Will you fit into that swimsuit this summer? How can you lose 20 pounds in two months? How committed are you to the changes necessary to not just reshape your body but reshape your health? These are some critical questions for many women this time of year. Let’s see if we can’t simplify the equation here.
You can starve yourself thin but you will lose just as much bone and muscle as fat in the process. Starving yourself is the recipe for later weight problems among a host of other mental and physical health issues. You lose more muscle and bone with each cycle of starvation making the rebound of fat greater each time. On the other hand if you eat only the calories you need to build lean body mass with exercise then you will lean up with more bone and muscle and lose fat.
There are only two food groups for leaning up, lean animal protein and green vegetables. Lean meats DO NOT include egg yolks, lunch meat, hot dogs, sausage, or bacon. Lean protein DOES NOT INCLUDE beans or dairy, because they contain lots of sugar that spikes your insulin higher than lean meat and that won’t help you lose weight.
Healthy lean meats are seafood, especially those high in omega 3 fats like tuna, salmon, mackerel, and sardines, boneless skinless poultry, pork tenderloin, and game meat. Green vegetables that I am speaking of are spinach, kale, bok choy, Swiss chard, collard greens, romaine lettuce, beet greens, asparagus, green beans, broccoli, and others.
You will need to consume 2-3 times more green vegetable matter than lean meat. You will need some healthy fat and that is best obtained from tree nuts, flax seed/meal, and omega 3 supplements. See chapters 3 and 7 of the Vitamin D Cure for diet and supplement recommendations.
This is almost a zero carbohydrate diet providing essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, and all the building blocks you need to lean up. It takes the Vitamin D Cure diet plan and eliminates the fruit and starchy vegetables and enforces the no grain, no dairy policy. Remember you’re getting your carbs from burning your fat. And, you’re balancing your calcium with vitamin D supplements and green vegetables. You can add back the fruit and starchy vegetables after the fat is gone.
Sweat is the last element in this fool proof equation. You want all that protein and the vitamins, minerals, and essential fats to go to bone and muscle. As we age and lose our growth hormone, estrogen, and testosterone the only construction crew left to build bone and muscle is vitamin D and exercise. Normalize your vitamin D following the recommendations in chapters 4 and 5.
Twenty minutes every day of resistance exercise followed three times a week by 40 minutes of cardio and you are golden. Chapter 8 of the Vitamin D Cure will help you get started on constructing a leaner you. You’re two months and twenty pounds away from a healthier, happier you in a two piece bathing suit.
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