THERE ARE TWO BASIC GUIDELINES for the Core Envy Diet: (1) Eat fewer calories, and (2) make those calories highly nutritious. If you can do this on a regular basis, you will not only lose inches around your waistline, you’ll also reap the health benefits of being well nourished. I don’t just want you to have an enviable core; I want you to have an enviable core that is part of a vibrant, energetic, and healthy body. You may have started this program solely to look better, but if you implement the Core Envy Diet, you will also establish lasting and meaningful habits around food that will help reduce your risk of chronic illness and disease.
RULE 1: EAT FEWER CALORIES
The basic science of weight loss demands that the calories you consume (also known as energy) be less than the calories you burn. This is called a caloric deficit. In order to make sure you’re creating a daily caloric deficit, you need to understand exactly how to calculate the calories in versus calories out. Estimates simply won’t suffice, and here’s why: If you consume 100 calories a day more than you burn, you will end up gaining 10 pounds over the course of a year. You read that correctly—eating 100 extra calories a day for a year can drastically impact your waistline. If you think you’re already aware of how many calories you consume, you might want to check your math. According to the most recent data released by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Americans consume an average of 2,569 calories per day, and the majority of these calories come from carbohydrate, sugar, and fat (see figure below).1 Unfortunately, this consumption far exceeds the calories needed to meet the energy demands of a typical American. Let’s look at an example: Elizabeth is 40 years old, is 5 feet 5 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, and typically exercises three days a week at a moderate intensity. Given her age, sex, weight, and activity level, Elizabeth should be consuming 1,851 calories a day in order to maintain her current weight (I’ll walk you through this calculation). Every calorie over that 1,851 mark will result in weight gain over time.
TYPICAL DAILY CALORIC CONSUMPTION
Calculating Daily Calories for Weight Loss
We know that most Americans are eating too many calories and not moving enough to burn them off. But how do you find out the number of calories you personally need to consume for weight loss? You start by determining how many calories your body will burn on its own just to maintain its essential body functions. This baseline calorie expenditure is known as the resting metabolic rate (RMR, sometimes referred to as resting energy expenditure, or REE), and it is the number of calories the body would burn if it were at rest for 24 hours. In other words, your RMR is the amount of calories you need to consume on a daily basis in order to maintain your weight if you are currently leading a sedentary lifestyle. There are countless equations that calculate your RMR, but in the fitness industry the Mifflin equation remains the gold standard.2
Once you have completed the Mifflin equation, take the resulting number and multiply it by your level of activity in order to determine the true number of calories you burn on a daily basis. For the purposes of this program, your activity factor should reflect the specific cardio exercise program you plan to follow. For example, if you are not feeling very fit entering into the program, you might want to predominantly focus on the Level 1 cardio routines, so you would use an activity factor of 1.375. If you have a decent fitness base and want to take on a bigger challenge, the Level 2 or Level 3 program will be a better fit, so use the corresponding activity factor.
If your routine will include additional bouts of exercise beyond the workouts in this book, you can err toward a higher activity factor. However, it’s always safest to start with a lower activity factor and then add calories back in if necessary. Most of us drastically underestimate how many calories we are consuming, and we also tend to overestimate the number of calories we are burning.
Once you’ve multiplied your RMR by your activity factor, you will know exactly how many calories you would need to consume each day in order to maintain your current weight. To shed a few pounds (maybe more than a few) and firm up that midsection, you must make sure your actual caloric consumption is lower than this number.
One pound of fat is equal to 3,500 calories, so for every pound of fat you want to lose, you need to create a caloric deficit of 3,500. Based on what we know about calories in versus calories out, this deficit can’t be achieved in a day, or even a few days. Assuming you don’t dip below the minimum daily intake of 1,400 calories, you need to burn off that additional 3,500 through exercise. To put it into perspective, this would require a daily workout equivalent to running 35 miles. A much more sustainable and realistic approach is to create a daily caloric deficit of 500 calories through a combination of consuming less and moving more. Over the course of a week, this would add up to 1 pound of weight loss. If you have more than 30 pounds to lose, you might find that you initially lose weight much faster than the 1 pound per week pace, but as you approach those last 5–10 pounds, the rate of loss will inevitably slow down. Here’s the bottom line: You can expect to lose 8–16 pounds over the 8 weeks of the Core Envy program, and if you do it right, you will also gain muscle tone and feel great.
HOW TO FIND YOUR RESTING METABOLIC RATE
For Elizabeth, who is 40 years old, 5 feet 5 inches tall, and 150 pounds, the equation works out like this:
RMR = [10 × 67.5] + [6.25 × 165.1] − [5 × 40] − 161
Her resting metabolic rate is 1,346 calories.
HOW TO FIND YOUR WEEKLY ACTIVITY FACTOR
Elizabeth plans to use the Level 1 Core Envy program.
Her RMR is multiplied by the Level 1 activity factor.
1,346 × 1.375 = 1,851
This is her daily caloric goal to maintain her current weight. To lose weight, she will need a daily deficit of 500 calories, which makes her total 1,351 calories. Her target will be 1,400 calories—the daily minimum.
RMR × Activity Factor − 500 Calories = DAILY CALORIC GOAL FOR WEIGHT LOSS
Losing 1 pound a week might sound painstakingly slow—you’ve probably followed diet plans before that promised much bigger results in a shorter amount of time. In fact, you may have enjoyed rapid weight loss on these types of plans, but I’m guessing that the weight came back, or you wouldn’t be reading this book. The truth is, there’s no fast, easy method to lose weight and keep it off. Sure, the scale might say that you’ve lost 5 pounds in 5 days when you follow a highly restrictive diet, but in fact most of that loss won’t be fat; it will be water pounds lost through dehydration. If you eat a bagel on day 6, you will magically gain back those 5 pounds you just thought you lost. How is this possible? For every gram of carbohydrate you consume, the body stores 3 to 4 grams of water. That means for every 400 grams of carbohydrate you consume, your body will store 16 ounces (1 pound) of water. By simply cutting out 400 grams of carbs a day, you can “lose” 1 pound on the scale. But again, this is just a reduction in hydration, and hydration is a key factor in long-term weight loss. And long-term weight loss is all about losing fat, not dehydrating your body.
Why can’t we just take
A PILL TO LOSE WEIGHT?
According to a recent survey, one in three American dieters has used supplements to help aid weight loss. The same study showed that most people had no idea that these supplements are unregulated by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and that some have serious side effects, including depression, nausea, and cardiac events.3
The FDA has a long history of approving and then recalling prescription weight-loss medications. In 1947, methamphetamine was the first drug approved but was later severely restricted due to concerns about side effects. Over the decades, scores of pills have been temporarily approved, then later recalled once evidence of cardiac failure emerged. Of the weight-loss drugs that are now currently on the FDA’s list, studies clearly show that they are effective only when combined with diet and exercise. Furthermore, once usage of any pill is stopped, most of the weight returns within one year.4
The bottom line is that eating less and moving more is still the safest, most effective method for losing weight and keeping it off.
DANGERS OF FAD DIETS
Rapid weight loss typically means loss of muscle and water, not fat.
Increased risk of heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, and liver disease.
Malnutrition due to restriction of major food groups.
The Lean Muscle Factor
Isn’t lean body mass a deciding factor in how many calories your body burns? Countless blogs, fitness articles, and other media claim that muscle burns 50 times more calories than fat. By this estimate, gaining 10 pounds of muscle would increase your resting metabolic rate by 500 calories a day. This is the kind of pseudoscientific dialogue heard in gyms around the world that I like to call “bro science.” Although it likely sounds correct, there is equal likelihood that it is complete BS. In this case, the possibility of your metabolic rate being 500 calories higher is alluring, but it’s simply not true.
Scientific studies consistently show that 1 pound of muscle burns approximately 6 calories a day at rest, whereas 1 pound of fat burns 2 calories a day at rest.5 In other words, that 10 pounds of muscle burns only 40 calories a day more than 10 pounds of fat. If you eat two egg whites, one large bite of a bagel, or two tortilla chips, you’ve already hit the additional energy quota. Not as much as you had thought, is it?
While body composition does have a modest impact on your RMR, it is very difficult to get a true reading of your lean body mass. The most accurate equipment is cost-prohibitive, and more accessible tools are highly variable. The caloric goal you arrived at using the Mifflin equation is the best place to start, and from there you can make small adjustments based on how your body is responding.
BENEFITS OF LEAN MUSCLE MASS
Muscle looks firmer than fat and takes up less space because it is more dense.
Fat is associated with dramatically high risks of heart disease, type II diabetes, stroke, and dementia. Muscle is not associated with any of these conditions.
Muscle allows you to work harder during your workouts, which in turn produces greater caloric burn, which melts off fat.
The Dangers of Overrestricting Calories
You might find it tempting to commit to a bigger calorie deficit in an effort to lose weight faster on the Core Envy program. If you are like most Americans (30 to 40 pounds overweight and inactive) and you calculate your RMR multiplied by the activity factor, there is a good chance that you came up with 1,600 to 1,700 calories. Knowing that this is the number necessary to maintain her current weight, the ambitious dieter might be tempted to start drastically slashing calories in order to achieve a large deficit for the day. After all, you want to lose weight, and to lose weight you must consume less than the calories you need to maintain your current weight. While this idea is technically correct from a mathematical standpoint, the dangers of consuming less than 1,400 calories a day on a regular basis far outweigh the initial weight loss. Studies consistently show that severe calorie restriction actually lowers RMR, sometimes as much as 16 percent.6 If your RMR is low, that means your body burns fewer calories at rest, and typically your RMR will stay low even if you switch back to eating a healthy number of calories. Worse yet, if you severely restrict calories and experience rapid weight loss, you actually increase your chances that you will gain that weight back.
SIGNS THAT YOUR CALORIE CONSUMPTION IS TOO LOW
Chronic fatigue
Mood swings
Amenorrhea (cessation of menstrual period)
Rapid and sustained weight loss (more than 5 pounds a week for more than 4 weeks)
Poor circulation/coldness in fingers and toes
Insomnia and other sleep disturbances
How to adjust
CALORIC INTAKE for BREAST-FEEDING
If you are currently breast-feeding and are following this plan to drop the baby weight, you will want to add 200–500 calories a day to your RMR. Once you get the go-ahead from your doctor to work out, you can begin the exercise plan—even the high-intensity interval workouts are safe. Just be sure to stay hydrated by drinking at least half your body weight in ounces each day (for a 150-pound woman, that’s 75 ounces of water). If you developed a condition known as diastasis recti during your pregnancy, you should explain to your doctor that you would like to follow a program that focuses on working the core muscles and get clearance to perform the core sculpting exercises in this book.
Learning How to Count Calories
As an educated fitness professional, nothing infuriates me more than diet and weight-loss plans that insist that counting calories is not necessary. “No more counting calories, no more measuring your food, just follow this super-restrictive plan and the pounds will fall off!” Assuming you do follow these plans to the letter, you probably will indeed lose weight because the plan has actually counted calories for you! There is absolutely no way to get around the scientific equation of calories in versus calories out. Our bodies burn calories because calories are energy, and we expend this energy every time we move. When you consume more energy than you burn, the body will store that extra energy as fat so that it can convert it back into energy at a later date. The problem is that most of us never get around to burning those stored calories. Instead, we just keep consuming more and more energy (calories) while simultaneously using less and less of it in our daily activity. There is a proven formula for losing weight: Consume fewer calories while simultaneously burning more of them, and you will like the result. So do the math. Keeping track of the calories you eat can be time-consuming and tedious. However, it’s the magic bullet that will finally allow you to take control of your body.
The first few weeks of counting calories are always the most labor-intensive, which is why the Core Envy Diet includes sample menus, 100-calorie portions, and a daily log to make keeping track of your calories a breeze. The activity factor used to calculate your daily caloric goal takes into account the energy (or calories) needed for the sculpting and cardio workouts. While I’ve listed the caloric burn for the cardio workouts in the book, you don’t have to worry about totaling “calories out.” Simply do the workouts and eat the right foods to hit your daily caloric goal, and you will be on your way to losing weight.
RULE 2: MAKE CALORIES NUTRITIOUS
Now that you’ve calculated the number of calories you need to consume each day to lose weight, it’s time to focus on the quality of those calories. The Core Envy Diet focuses on a selection of fat-burning foods, with an emphasis on organic fruits and vegetables, lean meats, unsaturated fats, and wholegrain carbohydrates. The plan is straightforward and easy to follow. If you make these foods staples in your diet you will achieve an enviable core. My goal is to get your body and your taste buds used to eating simple, nutritious foods that will not only whittle away your waistline but also nourish your entire system. The foods I selected for the Core Envy program help burn fat because they meet three key requirements:
Highly nutritious yet low in calories, sugar, and saturated fat.
Readily available in most markets.
Easy to prepare and cost-effective.
The first requirement will come as no surprise; nutritiously rich foods that are low in calories should be a part of every healthy eating plan. But exactly how do foods qualify as nutrient-dense? They must contain a high amount of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, and amino acids), be low in sugar (fewer than 5 grams per serving), and have proven qualities that reduce the likelihood of chronic diseases and illness.7 All of the foods that I have chosen are also fresh, whole foods. For the sake of convenience, I have included a few frozen-meal options for times when you’re really in a pinch. Even with the best intentions and planning, life circumstances always seem to complicate our daily routines, and we don’t always have time to prepare a meal from scratch. The frozen meals I have chosen are nutritious and contain very few (if any) preservatives or added sodium.
The second and third requirements aren’t typically considered in most weight-loss programs. I focused on the cost and availability of foods when constructing my Core Envy Diet because I want the foods you’re eating to be easy to find and easy on your wallet. In my 15 years of guiding people through weight-loss journeys, I’ve heard every excuse in the book about why it’s impossible to follow the plan. Convenience and cost are the most common and legitimate complaints. If you’ve ever tried to follow a program that asks you to purchase Chinese cabbage and free-range elk tenderloins, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Convenience and cost determine the likelihood of your adherence to the plan.
Once I had my list of highly nutritious and low-calorie foods, I compared it to the USDA’s list of food availability and the cost index for each item.8 My goal was to give you a list of foods that are good for you while also being easy to find and cost-effective. For example, blackberries rank at the top of the list in terms of nutrient density, but they also rank very high in price (almost twice the price of blueberries) and can be difficult to find out of season. For this reason, you will see blueberries make the list but not blackberries. Other foods that ranked high in nutrient density but didn’t make the cut for cost and availability are guava, endive, beet greens, elk, and macadamia nuts. If you want to include these foods in your diet, please go ahead! Just make sure you are looking up the calorie content and tracking it in your food journal so that your daily calorie intake stays in check.
Can too much sodium really
AFFECT YOUR WAISTLINE?
We are told on a regular basis that we need to cut back on extra sodium in order to avoid high blood pressure, but the dangers of a high-sodium diet reach far beyond this one health concern. Studies show a direct correlation between high-sodium diets and the presence of elevated cortisol levels; remember that high cortisol levels create a cascade effect that triggers the body to store visceral abdominal fat around the organs. In addition, high-sodium diets have been directly linked to a greater risk of metabolic syndrome.9 The recommended daily intake for sodium is 1,500 mg, or three-quarters of a tablespoon of table salt.
The Core Envy Diet is naturally low in sodium, but here is a short list of healthy foods that contain unusually high levels of sodium. Eat these foods in moderation:
Shellfish (especially shrimp)
Smoked meats and fish
Deli meats
Soy sauce, fish sauce, teriyaki sauce, and most other dark sauces
Packaged soups
TREAT YOUR BODY TO A DIET MAKEOVER
It will come as no surprise that the foods that consistently rank the highest in terms of being “good for you” are all fruits and vegetables. Despite all the research showing the fat-fighting, illness-depleting benefits of fruits and veggies, American consumption of these two food categories is far below the recommended amount. Instead, we consume more than the recommended amounts of fatty animal products and refined grains, both of which contribute to our ever-expanding waistlines.
WHERE OUR DIETS FALL SHORT
Cut Out Refined Grains and Gluten
When it comes to grains, the American diet focuses predominantly on wheat. As of 2010, the per capita annual consumption of wheat was at an astounding 137 pounds. Unfortunately, almost all of those 137 pounds are finding their way onto our plates in refined and processed forms. Current data shows that only 7 percent of Americans are getting the recommended amount of whole grains, yet we are still consuming more total grains than recommended; on average we eat 6.68 ounces of grains per day, and 5.61 of those ounces are refined.10
Refined grains can contribute to unwanted weight gain because the process of stripping the bran and germ from the grain also strips away the fiber, which in turn causes the body to digest the grain quickly and also makes insulin spike. If your body is digesting food quickly, then you are prone to eat more calories than necessary because you don’t feel full. As a reaction to all these extra calories, your body releases too much insulin and your blood sugar starts to take a roller-coaster ride. Scientists at the Harvard School for Public Health state that “easily digested refined carbohydrates . . . may contribute to weight gain, interfere with weight loss, and promote diabetes and heart disease.”11
In addition to eliminating refined carbohydrates, if you can commit to cutting gluten out of your diet for the 8 weeks it takes to complete the Core Envy program, you will jump-start your weight loss. All of the grains found on my list are whole grains, and they all happen to be gluten-free. With gluten-free cookbooks and products flooding the market, you might be tempted to think my Core Envy Nutrition Plan is just a reflection of dietary groupthink. The truth is that cutting gluten out of your diet is an effective, efficient way to slim your waistline, get rid of bloating, and decrease sugar cravings.
Wheat, barley, and rye are the three grains that include gluten. While you are on the Core Envy program, simply switch out these grains for brown rice, oats, quinoa, and wild rice. I specifically choose these grains to be included in the list of foods because they are readily available in all markets and affordable. If there are other gluten-free whole grains that you enjoy eating, please feel free to include them in your diet. And once you are finished with the program, you can reintroduce gluten in the form of highly nutritious whole grains as part of a well-balanced diet.
Labeling can be blamed for many of our poor decisions around whole grains. A loaf of bread that is labeled “whole grain” may only contain 1 percent whole grain and 99 percent refined grains. And just because something is labeled “wheat bread” doesn’t mean that it contains whole-grain wheat—it is most likely wheat that is processed and refined, stripped of its nutritional benefits and loaded with additional sugar and preservatives.
To make better-informed choices when it comes to eating whole grains, you need to be able to decode the terminology found on the packaging so you can choose the grains that are highly nutritious and more conducive to maintaining an enviable core.
Whole grains. The term “whole” in the context of grains means that the entire kernel is used and nothing is stripped or taken away. A whole kernel of grain consists of three parts—the endosperm, germ, and bran.
Refined grains. Refining a grain entails taking away portions of the original kernel. In almost every case this means that the bran and germ are removed, oftentimes through techniques such as bleaching and bromating.
Enriched grains. If a grain is enriched, that means that something is added to it, which also implies that something has first been taken away. Often a grain is first refined (bran and germ removed) and then “enriched” by adding back nutrients that have been taken away, such as fiber, iron, and folic acid. Many times the nutrients that are added back are not in the same form; for example, metallic iron can be used as a substitute for naturally existing iron. Furthermore, added nutrients commonly represent a fraction of what the original grain contained.
Fortified grains. A fortified grain is one that has nutrients added to it that may or may not have existed in the original grain. One of the biggest criticisms of fortified foods is that the added nutrients are often more difficult for the body to absorb.
With all these different terms being thrown around, how are we supposed to know which grains are healthy? One of the easiest ways to identify which foods contain whole grains is to look for the Whole Grain stamp that has been issued by the Whole Grains Council.
The “Basic Stamp” is used for foods that contain some whole grains, but not 100 percent of the grains used in the product are whole grain. The “100% Stamp” indicates that grains used in the product are 100 percent whole. Look for the 100% Stamp as often as possible, though products that have the Basic Stamp are also a good place to start. Some foods that are naturally whole grain will not carry the whole-grain stamp. The following grains and grasses are naturally whole grain.
NATURALLY WHOLE-GRAIN OPTIONS
Amaranth
Polenta
Brown rice
Quinoa
Buckwheat
Sorghum
Millet
Teff
Oats
Wild rice
Eat More Vegetables
For the Core Envy Diet to work, you will need to eat more vegetables. For most of us, this is the single biggest lifestyle change. There are many excuses for avoiding vegetables, but the most common form of resistance I find in clients (besides the statement that they are gross!) is that vegetables are expensive. Though this perception is widespread, the reality is that most vegetables are not only economical but easily accessible. According to a USDA report, we can get the recommended amount of vegetables and fruits for as little as $2 a day. To put this into perspective, the cost of that daily Starbucks coffee (not even the fancy drinks—just the regular drip coffee) is enough to cover your daily vegetable intake. Take the time to sit back and evaluate your finances when it comes to your food choices. My guess is that your pocketbook actually will allow you to eat healthier, though it may require you to give up some of your go-to foods and drinks that aren’t providing you with anything but convenience, extra calories, and the comfort of routine.
The beauty of a SHORTER SHOPPING LIST
You might look at the list of Core Envy foods and think it looks restrictive. What if you want to eat something that’s not on the list? While it might seem difficult to focus your diet on a short list of foods, keep in mind that having too many options often leads to poor decisions. Over the years, I have approached weight-loss plans with my clients in every way possible: letting them choose their own foods, giving them new meal plans every week, and keeping them on a plan that is slightly repetitive yet consistent. Far and away the most successful plans have been the ones that keep my clients on a regular, consistent schedule that allows them to create a routine. Establishing healthy choices around food means staying focused on a short list that gives you the most bang for your buck, which is exactly what the foods list does for you.
DIRTY DOZEN (buy these organic)
Celery |
Blueberries |
Kale |
Peaches |
Nectarines |
Cherries |
Strawberries |
Bell peppers |
Potatoes |
Apples |
Spinach |
Grapes (imported) |
CLEAN 15 (lowest in pesticides)
Onions |
Sweet peas |
Cantaloupe |
Avocado |
Asparagus |
Watermelon |
Sweet corn |
Kiwi |
Grapefruit |
Pineapple |
Cabbage |
Sweet potato |
Mango |
Eggplant |
Honeydew melon |
Organic options are always preferable when buying produce, but if your budget is tight, you can focus your organic purchases on the produce that tends to carry the highest concentration of pesticides when they are grown conventionally.
Now that you are armed with the knowledge of how different foods can affect your waistline, it’s time to put the plan in place. In “The Core Envy Diet” section, I will explain, I will explain the nuts and bolts of how to implement your food plan. I’ve created meal plans, recipes, and food logs to help guide you. You might find that you prefer keeping track of your food with one of the myriad smart-phone apps that are available today, or, if you’re like me, you might carry a little notebook in your purse so that you’re forced to actually put pen to paper and write down those three snack-sized Snickers that magically appeared in your desk drawer. Regardless of how you choose to approach your Core Envy diet, visit www.coreenvybook.com to share recipes and get tips from others in the Core Envy community.
Eating healthy when you have no time, no creativity, and no cooking skills
I’M ONE OF THOSE LIFELONG DIETERS who has tried every plan in the book, and the reason nothing has ever worked for me is simple: I don’t cook. By saying this, I mean it’s a miracle if I assemble a sandwich. I’ve tried to become interested in cooking, but after years of stocking my refrigerator with mounds of fresh veggies and meats—only to watch 75 percent of the food go to waste as it sat there unused and rotting—I finally had to face the reality that I don’t cook and I’m never going to start. My lack of interest in the kitchen has always been my biggest downfall with losing weight and keeping it off. It’s 8 p.m., I’m tired and hungry, I have no food in the house, and a quick trip to the Mexican restaurant down the street suddenly seems like a great idea.
The Core Envy Diet has essentially solved all of my cooking woes. Not only are most of the suggested options available in restaurants and as ready-made meals at grocery stores but there are even guidelines for how to choose healthy frozen meals. This is a plan that actually works for a real person! I’ve even learned that I can get hard-boiled eggs in large quantities at places like Costco and that always having healthy bars on hand saves me from making poor snacking decisions. I also really like having a list of 40 foods to focus on. At this point I have the list memorized, and it takes all the guesswork out of my decisions around food. The fact that all 40 foods are easy to find and budget-conscious are two more reasons why this plan is realistic and sustainable. Finally, a weight-loss plan that fits my lifestyle!