The Badass Body Diet: The Breakthrough Diet and Workout for a Tight Booty, Sexy Abs, and Lean Legs (8 page)

The “ideal” meal or snack on the Badass plan combines the ideal nutrients—protein, carbohydrate, and fat—in the ideal proportions. So every time you plan a meal or have a snack, make sure it features all three: protein for muscle development and repair, carbs for energy, and fat for appetite control.

My mixed meals approach tips the scales toward a beautifully defined, well-sculpted body and booty. Combining the macros helps keep your blood sugar levels stable. If your blood sugar is in check, you energy levels are high throughout the day, and your ability to burn fat for fuel is much greater. And as I mentioned, fat also plays roles in both fat burning and muscle building, along with general health and emotional well-being.

NOW ABOUT THOSE BOOTY FOODS . . .

I just went over some general nutrition info on protein, fat, and carbs. Now let’s dig into protein, carbohydrates, and fat from the booty-fat-burning side of the equation.

The specific macros you eat throughout the day play a part in how well you shape up your butt. During this program, you’re going to learn to pick macros—I call them booty foods—that will burn this stubborn fat right off your booty, thighs, tummy, arms, and elsewhere. You’ll get to eat a variety of healthy, satisfying foods, but booty foods play front and center on the Badass plan.

BOOTY PROTEINS

Your derriere is just like any other muscle group in that it needs protein to firm up. To support this process, you’re allowed measured amounts of protein at meals. Here are your best choices:

FISH

For my clients I usually recommend fish first and poultry second. Most of my meals go between these two meats because they help me stay leaner. Fish slow-releases protein into your muscles after you eat it. Your body therefore stays in a muscle-building mode around the clock. The omega-3 fats in fish such as tuna and salmon are fat-burning fats, too. Fish also raises levels of a hormone called leptin. Produced by fat cells, leptin governs fat storage by switching your body into fat-burning mode.

CHICKEN AND TURKEY

Poultry is a fantastic source of protein that supports the development of body-firming muscle. Turkey, in particular, contains tryptophan, a substance used by your body to make serotonin—a mood-enhancing, muscle-relaxing, antistress substance. Enjoy turkey, and you’re less likely to indulge in sugary excesses and stress eating.

PORK

Drumroll, please: You can eat pork on this plan. Pork is a fat burner! A 2012 study in the journal
Nutrients
reported that people who followed a diet on which pork was the chief protein source were able to change their body composition to more body-firming muscle and less ugly fat. In other words, their shape changed for the better: skinnier waistlines, thinner lower bodies, and less body fat all over. Yay,
nutrients
!

BEEF

Attention, beefophiles: You don’t need to give up your beloved red meat. You aren’t going to die with a T-bone in your mouth. I know that meat has a bad reputation for being a fatty food, and many people are cutting it out of their diets. And yes, it’s high in saturated fat. Don’t worry, you need some saturated fat in your diet to boost a little of that fat-burning testosterone.

Beef is loaded with iron, which carries oxygen in your blood and transports it to your muscles and other organs. You need adequate blood flow to support fat burning.

Beef is also packed with several other nutrients that support your quest for a badass body, including the B vitamins. These nutrients are involved in muscle repair after exercise, production of red blood cells, and protein synthesis, all of which help build muscle tissue. We know from studies that people who eat beef lose more weight than those who don’t eat beef.

Another plus: beef protects muscle tissue. The more muscle you’ve got, the higher your metabolism. The net effect: more fat burning, better weight control. More to come on this issue!

That said, if your doctor has told you to cut back on saturated fat, be picky when it comes to the beef you plop on your grill or skillet. My favorites are the eye of round, sirloin tip, bottom round, top sirloin, and 95 percent lean ground beef. These cuts tend to be lower in saturated fat.

EGGS

I can’t start my day without eggs. I eat them every morning, with the yolks, because they’re loaded with protein that is well absorbed by the body. And they taste great when you prepare them properly.

About the yolk. Far too many cholesterol-challenged folks toss the yolk aside like yesterday’s news. A study at the University of Connecticut tested the cholesterol reaction of 25 men and 27 women to an egg diet (640 milligrams a day of additional cholesterol) or a nonegg diet (0 milligrams daily of cholesterol). The cholesterol in yolks didn’t raise the nasty LDL cholesterol particles that influence heart disease. Bottom line, you can welcome eggs back into your diet.

Eggs burn belly fat, along with fat all over the body. A 2009 study published in the
Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging
reported that people who weight-trained and increased their intake of eggs had some pretty impressive changes in their physiques: more muscular legs and abs and less fat in those places. I live for this kind of study. Eggs rule!

WHEY PROTEIN AND RECOVERY SHAKES

On certain of my plans, you’re going to be drinking my Recovery Shakes, one or two times a day. These shakes are made with a near-magical protein called whey.

A natural, complete protein derived from cow’s milk, whey is a superior protein source. I love it because it helps supply the building blocks of muscles—amino acids—for muscle repair and growth. Whey is also loaded with leucine, a fantastic amino acid that helps burn body fat.

The best time to drink a Recovery Shake is within 10 minutes of exercising, immediately after your workout is complete. Don’t wait! There’s a lot of research to show that taking whey protein plus some carbs after workouts increases muscle growth. The combo of whey and carbs enhances the body’s ability to absorb amino acids, getting them into the muscles, where they impact growth.

If you have a dairy intolerance, it’s okay to substitute an alternative protein powder, such as hemp or pea protein.

BOOTY FATS

My program emphasizes two types of fat: saturated fat and monounsaturated fats (MUFAs; I call them moo-fas). Because you’ll be eating muscle-building protein from mostly animal sources, you’ll be taking in some saturated fat. Don’t go bonkers on me; hear me out. Saturated fat is important for maintaining testosterone levels. Testosterone is a male hormone, but we women have a little of it, and that’s good. In our bodies, it helps burn fat and keeps us a little hornier than usual—two great reasons to befriend this hormone. So basically, we want to supply our bodies with the raw material to build a little testosterone, and that raw material is saturated fat.

As for moo-fas, they can actually reduce belly fat, including the so-called visceral fat packed around your vital organs, which has been linked to a variety of diseases, including diabetes, breast cancer, heart disease, and dementia.

Recent studies indicate that moo-fas are more readily burned for muscle fuel than other types of fat. Plus, moo-fas are great for exercisers. They spare the use of muscle glycogen for energy—a benefit that means you can work out longer and burn more fat in the process. You’ll get your moo-fas from almond butter, avocados, and nuts. Don’t forget, too, that fats fill you up and keep you satisfied between meals.

You don’t get to load up on fats on the plan, but you’ll eat just enough to keep you full and happy. Here are your choices:

BACON

With a straight face, I’m going to declare bacon a diet food. I eat it and cook with it almost every day. Bacon is such a great background for so many foods. A little goes a long way. I love that smoky, sweet flavor. As a fat, it keeps you full and satisfied. It’s a great source of saturated fat in order to fortify testosterone levels in your system. This works, believe me. Now you have an excuse to eat bacon. But there’s a caution: eat it responsibly, and not to the exclusion of plant-based fats such as avocados and nuts. Bacon is great but not the ideal fat for feeling full and satisfied with your meal.

NUTS

Nuts are concentrated packages of protein, vitamins, and moo-fas. Talk about a near-perfect food. Eaten with a protein and a carb, nuts make a great snack. All types of nuts are included on my program. There’s some saturated fat in nuts, so you’ve got some butt-burning power packed in every crunchy bite.

ALMOND BUTTER

Here’s my favorite moo-fa: almond butter. Anything almond is fabulous in my book. Almond butter is a super source of minerals, including potassium, which is lost in sweat and needed to prevent muscle cramps. I love blending almond butter into my Basic Booty Recovery Shake. Consider almond butter one of the top fat choices for your meals and snacks.

If you don’t care for almond butter (are you nuts?), it’s okay to substitute peanut butter—my other top favorite—and other nut butters such as cashew or walnut.

AVOCADOS

I don’t think I could live without avocados, a huge source of moo-fas. Avocados are also high in fiber, a nutrient in food that has been shown to help zap thigh and butt fat. At 3 grams of dietary fiber per serving, the avocado has the highest fiber content of any fruit, ounce for ounce.

In addition, the avocado contains other essential nutrients, such as potassium for electrolyte balance, vitamin C for immune function and tissue repair, vitamin E for antioxidant protection and blood cells, vitamin B6 for brain function and red-blood cell formation, and magnesium for muscle contraction.

The mighty avocado is also a belly fat burner—a fact that has been substantiated by research. You can’t find a better all-around body-shaping food than the avocado, and it’s so versatile—it can be eaten plain or used in a ton of different recipes.

BOOTY CARBS

You know it, I know it: low-carbing ain’t easy—at first. On the Badass plan, you’ll detox from carbs, and then you won’t crave them as much. Your body will start using its fat for energy. Of course, you do get to eat certain carbs, such as fruit carbs, which are normally not allowed on low-carb diets. You also can enjoy veggies and certain starchy carbs like sweet potatoes. I’ve programmed enough fruits and veggies into this plan that you won’t be victimized by relentless cravings for all things sweet and starchy.