Now that you’ve finished Laying the Groundwork, you’re ready to start Stepping It Up. This is one of the most exciting phases in your Metabolism Plan, because you get to greatly expand the number of foods you test. That gives you two big advantages: You learn which foods don’t work for you, so you can avoid them, and you learn which foods your body loves, so you’ve got more friendly choices to rotate.
You get to ramp up your exercise, too. Either you’ll stick with the same types you did last week and step up the duration and/or intensity (doing the same exercise longer, faster, or with more weight), or you’ll test some new forms of exercise at the same duration and intensity you were at last week.
Suppose last week you tested jogging and weight lifting. On Days 4 to 10, you might have jogged for 12 minutes and done reps while lifting 25 pounds of weight. So now your Days 11 to 20 might look like this.
Day 11: Jog 15 minutes (20 percent increase in time from last week).
Day 12: Rest (and test a new food!).
Day 13: Lift 30 pounds (20 percent increase in weight from last week).
Day 14: Rest (and test a new food!).
Day 15: Jog 15 minutes (20 percent increase in time from last week).
Day 16: Rest (and test a new food!).
Day 17: Lift 30 pounds (20 percent increase from last week). Day 18: Rest (and test a new food!).
Day 19: Your choice of jogging or lifting; or, combine jogging and lifting—say, jog for 10 minutes and lift 30 pounds for 5 minutes—and test that.
Day 20: Rest (and test a new food!).
Remember: You test exercise on odd-numbered days and food on even-numbered days. On the days when you test exercise, you eat only foods that you have already tested and know to be friendly. On the days when you test food, you take a break from exercise. If you test a new food and a new level of exercise on the same day, and you gain weight, you won’t know which factor your body is reacting to.
Often we get so stuck in the here and now, we start chasing goals that sound good but don’t really serve us. We look for statistics to verify our progress—evidence that we’re working harder—while forgetting that fitness is supposed to last a lifetime. Our ultimate goal is not to rack up numbers on a chart, but rather to remain strong, lean, and energized.
To this end, I’m going to help you find the fitness objectives that are perfect for you. Here are some of my favorite goals to keep you injury-free while preventing your routines from becoming ho-hum.
Which is better: a super-demanding routine that you can sustain for only a few weeks, or a routine that fits easily into your lifestyle? I’ll give you a hint: You want the routine that doesn’t stress you out or make you feel as though you don’t have enough time to do the other things you enjoy.
One glance at any child will tell you how much pure joy you can find simply in moving your body. Remember how much fun you had during recess and playing at the park? When you were a teenager, did you like to go dancing? Your body was made to move, and it craves movement. But if you haven’t moved for a while, you kind of forget the fun.
You want a wide range of activities available, so that if one type creates inflammation or just becomes boring, you’ve got lots of other choices ready to go. Some of you will be doing triathlons in your 70s. Others will be happier doing yoga or tai chi. Whatever your goals, you want a wide variety of options that fit your needs at every stage of your life.
Most people lose flexibility and balance as they age, but that doesn’t have to happen to you. Decreased flexibility can lead to injuries and arthritis. Decreased balance can increase your risk of falling, especially as you get older. Not the kind of old age I want for you!
How do you stay flexible? Always include some sort of stretching in your workout routine. In the short run, you’ll get long and strong muscles. In the long run, you’ll prevent injury. Win-win!
So often I hear people talk about weight. But what the scale says—as helpful as it may be—can also be such an arbitrary number. After all, 130 pounds with 30 percent body fat looks very different from 130 pounds with 20 percent body fat!
I’m sure you have heard that old myth that a pound of muscle weighs more than a pound of fat? That one drives me crazy—a pound is a pound is a pound! However, it is true that a pound of muscle takes up less space than a pound of fat, so you look leaner with better muscle tone. Plus, the more muscle you have, the more metabolically active you are. Even when you’re sitting on the couch or lying in bed, your muscles keep your metabolism humming, so that a greater percentage of muscle helps keep you thinner. Less fat and more muscle means better weight loss.
Want to know your body fat percentage? You can talk to a trainer at the gym and have them measure you once a month, or you can buy a handheld body fat monitor. I use Omron (see Resources). If you already have a scale with body fat percentages, please be cautious about the data, because I find this type of scale to be pretty inaccurate.
Strength is an important goal for many reasons. Physically, it means you’re building bigger, stronger muscles, and as we just saw, that’s great for your weight, your metabolism, and your health. But strength also makes you feel terrific. You can lift a suitcase, tote boxes out to the garage, give a horsy ride to a young child—so many activities that make you feel strong and powerful.
So I encourage you to set new strength goals. Get creative and come up with objectives that fit your own personal interests and workout routine. Maybe you’re currently doing 10 push-ups and you want to get up to 25. Maybe you’re running a 10-minute mile and you want to bring it down to 8. Extend the number of reps you do or the amount of time you can work out. Whatever you decide, set goals that involve challenging your muscles.
Not really thrilled with running or lifting weights? Think the gym is just a ho-hum experience? Try piquing your interest by mastering a new skill, whether it’s doing a handstand, learning how to box, or trying out a totally new sport like volleyball. A great side benefit to learning new skills is that they can also improve brain function!
A goitrogen is a food that depletes thyroid function. You don’t necessarily need to avoid all goitrogens, but I don’t want you eating them every day, either. Here are the foods you should test and some guidelines on how often to eat them.
Can other foods be goitrogens? Absolutely! You will sometimes see lists that include wheat, rye, millet, and other grains. However, any reactive food can lower your BBT. That doesn’t necessarily make it a goitrogen. You may find other lists in other sources, but this is my list based on what I have seen after working with thousands of people in my clinical practice.
A good rule of thumb is to test each goitrogen because, again, it might not be a goitrogen for you. If it does depress your BBT, skip it for now. You can always retest it in six to twelve months.
What about the goitrogens that pass your test? Limit each individual goitrogen to once a week and follow these guidelines.
• If you have no thyroid issues or are hypothyroid (underactive thyroid): If you don’t have a thyroid issue, you don’t want to develop one! And if you are hypothyroid, you want to give your thyroid a break. So, either way, consume at most three goitrogens per week, never two days in a row, and make sure they are three different goitrogens. For example,
Monday: Strawberries
Wednesday: Spinach
Saturday: Brussels sprouts.
• If you are hyperthyroid (overactive thyroid): Aim for 4 to 5 goitrogens per week, spaced out throughout the week, but make sure they are different goitrogens. This can actually help bring down your thyroid function to a healthy level. For example,
Monday: Strawberries
Tuesday: Spinach
Thursday: Peanut butter
Friday: Swiss chard.
The important thing with goitrogens is to test them and then to rotate them. My client Janet learned this the hard way.
Janet was hypothyroid, and she really loved peanut butter. I mean really. So she kept pushing to test her beloved peanut butter. When she tried it, her BBT did not drop, and she lost only 0.2 pound—not the 0.5 pound that would have made it a weight-loss food. That was okay, not great, but she loved peanut butter. I believe in balance, so I said, “Look, Janet, we both know peanut butter is not optimal for your weight or your BBT, but it’s a food that makes you really happy—and I want you to be happy! Feel free to have peanut butter once a week.”
Now, we all have an inner three-year-old who hates to be told what to do, so of course Janet ignored me and had peanut butter two days later. This time, instead of losing 0.2 pound, she gained 0.2 pound, and her BBT dropped by 0.5 degree. She still couldn’t believe that her beloved peanuts had this effect, so she ate peanut butter again the next day. This time she gained a pound and her BBT dropped a full point.
Janet got the picture. She went back to having peanut butter once a week, her weight loss resumed, and her thyroid remained in an optimal zone. She didn’t have to give up one of her favorite foods—she just had to enjoy it in moderation. So please, trust me when I say that you will find many, many foods that you love and can rotate into your diet that will promote your best metabolic health! You just need to take it slow on the foods that are more challenging.
Remember, your BBT will drop if you get too much exercise—that’s one of the things we’re trying to measure. However, other factors can also lower your BBT, so to get an accurate reading, make sure you take care of the following.
• Get enough sleep: If you need some sleep support, see here.
• Keep stress in check: Meditate, take SAM-e, or take some hops or lemon balm on a stressful day to mitigate the effects of cortisol. (See here.)
• Avoid goitrogens: Because these foods can lower your thyroid function, stick to the protocol here.
• Women: Note that your BBT will drop on the day your cycle starts and also after you ovulate. Tracking your cycle will help you plan your exercise. For example, if a half-hour run boosts your BBT and an hour run decreases it, schedule the half-hour run when your cycle starts. Using exercise to balance your BBT will help keep your metabolism humming for the most effective weight loss.
• 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.
• 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.
• Soup portions are 16 ounces for women, 20 ounces for men. Please do not have more.
• Women: When seeds, nuts, or cheese is listed at any meal, please have 1 to 1.5 ounces. Animal protein portions are 4 to 6 ounces. Egg portion is 3 eggs.
• Men: When seeds, nuts, or cheese is listed at any meal, please have 2 to 3 ounces. Animal protein portions are 6 to 8 ounces. Egg portion is 4 eggs.
• Remember to dress your salad with lemon juice and EVOO, or with the vinaigrette of your choice (here).
• Approved fruits for breakfast cereal on The Metabolism Plan are blueberries, pears, and apples.
• Women: Half a piece of fruit or ½ cup of blueberries.
• Men: A whole piece of fruit or 1 cup of blueberries.
• 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.
This is an exciting day! You’ve been exercising for almost a week, and your body may be ready for a slightly bigger challenge. Or, if you’re happy where you are, feel free to stay at your current level of duration and intensity—but then try some new types of exercise. One caveat, though. If you were reactive to your test food, stay with an approved exercise today. You can test increased exercise on your next test day.
Now, some of you have been wondering when you can take classes or work with your trainer again. Don’t worry—this week is going to help get you there, because over the next 10 days, you can make your exercise either 20 percent longer, or 20 percent more intensive. We will be testing how your body reacts to even longer times—up to 90 minutes—during Days 21 to 30. If you pass those tests, it’s back to class you go!
However, if you find by the end of this phase that your body does best with 20 minutes, at least for now, stick with a half-hour exercise class that has a nice cooldown at the end. Maybe you can work up to longer times later on.
Meanwhile, today, you have two options.
Option 1: Increase your exercise time by 20 percent.
OR
Option 2: Increase the amount of weight you lift by 20 percent.
I’m betting that you’ll get an extra burst of endorphins and feel just terrific—but possibly, your body will say, politely but firmly, “No, thank you, I liked it better before.” The scale and the thermometer will make your body’s message clear. Since sleep, stress, or other factors could disrupt your results, we’ll give you three chances. Increase your exercise by 20 percent on Days 11, 13, and 15. If your body says “No” all three days, then go back to what worked for you in the previous week.
Flax Granola (here) with approved fruit (see here)
Served with Silk Coconut Milk or Rice Dream
OR
Almond Grabbers (here) and approved fruit
Baby romaine with hard or soft goat cheese, carrots, and dried cranberries
Cream of Broccoli Soup (here)
Trail Mix (here)
OR
Low-sodium potato chips
Women: 2 tablespoons almond butter
Men: 3 to 4 tablespoons almond butter
Chicken with herbs of choice
Sautéed Zucchini Pasta (here) and Sunflower Pesto (here)
Baby romaine with radicchio and pomegranate
Your low-reactive options are:
I’ve given you these four options because they are very likely to work for you. Most people can manage them with no trouble, and if you can, too, you’ll have another terrific option to rotate into the mix.
Generally, if your inflammation levels are high, your body may react poorly to many different foods. As you bring inflammation down, your digestion and immune system become stronger, enabling you to handle foods that triggered a reaction before. So whether or not you pass this test, don’t worry. Many foods that don’t work now almost certainly will work in the next 3 to 12 months, giving you a whole world of delicious foods to look forward to.
TMP Smoothie (here)
OR
Blueberry Compote (here)
Chicken Kale Soup (here)
Baby romaine with ¼ avocado and pumpkin seeds
1 ounce Bare Apple Chips OR Apple Chips (here) with optional Zucchini Noush (here)
OR
Trail Mix (here)
Any protein you have tested and found friendly (for portion sizes, see here)
Test a new vegetable—sautéed, steamed, or baked: ½ cup to 1 cup
Sautéed zucchini, yellow squash, and scallions
Baby romaine and pomegranate
Once again, you’ve got two options, depending on how your Day 11 went.
Option 1: If the Day 11 testing showed that your body liked increased exercise, terrific! Pick another type of exercise that works for you, and do it 20 percent longer or with 20 percent more weight.
Option 2: If the Day 11 testing produced weight gain or lowered your BBT, repeat the test. We want to be sure that the negative result was because of the exercise and not due to sleep, stress, or any other factor.
Meanwhile, for dinner, choose a protein that you’ve already tested and found friendly.
Flax Granola (here) with a friendly fruit (see here)
Served with Silk Coconut Milk or Rice Dream
Leftover vegetables with sunflower seeds and ½ apple on a bed of red leaf lettuce
Chicken Kale Soup (here)
Trail Mix (here)
OR
Low-sodium potato chips
Any protein that you have tested and found friendly
Baby romaine with grated beet and fresh dill
Sautéed kale and carrots
Aren’t you excited? You get to test wheat today!
Of course, if you have celiac disease, or you know you’ve had a bad reaction to bread in the past, you can skip this test. You’re the one who best knows your body and your history, so use your own judgment here.
But as you can see, The Metabolism Plan is not anti-gluten, as so many programs are. I think that some gluten in moderation can be perfectly fine for people without celiac disease, especially as you bring down your levels of inflammation and become healthier. Even if you choose not to test bread now, those among you without celiac disease might want to try it in three to six months.
Any breakfast you have tested and found friendly
OR
Women: 1 slice of bread with raw almond butter and ½ apple
Men: 2 slices of bread with raw almond butter and a whole apple
OR
Test Arrowhead Mills Spelt Cereal, adding 2 tablespoons of chia seeds and sunflower seeds (for portion, see here)
Chicken Kale Soup (here)
Baby romaine with sunflower seeds and carrots
1 ounce low-sodium potato chips
OR
Trail Mix (here)
Approved protein
Zucchini Pasta (here) with scallions, basil, and grated Manchego
Baby romaine with ¼ pear
Option 1: If your body is doing well with increased exercise, terrific! Pick another type of exercise that works for you, or repeat a favorite. Either way, exercise 20 percent longer or with 20 percent more weight.
Option 2: If the Day 11 and Day 13 testing produced weight gain or lowered your BBT, repeat the test. We want to be sure that the negative result was because of the exercise and not due to sleep, stress, or any other factor.
As on Day 13, you also want to choose a protein for dinner that you already know is friendly. That way, you’ll know for sure that your results reflect your exercise test and not your reaction to a new type of food. Remember to follow the guidelines for rotating proteins, which you can find here.
Blueberry Compote (here)
OR
TMP Smoothie (here)
Cream of Broccoli Soup (here)
Baby romaine with raw beet and pumpkin seeds
Carrots with Vegan Creamy Kale Dip (here)
OR
Trail Mix (here)
Chicken with Indian Spice Rub (here)
Sautéed kale with onions and yellow squash
Baby romaine and pomegranate
It’s time to jazz up those lunches a bit! If you do well with a cup of rice at lunch, that’s great fuel on your workout days. Chickpeas open up a whole wide world as well, with tasty snacks like The Plan’s Hummus (here)! Rice and chickpeas each yield approximately 5 grams of protein, but are a higher reactive test when combined.
Just to note, chickpeas tend to pair poorly with animal protein, and for some folks they cause gas when mixed with broccoli. Choose chickpeas that have 100 grams of sodium or less per serving. Goya and Whole Foods are both good options. Chickpeas do go wonderfully with kale, so that will be one of today’s lunch options. Rice goes very well with seeds and vegetable proteins like broccoli and kale, so that will be your other lunchtime choice.
Flax Granola (here) with friendly fruit (see here)
Served with Silk Coconut Milk or Rice Dream
Chickpea option: Sautéed chickpeas with curry, carrots, and kale
Baby romaine with ¼ avocado and sunflower seeds
OR
Rice option: Sautéed kale with yellow squash served over 1 cup basmati rice and topped with pumpkin seed hummus (here)
Salad with grated beet and carrot
Low-sodium potato chips
OR
½ apple and almond butter
Any protein you have tested and found friendly
Steamed, roasted, or sautéed vegetables you have tested and found friendly
Baby romaine with radicchio
What you do on this day will depend on how your previous exercise days have gone. I want you to have at least two forms of exercise in your rotation, and, ideally, three. So bump up either the time or intensity on an exercise you’ve already tested, or find a new exercise to test. Remember, variety is the spice of life!
As always, eat a protein that you’ve already tested today, so that you don’t confuse your response to a new level of exercise with your response to a new protein.
Apple Streusel (here)
OR
Blueberry Compote (here)
Chicken Kale Soup (here)
Baby romaine with ¼ avocado, dried cranberries, and sunflower seeds
Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (here)
OR
Bare Apple Chips OR Apple Chips (here) and Zucchini Noush (here)
Friendly protein
Vegetable Timbale (here)
Baby romaine with grated beet and dill
Tired of cooking? Well, today is your lucky day: You are going to start testing local restaurants so you can enjoy some nights out! Here are a few suggestions for how to make each restaurant experience positive and healthy.
• Order your friendly foods with no salt. Here’s my motto: If it’s salty, send it back! If you can get the chef to leave out the salt, you can enjoy lots of foods from your favorite menus.
• Avoid the chicken. I’m not saying there are no exceptions. But ordering chicken in a restaurant is usually a disaster. Know why? Sodium. Ugh. I can’t tell you how many of my clients have suffered through another boring “healthy” grilled chicken breast only to gain a pound. That’s because chicken hides the taste of sodium very, very well. Also, chefs, bless their hearts, often try to make chicken tastier by using chicken stock to marinate the meat to give it more flavor. And guess what almost every commercially prepared chicken stock has? MSG, a.k.a. insta–weight gain.
• Ask whether they use beef tenderizer. Yes, it makes the meat more juicy. But guess what it contains? Yup, you guessed it, MSG. No go.
• Go for the steak, grilled lamb, duck breast, or fish. My clients usually do well with these foods, and if you’ve tested well for them at home, they’ll probably work for you in a restaurant.
• Choose the sashimi. I find that sashimi is pretty golden, too—you just need to avoid the soy sauce. And yes, that means low-sodium soy sauce. When I eat sashimi, I just mix some water with my wasabi and go for the straight sinus clear! The pickled ginger is fine, too, but steer clear of the pink stuff, because there are major issues with the dye.
TMP Smoothie (here)
OR
Blueberry Compote (here)
Women: 1 cup roasted or steamed broccoli served on a bed of baby romaine with goat cheese and sunflower seeds
Men: 2 cups roasted or steamed broccoli served on a bed of baby romaine with carrots, goat cheese, and sunflower seeds
Women and Men: Lemon Basil Escarole Soup (here)
1 ounce low-sodium potato chips with ⅛ cup homemade guacamole (here)
Test a restaurant
OR
Choose any friendly dinner you have enjoyed.
If any of your exercise test results have been unclear, today is a great day to repeat your test for more accurate data.
Want to bump it up a notch? Combine two approved exercises and work out for up to 45 minutes!
As for food, repeat your two favorite days thus far. It’s a great time to use some leftovers, giving you time to prep for Days 21 to 30. (See the cooking hacks here for suggestions on how to get a lot of food ready for the coming phase.)
Now that you’re two-thirds of the way through your Metabolism Plan, how are you feeling? I know I am excited for you, because you’re finally getting the answers you’ve been looking for about what will and will not help you lose weight. You are doing an amazing job of figuring out how to be your best life coach!
We’re almost there—but there is still one step to go. In the next section, “Fine-Tuning Your Plan,” you are truly going to make this Metabolism Plan your own. You are going to figure out what to test, using the methods you now understand so well and taking complete charge of your own diet and exercise plan.