You’ve made it through the first fifteen days, and there’s a good chance you’ve tried new foods, nutritional supplements, beauty treatments, exercises, and sleep techniques. Some of those changes may have been a little uncomfortable at first, but now that you’re familiar with all the facets of the program, I hope it’s easier and more enjoyable. There is also a good chance that you experienced some wonderful benefits already—from weight loss to smoother skin to better mental clarity and more energy. You’ve started to activate your autophagy—that’s amazing, and it doesn’t have to stop. Glow15 was designed for you to see initial changes in fifteen days, but its principles are intended to be practiced as a lifestyle.
As you continue, feel free to repeat this fifteen-day cycle as is, or with adjustments as needed. Just keep in mind the Glow15 guidelines, and from there, have fun experimenting. Here are some examples:
What should I do when I feel hungry when I’m intermittent fasting on a Low day?
As you start Glow15, it’s common to feel hungry during intermittent fasting on Low days. I’ve found the following to be helpful:
Do I eat fewer calories on a Low day compared to a High day?
No—and on Glow15, you do not have to, nor should you, count calories. Glow15 is about the quality of the nutrients you are consuming. This program doesn’t consider the calorie to be an accurate predictor of success. While caloric restriction is proven to activate autophagy, I factored that in when creating IFPC. Your 16-hour intermittent fast will boost cellular cleansing, and when you’re fasting, you’re certainly restricting calories. And, as you know, the key to optimizing autophagy is turning it on and off, so after your intermittent fast there is no reason to continue to withhold nutrients.
I heard not eating breaks down my muscles. Should I be worried about intermittent fasting?
As long as you are maintaining the rhythms of IFPC suggested in this program, you will actually gain muscle, not lose it. The fasting state is a catalyst for the physiological mechanism that helps your body convert protein into muscle. When you are fasting, you are actually setting the stage for muscle regeneration and growth!
Does intermittent fasting cause my body to store fat?
No. Because the intermittent fast is relatively short (16 hours is a short block of time in comparison to other fasting practices), the body’s alarm system will not sound or call in the hormonal troops to preserve energy via fat. A quick and short-lived spike in stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline may actually help to promote fat burning during a short fast such as IFPC, and will not promote fat storage. Fat storage occurs when elevated insulin is prolonged, cortisol is consistently triggered, and the two are simultaneously elevated. IFPC actually cools the very inflammation upon which fat storage and stubborn weight loss are dependent.
If I eat fat, will I get fat?
No. On the contrary, it’s the quality and quantity of carbohydrates that determine how much fat we accumulate. Carbohydrates drive insulin production, and insulin drives fat accumulation. Eating fat and using fat for fuel helps you burn more calories and speeds up your metabolism.
Isn’t it right to eat three square meals a day?
The “three meals a day” ritual is culturally rooted—not biologically. It started during the Industrial Revolution when all classes of people, from the poor to the wealthy, began eating a meal before going to work, a midday feast, and then a post-workday meal to celebrate the day’s labor. This pattern of eating became the norm. Then, in the late nineteenth century, when John Kellogg invented breakfast cereal, the food business capitalized on breakfast being the “most important meal of the day.” But the most important meal of the day shouldn’t be arbitrary or dictated by big business. On this program, your most important meal of the day will be defined by the nutrients and polyphenols you use to upgrade your biology.
If I eat right, I don’t need to take supplements, right?
While it seems like eating a clean, nutrient-dense diet would negate the need for supplements, modern agricultural practices and poor soil leave our food with less available minerals, vitamins, and phytonutrients, and modern living means higher stress levels. Taking some key high-quality supplements is a major factor to augmenting your success. It’s not that you won’t get success if you don’t take them, but again, you can think of supplements as a nutritional insurance policy, for boosted success and faster results if you do.
How important is eating organic, pastured, grass-fed animal protein, and will it impact my results if I don’t?
As best as your budget allows, choose the least toxic food to reap the biggest payoffs from the Glow15 program. Food that is as close to its original state in nature as possible, without toxic chemicals, synthetics, food dyes (you read that right—food dye is used in fish to make farmed salmon look wild—yucky, right?), pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, antibiotics, and hormones, will be much easier for your body to assimilate. Choosing wholesome organic and grass-fed, pasture-raised, or free-range animal protein allows you to avoid inflammation.
Why didn’t I feel the glow after fifteen days?
While countless women have given “glowing” testimonials of the program, attesting to how it helped improve and enhance their lives, and despite being scientifically proven to help you lose weight, look younger, sleep better, and feel more focused and energized, Glow15 is not a magic bullet.
But I believe you should get the results you want, and that’s why I’m constantly tweaking, adjusting, and upgrading the plan. In search of why there was not 100 percent satisfaction with the plan, I’ve asked the questions, looked at the data, and listened to women from the clinical study, my inner circle of guinea pigs, and the growing number of women who have tried it. And I’ve found some compelling reasons for why not everyone feels the glow after fifteen days—along with solutions to get you glowing.
You could have done better. Please understand, I do not mean to imply in any way that you did not try your best or follow the plan. This is not your fault, and it does not make you a failure. But you may not have followed the full intent of the program. Perhaps you made an adjustment—be it to IFPC, exercise, your sleep, or your beauty routine—because you needed to, wanted to, or thought it wouldn’t make a difference. Unfortunately, these modifications in the first fifteen days really do influence your results, as do a lack of planning or preparation, mediocre commitment, and inadequate effort. Only you know if you were not truly dedicated to Glow15, and if you could have made a bigger effort. But I want you to know you can still do it. I believe if you try again, you will succeed!
Fifteen days wasn’t long enough. While the majority of women who’ve tried Glow15 have seen significant results in just two weeks, the fact is that for some of us, it may take more time. You may remember Lindsay from chapter 1, a participant in the Jacksonville University study (see her Glow15 Success Story). While she noticed immediate changes in her skin, her number on the scale barely moved during the first fifteen days of the program. But by day 60, Lindsay had dropped four dress sizes. Again, fifteen days is how long it will take to see initial changes, but Glow15 is a lifestyle, and committing to it means seeing changes for life. This program is designed to be measured in increments—day 0, day 15, day 30, etc. If your worksheet doesn’t reflect all the changes you hoped for in the first fifteen days, know that it can—it will—still happen. (But also make sure you are measuring the best markers . . .)
You’re not measuring correctly. Maybe you really wanted to lose inches—but you didn’t get to pull your tape measure tighter, or as tight as you wanted, so you assume the program failed. Did you take into account what else has happened since you started Glow15? Have you paid attention to whether you’re falling asleep easier or staying asleep longer? Has your energy improved and become more consistent? Are you stronger? Do you have more stamina? Does your skin look clearer and maybe even glow? While we all have our specific areas we hope to change, don’t lose sight of the other results you have achieved or are still achieving. Focus on some of the unexpected changes—the big and small ones—and you may be pleasantly surprised to find all the ways you truly are glowing.
That said, I get it—I can’t blame you for being disappointed you haven’t seen the results you were expecting to see. Especially when all you have to do is turn the pages of this book to find examples of women just like you who got what you wanted. Well, you don’t need me to tell you that you are special. You know that your DNA, your hormone levels, your family dynamic, your work responsibilities, and your anxieties can all impact your experience on Glow15. Bottom line: You can have similar traits to another person, but in the end you are unique and your results will be exclusively yours.
All this is to say, if you’re not satisfied with your results on Glow15, I urge you to go back and give it another go (to glow!). Perhaps you’ll find different benefits or improved results or a new motivation to get glowing.