The 20/20 Diet (18 page)

Some examples of sensible rewards that are not food related include

having a massage, facial, manicure, or pedicure; taking a bubble bath

while reading a book; or playing outside with the kids or pets.

You could also set up incentives for each weight los
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s milestone

you reach. One study shows that people who have cash incentives to

lose weight actually tend to lose more. So maybe you start a pool or

friendly competition with friends.

Write your list of rewards and keep it near you so that when you

feel like “rewarding” yourself in a negative way, you have healthy

options right at your fingertips.

My Healthy Reward List

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The 5-Day Sustain Guidelines

Now that you ar
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e ready for the second phase, which is also only five

days long, you’ll start enjoying more foods in addition to the 20/20

Foods. Just like Phase 1, you’ll have a list of nutritionally balanced

meals that we’ve created for you, and you’ll notice that each meal

includes at least two of the 20/20 Foods as well as a protein source.

You’
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ll continue to space out your four daily meals by approximately

four hours.

Because we want to avoid rebellion, we’re switching things up a lit-

tle in Phase 2 by adding more variety. These new foods will also offer

a whole host of nutritional benefits, and give you the range of vitamins and minerals your body needs.

Phase 2: The 5-Day Sustain | 107

Here they are:

Power Proteins

Super Starches

Chicken breast

Oats

Tuna (chunk light, canned in

Brown rice

water)

Corn

Black beans

Prime Produce—Veggies

Fit Fats

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Carrots

Avocado

Tomatoes

Sunflower seeds

Mushrooms

Cashews

Prime Produce—Fruits

Blueberries

Oranges

Grapes

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Why Are These Foods Added in Phase 2?

We picked this specific list of foods to add into the second phase for

several reasons. The “power proteins” listed here offer a high pro-

tein content, with l
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ow saturated fat. They are all lean proteins, which

according to emerging research, can help increase thermogenesis

and help maintain muscle. They also bring other essential and energy-

providing vitamins and nutrients to the mix. These foods are easy to

find at any grocery store, they’re inexpensive, and they’re delicious.

The “prime produce” fruits and vegetables made the list because

they
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are rich in vibrant colors, and those colors are tied to health-

protecting antioxidants. For example, tomatoes get their red color

from pigments called lycopene, and carrots get their orange hue from

beta-carotene. These tasty vegetables act as powerful antioxidants in

108 | The 20/20 Diet

our bodies. Needless to say, fresh fruits and vegetables are also rich

in essential vitamins.

The “super starches” are standouts because they are whole grains,

which means they are sources of complex carbohydrates that your

body needs. In their whole, unprocessed forms (meaning their bran

and germ haven’t been removed), these starches are delicious and fill-

ing additions to your balanced meals. You need super star
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ches because

of their B vitamins and key minerals; plus, they provide slow-burning

energy. Carbohydrates are your body’s preferred fuel source, but the

portions in these meals are designed to fuel your daily activity without creating surpluses that prevent you from losing fat.

The “fit fats” added in this second phase offer your body heart-

healthy fats. These foods are also packed with vitamins, minerals, and

fiber, all of which play key roles in accomplishing the goals of this

phase. They also increase your body’s satiety, so you feel fully satisfied for longer periods of time, and they i
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ncrease your body’s absorption of

antioxidants and vitamins.

These categories by themselves are important, but as we talked

about earlier, the way they’re combined within each meal is also

significant. The combination of antioxidant-rich produce, whole-

some starch, lean protein, and heart-healthy fat provides a broad

spectrum of nutrients at every meal. They also complement each

other in important ways. For example, the protein works together

with the starches by slowing down your digestion of healthy

starches; this be
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tter regulates your blood sugar and insulin levels

and thus provides your body with carbohydrate fuel in a time-

released manner. The result is better blood sugar and insulin reg-

ulation. (In other words, no sugar highs and crashes.) Likewise,

fats work well with proteins to provide the raw materials your body

needs for healing and repairing cells. The idea is to eat these foods

toge
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ther at each meal to maximize their benefits. It’s not just what

you eat; your meals also have to have the proper balance. With the

meal options you’ll find later in this chapter, I’ve taken out all the

guesswork for you.

Phase 2: The 5-Day Sustain | 109

Practice Sensible Splurging

Perfectly adhering to any diet 100 percent of the time is a challenge in the real world, and that’s where both you and I live. By starting this

diet, you are not entering into some kind of parallel universe where

you suddenly don’t want to eat anything except the foods listed here.

But I don’t want you to experience the guilt commonl
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y associated

with “cheating” on a diet. Instead, I want you to get into the mindset

of “sensible splurging.” Here’s how it works.

Starting in Phase 2, you are al owed a sensible splurge once or twice

a week. Studies show that people who know there is a splurge available

to them tend to actual y splurge less and be more successful on weight

loss programs. Just knowing that you
can
have a splurge is often enough to satisfy you, and you don’t have to actual y fol ow through with it.

Sure, you might be thinking, “Oh great, this is some psychobabble

that’s just trying to talk me out of my gl
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ass of wine.” No, it’s real y not,

because I’m also telling you that you can absolutely have the splurge and it will not total y derail your weight loss, if you fol ow the rules. That’s a big “if” there, and I want to make sure you caught it. There are rules for this—having a splurge does not mean going rogue.

First, you need to understand what a sensible splurge looks like.

Because if you think a bucket of popcorn the size of your head or a

king-size candy bar you picked up in the checkout line is “sensible,”

you are kidding yourself. A reasonable splurge portion should not

exceed approximat
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ely 100 calories. Here are some examples:

4-ounce glass of red or white wine

14 potato chips

2 store-bought chocolate chip cookies

1-ounce bar of dark chocolate

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4 oz. gummy bears (research count)

2 bite-size candy bars

3 vanilla wafer cookies

110 | The 20/20 Diet

Before you indulge in a splurge, I want you to complete a 30-second

assessment. Here are the questions:

 Is there an emotional reason why I want this splurge (sadness,

stress, or boredom) and if so, is there another way I can

address the emotion without turning to food?

 Is it enough just knowing that a splurge is allowed and avail-

able to me, so I can skip it this time?

 Would a glass of regular or sparkling water or a cu
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p of

tea help this desire pass?

 Can I distract myself from this desire for a splurge

by doing another activity (take a bath, go on a short

walk, etc.)?

Make an honest effort to bypass the splurge if you can. Even doing

so occasionally will demonstrate to you that it’s actually not that bad

to go without it. If, however, the ans
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wer to all four of the above ques-

tions is “no,” then go ahead with the splurge, but ONLY if you have

already exercised or will definitely be exercising later that day. That

exercise is a key component to making these splurges fit into your

overall weight loss plan.

If you’re worried about not being able to stop at a 100-calorie

splurge, remember that, beyond that amount, it will start to harm

your efforts to reach your goals. You have now attached consequences,

either positive or negative, to your behavior so you’ll find that you’re able to control i
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t better than ever.

Phase 2 Seasonings

In Phase 1, you seasoned your meals exclusively with garlic, cinna-

mo
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n, or lemon. The idea was to let your body and taste buds get used

to enjoying the taste of healthy foods while you rid yourself of excess

sodium and help reduce your cravings for salt. The goal is to get you

to a point where you don’t even miss the salt, and if you were to take a Phase 2: The 5-Day Sustain | 111

bite of one of the salt-laden foods that you used to eat on a daily basis, you’d probably want to spit it out immediately. The same goes for

sugar—I want you to feel like even your formerly favorite sweets are

overpowering because you are now conditioned differently.

In the second phase, you can start adding in some additional sea-

sonings to your meal routine if you want to. Select salt-free season-

ings (such as fresh or dried herbs) that produce a flavor a
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nd aroma

that satisfies your hankerings. As you’ll see, we’ve already added new

seasonings to the meals in this phase, including cilantro, crushed red

pepper, and Italian herbs, but it’s perfectly OK to add more variety if

you’d like.

Phase 2 Meals

When it comes to portion sizes, it’s important that you continue to

learn by doing, which means sticking t
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o the portions and proportions

we’ve designed for you in these meals. The ingredients work together

to give your body the right balance of protein, fat, fiber, and carbohy-

drates so that you are energized and satisfied but not stuffed.

The same rule applies for men as in Phase 1: double the portion of

one meal each day, before your most active time of day.

Breakfast Options

Blueberry AlmSTREET

ond Oatmeal

Chop 2 tablespoons unsalted raw or dry-roasted almonds; set

aside. In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup each unsweetened

whey protein powder and rolled oats. Prepare with hot water

to desired consistency (suggested 1/4 cup) and add a dash of

cin
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namon. Top with 1 cup fresh blueberries and the chopped

almonds. (Options: use 3/4 cup frozen, thawed blueberries in

place of fresh; use sliced almonds.)

112 | The 20/20 Diet

Mexi Omelet

Whisk 1 large egg and season with 1/4 teaspoon minced gar-

lic and 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional). In a medium

pan, cook the egg with 1 cup fresh spinach and 1/2 cup frozen,

thawed corn. Top with 1/4 of a ripe avocado, sliced. Pair with 1

small (about 2 ¾) apple of your choice (Red Deliciou
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s, Golden

Delicious, Granny Smith), skin on.

Orange Parfait

Layer a single-serve container of nonfat (0%) vanilla Greek yogurt

(made with real sugar, not artificial sweetener) with chopped

sections from 1 small orange (seeds removed), 2 tablespoons rye

flakes, and 2 tablespoons raw or dry-roasted, unsalted sunflower

seeds. (Option: replace rye flakes w
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ith rolled oats and pair parfait

with green tea so you still have two 20/20 Foods.)

Peanut Butter Raisin Spread

Place 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter in a small bowl. Warm

in the microwave for 30–45 seconds. Immediately stir in 1 ½ table-

spoons unsweetened whey protein powder, 1 tablespoon water,

and 1 tablespoon each raisins and dry rolled oats. Serve as a spread

with 1 small (
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about 2 ¾) apple of your choice (Red Delicious,