The Virgin Diet (14 page)

If you are a vegetarian or vegan, my Virgin Diet Shake, from pea–rice protein, is going to be a great protein-rich meal option for you. Make sure to eat a good blend of nuts, seeds, grains and legumes, especially lentils, which are the highest in protein. Quinoa is my favorite “grain” because
it is not a true grain (it is more closely related to spinach and beets), it is gluten-free and it is higher in protein than other grains. But you can also have buckwheat, millet, rice, amaranth, arrowroot, sorghum and tapioca. Finally, whenever possible, consume soaked, sprouted or fermented foods to reduce the antinutrient impact of phytates and lectins.

Fats have been falsely accused of being unhealthy for years, so I want to set the record straight. You need to eat fat to be healthy; in fact, you can’t live without it. Fat reduces inflammation, keeps blood thinned and flowing well through your arteries and veins, supports membrane fluidity and keeps your hair glossy and your skin glowing. Ironically, you need to eat fat to burn fat. Plus, fat helps keep your hunger at bay and your mood balanced. Of course, to get these healthy benefits, you need to eat the right fats and cut out the wrong ones. You also need a good balance between the different types of mono-and polyunsaturated fats.

You need to eat fat to burn fat.

That’s why one of my mantras for my clients is “make an oil change.” Figuring out the fats might sound complicated, but if you follow the Virgin Diet, I have done the thinking (and balancing) for you.

Here are the healthy fats to focus on:

• Avocado
  
• Coconut milk or oil
  
• Olive oil, olives
  
• Palm fruit oil
  
• Raw nuts (no peanuts) and nut butter
  
• Raw seeds: chia, hemp, freshly ground flaxseed meal
  
• Sesame oil
  
• Wild cold-water fish
  

I want to give you a special shout-out for something that you probably haven’t heard about before reading this book, even though it’s common in other parts of the world.

I am in love with palm fruit oil. Produced in Malaysia and Africa, palm fruit oil has the most beautiful red color, thanks to carotenoids, a wonderful antioxidant that’s the precursor to vitamin A. This type of oil is 15 times richer in beta-carotene than carrots, and it’s also high in tocotrienols, the powerhouse component of vitamin E. Palm fruit oil helps reduce your risk of stroke and dementia, and it generally boosts your brain health. It’s also important for heart health and great skin.

Coconut oil is rich in lauric acid and caprylic acid.

Another great choice is coconut oil, which is rich in lauric acid and caprylic acid. These powerhouse fatty acids have antifungal, antibacterial and antiviral effects. Plus, coconut is rich in MCTs, medium-chain triglycerides, which help your body burn fat. It’s a very stable oil, so you can cook with it at very high heats without damaging it. Do you see why I consider it an amazing food?

Nuts are a terrific source of monounsaturated fats, and they’re high in fiber, which is a big plus, but they’re also high in lectins, phytates and other enzyme inhibitors. Here’s a recipe to make nuts an even healthier choice:

1. Soak nuts overnight in water with sea salt and then drain the water.
   
2. Toss the nuts in cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice) and unsweetened vanilla extract, or make them spicy and salty with curry powder and a little sea salt.
   
3. Spread the nuts onto a cookie sheet.
   
4. Bake at 140 degrees for 8 hours.
   
5. Cool and then store in the fridge.
   

We actually can live without carbohydrates, but our mood and energy will suffer a bit for it. By eating what I call “slow low” carbs, you will keep a steady supply of energy going to your brain to help you stay focused and energetic.
Slow
is because they are higher in fiber, which means that their sugar is released more slowly.
Low
is because they are generally lower on the glycemic index. Finally, whenever possible, consume soaked, sprouted or fermented grains and beans to reduce the antinutrient impact of phytates and lectins. Fruit falls into this category, too, so remember to choose from low-and moderate-glycemic fruits. I will make it easy for you: toss berries into your shake, and if you need that afternoon snack, try an apple with almond or cashew nut butter. Here are more high-fiber, low-glycemic carbs to choose from:

Adzuki beans

Beets

Black beans

Brown rice

Brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta

Brown rice wraps

Carrots

Chick peas (garbanzos)

Cowpeas

French beans

Great Northern beans

Jicama

Kidney beans

Legumes

Lentils

Lima beans

Millet

Mung beans

Navy beans

Oat bran

Okra

Pumpkin

Quinoa

Split peas

Squash (acorn, butternut, winter)

Sweet potato or yam

Tomatoes

Turnip

White beans

THE CASE FOR CARROTS

Carrots really straddle both the nonstarchy and the starchy groups. They are higher on the glycemic index than most vegetables (meaning that they have some natural sugar that quickly drives your blood sugar up), but they aren’t a full-blown starch because they have only 13 grams of carbs per cup (most starchy carbs have 2 to 4 times that much). After all, carrots have only 6 grams of sugar (again, most carbs score higher), plus they are rich in fiber, potassium, vitamin C and beta-carotene, all of which we love.

What’s my verdict? Carrots are great to have as part of your crudités or grated onto a salad—that is, eat them raw and along with other foods. What you don’t want to do is juice them, cook them, bake them as a cake or snack on just carrots. (Remember the fat-free craze when everyone was snacking on baby carrots all day long? What a sneaky way to get sugar and starch!)

Do we need grains in our diet? Despite what you may have heard elsewhere, the answer is no. All grains have lectins, a type of protein that can challenge your immune system, interfere with your absorption of nutrients and perhaps cause rsistance to the hormone leptin, which regulates feelings of hunger and fullness. Leptin resistance means you can’t tell when you’re full, so you keep on eating even when you’ve had enough.

We can exist perfectly fine on vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and clean protein.

On the plus side, grains are a great source of fiber, especially when you choose less refined versions, such as steel-cut oats rather than instant oatmeal, or quinoa as opposed to white rice. So eating the grains that I’ve recommended for the Virgin Diet can be a healthy and delicious choice.

Legumes have lectins, too, but there are so many benefits to legumes that I allow them in moderate amounts. Legumes are rich in fiber and very low on the glycemic index—unlike grains, which, although high in fiber, are also higher on the glycemic index. Grains are also relatively new to our food supply—we only started eating them 5,000 to 10,000 years ago—and we can exist perfectly fine (and, I believe, better) on vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and clean animal and fish protein.

Too much healthy food is unhealthy!

That said, you are allowed sweet potatoes and some root veggies, some legumes and even some grains in limited amounts. But don’t go overboard: too much healthy food is unhealthy! Grains, legumes and starchy veggies can be incorporated into a healthy diet if they are not eaten in excess, which means 1 to 4 servings per day (1 serving is approximately half a cup).

SOAKING AND SPROUTING

There are two things that you can do to reduce the lectin and phytate content in grains and legumes: soak them or sprout them. These processes reduce the antinutrient loads and make grains and legumes somewhat healthier and much easier to digest. Soak your beans overnight in very warm water, approximately 140 degrees. If you are buying canned beans, those have already been soaked. You can purchase a sprouting unit to sprout your beans or grains (see the Resources section on my website).

To get a variety of antioxidants, I want you to eat from the rainbow of nonstarchy vegetables. The antioxidants in vegetables help reduce inflammation and lower oxidative stress which can help slow down the aging process, and different antioxidants are associated with different colors. For example, you can load up on sulforaphane when you eat dark green broccoli, and you’ll get a lot of vitamin C from bright red peppers. The broader the variety of veggies you consume, the more likely you’ll get a good range of antioxidants. Nonstarchy veggies are also a great source of fiber and can help add bulk to your diet without many additional calories. Here are some of my favorites:

Vegetables help reduce inflammation and lower oxidative stress.

Arugula

Artichokes

Asparagus

Bamboo shoots

Bean sprouts

Beet greens

Bell peppers (red, yellow, green)

Broccoli

Brussels sprouts

Cabbage

Carrots (see The Case for Carrots)

Cassava

Cauliflower

Celery

Chicory

Chives

Collard greens

Coriander

Dandelion greens

Eggplant

Endive

Fennel

Garlic

Green beans

Jalapeño peppers

Kale

Kohlrabi

Lettuce

Mushrooms

Mustard greens

Onions

Parsley

Radicchio

Radishes

Shallots

Spaghetti squash

Spinach

Summer squash

Swiss chard

Turnip greens

Watercress

Zucchini

BEWARE OF THE NIGHTSHADES

You can eat most vegetables on a regular basis without worrying about food intolerance, but sometimes the nightshades can cause you trouble: eggplants, peppers, potatoes and tomatoes. The problem comes from their lectin content. (Lectins are a type of protein that can interfere with the absorption of nutrients.) Be a little cautious if you notice any reactions to nightshades, usually noticed as joint pain—yet another reason to keep a food journal.

The glycemic index is a gauge of how quickly your body converts a fruit, vegetable or grain into blood sugar. (See pages 128–129 for more on the glycemic index.) Sometimes it can be misleading, but I find it really useful when it comes to fruit. To maintain the healthy, steady levels of blood sugar that are optimal for your weight, I want you to focus on low-and moderate-glycemic fruits. As a general rule, avoid high-glycemic fruits, especially during Cycle 1, when you are seriously trying to retune your metabolism. The high-glycemic fruits are just loaded with sugar—you might as well have a candy bar. (No, I do
not
mean that it’s okay to have a candy bar!)

LOW-GLYCEMIC INDEX FRUITS (FAVOR THESE)

Blackberries

Blueberries

Boysenberries

Elderberries

Gooseberries

Loganberries

Raspberries

Strawberries

MODERATE-GLYCEMIC INDEX FRUITS (EAT IN MODERATION)

Apples

Apricots

Cherries

Grapefruit

Kiwi

Lemons

Limes

Melons

Nectarines

Oranges

Passion fruit

Peaches

Pear

Persimmons

Plums

Pomegranates

Tangerines

HIGH-GLYCEMIC INDEX FRUITS (AVOID)

Bananas

Grapes

Mango

Papaya

Pineapple

Watermelon

I teach everyone to start the day with a smoothie. Why? I find that most people eat dessert for breakfast: muffins, buttered toast, pancakes with
syrup, toaster pastries, etc.—these foods spike your blood sugar and are really desserts. A muffin is just a cupcake. Look at what it’s wrapped in. Plus, almost every breakfast food contains gluten, eggs, dairy or soy. Breakfast sets the metabolic tone for the day. If you eat dessert for breakfast and get your blood sugar rolling, it will roll all day long. You’ll start with a big, sugar-rush spike, and then by midmorning, you are going to crash. You’re going to reach for more dessert, then away you go. You’re off to the races, and it will be a bad race.

Now, just because you’re not pigging out on starches and dairy doesn’t mean you don’t need a substantial breakfast. Eating the right combination of foods in the morning means that you will lose more weight and keep it off.

THREE WEEKS TO THINNER AND YOUNGER

Week 1: Jump Start Week

• 2 shakes, 1 meal, optional snack

Weeks 2 and 3: Healing Weeks

• 1 shake, 2 meals, optional snack
(You can do 2 shakes if you prefer.)

I recently read a study that showed that people who ate 600 calories for breakfast lost more weight and kept it off than the skimpy breakfast eaters who stuck to 200 calories. So, I like people to eat a substantial, balanced breakfast, generally around 400 to 500 calories. People tell me silly things like they’re not hungry for breakfast, or they don’t have
time for breakfast. I tell them, “If you don’t have time, make time.” One of the most common habits I see with my clients who are struggling with weight loss is the bad habit of skipping breakfast. By the way, once you start eating breakfast every morning, you will start to get hungry for it. This is a good thing: you want your metabolism fired up in the morning. Remember that my Virgin Diet Plate includes clean, lean protein at each meal, including breakfast, for a reason. A recent study compared the metabolic impact of a high-carb breakfast with a high-protein breakfast and found that a higher protein breakfast slowed down stomach emptying and kept ghrelin suppressed, which improved satiety.
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If you are satiated, you will not feel the need to reach for those darn 100-calorie snack packs every few hours!