Foods

What you’ll be eating on this plan can be broken down into four categories: protein, carbohydrates, vegetables, and condiments. Remember, the portions per meal are palm-sized for protein, palm-sized for carbohydrate, fist-sized for vegetables, and a tablespoon of condiment. These are the portions recommended for most of your six meals throughout the day.

On average, this will amount to about a 6-to-8-ounce serving of protein or six egg whites; 3⁄4 cup of your carbohydrate source, cooked; and 1 cup of vegetables, raw or cooked. The portion size will vary based on the size of your hands, which is why it’s the perfect measurement and the simplest way to customize how much food you eat. Don’t be too concerned about your portions of vegetables or salad, they contain plenty of water, are a good source of fiber, and have very few calories, so you can’t really eat too much. Here’s a general guideline for your food portions (the condiment portion of one tablespoon i the same for everyone, regardless of body size.

The only fats I recommend during your twelve-week transformation are those that naturally occur in your protein sources, such as egg whites, chicken, and fish, so you won’t see a separate category for fats. If you have an unbearable craving every now and again, you can have some celery topped with about a tablespoon of natural peanut butter. This is the perfect amount of satisfying, healthy fat that will help you overcome that craving. There are a couple of rules you can stretch within this program, although that doesn't mean you can break the rules entirely. 

The main sources of foods I want you to concentrate on for the first four meals of the day (until about 3 p.m.) are protein and carbohydrates. After 3 p.m., I want you to cut out the starchier types of carbohydrates, such as potatoes and pasta, and enjoy your last two meals with vegetables. Vegetables are an incredible source of vital nutrients, and they have very few calories compared to more complex carbohydrates such as brown rice and potatoes. For the last two meals at night, you don’t need these extra calories since you have more than likely fueled your day already. When sleeping, you won’t have a chance to burn off any complex carbohydrates, which is why we cut them from the last hours of the day.