6
DIET PREP
A day in my life as Mr. Harvey’s personal chef began at 4:00 a.m. in my home office. I planned the daily menu and curated the freshest, highest-quality ingredients. I sourced the best spices, herbs, produce, and local products during farmers’ market season. During the off season, I worked with markets, co-ops, and grocers to get the ingredients we needed. That done, I called my sous chef to go over the details of the day to come. Then I was off to NBC Studios where The Steve Harvey Show is taped.
Food prep on site began around 5:00 a.m. We cleaned our produce, broke down our meats and seafood, and started fresh stocks and beans for the day. Because Steve Harvey spends a large part of his day at the studio taping his syndicated radio show and filming multiple talk show episodes, his dressing room/office includes a full kitchen, which he had designed for me so that I could build his flavors there.
Just as prep is a key part of any chef’s job, you have to prepare yourself and get organized to achieve the best results from the Spice Diet. This chapter is designed to give you the information and a plan to make Phase 1 of the diet and your transition to a healthier lifestyle smooth sailing.
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Before you start any diet, you should consult with your doctor. If you have a chronic illness or take medications for a medical condition, it is even more important for you to discuss the Spice Diet with a health-care professional to confirm that the diet is appropriate for you. Identify your allergies and other food restrictions in advance. You will find a good selection of healthy food in the powerhouse recipes for Phase 1 and Phase 2 regardless of your restrictions.
It’s a good idea to take note of your basic health information, such as weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol. Calculate your BMI and waist-to-height ratio. You should record all these numbers on your phone, laptop, tablet, or computer or, if you don’t want to go the electronic route, use a notebook. You might want to post them on your vision board. These numbers represent your starting point, your baseline. As you lose weight, you will be able to observe all the improvements you are making in your health. While you are at it, take a photo of yourself as you are now for your vision board or the refrigerator door. The less flattering the photo is, the more motivating it will be. When cravings arrive, you can look at that photo and say to yourself, “No way am I going to eat that junk. I want to change the way I look and feel!”
Going for the WOW Factor
My mom was an amazing cook and prepared meals that I loved, especially her potatoes au gratin. Her chicken casserole was addictive. Having said that, I was living on a mostly carbohydrate diet. My weight escalated to 185 pounds. At 5 feet 1 inch tall, I was obese. I peaked at 225 pounds. Struggling with high blood pressure, prediabetes, and high cholesterol, I didn’t have a choice.
I began preparing my own meals, but my cooking left a lot to be desired. When I first heard about the Spice Diet, I dismissed Judson’s ideas for getting me in shape, but one day I gave in and committed to give it a try. I saw immediate change as I began to spice up my meals. My food now has that WOW factor. I look forward to cooking these days, and everyone enjoys the amazing flavors of Judson’s recipes.
I started losing weight and that motivated me to work out four or five days a week. The good news is that I have lost over forty pounds. I am finally at a comfortable weight of 183 pounds, and I’m not done yet. I will continue to follow this plan until I lose thirty more pounds. When I accomplish a seventy-pound weight loss, I am committed to keeping that weight off. What’s great is that I believe I can do it.
—Judy A.
WATCH TELEVISION LESS AND MOVE MORE
Before focusing on what you will be eating, you have to stand up and start moving. Watching television for hours at a time is one of the major enablers when it comes to emotional eating and cravings. Although those food and beverage commercials can break down anyone’s resistance, there are even more profound consequences for being a couch potato.
Being sedentary is bad for your health. Sitting for long periods of time has consequences, which scientists refer to as the “sitting disease.” Physical inactivity has been linked to metabolic disease, obesity, and diabetes. If you spend your evenings in front of a television and remain inactive for long periods of time, you increase your risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. The New York Times reported on an alarming Australian study that found that every hour of television watched after the age of twenty-five reduced the viewer’s life expectancy by 21.8 minutes. To put that number in perspective, smoking a cigarette reduces life expectancy by eleven minutes. Other media reported on this study under the headline “Sitting Is More Dangerous to Your Health than Smoking.”
Think of how much of the day you spend sitting or lying down. You might spend the majority of your day sitting at a desk, at a conference room table, in restaurants, in your car, on buses and trains as you commute, and then you sit in front of the television or computer when you get home. All the labor-saving devices that are a part of your life can keep you sedentary. You can shop with a click of the mouse, change channels, open the garage door, answer the phone right next to you without having to get out of your chair or exert yourself.
American adults spend 55 to 70 percent of their time sitting or lying on a couch, which would be 7.7 to 15 hours a day. If you add 7 hours for sleep, you could be sedentary for 22 hours a day. It is essential that you move more if you want to be healthy.
When you sit, your muscles, especially the powerful muscles in your legs and buttocks, do not contract. When the electrical activity in your muscles drops, they require less fuel, and blood sugar levels rise, which can contribute to diabetes and result in excess blood sugar being stored as fat. When you are sedentary, the rate at which you burn calories plummets to 1 calorie per minute, a third of what your body would burn if you got up and walked. You do not have to spend two hours a day working out at the gym. It turns out that simply standing more is good for your overall health. When you stand, you burn more calories. Depending on your size, standing may help you burn an additional twenty to fifty calories an hour.
If you are completely sedentary, you might begin by standing more during the day. Make it a habit to get up every twenty minutes and walk twenty feet or keep standing for two minutes. That’s all you have to do to start. You can set the timer on your phone to remind you. There are anti-sitting apps you can download on your phone or computer that will let you know it’s time to get up. Ultimately, you have to build routine movement into your life. You can gradually add more physical activity.
Ten Ways to Get Moving
You don’t have to exhaust yourself for hours at the gym to benefit from moving more. Here are a few simple things you can do:
1. Take a fifteen-minute walk after meals.
2. Play music and dance when you do housework.
3. Stand and pace when you talk on the phone.
4. Get up for water every odd or even hour. As an extra benefit, you’ll get hydrated at the same time.
5. Stretch at your desk during the day.
6. If you commute to work by bus, train, or subway, stand for part of the trip or get off a stop early and walk the rest of the way.
7. Park a distance from the entrance of your destination.
8. Hide the remote controls. Change the channel or volume manually.
9. Get up during TV commercials. Do a chore or work out your arms with bands or light weights.
10. Wear a pedometer or an activity tracker. They are great motivators.
You should feel better once you move more, and as you lose weight, it will be easier to move. You don’t have to feel lethargic any longer. By burning energy, you will feel energetic. Making movement a habit will help you to tap into reserves of energy you may not know you have, and improve your mood and optimism.
Recreation versus Exercise
Adam Zickerman, the owner of InForm Fitness and author of the New York Times bestseller Power of 10 has designed two high-intensity strength-training programs using resistance bands for The Spice Diet. Before you groan at the thought of working out, you should know that each workout takes no more than fifteen minutes, and you only have to do one of the workouts twice a week. No excuses. Anyone can find fifteen minutes twice a week to do these efficient and safe routines.
Before getting into the workouts, I want share the distinction Adam makes between movement and exercise. You need both to raise your fitness level and to reverse the complications of weight gain. Adam considers movement to be recreation, things you do for fun. It could be taking a yoga or Zumba class, riding a bike, playing with children, working in the garden, or taking your dog for a long walk. Recreation restores and refreshes you. As far as I’m concerned, I could use more of that, and you probably can, too.
Exercise in the form of strength or resistance training helps to increase lean muscle mass and reduce body fat. With more muscle, your body will burn calories more efficiently. On a superficial level, you will look better. Muscle takes up less space and looks tighter compared to fat tissue. Take a look at the inspiring bodies on your vision board. If you increase your muscle mass, you will look leaner and toned, which is what you want to achieve. More important than your appearance, when you have a greater percentage of muscle mass, your body will burn more calories at rest. Fat tissue uses very few calories, because it doesn’t help your body to move. Building muscle can help you burn as much as 15 percent more calories, which will support weight loss and maintenance.
People who are inactive lose as much as 3 to 5 percent of their muscle mass per decade after age thirty. After the age of forty-five, muscle mass declines at a rate of 1 percent a year. Between the ages of twenty and eighty, you will lose about 40 percent of your muscle mass if you do not exercise to counter the decline. That’s why the elderly often appear frail. The good news is that older adults who perform adequate resistance training can increase their strength as much as threefold within two to three months. It’s encouraging to know that you can fight muscle loss at any time. Stay strong, and the quality of your life will be so much better.
Ginger
This pungent spice is a powerhouse when it comes to weight loss. Two compounds found in ginger, gingerols and capsaicin, are thermogenic. They raise your body temperature. When your body has to work hard to lower your temperature, you burn more calories. Ginger can:
Increase your metabolism by about 20 percent for three hours.
Act as a natural appetite suppressant.
Reduce belly fat by lowering cortisol levels.
Serve as a mild laxative.
Ginger adds great flavor to soups, marinades, and salad dressings.
Turn Up the Intensity
Exercise creates change in your body and your mind, but there is a new take on how to get the best results from exercise. The latest thinking is that high intensity is the way to go. Adam Zickerman of InForm Fitness is a pioneer in the high-intensity, super-slow movement. His exercise slows the pace of weight training and focuses on fatiguing every muscle to the point of muscle failure. The workouts he has designed for The Spice Diet will give you the power to reshape your body efficiently and safely, regardless of your physical condition or age. As Adam has seen repeatedly in the progress of his clients, you can expect to have better results from his fifteen-minute, high-intensity workouts than you would with more time-consuming fitness routines.
Adam has found that the best way to increase muscle mass is to work with light to moderate resistance—or weight—in a very controlled way. When you do an exercise, count for ten seconds as you do the movement and for ten seconds as you return to the starting position. At this slow rate, one complete rep would take twenty seconds. Keep the tension of the movement in the muscle, not the joint. Once you have completed the movement, do it again without resting. Keep going until you cannot move the muscles you are working another inch. As you try to repeat the move, your muscles will burn, and you will shake. At that point, you are in muscle failure.
If you want to see results, you have to work your muscles to the point of failure, meaning you have no more force to give no matter how much you push. Adam calls it “hitting the wall.” You are fighting resistance, unable to move another inch. Once you reach muscle failure, keep going, keep pushing. Although you may not be able to make the band move, continue to try for a slow count of ten. That final ten seconds of straining after muscle failure is when the payoff happens. When you complete a fifteen-minute, full-body, high-intensity workout, you have earned time off—exercise-free days.
When you push yourself until your muscles are exhausted, they need time to rest and repair. For proper recovery, your muscles need three or four days of rest. That is when your body begins to build muscle. When you exercise with this intensity, microtears develop in your muscles that need to heal. When the repairs are made, muscle tissue is built. If you overdo the workouts and do not allow your muscles time to heal, you will end up breaking down muscle tissue, which is the last thing you want to do.
Adam says that his clients like to do one workout on the weekend and one during the workweek. He recommends doing the exercises on Saturday and Tuesday.
Keep in mind that you have to work hard to benefit from the rest. Most people stop short of the intensity required for results. The key is to keep pushing until you cannot do another rep and then push for another ten seconds. Exerting yourself in this way for thirty minutes a week will make a big difference in building muscle and burning fat.
THE SPICE DIET HIGH-INTENSITY STRENGTH TRAINING
Before you take on any exercise regime, it is a good idea to check with your doctor to be sure you are able to do it.
Adam has designed two full-body programs of six exercises each to work all the muscle groups in your body. One workout is not more difficult than the other one. He included two workouts because he thinks it’s good to change things up now and then. When the routine you are doing gets boring, give the other one a try.
Resistance bands are the only equipment you will need. They are light and portable, so you can take them wherever you go. It’s a good idea to buy a set of bands that has varying levels of resistance, because as you get stronger you’ll progress to a band with higher resistance. You can use bands that are a long flat strip of rubber. A set comes in different lengths with different levels of resistance. These do not usually have handles, so you can wrap the bands around your hands or hold them farther from the ends, shortening them up, for greater control of the resistance level. Another type of resistance equipment is a set of tube resistance bands, which are made from rubber tubes and usually come with handles. Adam recommends getting a set with foam handles, because they cushion your hands and protect them from blisters. The Spice Diet workouts have been designed to use simple bands or tubes with handles.
Mustard
The phytochemicals that give mustard its flavor produce impressive weight loss benefits. Eating 1 teaspoon of mustard can boost your metabolism by up to 25 percent for several hours after eating. Animal studies have shown that obese subjects lost abdominal fat when their diet was supplemented with mustard.
There are so many delicious mustards available that you can have great variety. Just stay away from mustards with honey—you do not need extra sugar. Mustard is a must for most salad dressings.
Rather than a set number of repetitions, you will be working your muscles to exhaustion or muscle failure. You will push the initial movement for ten more seconds, or until you cannot move the band, to get the maximum benefit of the exercise.
These workouts are great because you can make them as challenging as you want by choosing the amount of resistance the bands or tubes offer. If you are using graduated bands or tubes, move up to the next level of resistance when it takes you more than fifteen minutes to complete the series. You will know you are getting stronger if it takes you longer to get to muscle failure. Remember: you have to challenge your muscles to get the maximum benefit from the exercises.
Your resistance bands or tubes can be used in hundreds of different exercises. When you are ready to create your own workout, you can find many exercises, arranged by muscle groups, online.
The Spice Diet Workout 1
EXERCISE 1: DEAD LIFT
Target: Posterior chain, upper body, and core
Hamstrings
Glutes
Lats
Trapezoids
Erectors
Scapula stabilizers
At high resistance: Upper arms at forearms
At high resistance: Lower, middle, and upper back
The key to doing this exercise correctly is to keep your back straight as you bend from the waist.
1. Stand on the middle of a band or tube and grip each end. Move your feet hip width apart with a slight flex in your knees.
2. Bend forward, hinging from the waist with a straight back. Stick out your butt as you do this. Do not arch your back.
3. With your knees slightly bent, lower your hands toward the floor in front of your toes for a count of 10.
4. With your arms straight, raise your hands as you stand up. Return to upright position to for count of 10.
5. Repeat this exercise to muscle failure. When you can no longer pull the band up, keep trying for a count of ten.
EXERCISE 2: SEATED ROW
Target: Back
Erector spinae in the lower back
Middle and lower trapezius in the upper back
Rhomboids and latissimus dorsi in the middle back
Teres major in the outer back
For maximum benefit and to avoid injuring your back, be certain to sit up straight with your shoulders squared while doing this exercise.
1. Sit on the floor with your legs extended in front of you. Wrap the resistance band or tube securely under your feet. Hold the band at a point that allows you to sit up straight.
2. Pull the band to each side of your torso in a rowing motion with your elbows bent close to your sides until your shoulder blades squeeze together.
3. Pause in this position and then return to start with your back remaining straight.
4. Repeat until muscle failure and you cannot do another one. Then try to pull back for 10 seconds more, even if the band does not budge.
EXERCISE 3: FLY
Target: Chest
Pectoralis major
Deltoids
1. Either loop the resistance band or tube around a stable object, such as a pole, anchor it to a door (if your set has anchors), or simply run it behind your back. If you loop the band behind your back, you will probably need to wrap the band around your hand or forearm in order to get enough resistance.
2. Hold the ends of the resistance band or handles in each hand and spread your arms out straight to the side in a T position. Your arms should be just below shoulder height. Be sure not to lock your elbows.
3. Keeping your elbows slightly bent, inhale as you bring both arms forward until your hands meet in front of your chest.
4. Exhale as you return to starting position.
5. Repeat until muscle failure. Then continue trying to move your arms forward in front of you for a count of 10.
EXERCISE 4: LATERAL RAISE
Target: Shoulders
Deltoids
1. Stand on a resistance band or tube while holding each end or handle so that the tension begins at arm’s length. Your palms should be facing each other in front of your thighs, knuckles to the floor. Your arms should be fully extended toward the floor with a slight bend in your elbows.
2. Take a deep breath. As you exhale, lift the ends of the band until they are slightly below your shoulders. You can slightly tilt your wrist as if you were watering plants. Keep your arms extended with your elbows higher than your hands.
3. Lower the handles slowly to the starting position.
4. Repeat the up-and-down movement until muscle failure. Then continue to try to lift your arms for a count of 10.
EXERCISE 5: MONKEY
Target: Oblique abdominals
Deltoids
Biceps
1. Stand on a resistance band with your feet shoulder width apart and your hands holding the ends of the band or the handles with your palms facing your thighs.
2. Slightly bend your knees and squat down as if you are going to sit. Your butt drops back slightly as you lower.
3. Bend your torso to the left as you bring up your right elbow.
4. Return to center, then lean to the left again.
5. When you can no longer move the band, continue trying for a count of 10.
6. Repeat the exercise on the other side. Bend to the right with your left elbow lifted, return to center, then bend to the right.
7. Repeat until you can no longer move the band.
EXERCISE 6: STANDING BICEP CURL
Target: Biceps
1. Stand on the middle of the band holding the ends of the band or the handles in your hands. With your palms facing forward, keep your hands at your hips.
2. Bend your elbows and slowly raise your hands to your shoulders for a count of 10. Make sure to keep your back straight and your abdominal muscles engaged so you are working your core as well.
3. Lower your arms slowly with control for a count of 10.
4. Repeat the up-and-down movement to muscle failure. Then continue to try to lift your hands for a count of 10.
The Spice Diet Workout 2
EXERCISE 1: LEG PRESS
Target: Quadriceps
Gluteus maximus
Hamstrings
1. Sit on a mat or carpeted area and wrap the band under the arches of your feet.
2. Roll down until your back is flat on the floor.
3. Hold the band or tube by the handles or increase resistance by holding the bands higher with less slack.
4. Bend your knees toward your chest and hold them in tabletop position—your knees are pointing at the ceiling and your shins are parallel to the ceiling.
5. Press through your feet to straighten your legs for a count of 10. Avoid arching your back by pulling your belly button into your spine.
6. While keeping your abs tight, return to the starting position for a count of 10.
7. Repeat the movement until muscle exhaustion. Then try to push your legs out for a count of 10.
EXERCISE 2: KICKBACK
Target: Butt
Gluteus maximus
Hamstrings
1. Place the resistance band or tube around the bottom of your right foot and get down into an all-fours/hands-and-knees position.
2. Kick back and up with your right foot as you straighten your leg for a count of 10.
3. Resisting the band, slowly lower your right leg and bring your knee to the floor returning to starting position for a count of 10.
4. Repeat until muscle failure. Then continue trying to push your leg out for a count a 10.
5. Put the resistance band around your left foot and repeat the exercise as you did for your right leg.
Target: Upper back
Trapezius
Rhomboid major
Levator scapulae
1. Stand on the middle of the resistance band or tube and hold each end in your hands. Make sure there is no slack in the band. To get the right level of resistance you might have to shorten up the band by gripping farther from the end and wrapping it around your hand.
2. Keeping your arms straight, shrug your shoulders up and backward, working against the resistance of the band for a count of 10.
3. Lower your shoulders to the start position for a count of 10. Repeat the movement until muscle failure. Then continue trying to lift your shoulders for a count of 10.
EXERCISE 4: TRICEPS KICKBACK
Target: Triceps, upper back, and rear shoulders
Triceps
Trapezius
Latissimus dorsi
Rhomboids
1. Stand on the middle of the band or tube, feet shoulder width apart, and hold an end of the band or tube in each hand with your palms facing behind you.
2. Bend over at your waist so that your chest is parallel to the floor, your elbows bent behind you, and your hands up at chest level.
3. Reach your hands behind you and lock your elbows for a count of 10.
4. Return to bent elbows for a count of 10.
5. Repeat this motion until muscle failure. Then continue trying to extend your arms for an additional count of 10.
EXERCISE 5: CHEST PRESS
Target: Front of chest and arms
Pectoralis major
Anterior deltoids
Triceps
1. You can anchor your band or tube in a door if you have a set with an anchor or wrap it around a weight-bearing pole, such as a metal stair rail. The safest way to do this exercise is to place the band behind your back at chest height and to wrap any excess length around your forearms.
2. With elbows at your sides and your arms parallel to the floor at a 90-degree angle, push straight out for a count of 10. Be sure to keep your shoulders down.
3. Resist the band as you return to a starting position for a count of 10.
4. Repeat the movement until muscle failure and you cannot do any more reps. Then try to push out for a count of 10 even though the band will not move.
EXERCISE 6: LYING STRAIGHT LEG RAISES
Target: Hips and lower abdomen
Hip flexors
Abs
1.Lie flat on your back on a mat or a rug. Wrap the middle of the band around the soles of both feet. Hold the ends of the resistance band or tube in each hand.
2. Raise your legs to a little less than 90 degrees in the air. Make sure you do not arch your back while doing this exercise. Your tailbone should be heavy and your core tight.
3. Slowly lower your legs until your feet are a few inches from the ground for a count of 10.
4. Then raise your legs with control for a count of 10 to return to the starting position.
5. Repeat the up and down movement until muscle failure. Then try to lift your legs for a count of 10.
Don’t wait to start exercising. In fact, I recommend you start moving now. Get your resistance bands, if you do not already have them, and start these high-intensity workouts right away. Getting your body used to moving before you start making changes in your diet will set you up for the shifts you are about to make.
RULES OF THE GAME
To give you an idea of the way you will be eating in Phase 1 of the Spice Diet, I have summarized the fundamentals of my plan in these rules:
1. Do not eat food that comes in a box, a can, a bag, or in most jars. Processed and prepared food is designed to make you want more. You will be eating whole, fresh food.
2. Refined sugar is taboo. On food labels, if any ingredient ends with “-ose,” it is a sugar.
3. Stay away from food that is white or made with white flour, such as potatoes, rice, pasta, bread, cookies, and cake. These types of simple carbohydrates convert to sugar very quickly in your body.
4. Do not drink calories, unless you’re having a nutritious smoothie. No soft drinks, juice drinks, beer, alcohol, sugary sports drinks, vitamin-infused water, or creamy coffee concoctions. A glass of wine when you are in Phase 2 is fine.
5. Drink more water, preferably filtered. It will fill you up and flush you out.
6. Foods and drinks labeled “diet” or “sugar free” are not for you. Artificial sweeteners make you hungry.
7. No fried foods. Aside from the calories, fast foods are fried in polyunsaturated oils and partially hydrogenated oil, which are not good for you.
8. Eat lean protein. Chicken, fish, eggs, and reduced-fat dairy products are the way to go. You should limit red meat to two or three times a week.
9. Have olive oil every day—it’s liquid gold! I also recommend organic coconut oil and grapeseed oil.
10. Eliminate artificial food additives such as preservatives, coloring, and MSG, which are found in most condiments, ready-made sauces, and soups. Highly processed meat, including cold cuts, sausage, and hot dogs, also fall into this category.
11. Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, preferably organic ones. The fiber they provide supports weight loss. Limit your fruit consumption to three servings a day, and avoid high-sugar fruits like grapes, which are sugar bombs.
12. Do not eat after dinner. Studies have shown that when you eat after dinner, your body is more likely to store those calories as fat, because you are generally less active at night and do not burn those calories for energy. The other downside to snacking at night is that people tend to select highly palatable, sweet, and salty food when they are tired and have been careful all day. Eating your largest meal at lunch can help you to lose weight. You have more of a chance to burn lunchtime calories than those you eat at dinner.
Although this list might seem limiting, the Spice Diet is not about deprivation. You are making positive changes that will help you fuel your body and lose weight at the same time. You will not be hungry. The food you will be eating is blissfully satisfying.
Parsley
Parsley is a lot more than a bright green garnish you see everywhere. It has a host of health benefits and can support your weight loss efforts. Parsley aids digestion for more efficient food processing, which will also boost your metabolism.
Parsley has a mild diuretic effect. You can kick-start your diet by drinking parsley tea. It’s a snap to make. Just boil water and pour 1 cup over ¼ cup of chopped fresh parsley. Let it steep for 5 minutes. You can add lemon for flavor.
The diuretic effect of the parsley will reduce water retention, and you will lose weight, at least temporarily. That can be encouraging when you start the program.
There is no end to the uses of parsley. Use the herb on salads and vegetables, and in soups, sauces, marinades, and salad dressings.
Out with the Junk
Before you start Phase 1, I recommend clearing out your kitchen cabinets, refrigerator, and freezer and getting rid of the food you will not be eating. You do not need to make it easy to cheat—and who needs temptation right at hand? In the following chapter, I will tempt you with the delicious foods you will be eating to replace the junk. In the meantime, get rid of:
All oils (except olive oil, raw organic coconut oil, and grapeseed oil)
Anything in a can except organic beans
Barbecue sauces
Bread
Butter
Cake mixes
Cakes
Canned soup
Chips
Cookies
Crackers
Diet anything, including diet sodas
Flavored rice mixes
Frozen prepared meals
Fruit juices
Half-and-half
Heavy cream
Ice cream
Jellies and jams with sugar
Ketchup
Low-calorie ice pops
Mac-and-cheese mix
Margarine
Muffins
Pancake mix
Pasta
Pretzels
Processed cheese
Processed meat
Relishes
Rolls
Salad dressings
Sauces in jars
Soda
Sugar
Sugar substitutes
Sugary sports drinks
Sweetened yogurt
Taco shells
Waffles
White flour
White rice
Whole milk
If you want to lose weight and be healthy, you will not be eating these foods. If you feel bad about throwing away food, give it to friends and family, but know that you are not doing them a favor. You can give any nonperishable, unopened food to charity.
If your partner or children are not ready to change their eating habits, clear a shelf in your kitchen cabinet and your refrigerator for yourself so that you can isolate your food from theirs. Your family will see you change day by day, and they will certainly enjoy the delicious meals you will be preparing. When they smell and taste what’s coming from the kitchen, they may become converts to your new way of eating. After all, there’s nothing like a home-cooked meal. It won’t be long before your family sees the value—and pleasure—of eating the Spice Diet way.
Update Your Spice Rack
You didn’t think you could start Phase 1 without updating and refreshing your spice rack, did you? I have narrowed down all the possibilities to the absolute essential spices you will need to have on hand. If you like, you can also purchase fresh versions of many of these spices, but consider this your start-up spice rack:
Bay leaves
Black pepper
Cajun seasoning
Chili powder
Cinnamon
Cloves, ground
Cumin
Curry powder
Garlic powder
Ginger, ground
Sea salt
Mustard powder
Nutmeg, whole or ground
Onion powder
Oregano
Paprika, sweet and smoked
Vanilla extract (pure)
Red pepper flakes
Rosemary
Sage
Sesame seeds
Thyme
Target Your Date to Begin
Pick a date when you want to start changing your eating habits for good. Look at your calendar and find a two-week period without too many social commitments, travel plans, or holidays. Being at a dinner party, traveling, or celebrating as you begin Phase 1 could be very challenging. Find a quiet time in your schedule when you can take control of what you eat. Many people like to begin on a weekend, because they have more time to shop for food and prepare some meals and snacks in advance.
I went cold turkey when I made the decision to change my life. I was gung-ho and ready to dive right in. If you feel the same way, go right ahead. If you prefer weaning yourself off the foods to which you are addicted, it’s fine to ease into the Spice Diet. I suggest cutting back gradually a week or two before you start Phase 1. Gradual withdrawal might make doing without your trigger foods less of a shock. Once you start Phase 1, you will be saying good-bye to those foods.
Peppermint
Studies have shown that the smell of peppermint can make you eat less. A cup of steaming peppermint tea can be a wonderful substitute for a sweet dessert. Peppermint is known to:
Reduce tension, which can cause bingeing.
Aid digestion and ease constipation.
Speed up metabolism.
In addition to tea, I love to use mint in salads and smoothies and with vegetables and fruit. I even make a pesto sauce with mint.
Portion Control
We live in such a time of abundance that portions have become supersized, which has led to routine overeating. In addition to loading foods with hidden, high-calorie ingredients, most restaurants serve at least twice the amount of food you should be eating. Even if what you are eating is healthy, the amount of some foods you consume has to be limited. Portion control is a big part of changing your relationship with the food you eat, and one of the key tenets of mindful eating is controlling the amount of food you eat. To eyeball how much you are eating, here are some basic guidelines for estimating portion size:
¾ cup = a tennis ball
½ cup = a lightbulb or computer mouse
¼ cup = 1 egg
1 ounce or 2 tablespoons = a golf ball or Ping-Pong ball
1 tablespoon = a poker chip
1 teaspoon = 1 die
Recommended amounts of certain foods look like this:
3 ounces of cooked chicken or meat = a deck of cards
4 ounces of chicken or meat = 2 eggs
3-ounce fish fillet = a checkbook
4 ounces of fish = 2 eggs
1 ounce of cheese = tube of lip balm or standard pink eraser
1 ounce of 70% cacao dark chocolate = box of dental floss
2 tablespoons salad dressing = a golf ball
1 tablespoon nut butter = a poker chip
It’s easy to sit with a bowl of nuts and eat the whole thing before you know it, or to slather tons of almond butter on a celery stick. You have to be aware of how much of these foods you are eating, because they stop being healthy alternatives if eaten in too great a quantity. These are reasonable portions for some snacks and other foods:
¼ cup (about a handful) of raw nuts and seeds:
23 almonds
18 medium cashews
12 hazelnuts
8 Brazil nuts
12 macadamia nuts
15 pecan halves
14 walnut halves
49 pistachios
Extra-virgin olive oil: 2 tablespoons
Apples: 4 ounces (the size of a baseball)
Limit pineapple to ½ cup
For Phase 2—cooked quinoa, brown rice, gluten-free pasta: ½ cup as a side dish (the size of a lightbulb), 1 cup as a main course (the size of a baseball)
For Phase 2—sweet potato: 3 ounces = a computer mouse
Eat as many vegetables, melons, and berries as you want.
The key is to learn to know when you have had enough to eat and are no longer hungry. When you eat mindfully, you’ll see that it does not take that much to fill you up.
Great Expectations
In the beginning, you might find it helpful to create a daily log to record your progress. You will be recording how many calories you consume with each meal and snack, how much water you are drinking each day, and how much sleep you got the night before. This sort of information can be recorded on your phone or computer. What is more important is to write in a journal about how you are experiencing your attempt at transformation. You should identify your Diet Personality (or Personalities—see here) as well as your triggers and food cravings. As you progress through Phase 1, write about your highs and lows, any food cravings you might experience, any stumbles, any changes in your energy and mood, and any challenges you experience. This record will show you what works for you and what doesn’t and help you identify trends in your personal habits.
You should be noting for each week:
Diet Personality (or Personalities—see here)
Personal Narrative (note the potential source of your diet personality and how it manifests in your life)
How I Committed (your overall plan for how you will address your addiction and overcome it)
How I Felt (include physical and emotional reactions during the week)
Weight Loss Expectations (how much you hope to lose during the week), including BMI, waist, and waist-to-height ratio
Actual Loss (your weight loss for the week)
This is a page out of my own journal:
Phase 1—Week 1, Day 1
Diet Personality: The Sweet Tooth
Personal Narrative (Week 1):
I have always had an affinity for sweets. I believe it started with my grandma being the best home baker ever. She made something sweet at lunch and dinner. My first experience of baking was when I competed against her at our church bake-off. She always saw the cook or chef in me. She taught me her famous chocolate pound cake recipe, which I baked to compete against her signature brownies. Since many others and I were addicted to these fudgy nuggets of goodness, I knew I did not stand a chance. Grandma won and, much to my surprise, I came in second place, beating out more than fifteen entries.
My grandparents watched over us after school when I was in grammar and elementary school. Along with the chocolate sensations, I remember being treated to the world’s best banana milk shakes. My sweet tooth carried with me through my life and grew into an insatiable addiction.
How I Committed (Week 1):
My plan is to shift my palate to appreciate the spices that capture the flavor experience of sweetness. For example, instead of consuming cookies and my favorite key lime pie all the time, I plan to focus on sweets like fruit, fruit purees, and fresh sorbets. If I can significantly reduce my love for sweets, anyone can.
How I Felt (Week 1):
I was edgy about going through the day without my sugar fix. I found myself thinking about sweet indulgences, even though I wasn’t hungry. I acknowledged those thoughts, took a few deep breaths, and let them drift away. It happened ten or twelve times a day, but I stuck with it. I distracted myself by planning what I would eat for the next three days, thinking about an activity that would get me moving during the weekend, or going for a brief walk every time a craving hit, if only to the restroom or to get a glass of water. I was excited about my ability to stop those cravings cold, though I didn’t know how long my resistance would last. I took a long look at that graduation photo and resolved that those days were over.
One of my friends tried to persuade me to skip my workout and go out for pizza. I wasn’t tempted, but my friend persisted. It upset me that he wouldn’t take no for an answer, especially after I told him I was cutting back. If this keeps happening, I can’t spend time with him. I don’t need a friend undermining my good intentions.
Weight Loss Expectations Week 1: (2–2.5 pounds) Actual Loss: 2.5 pounds
You should record temptations, victories, emotional experiences, discouragement, frustrations, and optimism. Having a record of what you are going through emotionally will give you an understanding of what you need to do to stay on track.
Now you have prepared yourself mentally and strategically to start Phase 1. All the steps you have taken so far will give you the solid support you need to stick with your efforts to transform your life. At this point, you should be charged up and ready to take the leap to embrace change and reclaim your health and well-being.