When I was a graduate student doing nutrition research for Canada’s Department of National Defense, I learned all about the biochemistry of food and its effects on the body. What always amazed me was that amid all the science, there were 5 clear-as-day factors that were universally ideal for losing weight, maintaining lean muscle, and improving overall health. It is these 5 rules that became the scientific basis for my 5-Factor Diet.
Scientific factor #1. Protein is the building block of the most important parts of our bodies, from muscles, hormones, and enzymes to skin, organs, and blood.
Scientific factor #2. All carbohydrates are not created equal, as proven by the glycemic index, which is the system that measures on a scale of 0 to 100 the body’s blood sugar response to carbohydrates. It’s healthier to avoid foods ranked high on the glycemic index and eat low-glycemic carbohydrates instead.
Scientific factor #3. Fiber is vital to the body, as proven by overwhelming research: It has the power to lower everything from bad cholesterol and blood pressure to the risk of certain types of cancers. It also helps keep your digestive system regular.
Scientific factor #4. Not all fats are evil. In fact, healthy fats are an important part of a good diet. Studies show that our hormones, nerves, reproductive system, skin, and hundreds of other parts of the body rely on fat to function properly—yet our society desperately tries to remove every last bit of fat from our foods.
Scientific fact #5. Water is essential to life. Unfortunately, many people use thirst as an excuse to consume sugar and excessive calories.
Using these scientific and nutritional facts, I created the 5-Factor Diet, which—unlike fad diets—is guaranteed to stand the test of time.
My diet works because it combines the right 5 types of foods—protein, carbohydrates, fiber, healthy fats, and beverages—in each meal. Each of these 5 Factors is critical to your nutritional success. It’s simple: At every meal eat one food from each of the five categories. It’s a program that’s nutritionally sound and easy to use for the rest of your life.
5-FACTOR FOODS FOR EVERY MEAL
Think of every 5-Factor Diet meal as a shopping trip to a five-story department store, which you can’t leave until you’ve purchased something from all five floors. That’s the simplicity of the 5-Factor Diet, only instead of a store, it’s your plate. Instead of having to buy something from every floor, you must eat something from the five 5-Factor food categories. It’s the easiest and simplest way to move toward a leaner, healthier body. Here is a closer look at each food category, with all the details on why it’s important and information on proper portion size.
Every meal or snack should contain a low-fat protein such as chicken breast, fish, seafood, egg whites, or cottage cheese. Aim for one-third of your total calories to come from protein, which is vital for maintaining muscle tissue and regulating metabolism.
Protein is No. 1 on this list for several good reasons. First, it helps you feel fuller longer. In recent studies, subjects who ate high-protein, moderate-carbohydrate meals (which is exactly what’s recommended in the 5-Factor Diet and the breakdown of every 5-Factor Recipe you’ll find in this book) had a greater feeling of fullness after meals that lasted longer during the day than did subjects who ate high-fat meals. That’s because there’s a certain amount of fat found in animal-based protein like chicken or fish. That may sound like a step in the wrong direction if you want to lose fat, but staying fuller for a longer period of time can curb your hunger in between meals.
EAT THE 5-FACTOR DIET ANYWHERE!
You don’t have to stray from the 5-Factor Diet when dining out. Here are a few of my favorite combinations to order at different-style restaurants.
| IF YOU’RE DINING … | ORDER … |
| American | Turkey burger |
| Canadian | Grilled ostrich and a bowl of lentil soup |
| Chinese | Black bean and shrimp stir-fry |
| Cuban | Fish soup or grilled chicken with black beans |
| Greek | Chicken shish kabob or Greek salad |
| Indian | Tandoori chicken with basmati rice |
| Italian | Branzino, minestrone soup, or tomato-basil salad |
| Jamaican | Jerk chicken breasts or rice and beans |
| Japanese | Seaweed salad, miso soup, sashimi, or teriyaki chicken |
| Mexican | Chicken fajitas |
Because protein helps you maintain muscle, it also helps raise your resting metabolism. It takes more calories to maintain muscle than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn throughout the day. Eating plenty of protein and following the 5-Factor Hollywood Workout will help you build more muscle, thus revving up your metabolism.
The best perk about protein is that out of the three macronutrients—protein, carbohydrates, and fat—it’s the most difficult to store as body fat. When you eat more fat than your body needs, your body stores it as fat. When you eat more simple carbohydrates than your body needs, blood sugar levels spike. This causes your body to release excess insulin, which helps speed up the conversions of carb calories into fat.
However, when you eat more protein, your body doesn’t require as much insulin to metabolize it. Having less insulin in your system lowers your odds of having any excess calories converted to fat. Plus your body has to convert the protein into carbohydrates before it can be converted into fat. All that takes a lot of work, which is why most excess protein leaves the body before it has a chance to become an extra pant size.
The one type of protein I don’t recommend is nuts. Some nutritionists sing their praises because they are low in carbohydrates, but most nuts, in general, receive greater than three-fourths of their calories from fat. Although nuts are often considered a major protein source, in truth many of them contain only small amounts of low-quality protein that is incomplete (lacking one or more essential amino acids) or is not bio-available (that is, the body can’t use it).
Instead of nuts, pick lower-fat, more-complete protein sources such as egg whites, fish, lean beef, chicken breast, turkey breast, and fat-free milk. You’ll maximize your intake of quality protein while minimizing your intake of bad fats.
Every meal should contain a carbohydrate that ranks low or moderate on the glycemic index. Good choices include vegetables, wild rice, beans, lentils, oatmeal, sweet potato, and quinoa.
Carbohydrates have taken a lot of flak lately, thanks to poorly conceived fad diets. The truth is that carbs are responsible for fueling your body and providing most of the energy you need to live. That’s why every meal you eat should have at least two portions (that’s 50 percent of your total calories) of some type of low- to moderate-glycemic carbohydrate.
“I had always been interested in fitness, but it wasn’t until reading your book that I finally corrected all my mistakes. I was overloading on carbohydrates, eating three meals a day, and didn’t know the right balance of protein and carbs. Thanks to 5-Factor, I learned about eating the right types of foods and the benefits of having 5 small meals a day.”
Michael Bigman WEIGHT LOST SO FAR: 8 lbs.
Why am I not anti-carb like other nutrition experts? Because eating a mixture of fibrous carbohydrates and protein keeps you sharp. You see, carbohydrates are absorbed into the system much faster than protein is, so eating a mixture of protein and the right carbs increases your alertness by burning calories at staggered times. That gives you a feeling of satiety and an even release of energy throughout the day. That’s energy your body can use to exercise later on. Carbs also help the fat in your diet be more efficiently metabolized. Basically, fat burns in a carbohydrate flame. Most low-GI carbohydrates also contain some soluble fiber (see “Fiber,”), which is also important.
I’ve mentioned the glycemic index (GI), which is a system that rates carbohydrate foods based on how quickly your body converts them into glucose. Foods that break down rapidly—such as starchy foods—release glucose quickly into your blood and rank higher on the index. Foods that break down slowly—such as spinach and cabbage—slowly release glucose into your blood, so they rank lower on the index.
The problem with high-glycemic food is that when its sugar enters your blood, your pancreas immediately has to produce insulin to help regulate it. Your body’s natural response to extra insulin in your system is to store whatever calories it can find—whether from carbs, protein, or fat—as unwanted body fat.
Low- to moderate-glycemic carbs release glucose at a much slower pace, so your pancreas produces less insulin. Less insulin means less body fat—need I say more? That’s what makes low- to moderate-glycemic foods such a critical part of the 5-Factor Diet.
Try to choose carbs with a glycemic level under 80. These foods can give your body enough all-day energy without causing an insulin surge that may store excess body fat. I prefer fruits and vegetables because they’re nutrient rich, low in calories, and water based, which means they’re packed with water that fills your stomach. Good picks that are low to moderate on the GI scale include apples, black beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, celery, cherries, chickpeas, cucumbers, grapefruits, green peas, lentils, lettuce, lima beans, mushrooms, onions, pears, peaches, peppers, plums, oatmeal, oranges, snow peas, spinach, strawberries, sweet potatoes, and wild rice.
Every meal should contain 5 to 10 grams of fiber. The health benefits of fiber are numerous: It reduces your risk of developing diabetes and some cancers and lowers your overall blood cholesterol. Fiber slows down the release of glucose (again, the substance your body uses for energy) into the bloodstream, preventing your body from burning through its energy stores too quickly. Fiber even increases how quickly your meals pass into your stomach. The faster you can move food through your digestive system, the less fat and calories you’ll absorb. But most important, fiber leaves you feeling full, so you end up eating less at every meal.
Fiber comes in two forms: soluble and insoluble. Both are valuable assets, though, for entirely different reasons. Soluble fiber—found in foods such as peas, oat bran, seeds, beans, barley, lentils, and apples—is digestible and helps lower your risk of developing heart disease and high cholesterol. Insoluble fiber—found in wheat bran, whole grains, vegetables, and beans—is not digested or absorbed by your body but passes through instead,
which helps improve the health of your digestive system and colon. Insoluble fiber can also help you drop a few extra pounds. A USDA study found that eating 36 grams of fiber each day can prevent your body from absorbing 130 calories a day.
“The 5-Factor Diet saved me on tour. I can’t believe there is healthy food that tastes this good. I’ve never been in better shape!”
You should eat at least 20 to 30 grams of fiber each day. You can have even more than that—if you can handle it—but do make sure you’re getting at least the bare minimum by eating 5 grams at each meal. Over your five meals, you’ll ensure you’re getting at least 25 grams daily. Ideally, I’d like you to eat 10 grams of fiber at breakfast, lunch, and dinner and 5 grams per snack, which would place you right around 40 grams of fiber a day.
That might sound like a lot, but simply throwing a few handfuls of fiber-rich beans (about 1⁄2 cup) into a meal adds around 8 grams of fiber. Some of my favorite fiber-rich foods include whole-grain cereal, brown or wild rice, beans and lentils, no-flour wheat breads, and whole veggies and fruits that have edible skins or seeds.
If your meal contains any fat, it should always be a healthy one—either monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. If you believe it’s better to avoid eating fats altogether, think again. Your body needs it—even if your No. 1 mission is to lose body fat. Fat is a major source of energy and helps the body absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K. It also provides taste and consistency, and it helps you feel full so you eat less. Research has even shown that having too little fat in the diet can cause clinical depression. That’s because to function properly, your brain needs a certain amount of fat, especially the kind containing omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.
Besides, I really don’t need to remind you to eat fat because it’s almost impossible to avoid. But when you’re going to eat a food that contains fat or is cooked in fat, you should stick to the healthy kind—or “good fats,” as nutritionists like to call them.
GOOD FATS/BAD FATS: SIMPLE SUBSTITUTIONS
Replacing bad fats with good fats doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are five ways to do it that your taste buds won’t notice but your body will appreciate.
Good fats. Monounsaturated fats are good fats because they don’t increase your total cholesterol. In fact, they lower your LDL (bad cholesterol) while simultaneously increasing your HDL (good cholesterol). Monounsaturated fats are found in foods such as fish oil, peanut oil, olive oil, and canola oil.
Polyunsaturated fats have the same positive effect, and they’re found in a variety of foods, such as fattier fish like mackerel, albacore tuna, rainbow trout, herring, salmon, and sardines, as well as sunflower oil, canola oil, and flaxseed.
Both monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats may be “healthy,” but they are still fat, and eaten in abundance, they will make you fat. To avoid that, limit your fats to 65 grams a day (or 100 grams maximum).
Bad fats. Saturated fats raise your total blood cholesterol and LDL (bad cholesterol). These fats are hard to avoid; if you can’t avoid them, eat them sparingly. Saturated fats are found mostly in animal products such as meat, poultry skin, whole milk, butter, milk chocolate, and egg yolks, as well as in coconut oil, palm oil, and palm kernel oil.
Trans fats, or hydrogenated fats, have the same bad effect on your cholesterol. These are synthetic fats created to give a long shelf life to certain foods. You’ll find them in processed foods, commercially prepared baked goods, stick butter, margarine, vegetable shortening, and every bad food you’ve ever seen made with the last two—including french fries and microwave popcorn. I want you to eliminate trans fats from your diet.
Every meal should be accompanied by a sugar-free beverage such as water, sugar-free soda, tea, coffee, or an unsweetened energy drink. Your goal is to drink 8 to 12 ounces of a healthy beverage with every meal and snack.
Hydration is important for several reasons. First, for every ounce of excess liquid you drink with your meal, that’s one ounce of real estate you steal away from food. More liquid in your belly leaves you feeling fuller and lessens your appetite for your next meal—and throughout the day.
Second, you’ll burn more calories all day long. Most people are dehydrated and don’t even know it. That’s because by the time your thirst mechanism kicks in, your body has already lost about 4 to 5 percent of its water. This condition—called chronic mild dehydration—can affect every biochemical function in your body, including digestion. When your body is well hydrated, it can digest your food with less effort, so even less of it gets stored as body fat. Keeping your digestive system running well also helps it absorb more nutrients as it processes your food.
Third, being properly hydrated may prevent you from eating as much during your next meal or snack. Often people eat because they think they’re hungry when they are actually thirsty. That’s because thirst triggers the same physical responses as hunger. The next time you feel the urge to eat, try satisfying that urge with a sugar-free beverage instead.
Drinking 8 to 12 ounces at each of your 5 meals guarantees that you’ll drink between 40 and 60 ounces a day. But it’s not enough to only drink at meals. I recommend that you drink a total of 10 to 12 glasses (roughly 96 ounces), spread throughout the day. If drinking straight water doesn’t sound enticing, mix in a very small amount of fruit juice for flavor. Also opt for ice-cold water when possible. Ice-cold water forces your body to burn calories to heat the water up to your body temperature. The effect may be slight, but every little bit helps!