TO AVOID SUGAR, YOU HAVE TO KNOW WHERE IT HIDES
Choose foods with five grams of sugar per serving or less.
Sugar hides in foods under clever names like beet sugar, brown sugar, cane sugar, confectioner’s sugar, corn syrup, dextrose, fructose, high-fructose corn syrup, invert sugar, lactose, maltodextrin, malitol (a sugar alcohol), mannitol (a sugar alcohol) sorbitol (a sugar alcohol), sucrose, and turbinado sugar. These sugars are in everything from protein bars and shakes to breads and diary.
Sugar is found not only in things that are sweet but in processed food like ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and BBQ sauce.
STOP THE SUGAR BLUES
Go to the fridge and pantry and rid your life of simple sugar items.
Buy apples, pears, berries, and citrus foods instead.
Graze on healthy snacks throughout the day.
Drink lots of water.
Cut back on caffeine.
ADD TO LOSE
EVERY DAY FOR THE NEXT FOURTEEN DAYS, ADD IN THE FOLLOWING FOODS:
Eggs (2 daily)
Oatmeal (1 cup daily)
Hormone-Balancing, Detox Vegetables (2-3 cups daily)
Fresh Fruit (2 servings is 2 whole fruits)
Water and Lemon Juice
Whey Protein Shake (8-ounce serving daily)
DEPRIVATION DOESN’T WORK
Eat a salad the size of both hands put together. This equals a little more than a cup of greens.
Eat fish, poultry, and lean meats the size and thickness of the center of your palm. This equates to four ounces of meat.
Eat a serving of hard cheese, salad dressing, oil, nut butter, nuts, or seeds the size of two thumbs. This measurement equals two tablespoons or, in the case of cheese, one ounce.
Eat a serving or veggies, chopped fresh fruit, milk, low-fat cottage cheese, or Greek-yogurt the size of your fist. The same goes for cereal, rice, pasta, cooked grains, and cooked beans or legumes. A fist-size portion is the same as one cup.
EAT FIVE TIMES A DAY
CREATING YOUR MEALS
This sample menu gives you the right complement of foods for the day: four protein, three veggies, two grains, two fruits, and one fat.
Protein (2 eggs, for example)
Grain (1 cup of oatmeal, for example)
Fruit (1 cup of fresh berries, for example)
Protein shake (scoop of whey mixed with water and fresh fruit, for example)
4 ounces of protein (baked chicken breast, for example)
1 cup of a vegetable or 1 baked sweet potato
¼ avocado or 1 cup of chopped fresh veggies, for example
4 ounces of protein (sirloin steak, for example)
Grain (1 cup of brown rice, for example)
Vegetable (1 cup of steamed broccoli, for example)
AN OVERVIEW OF MY 5 + 2 EATING PLAN
Begin my 5 + 2 Plan only after you’ve completed the two-week jump start.
Each day, eat five meals: breakfast, lunch, and dinner, plus a midmorning and mid-afternoon snack.
Choose four proteins, three vegetables, two fruits, two grains, and one fat from the hormone/balancer/detox list of foods.
Eat a serving of protein at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and one snack. Add a slow-digesting carb, such as a vegetable, oatmeal, beans, or legumes, whole-grain bread, or brown rice, at lunch and dinner.
Limit your intake of whole grains to no more than twice a day.
Add veggies to two of your meals and one snack or to a protein shake.
Eat low-fat dairy foods (including hard cheeses) sparingly- no more than two servings a day. But remember: no milk.
Eat two servings of fresh fruit daily. Enjoy them with meals, as desserts, or as snacks and try to combine them with protein.
Eat a variety of foods each week. Rotate your fruits, veggies, and protein selections frequently.
Drink three liters of water daily.
Read more in Jackie Warner's "This is Why You're Fat (And How to Get Thin Forever)" from Grand Central Publishing.