About the Author
----------------
New York Times bestselling author Devin Alexander
has shared her secrets for unbelievably decadent-tasting foods
through frequent appearances on such national TV shows as The
TODAY Show, Fox & Friends, Good Morning America, and The View,
and has also appeared on Discovery , HGTV, USA, Style
Network and others. Devin's advice has also appeared in more than
100 magazine articles, including Prevention, Women's ,
Runners World, Shape, USA Today, Parade, Bon Appetite, and
to name a few. Devin is currently the host of "y Decadence
with Devin Alexander" in FitTv.
She is the author of The Biggest Loser Cookbook, The Biggest
Loser Family Cookbook, The Biggest Loser Dessert Cookbook, The
Biggest Loser Flavors of the World, Fast Food Fix, The Most
Decadent Diet Ever, and I Can't Believe It's Not tening.
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
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1
The Biggest Loser Eating Plan
"I wish I could, but I just don't have the time."
These days, it's become an all-too-common refrain. Whether we're
talking about going to the grocery store, cooking y meals,
working out, or simply sitting down to the dinner table with our
families, most of us have such busy schedules that it can feel
impossible to carve out any time for a y lifestyle.
Why are we so busy all the time? Well, for starters, many
Americans are feeling the pressure to work longer hours than ever
before to pay for the rising costs of living expenses, to save
for retirement, or simply to ensure that they keep their jobs.
Between working and caring for our families, many of us feel too
exhausted or stressed out at the end of the day to even think
about cooking dinner or consider going to the gym.
But when we don't take the time to take care of ourselves, we're
not conserving our time or our money. As we all know by now,
obesity is closely linked to many life-threatening diseases, such
as type 2 es, high blood pressure, heart disease, and some
cancers. When we don't nourish our bodies with wholesome foods,
get enough , and stay active, we put ourselves at an
elevated risk for developing problems that are expensive
to treat and can not only diminish the quality of our lives, but
take years off of them.
In the pages that follow, you'll learn the basics of The Biggest
Loser eating plan and exercise guidelines. While sustainable
is a slow and steady process that requires hard work
and discipline, just 20 minutes a day can make a real difference
in your overall . Sure, there will be days when the thought
of making dinner feels too overwhelming. That's why Chef Devin
has provided meal ideas you can throw together in just a few
minutes, with a little planning ahead. When you out a week's
worth of meals in advance, shop accordingly on the weekends, and
keep your refrigerator stocked with y ingredients, "not
enough time" will no longer be an excuse to eat poorly.
Think about it: In less than 20 minutes a day, you can change the
quality of your life. You're worth the investment.
Counting Calories
Yes, it's important to count calories. Why? Because one £d is
made of 3,500 calories, and in order to shave off some £ds, you
have decrease the a of calories you take in through food and
increase the a of calories you burn through exercise.
Joe Mitchell SEASON 12
It's not about burning yourself out and going crazy at the gym.
It's all about keeping a good, steady burn and keeping your heart
rate up. Also, don't forget to incorporate weight training.
Muscles burn more calories than and will help you lose
weight.
A calorie is a measurement of how much energy the food you eat
provides for your body. You need energy to fuel physical activity
as well as all c processes, from maintaining your
heartbeat to digesting your meals. Only four components of the
food you eat supply calories: protein and carbohydrates (4
calories per gram), alcohol (7 calories per gram), and (9
calories per gram). s, minerals, fiber, and water do not
contain calories.
Keep in mind that the quality of the calories you eat is just as
important as the quantity you take in. Some calories provide fuel
for your workouts, keep you feeling energized, and help your body
stay y. Other calories (often referred to as "empty
calories") don't really provide any benefits-- in fact, they can
make you feel tired, sluggish, and hungrier than you were before
you ate. The Biggest Loser plan will show you how to fuel your
body with the ents and energy it needs to lose weight and
maintain overall .
Season 5's Neill Harmer says he likes to think of calories as a
daily allowance. "Let's say you have 2,000 calories to spend per
day. If you drink that iced latte with whipped cream and
chocolate, you just spent a BIG part of your allowance on
something that really wasn't needed. Spend calories wisely."
The Biggest Loser plan helps you determine the exact calorie
intake you require to meet your individual weight-loss goals. If
you weigh 150 £ds or more, the simple calculation below will
allow you to determine how many calories you should to eat
each day. If you weigh less than 150 £ds, talk to a doctor about
an appropriate calorie budget for your needs.
Calorie Budget:
Your present weight x 7 = total daily calorie budget
As you lose weight, you'll need to continually reassess and
reduce your calorie budget, in order to keep losing weight and
break through plateaus. As you know from watching the show, The
Biggest Loser contestants lose a lot of weight during their first
few weeks at the Ranch. But after they've been at the Ranch for a
little while and have less weight left to lose, they must
readjust their calorie budgets and increase the intensity and
duration of their workouts to keep losing.
All of the contestants have a daily homework assignment: At the
end of the day, they tally up the total number of calories they
consumed throughout the day. If they ate more calories than their
budget calls for, it's up to them to burn off the extra calories
by getting in one last workout, going for a walk, or doing a few
laps in the pool.
Planning Your Calories
Once you've determined your daily calorie budget, the next step
is to plan your meals and snacks accordingly. On The Biggest
Loser plan, it's recommended that you eat three meals and two
snacks each day. Parceling out your calories throughout the day
ensures that you'll stay full and keep your blood sugar level
stable. It will also prevent you from feeling deprived, keep you
energized for exercise, and help you establish a regular pattern
of eating that helps counter impulse eating and bingeing.
"At first, I had to work to get all of my meals in," recalls
Season 8 winner Danny Cahill. "I wasn't used to eating y
foods, but I quickly realized that tious food was way more
satisfying than the fast food I had been eating. Eating y
throughout the day kept my energy level up, and I felt fueled for
my workouts."
Use the simple calculations below to determine how to best
allocate your calorie budget throughout the day. In this example,
the calorie budget is 1,800--yours may be more or less, depending
on your goal and starting weight.
Calorie Budget = 1,800
1,800 / 4 = 450
450 / 2 = 225
So for each meal--breakfast, lunch, and dinner--the calorie
budget is 450. For each snack, the calorie budget is 225.
This calculation is just a starting point. You can create any
distribution of calories that works for you and keeps you feeling
satisfied. Season 5 winner Ali Vincent has a strategy that works
for her: "I always eat within half an hour of waking up to
jump-start my sm. Then I eat every 3 to 4 hours, be it a
meal or a snack. I think this is just as important for me as
exercise," she says.
If you go to the gym in the morning and require a bigger
breakfast to fuel your workout, feel free to shift your calorie
load toward the beginning of the day. Or if you work out just
before dinner, you might want to have a bigger snack before the
gym and a smaller dinner afterward. Create a distribution of
calories that works for you. The important thing is to plan ahead
and stay within your calorie budget. As Season 7's Nicole Brewer
wisely advises, "Planning will save you. Prepare your snacks and
meals ahead of time, and always have them with you."
To understand your body's hunger signals and how to interpret
them, see The Biggest Loser Hunger Scale on the site page.
Planning Meals and Snacks
As Nicole says, planning is an essential component of successful
. The times when you are likely to be the most tempted
to stray from your calorie budget are those when you're caught
without a good option. In other words, when you've failed to
plan, you've planned to fail.
Think about the week ahead each Sunday. Are there a few nights
that you anticipate being too busy to cook? The recipes in this
book give you many quick, delicious options for meals and snacks
that you can take on the go, so plan ahead and cook several meals
at once. Then store individual portions in resealable containers
that you can heat up as needed.
Becky Comet SEASON 12
Find a workout buddy who can keep going even when you don't feel
like it-- and you can do the same for them. Then, afterward, you
and your workout buddy can celebrate your successes together.
Find someone who won't take your excuses (and you won't take
theirs). At the Ranch, there were times when I didn't really feel
like working out. But I had teammates who would tell me to get to
the gym with them. Sometimes all I needed was an encouraging
word.
When it comes to snacks, make sure you always have y
choices readily available. Season 6's Ed Brantley says he keeps
hard-boiled eggs and baggies of fresh-cut fruit in his fridge at
all times, so he has y options when hunger strikes, and he
can easily take them on the road.
The Biggest Loser Hunger Scale
1. Famished or starving: You feel weak and/or lightheaded. This
is a big no- no.
2. Very hungry: You can't think of anything else but eating.
You're cranky and irritable and can't concentrate.
3. Hungry: Your stomach's growling and feels empty.
4. A little bit hungry: You're just starting to think about your
next meal.
5. Satisfied: You're comfortable, not really thinking about food.
You feel alert and have a good energy level.
6. Fully satisfied: You've had enough to eat, maybe a little too
much. Maybe you took a few extra bites for taste only, not
hunger.
7. Very full: Now you need to unzip your jeans. You're
uncomfortable, bloated, tired. Maybe you don't feel great.
Where's the couch ... ? You should never feel like this after a
meal.
HUNGER SCALE FLASH CARD
1-3: Eat! Eat!
5: Stop, especially if you're trying to lose weight.
6: Definitely stop.
7: You may have waited too long. Better go find the couch and
start over tomorrow.
If your hunger is anywhere from level 1 through 3, you should
eat.
If you're at level 4, drink a glass of water, chew a piece of
sugar-free gum, or do something else to distract yourself from
thinking about food.
When you're trying to lose weight, you should try to stop eating
when you reach level 5, but definitely no later than level 6. If
you get to level 7, you've eaten too much. Anything above that is
way too much and will sabotage your weight-loss efforts.
Breakfast
If you haven't typically been a breakfast eater, you may struggle
with the idea of eating within an hour of waking up--but it's
essential that you do so. Try starting small and eating something
simple, like some whole grain toast with almond butter or oatmeal
with fruit. Eventually, you can work your way up to heartier
breakfasts like Chef Devin's Asparagus and Chicken Apple Sausage
Scramble (page 71) or Steak and Egg Breakfast (page 75).
Season 11's Austin Andrews says he's always loved eating
breakfast-- sometimes a little too much for his own good. His
favorite dishes were carb- heavy meals like buttermilk pancakes
or French toast with le and butter. These days, he still
eats a hearty morning meal, but he's made some important swaps.
Instead of eating a plate full of empty calories that would leave
him hungry by mid-morning, he eats a breakfast that fuels him
until lunchtime. "These days, I make French toast with whole
wheat bread instead of white, and top it with fresh strawberries
and a little stevia instead of high-calorie . It's
absolutely delicious."
Shay Sorrells SEASON 8
I used to love great family-style southern breakfasts. Now I use
one whole egg and add egg whites for my scrambled eggs. I use
turkey bacon instead of the real stuff, and I use Ezekiel raisin
bread for toast. I substitute some fresh fruit for potatoes
Season 10 winner Patrick House says he usually eats a
protein-heavy breakfast to keep him feeling satisfied throughout
the morning. "I like to eat egg whites and turkey bacon or ham on
an English muffin," he says. "I also eat some fruit, and I always
have a glass of milk in the morning."
No matter what kind of a breakfast eater you are, "not enough
time" in the morning is not an excuse to skip this important
meal.
Lunch
When you're running around between school activities,
appointments, or meetings, it can be very tempting to grab lunch
from a drive-thru or a vending machine. After all, who has time
to actually sit down and eat lunch during the week?
Well, you do. Everyone has 15 minutes to sit down and eat a
y lunch. Doing so will help keep your sm on an even
keel for the rest of the day.
Make sure your lunch includes a combination of lean protein,
complex carbs, and y s. You might have a salad with lots
of vegetables and a serving of lean protein, or a sandwich made
with whole grain bread. Danny Cahill says he's discovered an easy
lunch that contains all of the ents he needs to keep up his
energy for the afternoon. "Turkey bacon is one of the most
amazing foods I discovered on the Ranch!" he raves. "It's so
satisfying. I can whip up a quick lunch with a whole wheat
tortilla, turkey bacon, and freshly chopped veggies and tomato.
I'm ready to go in 5 minutes."
You've got a lot to accomplish in your afternoon, so feed
yourself wisely!
Snacks
You should plan to eat your snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon,
a few hours after you've eaten breakfast or lunch and/or when
you're beginning to feel hungry or tired. As a general rule,
snacks should be eaten about every 3 to 4 hours, which will help
keep cravings at bay and keep your energy up so that you feel
alert and focused.
for a snack that combines a serving of carbohydrates (such as
a piece of whole fruit) with a half-serving of protein (such as a
piece of low- cheese). Protein will help you feel full and
satisfied, and when combined with carbs, a snack will help to
keep your blood sugar stable.
Season 10's Lisa Mosely says she's learned that sometimes the
simplest snacks are the most delicious. "You don't always have to
cook to eat," she says. "Make something out of the y
ingredients in your fridge in seconds." She suggests a
mid-morning snack of lean turkey tucked into lettuce leaves.
"It's so quick and y."
Courtney Rainville SEASON 12
Keep focusing on the end result--what you'll look like, how
you'll feel, that you'll be an athlete. Imagine that to push
yourself through your workouts.
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