1. Accelerate: Trigger rapid weight loss (yep, some of it will be water) by reducing overall carbohydrates and eliminating all processed and simple carbs. Unlimited lean protein mobilizes fat burning. Significantly increasing hydration flushes toxins and improves digestion.
2. Activate: Alternate low- and higher-calorie days to boost metabolism, strip body fat, and sustain weight loss.
3. Achieve: Time to add back some healthy starch and celebrate with a glass of red wine, which is allowed in this phase but discouraged during the first two.
4. Arrive: Maintain your goal weight with healthy weekday meals and weekend treats.
● Dr. Mike doesn’t endorse disruptive gimmicks or lay claim to breakthrough science. He’s taken proven concepts and put them into a simple, nutritionally sound, and uncharacteristically fun strategy that can be done for 17 days or for life.
Learn more at the17daydiet.com.
“One of the reasons guys struggle with their weight may be one they don’t want to admit—emotional eating,” Venuto says. “Emotional eating means eating for reasons other than hunger, whether it’s stress, grief, social pressure, or a desire for comfort or escape.” In his book, Venuto teaches dieters how to identify the emotional triggers and replace them through goal-setting, visualization, and social support.
One of the most effective training tools Venuto uses is self-image reprogramming. “The benefits of cognitive psychology on weight management can’t be overstated. You can train your unconscious mind to change automatic behaviors that prevent you from attaining whatever goal you’ve set. Peer-reviewed science supports the idea that mentally rehearsing, visualizing, and affirming your goals helps you achieve them,” he says.
Try this: Every day, sit quietly for 5–15 minutes and imagine not just the body you’ve resolved to build but also the steps you’ll take along the way. See yourself going to the gym. Rehearse being in a social situation and refusing unhealthy food. As Napoleon Hill said in his seminal book Think and Grow Rich (1937), “What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.”
Learn more at thebodyfatsolution.com.
While veganism is restrictive, “the best way to approach it isn’t by cutting things out,” says Jack Norris, R.D., author and founder of Vegan Outreach, “it’s by adding them in.” First, make sure you include ample plant foods at each meal, especially ones high in protein such as soy meat, tofu, beans, falafel, and nuts. The idea is that if you load up on vegan foods, you’ll naturally eat fewer animal products. In spite of his own commitment to veganism, Norris doesn’t advocate rigidity. “I tell people to avoid obviously animal-based items, but don’t quibble over every ingredient. You don’t need to quiz the wait staff about whether there’s egg in the pasta or traces of dairy in the dinner rolls.”
As for ensuring adequate protein intake on a vegan diet, Norris says that if you eat a variety of vegetables, legumes, fruits, and grains, you’ll likely get enough. “It’s a myth that you need to get all your amino acids at one sitting. Your body collects different ones from different foods and assimilates them as needed,” he says.
If veganism seems too strict but you like the idea of eliminating most animal products, consider one of the following alternatives:
Lacto vegetarian: eats dairy products
Ovo vegetarian: eats eggs
Lacto-ovo vegetarian: eats dairy and eggs
Pollotarian: eats poultry and fowl
Pescatarian: eats fish and seafood
To learn more about how to transition to a vegan diet, visit jacknorrisrd.com.
“Grains have been part of the human diet only for 10,000 years, and our current reliance on them is deleterious. When you eat them—along with processed foods and sugars—you turn on genetic switches that control hormone secretion and in turn signal your body to increase inflammation, stockpile fat, and rely mostly on glycogen for fuel,” Sisson says. “You can become a muscle-building, fat-burning beast just like our ancestors by teaching your body to burn stored fat instead of sugar.” How do you do that? “Start by getting rid of the grains,” he says.
The Primal Blueprint–based diet encourages eating as much as you want of meat, fish, fowl, eggs, nuts, and vegetables. There are no recommended eating intervals, portions, macronutrient ratios, or caloric intakes.
If you’re ready to get in touch with your inner caveman, visit marksdailyapple.com.
The theory of IF exactly counters what we’ve all been told for years—that eating small, frequent meals is the best way to increase metabolism, maintain stable blood sugar levels, and burn body fat. But new data suggests that paradigm may not be as well-founded as previously believed. In fact, a research analysis of meal frequency and energy balance published in the British Journal of Nutrition found no difference between nibbling and gorging.
As with the Primal Blueprint (see previous slide), proponents of IF suggest that varying calorie intake aligns with our evolutionary history. During times of plenty, our ancestors feasted on the available food supply; during lean times, their bodies utilized stored energy for fuel and eliminated cellular waste through a process called auto-phagocytosis. Some research suggests that in the absence of fasting periods, our modern metabolisms are no longer able to shed the accumulated cellular chaff, and that the unhealthy buildup of debris contributes to many types of disease.
John Berardi, Ph.D., C.S.C.S., founder of Precision Nutrition, a nutrition coaching company, says that it’s not only possible to lose body fat by skipping the occasional meal (or meals) while preserving muscle mass and strength; it may actually improve your overall health. In his free e-book, Experiments with Intermittent Fasting, Berardi says that IF followers may have decreased triglycerides, LDL cholesterol, blood pressure, systemic inflammation, oxidative stress, and risk of cancer. There are endless ways to approach IF, but here are a few common protocols:
● Warrior Diet: 20-hr fast + 4-hr feed
● Lean gains: 16-hr fast + 8-hr feed
● Alternate-Day Fasting: 36-hr fast + 12-hr feed
● Eat, Stop, Eat: 24-hr fast, once or twice weekly
● Meal Skipping: brief, random fasts
Read more about IF at precisionnutrition.com
1. Healthy carbohydrates: whole grains, legumes, vegetables, and low-glycemic fruits (usually those with edible skin, edible seeds, or citrus)
2. Lean protein: nonfat Greek yogurt, poultry, shellfish, seafood, or egg whites
3. Fiber: at least 10 grams per meal and 5 per snack. Both types are important. Soluble fiber—found in lentils, apples, oranges, beans, psyllium, and cucumbers—attracts water and slows the emptying of your stomach, so you feel fuller longer. Insoluble fiber doesn’t dissolve in water and helps move food and waste through your digestive tract. It can be found in whole grains; brown rice; tomatoes; grapes; and dark, leafy vegetables.
4. Healthy fats: fish oils, avocados, and olive oil, with minimal use of dairy fats and frying oils
5. No-calorie beverage: water, sparkling water, green tea, and flavored waters.
Some research suggests that diet sodas may actually cause weight gain, perhaps because your satiety center feels cheated when the imitation sugar flavor doesn’t deliver the goods. “The No. 1 cause of death due to lifestyle factors is obesity,” Pasternak says. “Nobody’s dying from diet soda, so if you really want one now and then as a treat, that’s OK.”
●How much of each, you ask? Pasternak says not to get bogged down by weights and measures. “Focus on meal composition and frequency and you’ll naturally begin to eat less and lose more.”Visit 5factor.com for more information.