The Fast Metabolism Diet (21 page)

But it takes 28 days to get you there. That is not negotiable.

So as good as it feels and fun as it is and as much confidence as you may be feeling right now, watch out. Week three is a dangerous week.

Obviously, you want to lose weight. The Fast Metabolism Diet will get you there. But what you really need to understand right now, this week, is that weight loss
is not my main goal for you.
I am more vested in giving you a fast, healthy, and optimally functioning metabolism than I am in your losing weight. I’m interested in your finding a weight and place of balance where you can eat and live healthfully every day. Where you can have a full, rich life and not have to diet all the time. If you’ve already lost a lot of weight, that’s awesome, but that doesn’t mean your metabolism is fully repaired. I’m not finished with you yet.

Two things happen on the Fast Metabolism Diet: we repair your metabolism, and we give you a fast metabolism. These may both happen quickly, or the repair might take a little longer, before the fast metabolism really kicks in.

This delayed repair often kicks in during week three. I find this happens in
particular with clients who have been on
low-carb diets for a long time. I had one client who had not eaten any fruit or grain for years. She hadn’t even touched brown rice. All she ate was meat, chicken, fish, and vegetables. When she first came to see me, she was very concerned. She told me there was no way she could eat these foods. She said, “If I even look at a piece of toast, I gain three pounds.” Her experience is actually not far from what happens to many who have been on low-carb diets for way too long. They become carb-intolerant and really do gain weight with even a small amount of carbohydrates.

In the first two weeks, her weight loss was minimal, and she was very worried. However, I pointed out to her that she was eating hundreds of grams of carbs,
not gaining weight.
This was the repair stage. Her body was relearning how to use the nutrients in carbohydrate-rich foods. After her body learned how to eat carbs again, the weight loss started in earnest, but before her metabolism could begin to burn at a fast rate, she had to repair what she had done with years of low-carb eating.

If, in the first two
weeks, you haven’t lost as much weight as you had hoped, just notice how many wonderful nutrient-dense carbs you’ve been eating, and how much healthy fat. When you are holding steady you are also experiencing major metabolism repair. And when the weight loss starts? You’ve not only repaired your metabolism, but sped it up dramatically. You’ve not only learned to burn what you eat, but to incinerate your fat stores.

Metabolism repair isn’t about losing weight, even though weight loss will happen if you are carrying too much weight for your body. It’s about your body being able to extract the nutrients from your food effectively and thoroughly, so you can have the normal and proper biochemical and physiological responses to life. Important things like a healthy release of sex hormones, good skin and hair and nails, sharp brain function, prevention of diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer. Weight loss is just another pleasant side effect to having a fast metabolism.

There is a larger picture here. Celebrate your
success, but don’t pat yourself on the back so hard that you knock yourself over. Don’t celebrate by going off the program
before
you’ve completed the entire healing cycle. There are plenty of other nonfood ways to celebrate, like eyeballing some new clothes or treating yourself to a body scrub, facial or pedicure, or even
planning a yoga retreat or a health and wellness retreat for when you’ve finished the 28 days.

This is so crucial, and I can’t emphasize this enough: If you cheat now, if you stop now,
all you are doing is
repeating old patterns and sticking to the same tired paradigm.
You remember the one. It’s the one you used to live by, the prison I’m trying to break you out of. It’s the thinking that, “I will always be on some diet,” or “I have to go on a diet to get into these clothes or go to that event.” It’s the old paradigm of, “I can’t take it anymore because my weight has gotten out of control, and I’m so dissatisfied with my body that I’ll put myself through anything.” Remember?

I don’t want you to have to feel like that ever again. That’s the whole point of metabolism repair. When your metabolism is on fire, then you’ll always be able to get into those clothes or go to that event. I don’t want you to ever have to feel like your weight has gotten out of control. I don’t want you to be dissatisfied with your body. I want you to eat
like a normal person.
This isn’t temporary weight loss. All the way through this program, you are learning to reset your metabolism through eating, rather than depressing your metabolism through dieting. By now you are in full swing, in the middle of a biochemical, neurochemical, and physiological transformation that will yield you a killer metabolism.

Sometimes, my clients are tempted to stop the diet during this
week. It’s so crucial
not
to do this! You absolutely must do the 28 days the first time through. Later, you can revisit the diet for maintenance, and do just a week or two at a time. That’s no problem at all. Many of my clients do the Fast Metabolism Diet quarterly, to tease and entice the body so it will continue to have a fast speedy metabolism. This seasonal stoking of the metabolic fire enriches the body, stimulates absorption of nutrients, and reminds the body to transform those nutrients into the right kinds of substances and structures, like muscles, bones, hormones, and feel-good brain chemistry. Some of my clients do it just once or twice a year, to remind them of what a healthy, well-balanced nutritional program looks like. These are amazing and impactful ideas my clients have come up with, but you are on the full 28 day plan right now, so you
must stick to it!

I help clients get ready for NBA playoff games, red-carpet reveals, and grueling concert tours. I insist they stick to my plan until showtime.

It’s more important than ever to be diligent as the healing of your metabolism progresses. I am not ready to turn you loose to show off that body. It isn’t your showtime yet. Showtime is 28 days from the day you began the Fast Metabolism Diet. This is not only your rehabilitation and repair but also your final push to achieve that ultimate burn. If you go off the program now, your body will have only experienced the three phases during two weeks of your monthly 28-day cycle.

Your body hasn’t run through the entire repair cycle yet. Do you take your clothes out of the washing machine before the rinse cycle? Do you drive your car away from the shop halfway through the oil change? Do you sit up in the middle of emergency surgery and say, “Okay, Doc, I think that’s enough for today.”

When I was younger, I got into a serious, life-threatening auto accident. I had to do years of physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. It was grueling and difficult, but I had a really good surgeon who was passionate about my understanding the big picture. He had honorary Super Bowl rings because of the miraculous work he did rehabilitating NFL players, as well as professional golf and hockey players. He would always tell me, “We’ll know we’ve had success when you’re back on the field.” That was the motto in the office. So I visualized myself as an athlete who had to get back into the game. The point of physical therapy wasn’t just to improve my range of motion, but to have me really be back on top again.

The Fast Metabolism Diet is the same. It’s not just about the weight loss. It’s about eating again and having your body perform metabolically like a professional’s. Its aim is to get you back into the game of life and out of the isolation of dieting.

Like me, this doctor was a drill sergeant. It was his way or the highway, he explained. I had to be consistent. I had to be steady. I had to be diligent. I had to show up, or he wouldn’t treat me. I had to work his whole program until he was ready to discharge me.

I’m not ready to discharge you. You will be discharged after 28 days, no sooner. So as good as you look now, as good as you
would
look with a drink in your hand, hold off on that drink for a little bit longer. Don’t check out yet, because you are
not done
.

This program is not a quick fix.
Week three is crucial, so stay focused, stay steady, and keep your eye on the prize of having a fast metabolism and never depriving yourself of eating real food again.

Once again, I’ve provided you with a meal map that tells you exactly what to eat within this week. Remember, you can switch meals within phases, or use some of the meals I suggest, but not others. If you want to eat leftovers from week one all week long and not cook at all, great. If you want to try all new dishes, great. As long as you are sticking to the phase-specific foods at each meal and snack and your portions are correct, you can adapt this plan to your own needs.

Now is also a good time to reread the
Fast Metabolism Rules
. Don’t you dare start phase-swapping! You look good, but you do not yet get to eat like you have a fast metabolism.

Stay strong because you’re looking great! Just one more week to go. The last week is easy. You’re becoming a pro at this Fast Metabolism thing. The weight is continuing to fall off, so stay with the plan and keep up the great work.

You’re doing it. I can just imagine you now. You’re probably out there beginning to coach your friends and coworkers, showing off your lunches and snacks with pride. You’re no longer hiding and isolated in the world of dieting. You are a bit of a foodie and getting excited about all that food can do for your body. It’s happening. You’re becoming one of those people. You know which ones I’m talking about, the ones who declare, “Oh, I just have a fast metabolism.”

Print out your week three sample meal maps here:
http://rhlink.com/fastmain
.