nothing, though, to how she reacted when I told her she would have to cut the 7 high-FI foods out of her diet. She didn’t mind losing the sugar because she had pretty much cut it out anyway, and she was fine with giving up peanuts and corn, which she rarely ate. She could even wrap her mind around cutting out yeast and gluten because she was pretty much avoiding bread, pasta and baked goods already. But when she thought about cutting out her soy-laden protein bars, her low-fat Greek yogurt, her fresh-squeezed juice and her veggie omelets, I thought she was going to go ballistic. And whenI told her that diet sodas were off-limits, she was literally speechless for 2 minutes.
When she could finally speak, she said just four words: “JJ, are you sure? ”
“I am.”
Then she started to bargain with me. “Maybe I could have, like, one protein bar during the day? I don’t think they have much soy—and I really need a high-protein snack I can eat at my desk. And maybe if I’m really good about the other things, I could have yogurt, like, twice a week? Or maybe three times? Ever since I gained all this weight, yogurt and berries are just about the only dessert I ever get—and the berries are healthy, right? And maybe as a special treat, I could have, say, one omelet on the weekend, if I don’t use any butter and fry it in a nonstick pan? One omelet—that’s only two eggs a week. I won’t even use the yolks, just the whites! That’s reasonable, right? I mean, moderation in all things, don’t you agree?”
“Look,” I told Jenna, “I know it’s tough to cut out so much, and after 21 days you might be able to add some of these foods, like eggs or dairy, back into your diet. But if you want this diet to work, it’s got to be 100 percent compliance for the next 21 days. You have to cut out every single one of the top 7 high-FI foods. I’m not talking 99 percent, I’m talking 100 percent.”
“But why?” Jenna asked, almost in tears. For a minute, she sounded more like a distressed little girl than the high-powered financial wizard I knew she was.
I explained to Jenna that if she wasn’t struggling with food intolerance, she would certainly have been able to lose her excess weight by now. So I had to assume that she was plagued with leaky gut, inflammation and digestive difficulties and that even small amounts of high-FI foods would make them worse. Jenna’s gastrointestinal tract and her immunesystem were not functioning properly, and her stubborn weight gain was the result. To heal her body, we had to heal her leaky gut, cool her inflammation and give her immune system a chance to calm down. Even a single bite of egg or a spoonful of yogurt might be enough to undo all of her efforts.
Jenna reluctantly agreed to follow the Virgin Diet, and for the first 3 or 4 days, it was tough going. Her immune system was used to making antibodies that would zap the dairy, eggs and soy in her system, and now those antibodies were causing her to crave those foods intensely. For those few days, even though she was doing everything right, Jenna actually felt worse.
“Hang in there,” I told her when she called me in despair. “This reaction is a good sign. You wouldn’t be having such a hard time giving up these foods if you weren’t sensitive to them. It’s like with an addict; you know how serious the addiction is based on how tough the withdrawal symptoms are. Your cravings are telling us that we are totally on the right track, so just give it a few more days.”
By the end of week 1, Jenna had started to feel better—especially when she realized that she had lost 7 pounds. By the end of week 2, she surprised herself with how clearheaded and focused she felt. By the end of week 3, she was thrilled to discover that she had lost a total of 10 pounds—and looked younger than she had in years.
Drop the top 7 high-FI foods for 21 days, lose up to 10 pounds or perhaps even more and look 10 years younger. It’s
When she could finally speak, she said just four words: “JJ, are you sure? ”
“I am.”
Then she started to bargain with me. “Maybe I could have, like, one protein bar during the day? I don’t think they have much soy—and I really need a high-protein snack I can eat at my desk. And maybe if I’m really good about the other things, I could have yogurt, like, twice a week? Or maybe three times? Ever since I gained all this weight, yogurt and berries are just about the only dessert I ever get—and the berries are healthy, right? And maybe as a special treat, I could have, say, one omelet on the weekend, if I don’t use any butter and fry it in a nonstick pan? One omelet—that’s only two eggs a week. I won’t even use the yolks, just the whites! That’s reasonable, right? I mean, moderation in all things, don’t you agree?”
“Look,” I told Jenna, “I know it’s tough to cut out so much, and after 21 days you might be able to add some of these foods, like eggs or dairy, back into your diet. But if you want this diet to work, it’s got to be 100 percent compliance for the next 21 days. You have to cut out every single one of the top 7 high-FI foods. I’m not talking 99 percent, I’m talking 100 percent.”
“But why?” Jenna asked, almost in tears. For a minute, she sounded more like a distressed little girl than the high-powered financial wizard I knew she was.
I explained to Jenna that if she wasn’t struggling with food intolerance, she would certainly have been able to lose her excess weight by now. So I had to assume that she was plagued with leaky gut, inflammation and digestive difficulties and that even small amounts of high-FI foods would make them worse. Jenna’s gastrointestinal tract and her immunesystem were not functioning properly, and her stubborn weight gain was the result. To heal her body, we had to heal her leaky gut, cool her inflammation and give her immune system a chance to calm down. Even a single bite of egg or a spoonful of yogurt might be enough to undo all of her efforts.
Jenna reluctantly agreed to follow the Virgin Diet, and for the first 3 or 4 days, it was tough going. Her immune system was used to making antibodies that would zap the dairy, eggs and soy in her system, and now those antibodies were causing her to crave those foods intensely. For those few days, even though she was doing everything right, Jenna actually felt worse.
“Hang in there,” I told her when she called me in despair. “This reaction is a good sign. You wouldn’t be having such a hard time giving up these foods if you weren’t sensitive to them. It’s like with an addict; you know how serious the addiction is based on how tough the withdrawal symptoms are. Your cravings are telling us that we are totally on the right track, so just give it a few more days.”
By the end of week 1, Jenna had started to feel better—especially when she realized that she had lost 7 pounds. By the end of week 2, she surprised herself with how clearheaded and focused she felt. By the end of week 3, she was thrilled to discover that she had lost a total of 10 pounds—and looked younger than she had in years.
Drop the top 7 high-FI foods for 21 days, lose up to 10 pounds or perhaps even more and look 10 years younger. It’s
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