To help your body start burning fat and give you the energy you need, the Pretty Intense nutrition plan focuses on a series of super-healthy food groups, each of which spark metabolism in its own particular way, while giving your overall health a boost:
“The only time to eat diet food is while you’re waiting for the steak to cook.”
—JULIA CHILD
EAT MORE: Meat (grass-fed beef, poultry, fish, and game); in your main meals
Why? To burn fat and build lean muscle.
Lean meat helps burn fat in a number of ways. First, it takes the body more energy to burn off a gram of protein than a gram of carbohydrate. This is known as the “thermogenic effect of digestion.” Eating 100 calories’ worth of protein simply isn’t the same as eating 100 calories’ worth of carbs: your body burns off 20 to 30 percent of protein calories you eat just by digesting it; it only uses 5 to 10 percent of the carb calories you eat for digestion. That’s just one reason why studies have shown that when subjects are put on high-protein diets versus high-carbohydrate diets, the high-protein groups lose more weight—even if the number of calories they eat is exactly the same. And high-protein diets are also linked repeatedly to lower triglyceride levels, blood pressure, and waist circumference.
EAT MORE: Vegetables (any); as often as you want
Why? Because you’ll fill your body with the nutrients it needs for almost zero calories.
By vegetables, I mean brightly colored green, red, yellow, and purple vegetables: carrots, tomatoes, celery, lettuce, squash, and leafy greens. This is what you need to pack vitamins, minerals, and fiber into your body with a minimum of calories. What’s not included in this list are fries and chips, and starchy beans, peas, and lentils.
I make sure I eat vegetables at every meal. I’ll toss some spinach in with my eggs or shred up a sweet potato for a breakfast hash; whip up a salad with some protein for lunch; and make sure vegetables are the visual bulk of what fills me up at dinnertime. Consider this: Those who eat eight or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day are 30 percent less likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke.
EAT MORE: Fruits (lean toward lower glycemic options—berries, melons, citrus, apples)
Why? For maximum energy and a huge dose of nutrition.
What if you could strip off more than a dozen pounds of fat simply by buying a bunch of fruit and putting it in a bowl on your kitchen table?
In a study at Cornell University, researchers photographed more than two hundred kitchens, and then weighed the people who owned them. They discovered that what sits out in your kitchen can have a huge influence on your weight. People who had breakfast cereal sitting out on their counters weighed about twenty pounds more than average; those with soda sitting out in the kitchen weighed between twenty-four and twenty-six pounds more. But those who had a bowl of fruit sitting out weighed, on average, thirteen pounds less than the average person.
The reason is that we eat what we see, and when you’re constantly confronted with fruit, you’re bound to eat more of it, and that’s a terrific way to reshape your body for the better. Dark fruits (and vegetables) have higher levels of nutrients called flavonoids, which give plants their color. In a study of about 250,000 people, those with the highest intake of flavonoid-rich foods gained the least amount of weight over a period of twenty-four years.
EAT MORE: Nuts, seeds, and healthy fats; throughout the day
Why? Because they ward off hunger.
Just about every nutrient you need for health—vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, and healthy fats—are found in nuts and seeds. They’re like little weight-loss pills. A review of studies in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming nuts could help ward off weight gain, protect against heart disease, and lower diabetes risk. (While all nuts and seeds are healthy, walnuts in particular are associated with a reduced likelihood of diabetes.) But look for raw nuts; the “roasted and salted” versions are often roasted in unhealthy oils, and the additional sodium isn’t anything you need.
EAT MORE: Eggs
Why? For great protein and satisfying fat to get your metabolism revving.
I eat eggs almost every morning. One egg has about 70 calories but provides 6 grams of protein and zero carbs, and half of the fat in an egg is heart-healthy monounsaturated fat. Plus, eggs are the best dietary source of choline, a nutrient that’s essential for keeping our metabolism running hot. Most Americans don’t get enough of this B vitamin, for good reason: the best sources are raw beef liver, cauliflower, codfish oil, and brewer’s yeast. Yum! One egg contains a third of the 425 mg adults should consume every day. You’d have to eat a pound of cauliflower to get as much choline as you’ll get from one egg!
But what about the cholesterol? Even if cholesterol is a problem for you, eating eggs—or other nutritious foods that are high in cholesterol, like shrimp—needn’t be a concern. Health experts no longer consider cholesterol from the foods we eat to be a main cause of high cholesterol in our bloodstreams, and even the US government, which does everything under the yellow caution flag, now says that cholesterol in food isn’t a concern.
What is a concern is making sure you get enough protein at breakfast to jump-start your metabolism. That’s why eggs are such a huge part of my morning routine. If you don’t care for eggs, consider starting your morning with ground meats like beef, bison, or turkey.
The plan specifically eliminates gluten and dairy. They are inflammatory foods and also disrupt the gut more than any other food groups. Please do your best to take them out of your diet along with processed fats and sugars, and see how great you feel!
AVOID: Refined flour-based foods (any items that contain gluten)
Why? Because you’ll store less fat and experience less fatigue.
You’ve been told about the importance of whole grains for so long that you’re probably going back and double-checking right now: “Does Danica really want me to avoid cereal, bread, and pasta?”
The answer is yes. Because when you eliminate grains, you eliminate those three-P.M. bouts of fatigue and sugar cravings so many of us struggle with.
Once I cut grains out of my daily diet, I discovered I no longer felt hungry or tired during the day. And that’s what you’ll experience, too: the end of “low energy” days. You will also experience far less discomfort after eating a meal. If I eat right, I never feel “full,” just satisfied.
AVOID: Animal-based dairy (including yogurt, milk, and cheese)
Why? Because you’ll reduce inflammation and flatten your belly, fast.
You’ve heard of lactose intolerance, of course: that’s the inability to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy products. But even if you don’t have a full-blown lactose intolerance, you’ll find that by eliminating dairy from your diet, you’ll feel leaner and cleaner all day, every day.
The bloating that dairy causes comes from a disturbance in our gut bacteria. (Yes, we all have them—about five hundred different species, some good and some bad, living in our digestive tract.) Dairy products disrupt the natural balance of bacteria in the belly, potentially leading to what’s known as a “leaky gut.” (That’s when the lining of your digestive tract becomes inflamed, allowing toxins to leak into your body from your intestines. It’s an extremely common problem.)
AVOID: Soy-based foods and soybean, corn, or vegetable oil
Why? Because you’ll cut down on fat storage and inflammation.
Soybeans have a lot of good stuff in them, especially protein and fiber. But the vast majority of soy we eat doesn’t come in the form of those simple beans; it comes in the form of processed, concentrated stuff like soybean oil (used in everything from salad dressings to French fries to muffins). And that’s where we start to run into trouble. Processed soy is very high in two things you want to avoid: omega-6 fatty acids, which increase inflammation throughout your body, and estrogenic chemicals, which trigger your body to store fat. While an occasional serving of edamame or miso soup won’t hurt, avoid anything that’s made with “vegetable oil” (which usually means soybean oil), and use olive oil, avocado oil, or coconut oil for your home cooking.
AVOID: Sugar
Why? Because you’ll reduce hunger and your risk of disease.
If I could get you to take away one single piece of healthy eating advice, it would be this: Cut down on sugar.
Sugar feeds the unhealthy bacteria in your body, leading to everything from belly bloating to cavities. Sugar supresses a key immune response known as phagocytosis. Cancer cells feed on sugar! Sugar drives your insulin levels crazy, leading to fat storage and rebound hunger. New research shows that sugar even interferes with the body’s ability to synthesize protein—meaning it makes your muscles smaller, reducing your metabolic rate and undermining all the hard work you do in the gym.
These foods can be part of your regular diet, but they’re not as healthy for you as you might think. In fact, they probably do more harm than good.
CUT DOWN ON: Beans, lentils, peanuts, and other legumes
Why? Because they undermine your nutritional goals.
Brown rice and beans used to be a staple of my diet. And why not? We’ve been told over and over again how healthy and nutritious this pairing is, especially if we’re trying to cut down on fat.
But while beans and other legumes (legumes are anything that comes in a pod, like peanuts, lentils, peas, chickpeas, or soybeans) do have some protein and fiber, they’re much heavier in starch—and should be considered more like grains than the little protein-and-fiber superfoods we often think of them as. They also contain a compound called phytic acid, which binds to the nutrients in food, preventing your body from accessing them. So while it may seem you’re getting plenty of protein and other nutrients from beans, the truth is less rosy than you think. For that reason, it’s okay to have the occasional bean dip, but don’t make beans a major part of your diet, and swap out peanut butter for healthier options like almond or cashew butter.
CUT DOWN ON: Gluten-free grains (rice, oats, quinoa)
Why? Because they’re packed with empty calories.
But wait: You’ve been told so often about the importance of fiber!
Whether it’s “whole grain,” “steel cut,” “unrefined,” “gluten free,” or whatever terms that make those grains seem so healthy and enticing, the fact is that when you eat grains, you’re still getting a food that’s relatively high in empty calories and low in nutrients—including fiber. A woman would have to eat 7 cups of brown rice (about 1,500 calories worth) or 13 slices of whole-grain bread (more than 1,000 calories) or 14 ears of corn (about 850 calories) every day to get the 25 grams of fiber recommended by the USDA.
But eat the way I do, with fruit and vegetables at every meal instead of grains, and look what happens: 2 apples, a cup of blueberries, a peach, a cup of broccoli, a serving of romaine lettuce, and a handful (about ⅓ cup) of almonds gets you to 25 grams of fiber for just 714 calories, and you’re also getting a wide array of vitamins and minerals as well as some healthy fats and protein. Have vegetables at every meal, snack on fruit and nuts throughout the day, and you don’t need to eat grains. You’ll still be getting the fiber your body needs to stay lean: in one study of more than 1,100 people over five years, researchers found that for every 10 grams of fiber people ate, their belly fat accumulation was reduced by nearly 4 percent—even if they did nothing else to lose weight.
By stripping away these unnecessary sources of extra calories, you’ll also strip away one of the biggest causes of weight gain: insulin spikes.
Insulin is the hormone that manages blood sugar. When our bodies get a big dose of carbohydrates, we quickly digest it, turning it into sugar. (And remember, we hardly burn any calories digesting carbs, so 95 percent of those calories hit our systems, and fast!) Our pancreas then responds by creating insulin, which helps shuttle the sugar out of our blood and into our cells, where we can use it for energy. But too many carbohydrates at any one time—whether from a candy bar or a bag of pretzels or a big bowl of oatmeal—means we’ve got more sugar on hand than our bodies can use. Since that sugar has to go somewhere, our bodies do the simplest thing: store that sugar as fat. And once our bodies store that sugar as fat, insulin drops, causing rebound hunger, fatigue—and the search for more carbs.
Vegetables
Fruits
Dried Fruits (make sure there is no sugar added!)
Milk Alternatives
Protein
Nuts/Seeds
Oils/Condiments/Ingredients