The Fast Metabolism Diet (18 page)

This is what I say: “Not for the next 28 days you don’t.”

We’re programmed to believe that the more we exercise, the faster we’ll lose weight, but the very nature of exercise is to break and tear down the muscles, and then to use the body’s resources to repair them. I’m being greedy with your resources right now. I want you to channel all that energy into repairing the metabolism, not torn-down muscles. Three days of exercise per week is all you need to help boost your metabolism, while also conserving the energy from the foods you are eating to use it for metabolism repair.

If you are someone who exercises every day, and you just don’t feel right if you aren’t doing it, then you can work it into the plan. You have to match the exercise to the phase, though, still. You can do
cardio, but only during Phase 1. That means two days of cardio per week, including spin class, aerobics class, dance classes like Jazzercise or Zumba, running, or jogging or cardio machines at the gym, like the elliptical trainer or treadmill. It’s only for 28 days, and two cardio days per week when you are eating the most carb-rich and sugar-rich foods is enough to maintain your fitness level.

You can do weight lifting for two days per week, too, but only during
Phase 2. Do upper-body lifting on one of the days, and lower-body lifting on the other day, if you want to lift on both days.

During Phase 3, you can do yoga on all three days, if you like. As I said earlier, for the plan to be effective, once is enough. But if you have to have more exercise, it’s yoga or stretching classes only. Also, be sure to end with a nice, long relaxation period that includes
deep breathing, to calm your body. When the 28 days are over, you can go back to your normal exercise routine. Remember, exercise stresses the body. So pay attention to how you feel while exercising and take care of yourself. Do enough to help, but not so much that you hurt.

Some clients want a meal map to follow, period. That’s why I provide you with an ideal meal map of suggested foods in the next four chapters, for each of the upcoming four weeks of the Fast Metabolism Diet. For many clients, however, a more personalized approach sometimes works better, so I’ve provided this section for those who’d like to fill out their own maps for the next four weeks.

The meal map will be your guide for keeping track of your day, like when you get up, what phase it is, and what you will be eating. Your personalized meal map will allow you to fill in the foods
you
love to eat, while still staying within each phase. Use the phase-specific food lists from the last chapter or refer to the Master Food Lists at the back of the book to decide what you want ahead of time. Then, when your week begins, you’ll have everything you’ll need, and you’ll know exactly what to eat—and you can be assured it will be foods you already know you like.

When I meet with clients, I help them do this. We spend a lot of time filling out their meal maps based on their preferences. I like to ask them: What foods do you love? I have them highlight all the foods they already know they love on the food list for that phase, and then circle the foods they would like to try. Then I have them look over the food lists and cross off anything they don’t like.

Next, we fill out the meal map. I like to start in pencil and always begin with
snacks. Working from the phase-appropriate lists, we fill in the snacks you know you will like. Then we go to the breakfasts and dinners. Finally, we do the
lunches because these are good for leftovers from either breakfast or dinner—like crumbling leftover turkey bacon from breakfast on your salad for lunch, or having a filet for dinner and saving just enough for a steak lettuce wrap for the next day.

Here’s a blank meal map for you to work with in creating your own personalized way of following Fast Metabolism. You can print out your own blank meal plans here:
http://rhlink.com/fastmain
. When you begin each week, you are going to:

All done. Wasn’t that kind of fun? By doing this, you will create your own diet totally based on how you live and what you like to eat.

The keys to success on the
Fast Metabolism Diet are to know the rules, know yourself, and plan ahead. Make time for pre-cooking, stock up on freezer containers, and commit. Craft the diet around who you are and what you do, and then get ready to feel better than you’ve felt for a long time.

The next four chapters are set up to walk you through some of the emotional landmines and pitfalls that may pop up along the way during the next four weeks, as well as to take you through proven “ideal” meal maps for those who don’t want to craft their own. I’ve discovered, after years of taking clients through this plan, that each week has some unique characteristics in terms of what you are likely to experience and feel. Let’s look at the landscape and see what you can do to keep feeding your body and your brain to keep your metabolism ignited throughout this process.

W
elcome to week one! This week, we’re going to take your body through all three phases of the Fast Metabolism Diet. You’ll be on Phase 1 for two days, Phase 2 for two days, and Phase 3 for three days. You’re going to eat a lot of food, and some of it may seem too good to be true. You might not love everything, but you’re learning this week what you do and don’t like in each phase. You’re going to learn a lot.

I know you’re excited to get started, and I’m ready to talk you through it, every step of the way. In this chapter, you’re going to fill out your first official meal map, and you’re going to fill it out with all the meals and snacks you get to eat this week. Or, if you just want me to tell you what to eat, you can go by the Week One Ideal Meal Map that I’ve already prepared for you. I find that some of my clients want me to tell them exactly what to eat, while others want to figure it all out for themselves. Whichever one describes you, you’ve got the tools.

So let’s talk about week one, what I like to call Freefall Week.

Week one is exciting, but because this is so different, it can also be confusing and a little scary. Remember, I want to confuse your metabolism, but
I don’t want to confuse
you.
But in beginning the plan, you’re about to go through a lot of changes. This new way of eating might take a little getting used to at first.

Also, you may have to make peace with your old food demons. As you prepare to begin the diet, they may rear their ugly heads. Your former obsessions with calorie counting or carb counting, your fear of fruit or meat or fat, your past failures—all of it is likely to come to the table. Hear my words: they are unwelcome guests for this feast. Freefall with me and check those old demons at the door. I want you to be ready for this, I want you to understand what’s happening and I want you to know you are not alone on this journey

Here are some of the things I hear from my clients right before they begin week one:

What if? What if? What if???!

I get a lot of skeptics at the beginning, so the biggest thing I tell people for week one is to
trust.
Let go of your preconceived ideas and past diet history. Let go of being so vested in how you think your body will or won’t react to this diet. You don’t
know
what will happen. You haven’t even started. I’m asking you to freefall a little bit this week, to let yourself go and dive into this. Recognize how much you are asking of your body. Notice the paradigm shift, but don’t get worked up about it or let it freak you out. Let the plan feel easy. Yes, it’s a little scary, but I need you to just let go, trust it and commit to doing it, even if you don’t know exactly what to expect. Even though you’re nervous, or a little bit scared.