what works best for you. I know that might be hard to get your head around after a lifetime of eating three square meals a day or more recent indoctrination into some newfangled eating regimen. For that very reason, I’ve laid out a 21-day meal plan with an array of recipe and meal-timing options. You can follow them to the letter or not. All you have to do is follow the food guidelines for that day; however, how you choose to break that food up into meals and snacks is entirely up to you.

Actually, there’s one more thing you have to keep in mind, and it’s quite important: At night, it’s best to finish your last meal at least 2 to 3 hours before hitting the sack. Far too many of us like to enjoy a little
(
or not-so-little) snack before bed, but it’s not a healthy habit if you’re trying to lose weight. As harmless as it may seem, that quick snack alters the balance of your hunger hormones, leptin and ghrelin, which affect melatonin, insulin, and thyroid function.

Confused? Let me map it out for you. Here’s what normally happens at night:

1.
You eat dinner and, a few hours later, your blood sugar and insulin levels fall.

2.
Decreasing insulin triggers the hormone leptin to be released to inhibit hunger when you go to bed.

3.
Leptin triggers thyroid hormone release to keep you warm and burn stored fat during the night. This process is balanced with melatonin release, which induces sleep.

Now, if you eat close to bedtime, this normal process gets thrown out of whack.

1.
You’ll have trouble sleeping.

2.
The next day, your lack of sleep decreases insulin sensitivity and causes a prediabetic situation in which you have much lower glucose tolerance.

3.
Insulin will be elevated, and you will be less sensitive to leptin.

4.
You will be hungrier because the hormone ghrelin will be elevated. You’ll particularly crave foods higher in sugar due to your poor blood sugar state.

5.
You’ll have less desire to be active, leading you to burn fewer calories on the days after short sleep.

I bet you didn’t think a few cookies or a little leftover spaghetti before you hit the hay could have such an impact on your body chemistry, but the before-bed meal is quite sneaky. If you absolutely must have something close to bedtime, I recommend a smoothie that combines protein, fibrous veggies, and a few fruits like berries or an apple. See
Chapter 11
for some examples.

STEP
3: EAT THE RIGHT FOODS

This health and fitness thing would certainly be a lot easier if there weren’t so many tasty foods out there to indulge in. Who doesn’t want to eat all of the time?

I definitely find satisfaction in a good meal, but my wife, Amy, and I have figured out how to create delicious meals that burn fat rather than pack it on. I’ve included a number of those creations in this book so you don’t feel like you’re missing out on anything once you get going with this plan. If you’ve tried a few diets before, you might be expecting the same old tasteless and boring meals that throw together a protein and a vegetable without any flair or flavor. That’s not happening here. I want you to enjoy your meals and have an easy time making them as well. I would venture to say that the meals in this book are perhaps the tastiest you’ll have ever tried on any “diet.”

You can definitely follow your own recipes if you prefer, as long as they meet the criteria that I lay out here. It’s simply a matter of what’s best for you. However you choose to map out your week of meals, I do suggest that you try two things.

1
. Start your day with protein (whenever that first meal is for you).

2. Add more carbohydrates throughout the day.

I know this may sound completely counterintuitive to what you’ve been told, especially about carbohydrates. The reason I recommend following these two guidelines is because protein in the morning keeps you full longer, doesn’t spike your blood sugar, and keeps you more focused for hours.

The reverse is true if you start with carbs first thing in the morning. Eating a big bowl of cereal or oatmeal, bagel, toast, muffin, or other typical breakfast option is a disaster waiting to happen. These carbs are quickly digested, which then spikes your blood sugar. A “crash” soon follows, leaving you feeling drained and foggy. You then find yourself craving a fix of caffeine or sugar just to make it to lunch.

Adding more protein to your morning meal also allows your natural morning spike of cortisol to occur, which is very important for maintaining healthy circadian rhythms. Normally, cortisol levels are highest in the morning when you wake up (in the presence of light) and lowest at night before going to bed. Anything you do to mess with this natural light-dark cycle will backfire, confuse your hormones, and sabotage your ability to lose fat. On top of that, it turns you into a cranky mess of a person. In studies where this natural circadian rhythm has been purposely disrupted, researchers have noted lowered leptin levels, insulin resistance, inverted cortisol rhythms, and increased blood pressure.
²
These conditions all totally wreck your health and fat-loss efforts.

Even if you decide not to have anything to eat in the morning (which is totally fine if that’s what your body is telling you), your cortisol will still stay high because it will be required to break down stored sugar to maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Eating a high-carb breakfast shuts down your morning cortisol response because the surge of ingested sugar tells your body that cortisol is no longer needed to break down fuel. At this time of day, that’s the wrong message to be sending to your body. Knowing this, you can approach your morning
meal
a little more intelligently. Some of the recipes you’ll find on your feast days will seem to be high-carb meals; however, these “good carb” meals also contain a considerable amount of protein to get your day started right.

Here are some ideas.

•
Gluten-free oatmeal with hemp seeds (protein), peanut butter (protein), ground flaxseeds, and berries

•
Veggie omelet

•
Morning shake with hemp seeds, almond butter, or protein powder (roughly 30 grams of protein)

•
No-grain cereal—berries, chopped nuts, hemp, shredded coconut, almond milk

•
Green juice (almost no protein), followed by eggs (protein)

As
you progress throughout the day, your cortisol levels will naturally fall as the sun sets and your body gets the message that it’s almost bedtime. This is how we humans are built.