For each meal, select from the approved food lists above in the amounts indicated per serving. Now you simply take these real foods and enjoy them! Real foods, made from real ingredients, without processing or adding fillers, chemicals and preservatives.
First thing in the morning I start with fruit. We want to eat our fruit early in the day so we have time to use up the energy we get from the natural sugar. After the fruit, we have some combination of complex carbohydrate, and/or protein (this depends upon which phase you select… we add dairy for Phase One and select carbohydrate or protein in Phase Three), a limited amount of healthy fats, and as many vegetables as you want. Now you can get creative and make all sorts of different meals!
Mid-morning, you’ll have a little snack, if you need it, to keep you going until lunch. Again, mid-afternoon, you’ll have a little snack to keep you from diving into the vending machines. Skipping those snacks will result in faster results… WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Lunches and dinner consist of as many vegetables as you want, plus a selection of complex carbohydrate, protein, and healthy fats. (Again, we add dairy for Phase One, and select carbohydrates or protein in Phase Three.) See, no gimmicks! This is just real food, prepared in a healthy, natural way. It tastes great. It provides you with all the nutrition and natural energy your body needs. It’s good for you. And you won’t believe how the pounds will shed!
With DDP Yoga Nutrition, every meal provides your body with the high octane fuel it needs to perform at its peak. Good quality food is what your body needs and craves. When you give your body cheap, processed food, it constantly calls for more because it’s not getting the nutrients it needs to run! It sends hunger signals for nutrition! If you keep feeding it crap, it will keep calling for real food. DDP Yoga will help you break the cycle of eating junk food over and over again to feed your hunger. Plus, processed foods make you feel sluggish. Good quality food satisfies your appetite and gives you energy because your body has what it needs to thrive.
Every day your body needs protein, healthy fats, complex carbohydrates and plenty of vegetables. Protein gives you the amino acids you need as the building blocks for brain function, to build lean muscle, to make you feel full, and as a lasting source of steady energy. You need complex carbohydrates for fiber (essential for digestion) and a steady source of energy that will not spike your insulin levels (simple carbohydrates, such as sugar and white flour, cause those sugar peaks and valleys that pour on the pounds). In addition, you need a moderate amount of healthy fats with essential Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids. Finally, we need lots of fruits and vegetables for powerful anti-oxidants and essential fiber to make the whole body work properly. Your system will smoke when it starts to feel the benefits of real food! You’ll be slimmer, more energetic, less hungry, and much healthier!!!
TREATS AND CHEATING
If you feel tempted to fall off the program because you are craving a sweet or salty treat, try these moderate options instead of shoving your face into a chocolate cake. But remember, you’re also trying to change your relationship with food, so you don’t want to use treats as a crutch after a bad day, or always have a sweet after dinner because it’s a habit. Don’t let one small treat turn into an excuse to binge for the rest of the day. You are working to reverse these habits!
- Plain, non-fat yogurt sweetened with suconat, xylitol, or agave. Add high fiber berries like strawberries, blackberries or blueberries.
- Two strawberries dipped in high-quality, melted, dark chocolate.
- 1 cup air-popped popcorn
- Gluten-free cookies or brownies (only eat 1 and save the rest)
JUICING
Organic juicing is my favorite way to begin my day. Wait until you experience the rush of live enzymes and antioxidant rich fruits and veggies in their most powerful state. You’ll never reach for a cup of coffee again! Organic juicing is a great way to cleanse and re-energize your body.
Think scrubbing bubbles for your internal system. You’re able to give your body more vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and phytonutrients than you ever could with even a giant salad. If you’re onthego and don’t have time to make your own juice, Suja is my favorite brand of pre-made juices.
They make fantastic cold-pressed organic juices that you can find in your local grocery store.
THE PALEO DIET
You’ve probably heard about the Paleo diet. It’s short for Paleolithic Era, and is a diet that revolves around eating foods that cavemen would eat – vegetables, grass-fed meats, seeds, nuts, and limited amounts of fruit. When following this program you’re eliminating many of the same things I encourage you to eliminate in Phase 3 – sugar, milk, cheese, soy, grains, and legumes. If it’s easier for you to follow this plan and stick with it, then go for it! Just make sure you’re getting organic and non-GMO as much as is feasible for your budget.
MAINTENANCE
The biggest issue people have with dieting is keeping the weight off. Time and time again I see commitment during the weight loss phase and then when it’s time for maintenance, people think ‘the diet is over’ so now I get to eat like I used to… NO!!! If you want to maintain your new level of health, you can’t revert to the way you used to eat – ever! And truthfully, you won’t really want to because you’ll be looking and feeling so great. Eating whole, real food is your new lifestyle and it will be for the rest of your life.
The difference between the weight loss phase and the maintenance phase is the amount of times you stray from the program. While you are losing, you shouldn’t be straying at all. Each and every meal and snack should be within the guidelines. Of course, the reality is that you might not always be able to stick to the guidelines exactly, every time you’re out or at a party. Still, you want to do your best and don’t eat a whole pizza because that’s all the host is serving! You wanna blow your friends’ mind? Bring your
own food and show them how serious you are about Owning Your Life! On the maintenance program, this is about my motto, ‘Live life at 90%’.
While you’re in maintenance mode you should be following the plan guidelines 90% of the time and allow for treats or splurges 10%. Remember, it’s not about how many times you fall down, it’s about how many times you get back up. Don’t use those 10% moments as an excuse to slip back into your old bad habits.
CELTIC SEA SALT
When people go on a diet, they often have to reduce their salt intake. I’m here to tell you, it’s not the amount of salt, but the type of salt that
matters! Regular table salt is a refined product where as many as 82 trace minerals and essential macro nutrients are removed, leaving
only a single compound made of sodium and chlorine. Table salt is a completely chemicalized substance!
Celtic sea salt, harvested from the shores of France, on the other hand, has many health benefits, besides making your food taste
unbelievably great! It contains those 82 trace minerals to assist in cellular maintenance and overall biological functions. Plus, it improves
digestion, balances alkaline/acid levels and helps to restore the body’s electrolytes. After a sweat inducing DDP Yoga workout, a little Celtic
sea salt is just what the doctor ordered!
Dump the table salt and pick up a bag of moist, delicious, healthy Celtic sea salt. You can find it at better markets and health food stores –
or many sources online. I carry it with me, and all my buddies ask me for it because it makes food taste so much better.
BUFFALO MEAT
It gives you that “beef fix” you want, with more protein, lower calories, lower fat, and lower cholesterol! When you first try it, you might think you are eating a really great steak, because it’s incredibly tender and juicy. Plus, it’s less expensive because it doesn’t shrink up like fatty beef. Just don’t overcook it. There is no bad buffalo – just bad buffalo cooks! Buffalo not only has less fat than beef, it has less fat than chicken, turkey, or shrimp! And because you don’t hear about massive “buffalo farms” the animals are raised without hormones, nitrates, antibiotics and all the other crap they feed to our livestock.
How about this… buffaloes don’t get cancer! Science is just starting to look for the reason why this animal is immune, but they believe it has something to do with their blood system. What does that mean for you??? Buffalo is a clean protein source, low in fat, and incredibly tasty. Had myself a buffalo burger just last night… awesome. With the exception of eggs, I eat more buffalo than any other protein.
WATER
All living things must have water to survive. While people can live without foods for days, even months, we cannot survive without water for more than a few days!
Why is water so important to our bodies?
Water is the main ingredient in the fluids of the bodies’ systems. Fluids travel through your body, carrying nutrients and waste to and from all your cells and organs. Water also keeps your joints lubricated.
Water is essential in the digestive process. Starting in the mouth, saliva is made mostly of water, and it helps break down food in the mouth. Then your digestive juices are made mostly of water to keep things moving properly.
When your body generates a lot of heat, water comes up through your skin as perspiration or sweat, and it evaporates into the air. This process cools down your skin, which cools down your blood, which cools down the whole body. That’s why drinking water is especially important when you are exercising or when the weather is hot.
Give your body the water it needs!
Our bodies lose 2-3 quarts of water every day and we must replace it. Drink 6 to 8 8-ounce glasses of clean, filtered water each day. I only use plastic bottles when I need to because they are expensive and the plastic will live on even long after all the cockroaches!
Don’t wait until you’re thirsty to drink water. If your mouth gets dry and you feel thirsty you are already experiencing the first sign of dehydration. People often think they are hungry, when they are actually dehydrated. When you feel the first hunger pangs, drink water first! Best to drink a full glass of water about 30 minutes before each meal.
Spa Water – add sliced oranges, tangerines, cucumber, lemon and limes to your water. You’ll feel like you are at a spa and it makes it taste great!!!
Keep your body healthy and hydrated by drinking lots of water every day!