The next three days are a powerful introduction to what your body can do—and perhaps also a dramatic revelation of what you have been doing to your body! Best of all? In just three days, you experience a glorious change: weight loss, bright eyes, bright mood, brain as sharp as a tack—a total transformation.
I’ve been helping my clients do food-based cleanses for more than 25 years, and I can’t think of a faster way to kick-start both healing and amazing weight loss. The foods you’ll consume on the cleanse are nutrient-dense, chock-full of fiber, and loaded with protein. You’re going to feel full and satisfied, yet at the same time, you’re giving your body a break from digesting food that takes more energy to break down. And guess where that energy goes? Into deep repair, which in turn translates into weight loss. When my clients do the cleanse, the average weight loss for women is 5 pounds. For men, it’s 7 or 8. I’ve even had some people lose 10 pounds in three days!
I’m so excited for you to have this fabulous experience of rejuvenation. It’s the beginning of a whole new life.
I have devised the cleanse to be as easy for you as possible—no juice fasts or master cleanses here! Still, even during a gentle three-day cleanse, you might experience some discomfort from toxic buildup. Although some people sail through the detox, others develop some symptoms as a result of the poisons that are being released from fat cells—like environmental pollutants.
But look, it’s better to get these toxins out of your body now, before they provoke serious disease. The good thing is that your body always wants to heal—really!—so if you give it a little help, it will work miracles for you. The symptoms won’t last more than a few days, and it’s better to deal with this now than later on when disease starts to crop up in a more serious form. I am here for you and know you will rock this!
Make sure to drink your water between meals, not during meals, since that can impair digestion. If you can, leave a 45-minute window before and after each meal where you are not drinking water. Even more important: Finish the last of your water 45 minutes before dinner and do not consume any after dinner.
Now, I’m sure if you truly enjoyed drinking water, you would drink enough. But if you’re like most people, you probably drink much less than you should. So if you don’t like water, don’t sip it all day. Knock it back all at once, a pint glass at a time!
For example, if you weigh 200 pounds, you need to drink six pints throughout the day. First thing in the morning, I want you to have one pint with lemon juice. Now you’ve got only five more pints to get through. Schedule one each at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., and 6 p.m.—and now you’re done for the day.
Even better news? When you drink a pint all at once, your body takes what it needs and excretes the rest. So when you time your water intake, you can time your bathroom breaks, too.
So let’s do a little checklist right now.
Have you been drinking your water based on your weight? Check! Done the yeast test? Check! Have all the supplements you need? Check! What about a high-quality scale and a good digital thermometer? Yes? Great! Now let’s look at the shopping list for Days 1 to 3.
Spices and Herbs
Black pepper
Cayenne
Celery seed: OPTIONAL
Chipotle in adobo sauce or Sriracha sauce: 1 jar
Cinnamon
Cloves
Cumin
Ginger (fresh): 3 inches
Italian herb blend
Low-sodium chicken broth (70 mg/cup): 1 container
Nutmeg: OPTIONAL
Olive oil
Sea salt
Turmeric
Vanilla extract
Nuts and Seeds
Almonds (raw and unsalted): 8 ounces
Chia seeds: Small bag
Flaxseeds: 1 cup
Pumpkin seeds: 8 ounces
Sunflower seeds: 8 ounces
Fruits and Vegetables
Apples: 3 apples
Avocados: 1 avocado
Blueberries (fresh or frozen): 1 large container or 8-to 12-ounce bag
Cranberries (dried): OPTIONAL
Lemons: 4 lemons
Oranges: 1 orange
Pears: 1 pear
Beets: 1 large beet
Broccoli: 10 heads of broccoli
Carrots: 5 pounds
Garlic: 8 cloves
Herbs for a salad, such as basil or dill: Enough for three days’ worth of salad
Kale: 2 bunches
Lettuce—baby romaine: 1 large container
Onions—red: 5 large red onions
Shitake mushrooms: 3 to 4 mushrooms
Zucchini: 4 large zucchini
Raisins: 1 small box
Miscellaneous
Basmati rice, uncooked: 1 small bag
Brown sugar: A few spoonfuls
Coconut milk, full fat (canned): 2 8-ounce cans
Honey: 1 jar
Silk Coconut beverage or Rice Dream: 1 to 2 quart-sized cartons
• Follow the menus exactly. Do not make substitutions or changes.
• Salad dressing for the cleanse should consist of lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and whatever herbs you like (my own personal favorite is dill).
• Do not consume coffee during the cleanse. If you are concerned about a caffeine-withdrawal headache, you may have black tea. Green tea might aggravate acid reflux or worsen nausea, so please avoid it.
• Remember that all teas count toward your water intake. Please limit caffeinated teas to 16 ounces a day.
• Avoid all sweeteners during the cleanse, both the calorie and the no-calorie kind. And read the label even on your teas, because some teas contain stevia, chicory, licorice, or inulin, all of which might cause weight stabilization instead of weight loss.
The short answer is yes. Every single day, you’re going to be eating a chemically balanced group of foods designed to achieve two goals: to give your body the nutrients it needs and to ensure you feel satisfied. Skipping part of a meal might mean missing out on protein, fat, fiber, or the nutrients that keep you full and primed for weight loss.
I’ll be honest with you: It’s not very likely. You’ll be eating nice, big portion sizes and getting all the nutrients you need. And at every meal, you’re going to eat until you’re full.
So if you do get hungry between meals, ask yourself: Did I really eat until I was full? Maybe, after years of dieting, you’ve gotten used to stopping yourself too soon.
The other possibility is that you’ve been skimping on your daily water intake. Dehydration is sneaky—it often masquerades as hunger—so when you think you need food, you might actually just need water.
The reason for this anatomical bait-and-switch is fascinating. Back when we were gatherers, plants were more plentiful than fresh running water. So ancient humans quenched their thirst with fruits and vegetables whose water content was high. In response, our brains create mixed signals, cuing us to crave food when what we really want is water.
Don’t let your brain fool you! Make sure you’re getting enough water before you reach for more food.
And if, after all that, you’re still hungry? You can eat more veggies. Do not—repeat, do not—increase the portions of protein or fruit, which also means no extra nuts or seeds. Doing so could skew your overall sugars or protein for the day. Later on, you’ll get to test portion sizes for proteins and fruits. For now, stick to the portions that we know won’t trigger inflammation and weight gain.
Extra virgin olive oil—a.k.a. “EVOO”—is one of my favorite fats. Not only is it delicious; it’s some of the best brain food you could want. On The Metabolism Plan, you’ll consume 3 to 5 tablespoons of EVOO a day. Why is EVOO so important? Well, your brain is 60 percent fat. If you don’t replenish that fat, your brain goes hungry. Moreover, every one of our cells has a wall made of fat—technically, a phospholipid barrier. So we need fat to protect our cells and promote immune function.
Even better, EVOO is an omega-9, which acts as a catalyst for the anti-inflammatory properties of omega-3 (which on this program you will be getting from flaxseeds and chia seeds). Since inflammation packs on the pounds, you want to be loading up on foods that help you to bring it down.
Last but not least, fat keeps you feeling full longer! I don’t want you hungry and miserable, and getting your daily serving of EVOO is a great way to prevent that.
I’ll always remember the look on my client Gianna’s face when she told me how excited she was about all the EVOO she could have on the Plan. “As an Italian I am embarrassed to say that I had given up olive oil because I thought it was fattening and raising my cholesterol,” she told me. “I can’t believe how delicious it is, how full I am, and how much weight I’m losing!” Of course, the icing on the cake was when she called me a month later to let me know her cholesterol had dropped more than 45 points!
When you look at the menus and meal plans on The Metabolism Plan, you’ll see “baby romaine” as your daily lettuce choice. But if you can’t find that, don’t worry. There are plenty of other lettuces you can use. Boston lettuce, red and green leaf lettuces, frisée, escarole, and small amounts of radicchio are all terrific choices that will not disrupt thyroid function. If you want to try any other types of lettuces, however, you need to test them. Any mixed-greens blend that includes arugula, watercress, tatsoi, chard, raw kale, or spinach must be tested. Romaine hearts and iceberg lettuce often cause gas and bloating. In traditional Chinese medicine, all of these lettuces are known for being “cold” vegetables, renowned for slowing digestion. Remember, whenever you disrupt your digestion, you stall your weight loss.
The Flax Granola on The Metabolism Plan is easy to make. You can bake it in big batches ahead of time. Or you can order it from my website (www.lygenet.com), and you will have it by the time you finish reading this book!
However you get it, our Flax Granola is rich in omega-3s, protein, calcium, and selenium. It also has mucilage, a gummy substance that has incredible benefits for your gastrointestinal tract and relieves constipation as well. Finally, flaxseed is extremely high in fiber, which supports colon detoxification, keeping you full and reducing sugar cravings.
After your first week on The Metabolism Plan, please limit your consumption of Flax Granola to twice a week if you want to get maximum health benefits. Remember, our motto is always “rotate or react,” because even healthy foods can become unhealthy if you eat them too often. Don’t worry—I’ll be giving you plenty of other great tasty breakfast recipes as The Metabolism Plan continues.
• Eat until you’re full at every meal.
Even if you don’t finish all the food, please make sure to have part of each recommended dish.
• Please remember to include EVOO, lemon juice, and herbs of choice as your lunchtime salad dressing.
• Stay hydrated by drinking half your body weight in ounces. Drink between meals—45 minutes away from eating. Try to finish all of your water 45 minutes before dinner and do not have any water after dinner for best weight loss.
• Women: When seeds or nuts are listed at any meal, please have 1 ounce.
• Men: When seeds or nuts are listed at any meal, please have 1.5 ounces.
• Take your BBT (see here for instructions).
• Weigh yourself and record the results in your journal.
• After weighing, drink 16 ounces of fresh water with lemon juice.
• Take supplements as needed.
If you start to feel detox symptoms, double-strength peppermint tea will often make them disappear. If aspirin is part of your protocol, feel free to take some if you feel a headache coming on. I find Excedrin Migraine and Bayer to be especially good. Try to avoid Advil and Motrin, as each pill can cause 0.2 to 0.4 pound of water retention per 200 mg. Avoid Tylenol—the products I recommend are better at not inhibiting weight loss.
Day 1 is a great time to schedule a little pampering to help your body in its restoration process. If you can, go for a short walk and do some gentle stretches. Hot baths or showers are great during the cleanse, especially on Day 1, as is 15 to 20 minutes in a sauna, which supports your organs of elimination.
Overall, your goal is to restore and nourish yourself, inside and out, so whether you make this a mini–spa day or a day watching football, make it a day that is all about you.
Women: 1 cup Flax Granola (here) with ½ cup blueberries
Men: 1½ cups Flax Granola (here) with 1 cup blueberries
Served with Silk Coconut Milk or Rice Dream
Carrot Ginger Soup (here)
Women: 2 cups sautéed or steamed broccoli
Men: 3 cups sautéed or steamed broccoli
Baby romaine with fresh herbs of choice and sunflower seeds, dressed with EVOO, lemon juice, and herbs of choice
1 medium-sized apple
Kale with Spicy Coco Sauce (here) with sunflower seeds
Beet and Carrot Salad (here) with pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, EVOO, and your choice of herbs
Day 2 incorporates your first test, which is almonds. It’s essential that you choose raw, unsalted almonds since roasted nuts are more reactive. Early in The Metabolism Plan, we want to test as many vegetable and animal proteins as possible, so that we have the most possible choices for rotation. We deliberately start with the foods that most people can tolerate, so that you can quickly expand your list of friendly foods.
However, you might be in that small percentage of the population that has trouble with raw almonds. So if you find that you gain weight or are reactive to almonds in any way, please omit them from your menu going forward. There will be plenty of alternatives for you to choose from. Remember, you may be reacting badly only because you have been overdoing almonds or because of your general level of inflammation. So feel free to retest them in a few months, after you have given your body a break.
Now, how’s the detox going? If you are feeling just awful, I have a trick! It will slow down the detox a wee bit, but I don’t want you feeling rotten. Instead of having rice for dinner, switch it to lunch and omit the Carrot Ginger Soup. But keep the pumpkin seeds at dinner. This will make a huge difference in the way you feel, I promise!
Women: 1 cup Flax Granola (here) with ½ pear
Men: 1.5 cups Flax Granola (here) with 1 pear
Served with Silk Coconut Milk or Rice Dream
16 ounces Carrot Ginger Soup (here) with sunflower seeds
Baby romaine with ¼ avocado, EVOO, lemon juice, and herbs of choice (my favorite is dill!)
Women: 2 cups sautéed or steamed broccoli
Men: 3 cups sautéed or steamed broccoli
Women: ½ apple and 8 to 10 almonds
Men: 1 apple and 16 to 20 almonds
Kale with Spicy Coco Sauce (here)
1 cup basmati rice with pumpkin seeds
Beet and Carrot Salad (here) with sunflower seeds, lemon juice, and EVOO
Day 3 is a very mild test of chicken, an almost universally friendly protein. Remember, this first week we are stacking all the foods and exercise in your favor so you can lower inflammation while still gathering data. Chicken is a great protein to enjoy three or four times a week—just don’t eat it two days in a row.
Enjoy today—you have worked really hard! Even if your detox symptoms are lingering, you’re going to feel terrific really soon.
Women: 1 cup Flax Granola (here) with ½ apple
Men: 1.5 cups Flax Granola (here) with 1 apple
Served with Silk Coconut Milk or Rice Dream
Baby romaine with grated carrots, ¼ apple, and sunflower seeds, dressed with EVOO, lemon juice, and herbs
16 ounces Cream of Broccoli Soup (here)
Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (here)
Women: 2 to 3 ounces chicken, add approved herbs of your choice
Men: 4 to 6 ounces chicken, add approved herbs of your choice Roasted Vegetables (here)
Baby romaine with ¼ avocado, EVOO, lemon juice, and herbs
You did it! Your cleanse is officially over, and your body is so grateful you took this time to show it some love. Starting tomorrow, you’ll begin the next phase of the program, in which you continue the testing process for food and start testing some baseline exercise. In this next phase, you’ll begin to learn which kinds of movement your body loves while diversifying your diet with more delicious food.