Body Love Every Day: Choose Your Life-Changing 21-Day Path to Food Freedom

By Kelly LeVeque

Forewords by Emmy Rossum and Jennifer Garner

Ditch cravings and love your lifestyle with this body-positive approach to health and wellness

In her bestselling book Body Love, Kelly LeVeque shared how the Fab Four—protein, fat,  fiber, and greens—can transform your health, your body, and your relationship with food. Now, in Body Love Every Day, Kelly gives you an action plan to adopt the Fab Four lifestyle in the way that’s right for you. For a tailored approach, she has created comprehensive 21-day plans for four different archetypal women:

• The Girl on the Go wants a plan that’s flexible enough to work with her busy schedule. Kelly shares on-the-go hacks for when you’re out and about or traveling, delicious 15-minute meals, and simple strategies to stay balanced every day.

• The Domestic Goddess is dedicated to building a healthy home through cooking with and using clean products. Kelly shows you how to elevate your cooking and home to healthier heights.

• The Plant-Based Devotee wants to incorporate the Fab Four into her vegetarian or vegan diet. With over forty delectable plant-based recipes, Kelly gives you a plan to stay nourished and fueled while staying committed to your lifestyle.

• The Red-Carpet Ready gal wants to look her best for her next big event. Rock your version of the red carpet with the same strategies Kelly uses with her A-list celebrity clients, including recipes to debloat and brighten skin, workouts to tighten and tone, and ideal eating windows to help boost results.

Whether you’re one of these archetypes or a combination of them, Body Love Every Day provides a plan to help you achieve natural wellness for the body, mind, and soul. You’ll  find recipes and nutrition information for every meal, exercise and movement for every day, stress management and energy recharge for nights and weekends, and emotional support to get you through the inevitable tough times. Whether you’re looking to live healthier or drop a jean size, boost your fitness or just feel better, Body Love Every Day is your guide to success.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Dec 31, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062870827

Kelly LeVeque

Kelly LeVeque is a certified holistic nutritionist, wellness expert, and celebrity health coach based in Los Angeles, California. Before starting her consulting business, Be Well By Kelly, she worked in the medical field for Fortune 500 companies like J&J, Stryker, and Hologic, eventually moving into personalized medicine, offering tumor gene mapping and molecular subtyping to oncologists. She is a frequent contributor to dozens of active diet and fitness, fashion, and lifestyle sites. She received her bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California and completed her postgraduate studies in clinical nutrition at UCLA and UC Berkeley. She will soon take her boards to become a certified clinical nutritionist. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband.

Book preview

Part One

The Fab Four Every Day

1

Protein

Builds Lean Muscle and Curbs Cravings

THE FIRST PILLAR OF the Fab Four is protein. Protein breaks down into amino acids, the building blocks for every cell in the body. They enable muscles, organs, and other tissues to build and stay strong. They also support the production of certain enzymes, hormones, and neurotransmitters, as well as antibodies in the immune system. Protein really is a pillar. Without this essential macronutrient or the amino acids it contains, our bodies and muscles would break down and deteriorate.

Protein supports blood sugar balance, satiety, and hunger hormones. As stated in Blood Sugar 101, protein doesn’t break down into glucose, so it doesn’t directly raise your blood sugar or cause a large surge of insulin. Amino acids don’t directly raise blood sugar or insulin levels. (Technically, when amino acids enter the bloodstream, the body releases glucagon, a hormone that triggers the release of a small amount of stored glucose from the liver, which in turn triggers the release of a minimal amount of insulin. This normal hormonal process supports and facilitates the uptake of amino acids into the muscles. This release of glucose and insulin isn’t something to worry about because the levels aren’t high and it’s the body’s normal and natural process of supporting the uptake of amino acids.)

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THE PROS OF PROTEIN

Protein can boost your metabolic rate, reduce appetite, support blood sugar balance, and induce thermogenesis, a state in which the body uses calories to produce heat, benefiting weight loss efforts. One study found that eating 25 percent of your diet as protein led to increased satiety, decreased late-night appetite, and resulted in fewer obsessive thoughts regarding food. In another study, women who increased their protein intake to 30 percent (up from 15 percent) of their diet lost an average of eleven pounds in twelve weeks. Even a small increase in protein can help you sustain weight loss. One study found that weight regain rates went down by 50 percent when protein intake increased from 15 percent to 18 percent. Beyond the satiety and body composition benefits, higher protein intake has been shown to support a healthy cholesterol ratio and decrease triglycerides and the inflammatory marker C-reactive protein. Like a salmon swimming upstream against the current wave of antiprotein information, I not only give my clients permission to eat more protein—I encourage it.

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Protein is the most satiating macronutrient and helps slow digestion as a whole. It takes time and energy to break down and helps you feel satiated (full) for a longer period of time. Protein also regulates certain hunger hormones. It causes the release of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which signals that we’re full, and peptide YY (PYY), which reduces appetite. It also calms the release of neuropeptide Y (NPY), thereby reducing carbohydrate and sugar cravings. By having a neutral effect on blood sugar, slowing digestion, and supporting these hormones, protein helps you eat to satiety and elongates your blood sugar curve. If your goal is weight loss or improved body composition, adequate protein consumption is vital.

How much protein should you eat per day and meal? Everyone has different protein needs. The minimum daily amount recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board at the National Academy of Sciences is 0.36 gram per pound of body weight, but this is intended to prevent a protein deficiency, and I wouldn’t consider it optimal. In my practice, I aim for a higher amount per day. Depending on the client, I generally prefer 0.75 gram per pound of body weight per day. For example, if you weigh 140 pounds, I would aim for about 100 grams of protein per day. At a minimum, I recommend 0.5 gram per pound of body weight per day. Again, if you weigh 140 pounds, this means eating a minimum of 70 grams of protein per day. Protein should comprise about 25 percent of the food you eat every day. For the majority of my clients, meals should average between 20 and 40 grams of protein. Between a Fab Four Smoothie, 3 to 4 ounces of chicken or salmon on a salad for lunch, and even a plant-based dinner, this is attainable. You don’t need to measure or weigh your food to the ounce with a food scale, but try to get into the above range—at least 0.5 and ideally 0.75 gram per pound of body weight—so you garner the benefits.

Some bodybuilding websites say daily protein intake should be a minimum of 1.5 grams per pound of body weight. Others say upward of 2 grams per pound, even for women. (Picture me eating six and a half chicken breasts per day!) You need protein to build and maintain lean muscle mass, but not that much. One study found that people doing heavy strength training for ninety minutes didn’t benefit from more than 0.75 gram of protein per pound of body weight. Another study in the Journal of Sports Science found that between 0.8 and 0.9 gram per pound was ideal for muscle building. Other studies have shown that 0.4 to 0.5 gram per pound can be sufficient to maintain muscle mass in active adults.

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PROTEIN GOAL FOR A FAB FOUR SMOOTHIE

The goal is to get 20 to 30 grams of protein in a Fab Four Smoothie. Different protein powders have different serving sizes, different amounts of protein per serving, and different-size scoops in the canister, jug, or bag. As a result, you might have to use more than one scoop of your specific protein powder. Read the nutrition facts on the label: the serving size and scoop equivalent will be listed at the very top, and the protein per serving will be listed in its usual spot down below. In the Fab Four Smoothie recipes in this book, the first ingredient listed is always protein powder, but I don’t give the exact amount—you’ll need to calculate it based on your particular brand.

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Again, I generally prefer a daily average of 0.75 gram per pound of body weight with meals averaging 20 to 40 grams for most of my clients. (One exception might be for more serious athletes or weight lifters who might need more based on how much they train or lift. But generally speaking, I would tell them to keep their per-meal protein intake to 40 to 50 grams, maximum.)

Next, let’s discuss the specific types and sources of protein I prefer and why. I’ll go through animal- and plant-based options separately. For many people, animal protein is still the centerpiece of every meal. For example, eggs and bacon at breakfast, chicken or turkey at lunch, and then steak, fish, or more chicken at dinner. On the other hand, many people are vegetarian or vegan and choose not to eat animal protein at all, for reasons of animal rights, environmental impact, opposition to industrial food production methods, or simply personal preference. Wherever you land, the Fab Four can work for you. The guiding principles are the same.

Two quick notes before we dive in.

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NONESSENTIAL AMINO ACIDS

Don’t let the term nonessential fool you. The eleven nonessential amino acids are critical for our health and serve important purposes in the body. For example, glycine supports lean muscle mass and protein synthesis, increases human growth hormone, and decreases inflammation. Tyrosine is another great example because it’s the precursor for dopamine, our happy reward hormone. For other examples, see the chart.

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First, very few foods contain just one macronutrient. For example, meat and eggs contain both protein and fat. With a few exceptions, I will categorize foods by their predominant macronutrient. The exceptions are the plant-based protein sources. Many nuts and seeds contain mostly fat and many beans/legumes are mostly carbohydrates, but they all contain protein as well. In an effort to provide my Plant-Based Devotees (and anyone else who wants to eat a plant-based meal) with protein options, I’ve included them in this chapter. If you use nuts or seeds as your Fab Four protein, I would recommend using a different food from chapter 2 as your Fab Four fat. For example, if you use hemp hearts as the protein in a salad, you could use olive oil in the dressing or add avocado as your fat. The reason is so that you don’t rely too heavily on a limited number of foods. Mixing it up will increase the type and range of other micronutrients you consume.

Second, it’s important to mention amino acids again. As you may recall, protein breaks down into amino acids. There are twenty key amino acids. The body can synthesize eleven of them, but it must get the other nine—called essential amino acids—directly from our food. (In turn, these twenty amino acids are used by the body to make other amino acids.) Complete proteins contain all nine essential amino acids; proteins that are missing one or more of the nine are called incomplete. These can still have high nutritional value; they just lack all nine essential amino acids. See the chart for a list of the twenty key amino acids and their animal- and plant-based protein sources.

All animal protein sources are complete proteins containing all nine essential amino acids. This includes poultry, eggs, beef, game meats, fish, seafood, and pork. With a few caveats and conditions, I consider all of these foods to be body-loving choices as the protein base for any Fab Four meal. Dairy is also a complete protein, but it’s not something I recommend eating at every meal and shouldn’t be the primary protein base of a Fab Four meal. I discuss each of these food sources in more detail in the following pages.

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ORGANIC CERTIFICATION

In general, I prefer food that is certified organic. In order to use the certified organic label, a farm or producer must be certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and meet strict standards regarding how its animals were raised or crops were grown.

Animals must have access to environments that accommodate their natural behavior, such as pasture grazing. In addition, they can’t be given drugs or antibiotics unless they’re sick. They must also be fed 100 percent organic food sources. This means their food must be grown on a certified organic farm and can’t contain growth hormones, animal by-products, or genetically engineered grains. However, one caveat is that it doesn’t matter what type of organic food the animal is fed. It could be grass, grains, or another type of feed. I prefer animals that eat the food their bodies are naturally adapted to digest. This is why I prefer pasture-raised, or pastured, poultry and pork, and grass-fed and grass-finished beef and game meats.

For crops, the use of synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, industrial solvents, other synthetic additives, and irradiation is either limited or prohibited. These chemicals and agents can be toxic and may pose health risks. In addition, they can be bad for the environment, cause pollution, and contaminate the water and soil. However, even organic crops aren’t always 100 percent clean; they can be grown with commercial pesticides as long as they’re naturally occurring.

There has been debate in the scientific community regarding the nutritional value of organic versus conventionally raised/grown animals and crops. Some studies have concluded that there isn’t an advantage to organic, while others have found that there is. At the end of the day, buying organic is a personal decision. Organic food is more expensive, but I personally believe that the benefits justify the cost. To know you’re buying certified organic, look for the USDA Organic label on the packaging.

Two newly proposed organic certifications that have recently gained traction are Regenerative Organic Certified (ROC) and the Real Organic Project (ROP). Both aim to set a higher standard than the current U.S. Department of Agriculture certification. Among other things, they propose to take into account soil health, land management, animal welfare, and other social factors. They propose USDA Organic as the baseline requirement, then farms could earn ROC or ROP certification in addition. The goal is to encourage farmers to improve their techniques and growing practices beyond current government standards. ROC standards are currently being tested in a pilot program, and the certification is expected to launch in 2019. The ROP is in the process of finalizing its standards, and an anticipated launch date has not been specified. Whether and to what extent either or both of these certifications will be adopted by farmers and the marketplace is an open question.

Regenerative farming is a huge initiative that benefits the health of our entire planet. It seeks to protect and improve the entire agroecosystem by grazing multiple species of animals, growing perennial plants, composting, farmscaping, and implementing other holistic land management practices. This type of farming increases organic matter and microorganism diversity in the soil and improves the health of watersheds. It also helps offset carbon emissions by pulling carbon out of the air and putting it back into the soil, which improves soil health and increases the nutrient density of produce. When we support this balanced exchange of energy, the health of the entire planet improves. A 2019 Life Cycle Assessment of White Oak Pastures in Georgia showed that their regenerative farming efforts sequestered more carbon into the soil than was being emitted from their grass-fed cattle. Regenerative farming can improve the health of our soil, plants, and animals, and thus our own health. If you’re interested in learning more, check out The Soil Story by Kiss the Ground (on YouTube), or follow the initiative through Kiss the Ground (www.kisstheground.com) or the Savory Institute (www.savory.global), or watch the documentary The Sacred Cow (expected summer

Reviews for Body Love Every Day

[larissaaocm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Melhor livro de nutrição que já li ❤️ Recomendo a todos