OK, so last time we left off having agreed that it was time to stop trying to lose fat the hard way and start teaching your metabolism what to crave so it’s always in fat burning mode.
So let’s pick up there…
Since the scope of this article is such that we cannot get too technical with testing each reader, we’ll make certain assumptions that have worked for my clients for years, and will work for those of you who diligently follow what is outlined in this fat loss column.
Remember that before beginning any major dietary or lifestyle change you must first consult your physician and show him/her exactly what you plan to do, then, with their approval, you proceed.
This program is no different, since it contains a host of state of the art, somewhat out of the ordinary techniques, you should first show it to your personal physician and get their approval before proceeding.
Now remember, this is a training regimen, and as with all training it will seem difficult if not impossible at first.
To complete this training we will need to teach your metabolism what to crave, what to use as fuel, and what to discard as waste.
Our bodies now crave anything and everything that we enjoyed as kids. Unfortunately, our metabolism has made a 180 degree turn around in what it needs to survive since then.
99% of us have been eating primarily carbohydrate meals during our lifetime (breads, cereals, grains, pastas, fruits, and sugars). This has trained our systems to crave and use carbohydrates as fuel. Therefore whenever we consume carbohydrates our bodies believe that we are about to undertake a strenuous event.
We are, in essence, “Pavlov’s Dog”. It answers this intake, in part, by secreting a hormone known as insulin which will digest and use the newly acquired carbohydrates as energy or it will properly store the excess in the liver, the muscles, or as a last resort as body fat.
The normal action currently taken by the body when faced with strenuous exercise is to first use some of the carbohydrates from the stomach (the last meal eaten that day), then from the muscles, then from the liver.
To optimize our fat burning furnace we need to train our metabolism to go through a similar process whenever it sees fat, thereby using that intake of fat as energy rather than immediately storing it in our cells.
Since our metabolism has been positively reinforced for using carbohydrates as energy for so long, this new transition may take a little work at first. But, rest assured, a successful transition will leave you with a body that uses stored fat as well as incoming fat as energy, it will chip away at cholesterol deposits, and it will provide a more abundant supply of vitamins A, D, E, and K for healthier hair and skin.
To accomplish this, one must gradually decrease their intake of carbohydrates, forcing the body to search for alternate sources of fuel. This decrease must coincide with a gradual decrease of fat intake and a simultaneous increase in protein intake to ensure that existing muscle is not burned as fuel.
This process is not experimental, it has been proven to work, and to melt off fat. When decreasing your intake of carbohydrates, first look at exactly what you’re eating by making a journal for the next 7 days, writing in that journal everything that enters your mouth (food, drink, snacks, gum, etc.).
Then sit down in a quite place, where you’re sure not to be disturbed for 30 minutes and review what you’ve written. You’ll need to have 4 different colored markers near you for this project.
Use one color for protein, and circle each and every item that is a major protein source (fish, meat, chicken, eggs anything that use to be alive and have eyes + eggs). Use another colored marker to circle all of the carbohydrates in your journal (carbohydrates are any food that originated from grains, grew from the ground, or is sweet tasting, like candy, cake or non diet soda).
Use a third color for fats and fat products (butter, margarine, oil, mayonnaise, margarine, spray oil products, etc.). And use the last colored marker to circle any items that are a combination of the other three, like fried foods (ex. fried chicken is a combination of protein and fat). Now review what color(s) dominates your list, my guess is that it s both, your carbohydrate color and your combination color.
Now over the course of the next 30 days, eliminate all of fats (including fats, fat products and fried foods), and don't say that your body needs some fats to survive, because unless you have some type of a medical condition that requires that you consume a certain amount of fat, you re going to be getting more than enough fat from the foods you eat without adding any additional fat to your diet.
Plus, now we re forcing your system to look to your body s stored fat for energy rather than looking only at the food in your stomach. Remember, your body stored the fat there for a valid reason. You were giving it so much for so long a period of time that it thought you would need it for something, so it stored it, your body was only doing its job.
In addition to cutting out all of the added fat from your diet, over the next 30 days you must also lower your intake of carbohydrates. But we’re going to get a bit more technical for this category.
You’re going to try to completely take out all breads, pastas, cakes, sweets, soda’s, and starchy vegetables (potato’s, beans, and avocados). But you’re going to drastically increase the amount of green leafy vegetables and other colorful vegetables like broccoli, peppers (red, yellow, green, etc), asparagus, cucumbers, etc, etc, etc. And to top this off you’re going to eat most of them in their fresh, raw state, and your going to try to get them from the organic section of your grocery store if you can.
If this isn’t enough, you must also look at how all of your foods are prepared. Commit to not putting anything into your mouth unless it’s baked, broiled, steamed or in the case of your vegetables “raw”.
And if you go out to eat, as we all do from time to time, make sure whatever you get adhere s to the above standards (it s not that hard), and make sure whomever is preparing your foods uses as little oil as possible in the baking or broiling process.
The final aspect of our 30 day changeover is the omission of dairy products. Nothing except for eggs are allowed in this category, so for the next 30 days (and beyond) stop your intake of milk, cheese, cream, and all other products that are derived from those sources).
As an extra gift to your body stop all alcohol and coffee intake, they’re slowly poisoning your body and your mind. Space limits the amount of detail that can be entered into for this article to be 100% complete. But this is enough to get you really moving. Again, a full checkup and review by your doctor is, as always, recommended prior to any major change in your diet.
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Christopher Guerriero is Founder and CEO of The National Metabolic and Longevity Research Center, where he has devoted more than 15 years to studying people who have successfully mastered their metabolism. Christopher is the author of several books, including the world wide best-seller "
Maximize Your Metabolism". Take a moment to learn about Christopher's
Healthy Living Weight Loss Audio program.
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As all of you know, I’m committed to seeing you through this Holiday Season with less body fat and more muscle! You can do this. You do not need to use this time of year as an excuse…in fact, it can be the strongest time of the year for you.
