Making the Cut (4 page)

          Balanced oxidizers require an equal percentage of carbohydrates, fat, and protein and have the capacity to do well on the widest range of foods.

          Fast oxidizers require a higher percentage of protein and fat than of carbohydrates. Fast oxidizers should have protein in every meal, including snacks.

Up next you’ll find a questionnaire designed to help you pinpoint where
you
fall. When you turn to the menus and recipes, you’ll find that there are three separate 30-day meal plans, one tailored to each type; after taking the following quiz you’ll be able to choose the meal plan that’s going to rev up your metabolism and give you the maximum energy to get ripped!

METABOLIC TYPING TEST

For each of the following questions, circle the response A, B, or C that best applies to you. You may not know the answer right off the bat—make sure you really think about the question. Even take a couple of days if you need to so you can analyze how different foods affect your body and your mood. Don’t answer based on what you think you “should” be eating; instead be honest about your preferences, tendencies, and habits. Remember, the better you know yourself, the greater your odds of achieving the results you want.

1. In the morning you:

A. Don’t eat breakfast

B. Have something light like fruit, toast, or cereal

C. Have something heavy like eggs, bacon, steak, hash browns

2. At a buffet, the foods you choose are:

A. Light meats like fish and chicken, vegetables and salad, a sampling of different desserts

B. A mixture of A and C

C. Heavy, fatty foods like steak, ribs, pork chops, cheeses, and cream sauces

3. Your appetite at lunch is:

A. Low

B. Normal

C. Strong

4. Your appetite at dinner is:

A. Low

B. Normal

C. Strong

5. Caffeine makes you feel:

A. Great—it helps me focus

B. Take it or leave it

C. Makes me jittery or nauseated

6. The types of foods you crave are (sugar is not listed because everyone craves sugar when they are tired or run down):

A. Fruits, bread, crackers

B. Both A and C

C. Salty foods, cheeses, meats

7. At dinner you prefer to eat:

A. Chicken or fish, salad, rice

B. No preference—choice varies daily

C. Heavier, fatty foods—pastas, steak, potatoes

8. After dinner you:

A. Need to have something sweet

B. Could take dessert or leave it

C. Don’t care for sweets and would rather have something salty like popcorn

9. The types of sweets you like are:

A. Sugary candies like Skittles or Hot Tamales

B. No preference

C. Ice cream or cheesecake

10. Eating fatty foods like meat and cheese before bed:

A. Prevents me from sleeping

B. Doesn’t bother me

C. Improves my sleep

11. Eating carbs like breads and crackers before bed:

A. Disturbs my sleep; I sleep better on lighter foods

B. Doesn’t affect me

C. Is better than nothing, but I sleep better on heavier foods

12. Eating sweets before bed:

A. Doesn’t keep me from sleeping at all

B. Sometimes makes me feel restless in bed

C. Keeps me up all night

13. How often do you eat each day?

A. Two or three meals with no snacks

B. Three meals with maybe one light snack

C. Three meals with constant snacking

14. Your attitude toward food is:

A. I often forget to eat

B. I enjoy food and rarely miss a meal

C. I love food—it’s a central part of my life

15. When you skip meals, you feel:

A. Fine

B. I don’t function at my best, but it doesn’t really bother me

C. I feel shaky, irritable, weak, and tired

16. How much do you like fatty foods?

A. Not at all

B. Moderately

C. I crave them regularly

17. When you eat fruit salad for breakfast or lunch, you feel:

A. Satisfied

B. Okay, but I usually need a snack in between meals

C. Unsatisfied and still hungry

18. What kind of foods drain your energy?

A. Fatty foods make me feel lethargic

B. No food affects me in this way

C. Fruit, candy, or confections give me a quick boost and then a sugar crash

19. Your food portions are:

A. Small—less than average

B. Average—not more or less than other people

C. I eat large portions of food, usually more than most people

20. How do you feel about potatoes?

A. Don’t care for them

B. Take them or leave them

C. Love them

21. Red meat makes you feel:

A. Tired

B. No particular feeling one way or the other

C. Strong

22. A salad for lunch makes you:

A. Feel energized and healthy

B. Fine, but it isn’t the best type of food for me

C. Sleepy

23. How do you feel about salt?

A. Foods often taste too salty to me

B. Don’t notice one way or the other

C. I crave salt and salt my food regularly

24. Your snack of choice is:

A. I don’t really snack, but if I do, I like something sweet

B. I can snack on anything

C. I need snacks but prefer meats, cheeses, eggs, or nuts

25. How do you feel about sour foods like pickles, lemon juice, or vinegar?

A. Strongly dislike them

B. They don’t bother me, but I don’t particularly like them

C. I like sour foods

26. When you just eat sweets, you feel:

A. Sweets alone can satisfy my appetite

B. They don’t bother me, but don’t totally satisfy me

C. I don’t feel satisfied and often crave more sweets

27. When you just eat meat (bacon, sausage, ham, salmon) for breakfast, you feel:

A. Sleepy, lethargic, or irritable

B. It varies day to day

C. Satisfied and I don’t get hungry until lunch

28. Out of the three following dinner choices, you’d prefer:

A. Grilled fish, salad, and rice

B. A mixture of plates A and C

C. Lamb chops, cooked carrots, and baked potatoes

29. When you eat heavy or fatty foods, you feel:

A. Irritable

B. Doesn’t affect me

C. Often alleviates my anger or irritability

30. When you feel anxious:

A. Fruits or vegetables calm me down

B. Eating anything calms me

C. Fatty foods calm me down

31. You concentrate best when you eat:

A. Fruits and grains

B. Nothing in particular affects my concentration

C. Meat and fatty food

32. You feel more depressed when you eat:

A. Fatty or heavy foods

B. Food doesn’t affect me in this way

C. Fruits, breads, or sweets

33. You notice you gain weight when you:

A. Eat fatty foods

B. No particular food makes me gain; I gain whenever I overeat

C. Eat fruits or carbs

34. What type of insomnia, if any, applies to you?

A. I rarely get insomnia from hunger

B. I rarely get insomnia, but if I do, I often need to eat something to go back to sleep

C. I often wake up during the night and need to eat. If I eat right before bed, it alleviates the insomnia.

35. Your personality type is:

A. Aloof, withdrawn, or introverted

B. Neither introverted nor extroverted

C. I am an extrovert

36. Your mental and physical stamina are better when you eat:

A. Light proteins like egg whites, chicken, or fish and fruits

B. Any wholesome food

C. Fatty foods

37. Your climate preference is:

A. Warm or hot weather

B. Doesn’t matter to me

C. Cold climates

38. You have problems with coughing or chest pressure (if no, skip question):

C. Yes

39. You have a tendency to get cracked skin or dandruff (if no, skip question):

C. Yes

40. You have a tendency to get lightheaded or dizzy (if no, skip question):

C. Yes

41. Your eyes tend to be:

A. Dry

B. Don’t notice one way or the other

C. My eyes tear often

42. Your complexion is:

A. Noticeably pale

B. Average color

C. Pink or often flushed

43. Your fingernails are:

A. Thick

B. Average

C. Thin

44. Do you have a gag reflex?

A. Very hard to make me gag

B. Normal

C. I gag easily

45. You get goose bumps:

A. Often

B. Occasionally

C. Very rarely

46. Is your body more prone to:

A. Constipation

B. No stomach problems

C. Diarrhea

47. When insects bite you, your reaction is:

A. Mild

B. Average

C. Strong

48. Your body type is:

A. Short and stocky

B. Average

C. Tall and thin

49. Your nose is:

A. Dry

B. Normal

C. Runny

Scoring Your Metabolic Typing Test

When you have finished the test, add up the number of A answers, B answers, and C answers you have circled.

—If your number of A answers is 5 or more higher than your number of B or C answers, you are a slow oxidizer.

—If your number of B answers is 5 or more higher than your number of A or C answers,
or
if neither As, Bs, nor Cs are 5 or more higher than the other two, you are a balanced oxidizer.

—If your number of C answers is 5 or more higher than your number of A or B answers, you are a fast oxidizer.

Daily Affirmations
An affirmation is simply a statement, directed toward yourself, confirming that what you want to happen is happening. Daily affirmations are a powerful tool for a self-empowered and fulfilled life. Daily affirmations directly affect your conscious and subconscious mind, thereby helping you to transform negative belief systems into positive ones, build self-confidence and self-esteem, sharpen your mental skills, and get control. Define and channel positive intentions toward any area of your life that you want to improve, whether it’s your health, work, relationships, or a financial situation.

You must state your affirmations in the present tense so that your mind knows that what you want to achieve is already happening: instead of saying, “I would like to have,”
say, “I have now.” Your affirmations must also use positive words: if you say, “I will not suffer in the gym today,” your mind will register the word
suffer
and do its best to create situations of suffering. Instead you can say, “I am strong and capable of a kick-ass workout today.” By practicing these affirmations regularly, you will create a climate ripe for the development of positive outcomes.

WHAT TO EAT FOR YOUR TYPE

For those of you who read my first book,
Winning by Losing,
the following information will be redundant, but for those of you who are new to this, we are going to discuss the best foods for each oxidizer type. Yes, I am providing you with a no-brainer 30-day meal plan for you to follow
—religiously.
When the program is over, however, it’s imperative that you understand how your body works in order to maintain optimal results.