The 3 Week Diet
THE 3-WEEK DIET
A
Foolproof, Science-Based Diet Guaranteed to Melt Away 12 to 23 Pounds of
Stubborn Body Fat in Just 21-Days
INTRODUCTION
MANUAL
The
information in this manual is not intended to replace medical advice. No action
or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this information.
Before beginning this or any other nutritional or exercise regimen, consult
your physician to be sure it is appropriate for you.
The
information and opinions expressed here are believed to be accurate, based on
the best judgement available to the author. Readers who fail to consult with
appropriate health authorities assume the risk of any injuries.
TABLE OF
CONTENTS
Many of us
are paralyzed by the conflicting information being given out in the health and
nutrition field. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of diets and nutritional
plans, quick fix pills and powders, gadgets and gizmos, infomercials and gurus
who are all giving us
confusing and very often, conflicting information on how to lose weight.
Who’s right?
Who’s wrong...how do we know?
The fact
is, the weight loss industry is a multi-billion dollar marketplace that thrives
on keeping us guessing. It seems like we can’t go a month these days without
something “bigger & better” to come along that can help us lose weight
“faster & easier.” It’s the constant barrage of new products and methods
that keep us so confused…
But here’s
the thing…
The real,
true “secret” of how we get fat and how we lose weight has been discovered
decades ago. And since then, that “secret” has been used to help millions of
people to lose weight. Unfortunately, mainstream medicine and the multi-billion
dollar diet industry want to keep this a secret.
The problem
is that although we know how to lose weight, most people don’t know how to take
full advantage of these weight loss methods to really make the pounds come off
fast.
When the
weight doesn’t come off as fast as we want, we are more susceptible to those
products that promise “faster & better.” But in reality, those products never
live up to their promises.
The fact is
the diet & fitness industry does not want you to learn the true secrets to
ultra-fast weight loss because once you learn it—they know that you’ll never
need to buy another one of their bogus products again. And when you don’t need
their products, the multi-billion dollar diet industry takes a great big
financial hit.
Enter the
3-Week Diet…
The 3-Week
Diet is based on medical science, rational thought and proven, real-life
results. As of right now, you can rest assured that you will never need to buy
another diet book, fancy gizmo or magic pill to lose weight ever again. Quite
simply, the 3-Week Diet cuts through the bull and gives you a time-tested,
proven and effective blueprint for rapid fat loss.
This isn’t
one of those diets that work for some but not others. The fact is, the 3-Week
Diet is based on the science involved with the human body and how different
nutrients affect our hormones resulting in either weight loss or weight gain.
RAPID
WEIGHT LOSS
In all my
years in the diet & fitness industry, I don’t think anyone has ever told me
that they were looking for a way to lose weight slowly. In fact, most people
that come to me about losing weight are looking for something that will produce
results as fast as humanly possible. And I truly believe that the #1 reason
that most diets fail is because they don’t produce results fast enough. Let’s
face it…it’s no fun to spend hours at the gym, followed by small portions of
food we can’t stand, day after day, only to see the scale drop just one pound
during the week.
For a diet
to be successful, I truly believe that the diet must produce visible and
significant results FAST. When the dieter sees real results quickly, he/she
becomes more engaged. And when I can get the dieter engaged in the diet, it
produces a “snowball effect” causing the results get better and better as the
dieter gets leaner and leaner because of the results they are seeing on an
everyday basis.
On the
3-Week diet, you WILL see real results daily. Your scale will move, your
clothes will fit better, you’ll feel lighter (because you’ll actually be
lighter) and you will look and feel better than you have in years.
This is why
the 3-Week Diet is so ultra-effective. It produces extremely fast, visible
results. These fast results keep the dieter motivated. And that motivation
keeps them going until they reach levels of fat loss that they never imagined
were possible.
Once you
finish this book, you’re going to know more about how we gain and lose weight
than most doctors do. And, using the methods you’ll learn in the 3-Week Diet,
you’re going to be fully equipped to lose weight virtually on command.
This is not
another “fad” diet. This diet is based on science and it has been proven to be
extremely effective for millions of people for the past several decades. This
diet takes into account your own biology and hormones and how the body
processes, utilizes, stores and burns body fat. This book will show you how and
why you have gained the excess weight you now want to get rid of, so that you
can stop the weight from ever coming back.
This is the
diet that puts you in control.
One of the
first questions I’m always asked is:
“Isn’t
losing weight this fast dangerous?”
Well, I’m
not sure where the idea that losing weight quickly is dangerous. In my opinion,
it’s just the opposite. The longer you’re walking around with excess fat on
your body, the harder it is for your body to function. Your heart needs to work
harder and harder to move your body, which puts a deadly strain on one of your
most vital organs. And research has shown that the longer you’re walking around
with excess weight, the more susceptible you are to a host of diseases and
medical problems.
Because of
all the health problems associated with excess weight, doesn’t it make perfect
sense to get rid of that weight as fast as possible?
I think so.
I’m not
really sure where the idea came from that says losing weight at a rate of just
1-2 pounds per week is the “safest” or “best” way to lose weight. In reality,
there is little medical safety data out there with regards to how fast we can
safely lose weight. Most weight loss “safety data” deals with how the weight is
lost—rather than the rate at which it is lost. Yes, there are ways to lose
weight quickly that are extremely dangerous. And this is an important point
because losing weight on the 3-Week Diet is about losing weight quickly and
safely without depriving your body of the nutrients it needs.
Dr. Michael
Dansinger, the doctor who consults with the producers of the NBC hit show The
Biggest Loser, states that people can lose 20-pounds of weight in a week—if
they do it right.
The 3-Week
Diet shows you how to do it right.
HOW THIS
SYSTEM WORKS
The 3-Week
Diet is divided up into several distinct parts.
1. The Diet: the diet portion of the
3-Week Diet is just that—diet. It consists of three phases (each phase being
1-week long). During your first week on the diet, you will likely see a drop of
weight in the neighborhood of 10-pounds. It will give you all the information
on how you can lose up to one pound of body fat (or more) per day, simply by
the foods you eat and don’t eat. The diet requires some motivation and
short-term changes to your eating habits but I promise you that if you can make
it past the first week of this diet, you will be in total control of your
weight for the rest of your life. In fact, many people have said that after
finishing Phase #1 of the 3-Week Diet, they felt like they could accomplish
anything.
2. The Workouts: one of the reasons
people fail in their diets is because the workouts required to succeed are just
too much for most people to handle. This is not the case with the 3-Week Diet.
The 3-Week Diet workouts are designed to burn fat and get you into great shape
in about 20-minutes just a few times each week. While you can lose weight
quickly on the diet alone, a quality workout like the one in the 3-week diet,
can nearly double your fat loss results. The 3-Week Diet workout is broken down
into two separate workouts. One is for those who would rather workout at their
local gym and the other is a home workout using just body weight and the one
single most valuable piece of equipment. No matter which of the workouts you
choose, you’ll find that they are, by far, the best fat-blasting workouts you
will ever see!
3. Supplements: The supplement report
provides a look at some of the most popular diet supplements being used today.
These will include a review of the supplements not included in the 3-Week Diet
itself
4. Motivation & Mindset: the
motivation report contains valuable information that I have used on my clients
in the past. It will show you how to focus your energy on achieving your goals.
There are some really great tips, tricks and secrets to losing weight and
keeping the weight off.
To
Summarize So Far…
The purpose
of this book is to simply cut to the chase—to help reduce the confusion...to
eliminate the nonsense and to help you burn stubborn body fat as fast as
possible. On the diet alone, you should see weight loss in the range of around
1-pound of body fat per day.
Losing
weight is simply a matter of science. How we gain and lose weight is
controlled, in large, by our biological makeup. You will gain a better
understanding of the body’s hormones and how they react positively or
negatively with the nutrients you eat with regards to weight loss and weight
gain.
You’ll
learn how to get off the weight loss carousel and instead of taking a
“roundabout” approach you’ll deal with weight loss straight on.
It is my
intention that this diet book is the very last one you’ll ever purchase. It
promises to be an absolute goldmine of information that cuts right to the heart
of rapid fat loss.
There is
really just one set of instructions that we all can follow to achieve rapid
weight loss and body transformations in record time. That information is
contained in this book.
WHY THIS
DIET
This diet
is going to have several benefits on your life outside of the rapid weight loss
it produces. By the end of the diet, you’re going to have a new outlook on how
weight is lost and you’re going to have complete control over your weight for
the rest of your life. You’ll have the tools and knowledge on what you’ll need
to drop pounds quickly, virtually anytime you stray from healthy eating.
One of the
biggest problems with dieting is that the weight comes off very slowly. In this
respect, the 3-Week Diet is an absolute game changer. No more will you lose
weight at a snail’s pace. Instead, by following this diet, you can expect to
lose ¾ to 1-pound of fat every single day. And, if you want to nearly double
those results, I have included the 3-Week Workout, which will help you do
exactly that.
There’s
several reason why people turn to the 3-Week Diet to lose fat quickly. A large
percentage of my readers are seeking to lose weight for an upcoming special
event, such as a wedding, class reunion or an upcoming vacation that usually
involves the pool or the beach. Others are actors and models that need their
body weight and body fat percentages at low levels to earn their living. And
many use the 3-Week Diet as a jumpstart to starting a new diet, workout program
or healthy lifestyle.
Whatever
your goals are, the 3-Week Diet will help you reach them!
WHY
3-WEEKS?
Research
has shown that most overweight people are carrying around 10-20 pounds of
unwanted body fat. Research has also shown that most diets fail. From my
experience, most diets fail because they take the long, slow, boring approach
to weight loss. When weight loss comes off at 1-2 pounds a week, the rewards
for the sacrifices it takes to get there really aren’t worth it. The 3-Week
Diet accomplishes in 3-weeks what most diets take 4-5 months to do.
The 3-Week
Diet was specifically designed to be an extremely rapid method for burning
between10-20 pounds of body fat.
I
understand that for a diet to be ultra-successful, it absolutely must produce
very rapid results. When results come quickly, the dieter receives the
necessary feedback that the diet is working and that it’s worth doing. This
results in the dieter sticking with the diet. When the dieter sticks with the
diet, the results snowball and the outcome is successful weight loss and a
brand new body.
This is why
the 3-Week Diet works! You will soon see that you will notice favorable body
composition changes in the very fist couple of days on the diet. In the very
first week alone, you will likely see in the neighborhood of 10 pounds of fat
stripped away from your body. Your clothes will be loser…you’ll feel
lighter…and you’ll look and feel 10x better than you did just a week before.
21-DAYS TO
MAKE A HABIT
Research
has shown that it takes approximately 21-days for us to develop a new habit.
This means 21-days of eating healthy...21-days of going to the gym...21-days of
doing what ever it is that you want to implement as a habit into your life.
Far too
often, when we try to implement a new habit into our lives, we look at it in
unmanageable light. Because of this, these new healthy habits never get off the
ground because instead of focusing on just 21—days, we sabotage our goals with
the mindset that we will have to sacrifice forever.
So, Instead
of starting out with thoughts of making a new habit for life, make you can make
it a lot easier simply by telling yourself that you are just going to “try”
this diet for just 21-days. We can all do 21-days, right? Let your brain “know”
that once this “trial period” is over, you can go back to your old eating
habits. Then, while your brain lets you participate in this “trial,” it will
also be working to form new neural pathways once it realizes that the new habit
has benefited you positively in some way. This is the science behind how we
develop habits and research has shown that it takes approximately 21-days to
develop new habits or to break old ones.
In the case
of the 3-Week Diet, your brain will have noticed that it now takes less work to
move your body throughout the day because it has shed so many pounds. It will
notice the increased energy you have as a result of your daily walks, weekly
resistance training and other exercise components of this diet. Your body will
also take note of your physical appearance, your muscle tone and how your
clothes now fit much looser. Basically, your brain will see remarkable benefits
that will stick with you and cause you to follow along the path of good eating
and exercise habits.
Now,
understand that research has shown neural pathways to any habit (even those bad
ones) can be life-long, which means bad habits can resurface when triggered to
do so. This means that you constantly have to be aware of your thoughts and you
need to make conscious efforts to avoid engaging in those bad habits of the
past. Believe me, after 21-days, it’s relatively simple to convince yourself to
avoid those bad habits of the past. While you will be able to indulge in your
favorite foods, they will not be able to take over your life. My intention of
the 3-Week Diet is not only to burn fat away fast but to also force new, good
habits of eating and regular exercise that will stay with you forever. This
will ensure that you get the body you’ve always wanted and keep it for life.
FAT LOSS
VS. WEIGHT LOSS
We tend to
use the term “weight loss” generally when we go on a diet. And while some are
content with simply watching the numbers of the scale go down, it is important
that you focus solely on losing fat rather than precious, lean body mass.
If you want
to simply lose weight…and you don’t care where the weight comes from (body fat,
bones,
muscle, organs, etc) then the fastest way to accomplish that is through dietary
fasting (not eating anything). Fasting is the fastest way to lose weight…but it
comes with a hefty price, up to and including death.
After about
a day of fasting, your body is getting 80-90% of its energy from its own body
fat, which is a very good thing. However, when the body goes several hours
without protein (amino acids it needs to sustain life), it begins to attack its
own protein stores. Sooner or later, lean body mass is attacked to a point that
you are unable to move and your organs cannot function properly, which results
in death.
The fact
is, there are certain diets out there that have great success in helping people
achieve weight loss—with studies to prove it—however, by the way those diets
are structured, a large portion of the weight that is lost is not body fat, but
instead, lean body mass. Lean body mass is basically everything that is not
body fat. This includes skeletal muscle, organs and bones. Remember, a decrease
in lean body mass equates to a slower running metabolism. A slow metabolism
will make it harder to lose weight and easy for you to put weight back on once
it’s lost. The 3-Week Diet is designed to not only keep your metabolism
churning along, but also works to reset and increase its ability so that you
are constantly running at your body’s maximum potential.
Those diets
that focus solely on the numbers of the scale do more harm to your body than
good. These types of diets actually slow your body’s ability to lose body fat
and they force your body to attack itself for the essential nutrients it needs.
You can
spot these diets from a mile away...if you know what you’re looking for. The
red flag to look for on these diets (often called fasts) are those that have an
obvious lack protein as their primary food source. Diets like the Hollywood
Juice Diet, the Cabbage Soup Diet, the Lemonade
Diet, etc
can definitely help you lose weight...but trust me when I say this: the weight
you lose on these types of diets is not the weight you want to lose. In fact,
these diets do more bad than good because you will unfortunately lose precious
lean body mass in the process of losing weight. And again, when you lose that
precious lean body mass, you slow your metabolism and you slow your ability to
lose weight. The more lean body mass you have, the more calories your body
needs to keep that mass functioning properly.
Again when
the body goes without protein for a length of time, it is going to get its
protein needs by eating your skin for lunch and your hair for dinner. The hair
and skin are the first protein stores to be attacked and if you look closely at
people on those protein-deficient types of diets, you will notice a lack of
glow and sheen to the hair and skin. This is because the protein that keeps the
skin and hair healthy and vibrant will be missing. People on these types of
diets are noticeably haggard, wrinkly and dull looking.
But it
won’t stop there. Think about it. Can you really afford to lose part of your
heart, liver, brain, kidneys and other vital organs? Do you really want to
sacrifice your precious skeletal muscle that actually helps you burn fat all
day long?
I know none
of this sounds too pleasant but it is a fact. When looking to lose weight, it
is imperative that the weight you lose is laser-focused on body fat, rather
than lean body mass. Certain diets and misinformation about nutrients can lead
to protein deficiency.
If you have
any of the following symptoms, chances are you are not getting enough protein
in your diet:
thin, brittle hair hair loss reduced pigmentation in the hair ridges in fingernails and toenails skin rashes, flaky skin, dry skin weakness and cramps in your
muscles
difficulty sleeping nausea slow healing in wounds, cuts, scrapes
If you are
experiencing any of these symptoms, you should take a good look at how much
protein you’re getting on a daily basis. Sometimes these unexplainable
conditions come down to an easy fix—more protein in your diet.
Protein
deficiency can be even more serious than you think. Long term or frequent
protein deficiency can result in even more serious health risks, such as: gallstones arthritis heart problems organ
failure muscle deterioration death
As you can
see, a lack of protein in your diet can be very serious—even life threatening.
If you take nothing else from this book, be absolutely certain that you are getting
adequate amounts of protein every day. In the diet portion of the 3-Week Diet,
you’ll learn how to calculate your true daily protein requirements.
On the 3
Week Diet, we attempt to emulate “starvation” and all the fat-burning qualities
it produces—but without all the negative side effects (hunger, lean body mass
loss, etc). To do this, we will focus on depleting the body of carbohydrates to
trigger the starvation response. Again, this starvation response forces the
body to switch over to burning incredible amounts of fat for our daily energy
needs. Meanwhile, we will “sneak” adequate amounts of protein to the body every
few hours. Instead of attacking our own lean body mass, the body will use this
“easy” protein (the protein we eat) and turn it into glucose, which requires
even more fuel (body fat) to accomplish. Basically, we are going to throw all
kinds of things at the body to force it to burn more and more body fat, which
will result in ultra-fast weight loss.
NUTRIENTS
What the
Body Needs and What it Doesn’t
Our bodies
need nutrients, vitamins, minerals and water for good health and proper
functioning. Amazingly, the human body is capable of producing thousands of
nutrients that it needs to sustain its own life.
The
nutrients that the body manufactures itself are known as “nonessential”
nutrients because the body is able to actually produce those nutrients itself
and it’s not essential that you go out and get them from the food you eat.
Nonessential
nutrients: the nutrients manufactured by your body that you do not need to get
from the food you eat.
Conversely,
“essential nutrients” are those nutrients that you must get from the food you
eat. To sustain life, it is essential that you get these nutrients from your
dietary intake.
Essential
nutrients: the nutrients you must get from your diet because they are not being
made in the body.
Some
examples of essential nutrients include water, proteins, fats, vitamins and
minerals. One very common nutrient that has been purposely omitted here are
carbohydrates. The biological fact of the matter is that there is not a single
carbohydrate that is essential to the human diet…not sugar…not starch…not
fiber. The fact is, carbohydrates do not provide any nutritional benefit to the
human body—none whatsoever. You will learn a lot more about this in the coming
sections.
The 3-Week
Diet is about maximizing the nutrients that we do need while restricting those
that we do not. Really, it is all about eating the right foods in the right
quantities at the right time. When done correctly, we are able to put our body
into a 24/7 fat burning mode.
PROTEIN,
FAT, CARBOHYDRATES
The primary
nutrients humans consume are protein, fat and carbohydrates. Understanding the
role each of these primary nutrients plays on our health and on our ability to
gain or lose weight is an important feature of the 3-Week Diet. I strongly
encourage you to familiarize yourself with this portion of the 3-Week Diet, as
it will have long lasting ramifications on your daily life.
Protein
Proteins
are the foundation of your body’s cells, tissues and organs. They are essential
to your muscles, hair, skin, hair, organs and hormones. While the body can
survive without eating another carbohydrate and while it can last for extended
periods without eating fat, a lack of protein in your diet will cause
degeneration of your muscle tissue and organs, which will eventually lead to
death. Knowing how important protein is to the body, it is unbelievable to see
how many people still get most of their calories from high-carbohydrate diets.
Several
studies have shown that the recommended daily allowance for protein consumption
is far lower than it should be...especially for those engaged in regular
exercise. What this research has shown is that people following the “recommended
daily allowance” of protein consumption while engaging in regular physical
activity, were actually losing valuable muscle tissue because there was not
enough protein in the body to repair and rebuild their muscles after their
workouts.
Proteins are
made up of amino acids and there are just 20 amino acids that make up ALL human
proteins. Of these 20 amino acids, the body can only produce 12 of these
itself. This means the other eight amino acids must be obtained through the
foods you eat.
Lysine, leucine,
isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine are
the essential amino acids that are not made by the body (there are two others
necessary for infants and small children). We get these amino acids when we
consume protein sources like meat, fish, poultry and legumes.
Protein
sources that contain adequate amounts of all of the amino acids are called
“complete proteins.” Those food items that do not contain all or adequate
amounts of amino acids are know as “incomplete proteins.”
In general,
animal proteins (meat, fish, poultry, cheese, eggs) are considered “complete
proteins.” The “incomplete proteins” are those that are vegetable based,
usually in the form of grains, legumes, nuts and seeds. To get enough essential
amino acids through vegetable protein, one usually has to combine several
different food groups together in a strategic combination.
Breaking
down and processing protein takes a lot more energy and much more time than it
does to break down other nutrients. In other words, the body has to work a lot
harder to digest protein than it does with carbohydrates and fat.
The extra
energy it takes to break down and process protein reduces the amount of energy
your body receives from that food it consumed. Also, because it takes longer to
break down and to assimilate protein, the process of emptying the stomach takes
longer as well, which causes us to feel full longer, which reduces hunger
pangs.
It is
believed that the body can only use about 50% of the protein we eat. This means
the other 50% is eliminated from the body as waste because protein is not
stored in the body the same way that fat and carbohydrates are. So, when you
eat calories primarily from protein, you can rest assured that these protein
calories are repairing and rebuilding your body with the excess being
eliminated as waste. The extra protein will not be stored as body fat. As you
will see, this is in stark contrast to excess carbohydrates and fat we eat,
which are stored on our bodies in our fat cells instead of being eliminated.
Adding
protein to your meals causes your body to release a hormone called glucagon.
Glucagon works to slow down the harmful effect of excess carbohydrates from
being deposited into our fat cells. It does so by slowing the rate of
absorption of those carbohydrates. Additionally, there are new studies that
have shown that when the body releases glucagon (by consuming protein in your
diet), it also works to stimulate fat-burning by freeing up your stored body
fat, so that it can be used to fuel your body.
As you will
see, when we increase protein consumption and significantly decrease the amount
of carbohydrates we consume, we benefit from a dual fat-burning effect. On one
hand, when the body does not have carbohydrates to turn to, to fuel the body,
it begins to use stored body fat. Secondly, the release of glucagon into the
body appears to have the added effect of attacking the fat stores that the
insulin has worked to preserve. The 3-Week Diet is strategically designed to
take advantage of both these events.
Fat
Unfortunately,
fat has received a bad rap for decades. So much so, that it has become
ingrained in our minds to intuitively reach for anything that says “low fat”
even when we know better!
The notion
that fat makes us fat makes perfect sense at face value, especially when you
considered how calorically dense fat actually is. A gram of fat contains 9
calories while the same gram of protein or carbohydrates are only 4 calories.
Fat doesn’t
have anywhere near the thermic effect that protein does (only 3% vs 30%), so
consuming fat is not necessarily going to “turbo charge” our metabolism. On the
same token, it is important to note that fat by itself also does not make us
fat.
In fact,
fat plays an important role in many parts of the body. While we can go for long
periods of time without fat, we cannot live without it completely. Those fats
that we cannot live without are known as essential fatty acids (EFAs). Research
has shown that these EFAs actually help us burn the stubborn, stored body fat
that we want to get rid of, in addition to numerous other health benefits. In
the 3 Week Diet, we will focus on getting an optimal amount of these good fats,
to enhance our ability to lose weight fast, while, becoming more healthy.
Fat Cells
Recently,
research has shown that once a fat cell is created, it never goes away. Fat
cells get larger and larger until they can no longer hold stored fat. When this
happens, your body creates new fat cells to hold the excess. And again, once
those new fat cells are created, they are yours for life.
While we
cannot totally eliminate fat cells from the body, we can get rid of the gooey
fatty acids and dangerous triglycerides that those fat cells are holding which
will make us thinner.
Understand
that fat is actually the perfect fuel for your body. When we can switch your
body to using this “better” fuel, we can effectively turn your body into a 24/7
fat-burning machine.
Carbohydrates
Although
carbohydrates are the most common source of energy in humans, the simple fact
is, there is not a single carbohydrate that is essential to human life.
Carbohydrates
are classified into two types: Simple & Complex.
Simple
carbohydrates are also known as simple sugars. Simple sugars are those found in
refined sugars (and the foods they are made with like cookies, candies, etc)
but also in food like fruit and milk.
Complex
carbohydrates are known as starches. Starches include grain products such as
cereals, bread, pasta, crackers and rice. Like simple carbohydrates, complex
carbohydrates can be refined or left unrefined. Refined carbohydrates are
considered to be less healthy as the refining process strips away much of the
vitamins, protein and fiber. Unrefined carbohydrates cause less insulin spike
and because of that, they are considered to be the most healthy of the carbohydrates.
Regardless
of whether the carbohydrates are simple or complex, they both cause spikes in
blood sugar. As you will see shortly, these spikes in blood sugar are the #1
cause of unwanted body fat.
THE FOOD
PYRAMID AND OBESITY
Now, the
last thing I could ever be called is a “conspiracy theorist” but you might
think otherwise after reading what I have to say about the USDA Food Pyramid.
I’m certainly not trying to turn this diet into a political debate, but the
fact is, the USDA plays an important roll in the economy of our country. And
what goes into the food pyramid will, in turn, dictate how much money we spend
on certain food products.
Take a look
at the USDA Food Pyramid that has shaped the way most American eat over the
past few decades. As you can see, our own government recommends we get over 2/3
of our daily nutrition from carbohydrate laden foods (bread, rice, pasta,
fruits and vegetables) and only about 20% of our food from protein sources—the
primary nutrient that keeps us alive! It’s no wonder that nearly 50% of the US
population is considered to be overweight!
I think the
Harvard School of Public Health said it best in their famed article, What
Should You Really Eat?
Here’s an
interesting excerpt:
In the
children’s book Who Built the Pyramid? different people take credit for
building the once-grand pyramid of Senwosret. King Senwosret, of course, claims
the honor. But so does his architect, the quarry master, the stonecutters,
slaves, and the boys who carried water to the workers.
The USDA’s
MyPyramid also had many builders. Some are obvious—USDA scientists, nutrition
experts, staff members, and consultants. Others aren’t. Intense lobbying
efforts from a variety of food industries also helped shape the pyramid.
According
to federal regulations, the panel that writes the dietary guidelines must
include nutrition experts who are leaders in pediatrics, obesity,
cardiovascular disease, and public health. Selecting the panelists is no easy
task, and is subject to intense lobbying from organizations such as the
National Dairy Council, United Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Association, Soft
Drink Association, American Meat Institute, National Cattlemen’s Beef
Association, and Wheat Foods Council.
FIBER
Fiber is actually
a carbohydrate but I felt the need to devote a specific section to fiber
because of the misinformation surrounding it. In most low-carb diets, fiber
carbohydrates are not counted as “dangerous” weight-gaining carbohydrates. This
is because fiber cannot be digested by the human body. Since fiber is not
digested by the body, it does not create a rapid rise in blood sugar like other
carbohydrates.
But beware.
There are two schools of though on fiber. While modern medicine encourages a
diet high in fiber, there are other medical researchers that state too much
fiber is the cause of numerous diseases and irregularities such as
constipation, IBS, Chron’s disease, colon cancer and others. If you’d like to
see some of the latest research on fiber and how it may be causing irreparable
damage to your body, I strongly encourage you to visit www.GutSense.org.
Now, that
being said about fiber…in normal does, fiber is not going to create any
complications for you. However, you should be sure to get your fiber from
vegetables and salad greens rather than forcing yourself to get 30 grams per
day as recommended by the mainstream medical community.
If you are
concerned about constipation, some researchers believe that constipation itself
is caused by too much fiber in the diet. Increasing your water intake during
this diet is essential to good health, proper kidney functioning…and it has
remarkable effects on relieving constipation.
METABOLISM
The primary
function of our metabolism is simply to provide the right amount of fuel (at
the right time) to keep our bodies alive and functioning properly. It
accomplishes this through a complex series of chemical reactions whereby food
is converted to the energy we need. When we eat, the food we swallow enters our
digestive tract and is broken down by digestive enzymes. Carbohydrates are
converted to glucose, fats to fatty acids and protein to amino acids. Once
these nutrients are broken down, they are absorbed by the bloodstream and
carried into the cells of the body. Our metabolism then works to either release
these nutrients as energy, use them to build and repair lean tissue or store
them for later use.
There are
two basic metabolic processes—one is constructive and is responsible for
building and storing energy for the body. The other is destructive, though in a
positive sense, as it breaks down nutrient molecules to release energy. The
constructive metabolic process is called anabolism, while the destructive
process is called catabolism.
Anabolism:
promotes the growth of new cells, the maintenance and repair of tissues, and
the storage of energy—usually through body fat—for future use. Small nutrient
molecules are converted into larger molecules of protein, carbohydrates and
fat.
Catabolism:
is responsible for immediately providing the body energy to use. Instead of
building up, it breaks down the nutrient molecules to release energy.
These two
processes do not occur simultaneously but are balanced by the body based on
several factors.
Catabolism,
in particular—though some attribute this to overall metabolism—has three
components:
1. Basal metabolism: sometimes called
resting metabolism, this is the metabolism component responsible for keeping
you alive by ensuring normal body functions. Even if you were bedridden the whole
day, basal metabolism is still at work. Basal metabolism is metabolism’s main
component, as 60 to 70 percent of the calories from the food you eat are used
for this. People who want to lose weight usually aim for a higher basal
metabolic rate (BMR).
2. Physical movement: this can range
from a simple moving of your fingers to strenuous exercise. Usually 25 percent
of the calories you consume are for this purpose.
3. Thermic effect of food: this
indicates the digestion and processing of the food you take in. Depending on
the type of nutrient you consume, approximately 10% of the calories of the food
you eat are burned through this. As you will see, the digestion of certain
foods will require much more calorie expenditure than others. Protein takes a
lot of calories to digest while carbohydrates take far less.
Thus,
taking all this into account, here is our metabolism formula:
Calories
From Food = Calories Expended From Basal Metabolism (60-70%) + Calories
Expended By
Physical Movement (25%) + Calories Expended Digesting Food (10%)
What
Affects Metabolism?
Your
metabolic rate, or how fast or slow your metabolism works, is influenced by a
number of factors:
- Genetics:
yes, metabolic rate is also inherited. Sometimes this makes an entire world of
difference between a person who can eat almost everything and not gain an ounce
and a person who easily balloons after indulging just once.
- Age: the
younger you are, the faster your metabolism is. Metabolism slows down as you
age. Women’s metabolic rate starts falling at the age of 30; for men, decline
starts later at the age of 40.
- Gender:
men have a faster metabolic rate—usually 10-15 percent faster—than women
because their bodies have a larger muscle mass. Muscle plays a key role in a
fast metabolism, as will be discussed in exercise portion of the 3 Week Diet.
- Amount of lean body mass: as already mentioned above,
more muscle = faster metabolism.
- Diet: some foods will help
you-some will only harm you. While timing is not everything, meal frequency
greatly affects your metabolism.
- Stress
level: stress is inversely proportional to metabolism. The more stress you are
subjected to, the lower your metabolism will be.
- Hormones:
specific hormones metabolize specific nutrients. How well the hormones work,
then, directly affects metabolism. To a certain extent, diet and stress levels
affect the hormones involved in metabolism, as you will find out later.
Hormonal disorders or imbalances can affect metabolism as well.
Looking at
all these factors that influence metabolism, you now probably have a general
idea of what you need to do to increase your metabolism—accept the things you
cannot change, and work on those that you can!
A “fast”
metabolism is the true secret to maintaining a lean body.
HOW WE GET
FAT
Modern
medicine, weight loss “gurus” and so-call fitness “experts” have been telling
us the same ol’ outdated, bogus advice for years:
“Losing
weight is just a matter of eating less and exercising more” or
“We get fat
because we eat too much fat
These
ideologies are better known as the “Calories In/Calories Out” and the “Fat
Makes us Fat” theories that have been proven time and time again to be complete
nonsense. These diets fail to take in to account our bodies and how food is
metabolized and take the easy way out by implying that anyone who is overweight
is either eating too much fat or they’re just plain lazy. It points the finger
at us and it refuses to acknowledge what science has already proven…
Carbohydrates
Make Us Fat
I know…I
know…you’ve probably heard that one before. Perhaps you even gave it some
credence for a while. Maybe you’ve even tried a low-carb diet or the Atkins
Diet (or something similar) but found it just wasn’t for you. Unfortunately…if
you truly desire to lose weight fast, drastically reducing carbohydrates is an
absolute must.
If you
don’t want to…or just feel like you just can’t give up carbohydrates for the
next 3 weeks, then truthfully, there is nothing that can be done for you to
lose weight except for hours and hours in the gym and severe calorie
restriction over a period of 5-6 months. However, if you truly want to burn
10-20+ pounds of body fat in the next 21-days and if you’re willing to follow
this diet without deviation—then I personally guarantee that you will lose
weight.
If you
continue reading, you’re going to learn exactly why carbohydrates cause us to
get fat…and you’ll learn exactly what to do about it.
CONTROL
YOUR BLOOD SUGAR AND
YOU CAN
CONTROL YOUR WEIGHT FOREVER
We get fat
because of the carbohydrates we eat. If you want to burn fat and become lean,
you must accept this fact right now and you must hold this truth sacred.
When you
restrict carbohydrates in your diet, you will become leaner. This is an
absolute fact. When you increase your carbohydrate consumption, you will get
fatter. This is not disputed. This is simply a matter of the human body’s
response to your hormones and how they are affected by the foods we eat.
Here’s how
it works…
When we eat
carbohydrates, particularly those that are sweet or starchy, our blood sugar
increases rapidly. When our blood sugar increases, our pancreas secretes
insulin into the bloodstream. Insulin’s job is to bring our blood sugar back to
normal levels. It does this by moving the sugar out of the blood and into the
muscles, liver and fat cells. If not for insulin, this high blood sugar (aka
glucose) would be toxic. As you may know, diabetics need to add insulin to
their bodies to keep them alive and functioning.
So, insulin
is a good thing with regards to keeping us alive by alleviating high blood
sugar levels that are triggered by carbohydrate consumption.
BUT…insulin
is also very, very problematic with regards to our ability to lose weight.
As
mentioned, when blood sugar is high, insulin’s job is to move that sugar out of
the blood stream and into the liver and muscles to be used for energy. But
there’s more to it. Insulin is also a storage hormone. What this means is that
when insulin is present in the bloodstream, as it is when we consume
carbohydrates (sugar, starch), the excess carbohydrates (those that are not
needed right away for energy) are broken down and stored in our fat cells as
fat. When this happens, our fat cells get larger...and so do we!
And not
only does insulin force those excess carbohydrates and fat into our fat cells,
it also slams the brakes on our body’s ability to burn the fat that is already
stored in our fat cells.
So, as long
as there is high levels of insulin is flowing through your bloodstream (which
is only caused by carbohydrate consumption), your body will be working to store
fat rather than working to burn it.
You simply
cannot consume a carbohydrate-rich meal and burn fat at the same time. Your
body is either storing fat or burning it, depending on the food you eat. Now
that you know this, you can put yourself in control using the methods you’ll
learn in the 3-Week Diet.
A good
thing to keep in mind is this: For every gram of carbohydrates you eat, your
body is unable to burn at least that many grams of fat. And…so long as you are
eating carbohydrates, your body is storing everything it doesn’t need…right
into your fat cells (making you fatter). At the same time, those carbohydrates
are making it impossible for you to burn stored body fat.
Keep in
mind that our body is in constant need of energy—it needs energy whether we are
out for a morning jog, cooking dinner, sitting on the sofa watching television
or laying in bed sleeping. While we tend to think we only need energy when we
are physically exerting ourselves, you need to keep in mind that there is a lot
your body is doing “behind the scenes” even while you sleep. The fact is, our
bodies are at work 24/7 to keep us healthy and functioning. And because of
that, the body needs to fuel its work on a non-stop basis for as long as we
live.
Another
thing to keep in mind is that YOU can make a decision to have your body running
on carbohydrates or have it running on fat. On the 3 Week Diet, we will shift
from carbohydrate burning to high-octane fat burning instead.
Contrary to
popular belief, fat flows in an out of your fat cells (in the form of fatty
acids), on a continuous basis throughout the day, making itself available to be
used for energy. The problem is…this fat cannot and will not be used for energy
unless your insulin levels are way down. Insulin, however, will not be down so
long as you’re eating carbohydrates.
Now, when
we eat three meals per day and everything is working properly, your body will
become fatter after eating a carbohydrate-rich meal and leaner in between meals
after all the carbohydrates have been burned and the body begins to burn fat
because it has run out of carbohydrates.
The
problem, however, is that when blood sugar spikes and insulin is secreted,
blood sugar is normalized in a matter of minutes, while insulin remains “on
guard” in the bloodstream for the next couple of hours—preventing fat to be burned
during that time.
Understand
that various cells in the body have a need for fat. However, when those cells
that need fat to function properly are not getting the fat they need (because
of insulin present in the
bloodstream),
your blood sugar drops. Low blood sugar level is what tells your brain that
you’re hungry…and because you are hungry, you begin to eat again before those
fatty acids can ever be burned up. When you follow up with another
carbohydrate-rich meal, those fatty acids will need to be stored away because
your body is going to have to secrete insulin to lower blood sugar again…and to
use that blood sugar—instead of fat—for its energy for the next few hours. And
this starts the vicious cycle all over again—constantly prohibiting your body
from burning fat.
TRIGLYCERIDES
Remember
those fatty acids we talked about? Guess what happens when they are not used up
for energy? Well, what happens is they head back into the fat cells, where they
“hook up” with two other fatty acids and a glycerol molecule, to form what is
known as a triglyceride (triglyceride = 3 fatty acids +1 glycerol molecule).
And this is
not a good thing…
Triglycerides
are problematic because they are much larger than a fatty acid. In fact, they
are so large that they cannot leave the fat cells like those “free flowing”
fatty acids could. Because of this, they remain stuck inside the fat cells and
become the stubborn, stored body fat that we want to get rid of.
Triglycerides
cannot be burned for energy until they are broken down back into those smaller
“free flowing” fatty acids and released back into the bloodstream. This is why
so many people have so many problems with stubborn body fat. They can reduce
their calorie intake all they want but as long as they are consuming
carbohydrates, those triglycerides are going to remain intact!
So…the
question becomes, “how do we break these triglycerides apart, so that that they
can be used for energy?”
The answer
is simple: significant carbohydrate restriction
I know it probably sounds like I’m beating a
dead horse here, but it is imperative that you understand this: carbohydrates
cause insulin to be secreted into the bloodstream. Insulin causes your body to
store excess calories as fat AND prevents fat from being released from your fat
cells to be burned for energy. To put is simply, carbohydrates = excess body
weight and fat storage.
Remember,
nothing causes us to burn fat faster than starvation. But…starvation has
negative consequences on our lean body mass. So, ideally, we want the body to
“think” we are starving so that it is breaking down triglycerides and burning
that fat for our energy needs.
Since the
body relies primarily on carbohydrates for its energy, when we remove those
carbohydrates, the body will be forced to get its fuel elsewhere. Now, in the
case of starvation, the body would normally begin to break down lean body mass
for glucose (energy) via a process known as glucogenesis. However, since we are
“sneaking” small amounts of protein to the body, we end up getting all the
“benefits” of starvation without the loss of our precious lean body mass.
Now,
glucogenesis will be completed by using the protein we are getting from our
diet which spares our lean body mass. And, consuming less carbohydrates
increases glucogenic activity. The presence of glucogenic activity means we
cannot store fat because that glucogenic activity needs all the fat it can get
to be able to fuel the glucogenic process. In other words, glucogenesis
requires a lot of energy…and it will burn even more fat to supply that energy.
This
results in the ability to turn our bodies into a 24/7 fat burning machine. And
needless to say, maximizing the hours in a day that you body is burning fat is
the ultimate key to a sexy, lean body. Again, your body NEEDS energy on a 24/7
basis. Without carbohydrates, your body is forced to turn to an alternate fuel
source to keep you running all day long.
So, let’s
get now get our bodies revved up to burn body fat on a 24/7 basis.
HOW TO GET
THIN
As I’ve
pointed out, the fastest and easiest way to lose weight is to stop using
dietary carbohydrates for energy and to start burning our own body fat instead.
Once you restrict carbohydrates from your diet (and keep protein intake up),
your body has absolutely no choice but to break down and burn body fat for the
fuel it needs. When your fat cells begin breaking down those stubborn
triglycerides (the stored, stubborn body fat that is stuck inside the fat
cells) and releases those fatty acids back into the bloodstream to be used for
energy, your fat cells get smaller…and so do you!
You will be
truly amazed at just how much fat you will burn once you restrict carbohydrates
from your diet. Remember, your body needs fuel all day long…it needs fuel to
blink, think, talk and walk…it needs fuel for everything you do. On the 3 Week
Diet, we will use nothing but stored, gooey body fat to keep us going.
Losing
weight on the 3 Week Diet is a matter of strategic eating—it’s a combination of
reduced carbohydrates and eating very specific types of proteins and fats that
are consumed in the appropriate amounts at just the right time. This diet alone
will produce amazing weight loss. However, by following the 3 Week Diet
exercise program, we can nearly double our weight loss goals, while obtaining
some very favorable body composition changes.
DIET
OVERVIEW
Following
the 3 Week Diet typically results in body fat losses of ¾ to 1-pound of fat
every day. When you add the 3 Week Workout to the diet, fat loss is typically
over 1-pound per day. Because of this, you will start to see some nice progress
in just a couple of days after starting.
In
following this diet without deviation, I have yet to find anyone not being able
to lose at least 10 pounds in the 21-day period. During my trial of this
diet—before ever releasing it publicly—I lost 23 lbs in 21-days. It truly was
nothing short of miraculous…and I have been excited to share this breakthrough
ever since.
The 3-Week
Diet is similar to a Protein Sparing Modified Fast, in that we will “trick” the
body into entering a 24/7 fat-burning “starvation” mode, while we provide it
with the appropriate amount of protein that it needs so that lean body mass is
spared…not to mention the added thermic effect of digesting that protein. In
addition to carbohydrate restriction and strategic protein consumption, we will
add quality, healthy fats to enhance our fat-burning goals.
While
carbohydrates are NOT essential to the human body, we cannot live without
protein and fat. Interestingly, we could eat all the carbohydrates we wanted
and could still die of starvation if we did not have fat and protein in our
diet.
We restrict
carbohydrates in this diet because it immediately stops adding to the fat cells
we already have AND it forces our bodies to burn fat for all of our daily
energy needs.
We limit
the fat in this diet to EFAs (essential fatty acids) and the trace amounts of
fat in the allowed foods. Limiting (but not completely eliminating) fat will
force our bodies to burn stored fat rather than to use dietary fat (the fat we
eat) for our energy needs. Keep in mind that our bodies do need a certain
amount of fat every day for proper functioning. However, your body doesn’t care
if it gets the fat from your diet or from the fat stored on your hips, thighs,
belly and butt. So, we will give your body the kind of fat it loves and needs
in the form of EFAs.
We will
increase our protein consumption because it helps preserve lean body mass and
it keeps our metabolisms cranked up. Also, digesting protein burns a ton of
calories due to its chemical structure that makes it far more difficult to
digest than fat and carbohydrates. Protein keeps you full for hours and the
amino acids in protein are an absolute requirement to sustain your life and to
keep you healthy. Keep in mind that this diet is about maximizing what we need
while reducing/restricting what we don’t.
MEAL
FREQUENCY
Understand
that your body does not store protein like it does with fat and carbohydrates.
The protein you eat will either be used to repair and rebuild or eliminated as
waste—it is not stored as fat.
After about
three hours, the amino acids taken from your last protein-based meal are no
longer in your bloodstream. At this point, your body begins to seek out the
amino acids it needs from your lean body mass. Eating every three hours
prevents this from happening.
Eating
frequently ensures your lean body mass stays intact and that your muscles are
not being broken down and used for energy. Remember, the more lean mass you
have, the faster your metabolism will be.
Frequent
meals also help to control cravings and binge eating. When blood sugar drops
and tells you that you’re hungry, it’s usually too late to eat a smart meal. By
this time, you just want food and you go after what ever it is that you crave.
When you eat strategically, you will never get to this point and you can always
have a plan for your next meal.
Frequent
meals keep blood sugar levels normalized, which keeps insulin levels at bay.
This means you will be burning fat rather than storing it.
Missing a
meal is a cardinal sin on the 3-Week Diet. The simple fact of the matter is
that when you skip a meal, your metabolism slows down and puts your body into a
catabolic state. Never, ever skip a meal! I know it will be difficult to eat
5-6 times at first but you must understand that your body needs amino acids…even
when you skip a meal. The key to pulling this off successfully is to have
preplanned meals for every day. In the diet portion of the 3-Week Diet, you’ll
learn some “secrets” on how to do this effectively.
Meal
frequency is a key component to losing weight on the 3 Week Diet. By eating
five meals a day as prescribed in the 3 Week Diet, you will significantly
increase your metabolism, effectively build lean muscle and increase the amount
of fat you burn on a daily basis.
WATER
Most people
I know are guilty of not drinking enough water. Drinking adequate amounts of
every day is absolutely essential for weight loss. If you don’t drink enough
water, you simply will not get the full weight loss benefits that you’re after.
Water helps
your kidneys work at full capacity. When your kidneys aren’t working at full
capacity, the liver needs to help out. The problem with this is that the liver
is responsible for metabolizing fat in your body. When your liver is helping
out the kidneys, it can’t do its job at full capacity as far as metabolizing
the fat we need to burn.
When on the
3 Week Diet, you will lose water weight along with body fat. Remember, water
weight is still weight and partly responsible for bloat and tight fitting
clothes. The fact is, carbohydrates are hydrophilic (which means they cause
water retention) and water retention is not something we want. Protein, on the
other hand, encourages water to be released from the body.
Once you
restrict your carbohydrate intake, you will begin to let loose of that stagnant
water that is being stored in your body. Because of this, it is essential that
you consume enough water every day to avoid dehydration. Further, water acts
your body’s filter, flushing our dead cells and waste. Because you are burning
a great deal of fat during the 3 Week Diet, you will need ample water to help
flush out the by-product waste of fat burning.
You will
find that when you restrict the amount of carbohydrates you eat and increase
the amount of water you drink, your body stop storing water and will use it
more effectively. This results in a lighter and “cleaner” body.
My advice
is to drink 8-10 glasses of water every single day. This amounts to about a
half gallon or water. This may seem like a lot of water at first and you may
have to actually force yourself to drink that much. However, once you do this
for a while, you will regain your natural thirst and actually be thirsty for
this much water every single day. And again, once you begin drinking this much
water, you will find that your body will not retain water, but will instead use
it to flush your system keeping it clean and functioning right.
DIET
ESSENTIALS
The 3-Week
Diet requires some essential supplements for maximum effectiveness and
ultra-fast, significant fat loss. The following supplements are required during
the 3-Week Diet. They will help your body run efficiently, help burn fat at
maximum potential and will provide many healthy benefits.
Essential
Fatty Acids (EFA’s)
Your
health, good or bad, is driven in large part by the level of inflammation in
your body and the amount of lean muscle mass you have. In fact, there are
several diseases (including obesity) that are linked to inflammation and the
lack of muscle mass.
When you
control the inflammation in your body, you can effectively control the onset of
numerous diseases, including type II diabetes, heart disease, depression,
arthritis and obesity.
Muscle mass
decreases over time, especially when we are not eating enough protein and not
engaging in exercise. The less muscle mass we have, the more weight we will
gain. Lean muscle mass is crucial to keeping body fat at bay.
A healthy
body is one that has low levels of inflammation and higher levels of muscle
mass. While many attribute high levels of inflammation and loss of muscle mass
to aging, the fact is, we can keep our bodies young through proper nutrition
and exercise. We get old from the inside out. So, it is important to keep
inflammation down and exercise up.
Essential
fatty acids are exactly that: essential. EFA’s are mainly polyunsaturated fats.
Humans must ingest them because our bodies are unable to create them. Once
broken down, EFA’s contribute to vital organ function. EFA’s regulate body
functions and are essential to cardiac cells. Other functions impacted by EFA’s
are heart rate, blood pressure, clotting, fertility and conception and immune
system functions.
You may
have heard EFA’s referred to as Omega-3’s or linolenic acid and Omega-6’s
linoleic acid. The American Heart Association recommends a diet that has EFA’s
included at least two times weekly, and they say that you should eat oily fish
to get the benefit. Fish oil capsules are a great way
to get your
essential fatty acid needs. To maximize your effectiveness on How to Lose
Weight Fast, essential fatty acid intake is imperative.
The two
major forms of omega-3 fats used by the body are (EPA) eicosapentaenoic acid
and (DHA) docosahexaenoic acid.
Research has shown that a person who keeps a diet high in
Omega-3’s is at low risk for cardiovascular diseases. Other research has also
suggested that EFA’s may reduce depression and feelings of suicide.
You may be wondering, how will this help my diet? Well, the
key to this fatty acid is that during the metabolism of these acids, energy is
generated in the cells. During your diet, your energy sources from protein and
essential fatty acids will help your metabolism to continue running and burning
those extra carbohydrates (or stored fat) for fuel.
Fish oil also has other benefits, such as:
- Reduces
inflammation
- Eliminates
joint pain
- Improves vision
- Increases mental focus
- Treats
ulcers, Chron’s Disease, and colitis
- Provides
healthier gums
-Gives
you smoother skin, hair and nails
- Decreases
triglyceride levels
- Increases daily
calorie burn
After 30-days taking EPA/DHA supplements, you will really
see and feel these benefits.
EPA/DHA balance should be 2:1. Based on the research I’ve
read, the appropriate amount is around 2g EPA to 1g DHA each day. For most
“regular” strength fish oils on the market, this comes out to about 10 EPA/DHA
capsules each day or 5 teaspoons of straight fish oil. This may sound like a
lot but it will get your EPA/DHA levels up to where they need to be for optimum
health and ease of fat burning.
Whey Protein
Whey protein is considered a “complete protein” in that it
has all of the amino acids you need to sustain life. In the past, whey protein
shakes were awful and gritty. Science has come a long way, however, in making these
shakes a lot more tolerable.
Do they taste like your favorite milkshake topped with
whipped cream and a cherry? Hardly…but depending on the brand and the flavor,
there are some really good choices out there that are actually pretty good.
And, by adding some sugar-free flavored syrups (like they use in coffee shops),
you can incorporate some good variety and really make some very tasty shakes.
When choosing a Whey Protein to use in this diet, be sure to
choose a brand that allows you to keep carbohydrates as low as possible (no
more than 2 grams per scoop). Additionally, during this diet, you will want to
keep fat as low as possible as well (no more than 2 grams per scoop). This will
ensure the best possible conditions for your weight loss goals.
Depending on your weight, you may need more than one scoop.
If you were to take two scoops, just be sure that you are not exceeding 4 grams
of carbohydrates. 4 grams of carbohydrates will not have much of an impact on
your blood sugar.
As you will see, whey protein will make up a large component
of the 3-Week Diet. For some, purchasing whey protein powder to make up many of
their meals for the over the next 21-days may seem expensive, but when you
consider that you can get all your meals for the day for about $10, this is
actually pretty cheap. Plus, you’ll find that a lot of time is freed up that is
normally spent on cooking and eating meals, which gives you more time to take a
walk or engage in other exercise.
CLA
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) has excited many researchers
over the past few years. The fact is, numerous studies have shown CLA to
provide a host of benefits including combating diabetes, building lean muscle
mass, thwarting cancer, keeping fat cells from becoming larger and dramatically
reducing body fat.
CLA helps to move the fat you eat into your muscle cells
instead of being stored as body fat. It then activates certain enzymes in your
body to force your muscles to burn that fat—especially during exercise.
As mentioned, CLA has also been shown to prevent fat cells
from getting fatter, so even when you’ve finished the 3-Week Diet, CLA can help
keep the fat from ever coming back.
When combined with the 3-Week Diet, CLA can nearly double
your fat loss when taken in the range of 6-8 grams per day.
Leucine
As you may recall, Leucine is an essential amino acid that
is found in dietary protein. While researchers have known about Leucine for
decades, only recently have they determined the amazing benefits that Leucine
has on the body.
Leucine is an extremely valuable BCAA (branched chain amino
acid) due to its ability to switch on the body’s muscle building process as
well as to preserve lean muscle mass when dieting. Leucine has been proven to
be the most important amino acid to muscle building.
Researchers at the University of Illinois conducted studies
that examined weight loss diets containing 10 grams of leucine per day with 125
grams total of protein per day with a minimum of 2.5 grams of leucine at each
meal. In two separate studies, the groups consuming high leucine diets had
greater weight loss, greater fat loss and better preservation of lean body
mass.
Understand that whey protein is a complete protein which is
a great source of Leucine. To ensure that we are getting enough Leucine,
however, we will add additional Leucine to our diet every day.
Greens+
Greens+ is full of vitamins and minerals and it is loaded
with free radical absorbing antioxidants. It contains electrolytes (magnesium,
potassium, sodium) that are extremely important on a low-carb diet. Greens+ is
also packed with base producing compounds that neutralize dietary acids and it
is rich with healthy bacteria that will help to detoxify the body as we rapidly
release toxins from the fat cells as they are used up for energy.
Greens+ is a brand name that gets rave reviews. You can
definitely find something similar, but this product does get my personal
recommendation.
Fat Burner (Optional)
Ok, fat burners are a controversial subject—especially with
me. Most people who buy fat burners look to them as a “magic pill” that will
cause weight loss without dieting and exercise. We all wish this was the case,
but sadly, it is not. Most fat burners provide very little benefits in terms of
weight loss, but with a proper diet and exercise program, they can add
significant results. I’m going to share my “ultimate fat burning” combo with
you in a minute.
As far as fat burners go, the most effective one to ever hit
the market was Ephedra. Ephedra is both a thermogenic and a stimulant…and it
worked extremely well. Unfortunately, Ephedra was used irresponsibly by a few,
which resulted in untimely deaths that were linked to Ephedra. Because of this,
over-the-counter Ephedra based diet pills were banned in 2006.
Since the Ephedra ban, many manufacturers began trying to
find something to compare to Ephedra. Unfortunately, most of these fall short.
Fat Burners are definitely not required on the 3-Week Diet.
The reason I have listed them as optional is because they do have advantages in
keeping the metabolism high as your body starts to slow down when switching
over from carbohydrate-burning to fat-burning and they provide some extra,
focused energy that helps with your workouts.
Personally, I like the added effect that a good fat burner
provides. The problem, again, is that most fat burners are worthless.
In all my trials, the very best, legal fat burner on the
market is a ECY Stack: Ephedrine (not Ephedra), Caffeine, Yohimbe.
- Ephedrine
works much like Ephedra in weight loss/fat loss
- Caffeine improves energy and alertness
- Yohimbe is a proven fat burner
The great thing about this is that the ingredients are
relatively cheap. The bad thing is that I haven’t found anything that combines
everything into one, so you would need to purchase these separately and combine
them yourself.
Here’s my suggestion for those new to this fat burning
combo:
- Ephedrine
HCL: 25mg
- Caffeine: 200mg
- Yohimbine HCL: 5mg
To start, I recommend this combo be taken about 30 minutes
before a meal and/or 30-minutes prior to your workout. To start, I suggest
taking this combo two times a day (once before your first meal and once before
your workout). On non-workout days, you can take with any other meal, as long
as there are 4-hours in between doses).
Depending on your tolerance level, you can increase to three
doses per day and/or increase dosage amounts (no more than 100mg of Ehpedrine
in 24 hours!).
Be aware of any changes in blood pressure, heart
palpitations, increased body temperature, etc
Again, while this is a very effective fat burner, it is not
a “magic pill.” This is optional on the 3-Week Diet and caution should be
taken. Listen to your body and listen to your doctor.
If you’re looking for a good quality all-in-one fat burning
product (without combining three ingredients), the best one I have found is
Lipo-6. This particular product is a favorite amongst bodybuilders who are
seeking to lose fat.
LET’S GET STARTED
Now that you understand the reason behind the 3-Week Diet,
we can jump into the specifics on how to set up and make this diet work for
you. In the 3-Week Diet “Diet” manual, you’ll learn how to calculate body fat
and learn how much protein you need every day to ensure you are burning fat and
maintaining lean body mass. You’ll also learn the “secret” method for
maintaining your ideal body weight forever.
In the 3-Week Diet Exercise manual, you’ll get some
incredibly effective, fat-burning exercises that combine with the diet portion
of the 3-Week Diet, to produce unbelievable amounts of body fat loss.
In the Motivation & Mindset manual, you’ll learn some
very effective ways to make weight loss easier and more enjoyable.
I truly
believe that if you follow the 3-Week Diet, you will quickly achieve your
weight loss goals. I wish you all the best in your efforts and I do look
forward to hearing about your body-transformation success!


