The Petite Advantage Diet (2 page)

Just as there are foods and behaviors I want you to embrace, there are also certain foods and behaviors I want you to avoid. Three words that I will introduce you to in chapter 4 are “in addition to.” Petites must eliminate or seriously minimize “in addition to” foods, which I call “Addies.” A simple example is salad dressing. I’ll teach you how to whip up a great-tasting, satisfying dressing that doesn’t contain a lot of calories. I have achieved great success for Petites by moving them away from traditional salad dressings. By just reducing the calories from Addies right away, you will quickly start to experience weight loss.

Addies, for Petites, can make the difference between carrying extra pounds and being lean. As a Petite, you simply don’t have the body size to “stomach” these additional calories–literally. Learning to enjoy food and learning how to find it satisfying will free your taste buds and set you on the path to a leaner, sexier you. And this one change is so easy to do. Right now, you are probably in the habit of using Addies regularly and then saying to yourself: “Why can’t I lose any weight?” The answer may be sitting right there on top of your lettuce and inside your sautéed spinach. I’m going to teach you what ingredients to use and exactly the right amount that your body needs–and that your brain likes.

Next comes the actual twenty-one-day Eating Plan, which provides you with exact portions, recipes, and shopping lists. Carbohydrates (carbs) will be explained in a startling new way and will not be vilified as they have been for the last decade. Carbs are a Petite’s secret weapon. Knowing how to eat carbs correctly and knowing which carbs are best will keep you losing weight. Once you master carbs, you will lose more fat than ever before by cycling calories and carbs in and out of your daily caloric intake in a very specific pattern. chapter 5 is filled with what you finally need to know to make weight loss happen while staying full, hormonally balanced, and happy.

Bet you never experienced that “trifecta” before when dieting!

Then, just when you are ready to sail into the “Land of the Lean,” you get slammed with a headwind–eating out. Restaurants know that the majority of their patrons want a lot of value for their money. Sure, value is important, but it doesn’t have to mean the “end of lean.” Chapter 6 gives you tools to enjoy breakfast, lunch, or dinner out and
not
suffer deprivation or major caloric damage. You are even allowed to eat out during the critical first twenty-one days of my Advantage plan. I will tell you exactly what to order in each type of restaurant, whether it is Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Greek, or a steak house. Most of the Petites I work with are initially petrified to eat out, especially when they are shedding a lot of weight and fat on my plan while eating at home. Once I teach them what to do, they are relieved and happy that they don’t have to come up with more lame excuses for dodging dinners out.

Here’s a tease. Everyone is talking about the benefits of olive oil, but too much will pack on the pounds. Did you know that olive oil is 120 calories per tablespoon and 100 percent fat? So
please
, immediately stop pouring it all over your food and, if you use it (which I do allow in the eating plan), then use it smartly and sparingly. Many years ago, I coined the phrase: “Shine and glimmer won’t make you slimmer.” Petites, if the food is shining back at you, especially when you are eating out, put the fork down, because this food is probably packed with calories that you don’t need and probably don’t even want.

Did you know that the vast majority of Petites totally sabotage their weight-loss plan by what they drink? Yep, liquid calories are predominantly evil (the poison the wicked step-mother offered you was less lethal than juice–at least when it comes to weight loss!). Beverages are platinum members of the Addies club. There are exceptions, however–delicious drinks that I present in chapter 7 that will keep you hydrated and on point while you drop the pounds. Here’s a hint: Did you know that a glass of wine and a cup of tea both give you a metabolic bump?

I call chapter 8 “Exercise: A Petite’s BFF.” You absolutely, positively
must
exercise, but you only have to start with a touch more than an hour and a half–a week! That’s just three thirty-one-minute sessions (I’ll explain why thirty-one minutes is key), for a total of an hour and thirty-three minutes a week. Forget the unrealistic hour a day. Who has the time, energy, or desire to do that? I will teach you the absolute best way to use your smaller frame in a way that not only slims your body super fast, but also sheds inches from your midsection.

You will never, ever have to get on a treadmill, elliptical trainer, stair stepper, or bike again and you’ll learn that cardio is the perfect way for Petites to
gain
weight. Yep, if you want to pile on the pounds (lots of research agrees that cardio does nothing but make you hungry), stress out your joints and body, gain weight in your midsection, ruin your posture, speed up the aging process, and feel totally depleted of energy, then lace up those running shoes and hit the pavement. Of course you don’t want to do that, so chapter 8 will enlighten you.

Here’s another major plus to my exercise program. For the first time in your life, you are going to experience what I call a body “reconfiguration.” Your whole body will be transformed, as this program is not just about weight loss. It’s about
fat
loss and sculpting the proportions of your body. See, being a Petite gives you the perfect landscape to accomplish this goal. Taller gals can’t achieve the same perfect proportions that you can. I know you may envy those Amazon-like supermodels, but ask yourself if you would rather look like Reese Witherspoon, Kelly Ripa, Penelope Cruz, Jada Pinkett Smith, Salma Hayek, Natalie Portman, or Dolly Parton. These ladies span more than three decades and, once again, prove that you can be a very sexy, lean Petite. All you require is the right program–this one!

I want to be perfectly clear one more time about this critical point; we are 100 percent in the
fat-loss
business. We are going to maintain consistent water levels and hold onto muscle at all costs while we blast fat off your body. Again, this is your first body “recomposition.” We are going to shed lots of fat while increasing your metabolism and create a whole new-and-improved body as well as a whole new enlightened mind-set to go with that body. Trust me; this exercise program will be different from anything you have done in the past. I know I have alluded to the true advantage of this plan before, but this exercise program will literally blow your mind while blowing off your fat.

I know you’ve probably tried other weight-loss plans in the past, dropped a
few
pounds, but ultimately ended up hitting that dreaded word–plateau. I promise you that is not going to happen this time, as you will lose all the weight you desire. You never will hit those dreaded, frustrating plateaus, because I will teach you the concept of “progression.” You see, your body will listen to what you tell it to do. It’s very, very smart. But you have to keep challenging your body and thereby
forcing
it to change. That will come from changing up your exercise program. You’ll learn the complete program in chapter 8, then start to see the changes in chapter 9. Part of the progression comes from just an increase in intensity. And because you are a Petite, your smaller stature allows you to work out harder without risking injury. That’s a major advantage for you that I bet you never knew. You have this great advantage because you are smaller, lower to the ground, and more compact. So, in chapter 8, I will show you simple changes to your exercise program that will make “plateau” a word from the past.

This book will give you:

• A new way to believe in weight loss

• A rockin’ metabolism

• The math of weight loss

• The science behind my eating and exercise program,
plus
the actual program.

Next, you need to assess your environment. When was the last time you felt you truly had a partner in a mission? Some of you may be fortunate enough to have a terrific spouse, partner, BFF, family member, or co-worker, but is he or she the best partner for you when it comes to taking off the pounds? In chapter 9, I’ll help you identify your BFF specifically for this plan. Why? Well, by having the right partner, you increase your chances of success from 24 to 66 percent.
²
That’s a
huge
advantage! Plus, new research conclusively shows that the people you hang around with have an enormous impact on your body weight.

In addition to identifying a weight-loss partner, I implore you to examine the environment you place yourself in every day. Are you living in what the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) refers to as an “obesogenic” environment that promotes increased food intake, unhealthy food choices, and physical inactivity? There is even startling new research from Tufts University showing how certain brains behave when they see, smell, or even hear the word “cake” or other similar, pleasurable foods. They light up the way alcoholics do when they see alcohol.
³
Knowing that your brain is literally going to “light up” when it even sees high-calorie or high-sugar goods, you need to make strategic plans about with whom and where you are going to eat. Should you choose to go to your favorite restaurant where you know you can’t resist the double-chocolate upside-down cake? And should you go with a friend, family member, or co-worker who you know won’t resist it either? I hope you realize the answer to this is “no,” except on special, rare occasions.

So, let’s assume you are eating and drinking right, exercising, standing up straighter, and have found the perfect partner with whom to shed the weight. What else can you do? I call chapter 10 “The Bag of Tricks,” as there are actually a lot of things you can and should do (like sleep, breathe, and meditate, to name a few) to make this whole process easier, more effective, less stressful, and enjoyable. When was the last time the word “enjoyable” was used in a sentence regarding weight loss?

Be proud of being a Petite, as there are many advantages to “Petiteness”:

• More mates to choose from. Hey Tom Cruise, Robert Redford, and Jon Stewart, it’s me! And you look tall!

• Smaller, sexier feet. Excuse me, Mr. Blahnik and Mr. Choo, I’m ready for my close-up!

• Longer life. There is startling research demonstrating that Petites live longer, and some even possess a gene linked to longevity. Don’t you just feel sorry for the stressed-out, pumping hearts of those long, “leggy” runway models? Why do you think they’re sneering all the time?

• Reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer. Did you know that more women die each year from cardiovascular disease than men? Being a Petite reduces that risk. Ditto for cancer.

• Less back and joint pain. Smaller people endure less back pain because of gravity (they don’t have to reach as far down to take groceries out of the trunk) and possess shorter limbs, which reduces the risk of shoulder, neck, and elbow pain. Do I hear limbo party?

• Ability to work out much harder and more safely. Petites possess stronger muscles in proportion to body weight, which also translates into faster reaction times, greater endurance, and minimal joint pain.

By now, you may be thinking: “Why am I, a Petite, going to take weight-loss advice from a six-foot-tall man?” Well, here are four answers I have for you:

1.
I understand you. As I said in the beginning of this introduction, my first experience as a weight-loss professional was with Petites. Had they
not
lost weight, my business would never have grown so successfully and, clearly, I would not be writing this book. I have helped thousands of Petites lose weight.