The 20/20 Diet (19 page)

Golden Delicious, Granny Smith), skin on, sliced.

Green Grape Smoothie

In blender, combine a single-serve container of nonfat (0%) vanilla

G
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reek yogurt (made with real sugar, not artificial sweetener), 3/4

cup green grapes, 1/4 cup spinach, 1/4 cup unsweetened whey

protein powder, and 2 tablespoons water. Whip until smooth.

Add 1/4 of a ripe avocado, 1 tablespoon rye flakes, and a handful

of ice and whip to desired consistency.

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Lunch Options

Chilled Chicken Corn Salad

In a medium bowl, combine 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil,

1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic,

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional), 3 ounces diced cooked

boneless, skinless chicken breast, and 1/2 cup frozen, thaw
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ed corn.

Serve over 1 cup of greens of your choice, or toss with the greens.

Tuna Salad Over Greens

Chop 2 tablespoons walnuts; set aside. In a small bowl, combine

3 ounces chunk light tuna canned in water (drained, rinsed) with

1 ½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 1/4 teaspoon salt-free dried

Italian herb seasonings, and 1/2 cup cooked and chilled brown

rice. Serve over 1 cup greens of your c
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hoice (baby spinach, arugula,

watercress, romaine) and garnish with the walnuts.

Open-Faced Egg Avocado Salad Sandwich

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 of a ripe avocado, mashed, with

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper

(optional), and 1 large chopped hard-boiled egg. Spoon onto

1 slice (1 ounce) whole-grain rye bread and serve with 1 cup baby

carrots and 1/4 c
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up fresh seedless grapes. (Option: if you can’t find

100 percent whole-grain rye bread, look for a multigrain 100 per-

cent whole-grain bread that includes rye, or use a different 100

percent whole-grain bread and pair with green tea.)

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Chicken Avocado Lettuce Wraps

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 of a ripe avocado, mashed, with

1/4 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/8 teaspoon black pepper, and 3 ounces

diced cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast. Fill 2 outer romaine

lettuce leaves with mixture and top with 2 crushed rye crisps.

114 | The 20/20 Diet

Black Bean and Veggie Platter

In a medium pan, sauté 1 cup spinach, 1/2 cup chopped mush-

rooms, and 1/4 cup sliced grape tomatoes in 1 tablespoon extra-

virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup low-sodium vegetable broth, 1/2 teaspoon

minced garlic, and a pinch of cayenne pepper (optional). When

mushrooms are tender, add 1/2 cup cooked black bean
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s (boiled or

low-sodium canned) and heat through. Serve over 1/2 cup cooked

brown rice (fluffy, not packed).

Snack Options

Apple Cashew Muesli

Chop 2 tablespoons cashews (raw or unsalted, dry roasted); set

aside. In a small bowl, combine a single-serve container of nonfat

(0%) vanilla Greek yogurt (mad
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e with real sugar, not artificial

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

Delicious, Golden Delicious, Granny Smith), skin on, sliced,

1 tablespoon rolled oats, 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and

cashews. Chill in refrigerator at least 30 minutes.

Peppery Avocado Chickpea Crackers

In a small bowl, combine 1/4 of a ripe avocado, mashed, with

2 teaspoons le
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mon juice, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, a pinch

of black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper. Fold in

1/2 cup chickpeas (boiled or canned; rinsed and drained) to coat.

Spoon mixture on top of 2 whole-grain rye crisps and serve with

1/2 cup each grape tomatoes and baby carrots.

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Grab-’n’-Go Sunny Snack

Enjoy 1 medium orange, a large hard-boiled egg, 2 whole-grain rye

crisps, and 2 tablespoons raw or roasted sunflower seeds. (Option:

slice egg and place on top of crackers.)

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Blueberry Peanut Butter Smoothie

In blender, combine a single-serve container of nonfat (0%) vanilla

Greek yogurt (made with real sugar, not artificial sweetener),

3/4 cup frozen unsweetened blueberries, 1/4 cup unsweetened

whey protein powder, and 1/4 cup water. Whip until smooth. Add

1 tablespoon each natural peanut butter and rolled oats al
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ong with

a handful of ice and whip to desired consistency.

Hummus and Crunchy Carrots

In a blender or food processor, purée 1/2 cup chickpeas, 2 teaspoons

extra-virgin olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon

lemon juice. Serve hummus with 1 cup raw baby carrots and 2 rye

crisps.

Dinner Options

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Chicken with Garlic Dill Corn and Veggie Sauté

Bake or grill 3 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast. Sauté

2 cups fresh spinach and 1/2 cup frozen, thawed corn in 1 table-

spoon extra-virgin olive oil with 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic and

1 teaspoon fres
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h or 1/2 teaspoon dried dill. Spoon corn and veggie

sauté over chicken.

Lemon Pepper Chicken Pasta

In a medium pan, sauté 1/2 cup sliced grape tomatoes in 1 table-

s

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poon extra-virgin olive oil with 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic until

tomatoes are slightly tender. Toss sautéed tomatoes with 1/2 cup

cooked whole-grain rye pasta, 1 cup fresh spinach, 1/2 tablespoon

lemon juice, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, and 3 ounces diced cooked

boneless, skinless chicken breast.

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Lentil Sauté

In a medium saucepan, sauté 1 small plum tomato, minced, and

1 cup greens of your choice (baby spinach, arugula, watercress,

romaine) in 2 tablespoons low-sodium vegetable broth, 2 teaspoons

extra-virgin olive oil, with 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic and 1/4 tea-

spoon salt-free dried Italian herb seasonings. Add 1/2 c
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up cooked

lentils (boiled, steamed, vacuum sealed, or canned; drained and

rinsed) and heat through. Serve over 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

(fluffy, not packed).

Mushroom Tofu Stir-Fry

In a medium pan, stir together 1 tablespoon coconut oil,

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1/
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4 cup low-sodium vegetable

broth, and 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper. Add 1/2 cup greens

of your choice (spinach, Chinese spinach, kale, chard) and

1 cup sliced mushrooms and sauté until mushrooms are slightly

tender. Add cubed extra-firm tofu (1/5 of a 14-ounce package)

and heat through. Place sautéed veggies and tofu over a bed of

1/2 cup cooked brown rice (fluffy, not packed).

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d with Roasted Carrots

Slice 2 large carrots into thin bite-size chunks at a 45-degree

angle, chop or crush 2 tablespoons walnuts; set both aside. Place

4 ounces fresh cod in a shallow pan and sliced carrots on a cookie

sh
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eet. Place both in preheated 350°F oven and check often after

6 minutes. Remove cod when fish easily flakes with a fork and

carrots when tender. Place cod on a bed of 1/2 cup cooked brown

rice (fluffy, not packed), garnish with walnuts, and serve with

carrots, along with wedges of fresh lemon.

Phase 2: The 5-Day Sustain | 117

Guard against Saboteurs

As you begin to lose weight, I want you to be on your guard against

potential saboteurs and decide how you will deal with them. These

are the people in your life who are likely to encourage you to “cheat”

because they are insanely jealous when others start to lose weight or

better themselves in any way. They want to see you go dow
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n, and I’m

not talking about the number on the scale.

You know what I’m talking about here. We asked our national

sample whether they had ever felt sabotaged or resented by a friend,

spouse, or family member when they were losing weight. The results:

41.6 percent of you answered “yes.”

We as humans can be very petty. If you go out to dinner with a

bunch of your overweight friends and you’ve lost 40 pounds, you are

very threatening to them. They’ll say, “Come on, don’t be a stick-in-

the-mud. You’re no fun anymore.” Bu
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t you know better. That’s got

jealousy written all over it.

Sometimes a saboteur comes in the form of a well-intentioned

family member who shows their love for you with food. I come from

the South, so I know all about this. We’d go for a visit and my fam-

ily would be slaughtering hogs, killing chickens, frying up pounds of

potatoes, gravy, pies, all of it—that was my mother’s way of loving us.

Whether it’s well-meaning or not, you have to be willing to look these

folks in the eye and say something like this:

“I’m havin

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g a great time and I’m really excited for us to

all be together. I’m working hard to improve my health,

lose weight, and adjust my lifestyle, and kind of like an

alcoholic, I really don’t want to fall off the wagon. Thank

y
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ou so much for understanding and supporting me in

what I’m doing.”

118 | The 20/20 Diet

Depending on the type of saboteur you’re dealing with, your

response might differ. But what you can do right now is anticipate the

sabotage, prepare yourself for it and put your guard up against it so it can’t throw you off the course when it does actually occur.

You need to have some pat responses, like the script I just gave you,

at the ready. Doing this exercise will help you steel yourself against any potential threats to your success.

A word of caution: As your excitement about lo
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sing weight

builds, make sure you don’t let your gung-ho attitude cross over into

“self-righteous know-it-all” territory. If you find yourself telling everybody else what they should or shouldn’t be eating and preaching your

new knowledge about healthy foods, it’s time to put a cork in it. They

don’t want you spewing your new wisdom all over them—it can come

off as very obnoxious. A definite turnoff.

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Make Your Social Media

Accounts Work for You

If you use them appropriately, your social media accounts can

actually help instead of hinder your weight loss efforts. One study

out of the Uni
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versity of South Carolina showed that people who

posted information about their weight loss as they dieted lost more

weight. It’s all in how you set up your virtual environment.

If you get involved in online weight loss support groups, post

photos of your healthy food choices as a visual food journal, or

just celebrate your success with like-minded friends online, this

ex
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perience can enhance your weight loss.

Phase 2: The 5-Day Sustain | 119

Moving toward Phase 3: The 20-Day Attain

After you’ve completed the second phase, you should be feeling much

more in control of your behavior and your diet. You are 10 days into

the diet, and you’re settling into a new pattern, which is very motivat-

ing. Now that you have completed the necessary preparation work—

physically, psychologically, and beyond—you are ready fo
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r the next

20 days, which are the heart of the 20/20 Diet. You’ve looked back-

ward, you’ve looked forward, and you’ve got all the vision you need to

make your get-real weight a reality.

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120 | The 20/20 Diet

9

PHASE 3:

THE 20-DAY ATTAI
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N

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

—
Sir Winston Churchill

You’ve now been following this plan for 10 days—congratulations!

The past 10 days have essentiall
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y been preparation for the 20-Day

Attain phase, which is truly the crux of this diet. You have laid the

important groundwork, and you’re likely feeling better than you have

in a long time.

Let’s perform another quick self-evaluation so you can really see

and appreciate your progress. Go back to chapter 4 and fill in your

updated weight and measurements, then answer the questions below.

Remember to reward yourself in a healthy way for your achievements.

Acknowledging
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Your Progress

Have you continued to feel improvement in your energy

levels throughout the day?

Yes No

Do you continue to feel more mentally focused and alert? Yes No

Is e
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xercise becoming easier for you to complete?

Yes No

Are you more aware of your physical hunger and are you

handling cravings with more ease?

Yes No

Are you feeling healthier and lighter overall?

Yes No

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Do you feel more in control of your eating and exercise