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Your body requires six essential nutrient classes for growth,
maintenance, and repair of its tissues. Essential nutrients are those that the body cannot make and must obtain from an outside source. To provide a well-balanced diet, the foods you eat must contain all of the essential nutrients in the amounts appropriate for good health. The challenge is to eat a balanced diet that provides these nutrients without overeating. A
closer look at the nutrients helps you understand their importance as part of a balanced diet. The six classes of essential nutrients are carbohydrates, protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water.

The Six Classes of Essential Nutrients

1.Carbohydrates

2.Protein

3.Fats

4.Vitamins

5.Minerals

6.Water

Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are classified as macronutrients and must be consumed in large amounts throughout the day. These energy-producing nutrients break down to supply calories (the measure of energy in food). One gram of carbohydrate equals four calories, one gram of protein also equals four calories, and one gram of fat equals nine calories.

Vitamins and minerals are classified as micronutrients. These essential organic and inorganic nutrients are found in the foods you eat and are vital to life. They act as cofactors and are critical for proper body function. Many foods today lack vitamins and minerals, having been grown in depleted soils or overprocessed. For this reason, we recommend supplementing your diet with a well-balanced vitamin and mineral capsule.
Think of it as nutritional insurance.

Water, of course, is indispensable for life. This essential nutrient flows through every cell in your body, bringing in nourishment and taking wastes away. However, most people don’t drink enough water. If you don’t get enough water daily, you may experience heartburn, stomach cramps, low back pain, headache, and fatigue. But if you drink adequate amounts of water,
your body runs more smoothly, your circulation is improved, your digestion enhanced, and your complexion brightened.

How much water you drink depends on your size and activity level. Rather than the standard eight 8-ounce glasses per day, try this method: Divide your weight by two and drink that many ounces of water per day. Thus for a woman weighing 130 pounds (130 4 2 5 65) the eight 8-ounce glasses of water per day is right on target. However, a 200-pound man needs approximately 100 ounces per day, or about eight 12-ounce glasses per day.

Burning fat is also a very dehydrating process. Toxins are stored in fat cells, and as excess body fat is being burned for energy, these stored toxins enter the bloodstream. Water becomes the vehicle for transporting toxins from your body. Because of this process, water becomes even more important when you are burning fat and losing weight.

Determine your water requirements and challenge yourself to drink that amount of water daily. You will be amazed at how good you feel when you simply drink adequate amounts of pure water.

Years of experience working with thousands of people taught us that most people don’t know which foods are classified as carbohydrates, proteins,
or fats. That makes it difficult when you attempt to eat 40% of calories from carbohydrates, 30% from protein, and 30% from fat. The following is a simple review of the three groups of macronutrients. It can help you understand the unique characteristics of each of these essential nutrients and why it is important to include all of them in every meal you eat.

Although most foods contain a mixture of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, we classify foods according to their predominant nutrient.

CARBOHYDRATES

Carbohydrates are found in virtually all plant foods. Fruits, vegetables,
grains, legumes (beans), and starchy foods such as potatoes, rice, pasta,
and bread consist primarily of carbohydrates. Add to that list sugary foods such as ice cream, cookies, cakes, candies, and pies, plus chips,
pretzels, popcorn, soda pop, and juice, and

Body Weight/ Water Requirement Calculator

1.Total body weight____

2.Divide by 2____

3.Daily ounces per day____

you can see that you are bombarded with carbohydrate foods. In fact, there are very few people suffering from carbohydrate deficiency, unless, of course, they are in ketosis—but we’ll discuss that later.

The primary role of carbohydrates is to supply energy to the body, or more important, to provide energy to the brain. No matter what form of carbohydrate, simple or complex, all carbohydrates convert into the same thing—blood sugar, more properly termed glucose. So, whether you eat a candy bar or pure sugar, an apple or whole wheat pasta, they all break down into the same thing: glucose.

If you eat a meal that is primarily carbohydrate, such as a bowl of cereal, juice, and toast, the level of glucose in your body will rise.
When large amounts of glucose enter the bloodstream at one time, your blood sugar level rises and insulin is released to lower it. Elevated insulin levels force your body to burn glucose for energy instead of stored body fat. Even worse, elevated insulin levels convert excess carbohydrates into fat.

Problems also occur when carbohydrates are avoided (for example, eggs and bacon without toast or juice for breakfast). High protein, high fat, low carbohydrate diets can promote a sluggish feeling because the brain requires large amounts of glucose to maintain proper mental function. If you don’t eat enough carbohydrates, blood sugar levels drop too low and the brain suffers.

The best sources of carbohydrates are foods that are high in fiber, low in starch, and low in sugar (low glycemic). We use low to medium glycemic carbohydrates in the 21-Day Fat Flush Formula meals. These high fiber carbohydrates are nutrient dense, which means they are naturally low in calories and high in vitamins and minerals. They should be your primary source of carbohydrates and will produce the best and fastest results.

Best High Quality Carbohydrate Sources

Fruits: Apples, oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, pears, peaches, and plums

Vegetables: Broccoli, asparagus, green beans, cauliflower, zucchini, and spinach

Grains: Barley, oatmeal, rye, brown and wild rice, and whole wheat pasta

Legumes: Black beans, white beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, and lentils

what are your carbohydrate requirements?

In the Formula, we use the revolutionary 40-30-30 nutrition ratio. Forty percent of your calories should come from carbohydrates. To determine your carbohydrate requirements, you must know that you will need one-third more carbohydrates than protein. We know most people don’t like to work on math problems when they are hungry, so we have done this for you in the
Macronutrient Chart (page 65).

PROTEIN

Protein foods are primarily foods that come from an animal source. The quality of a protein food is determined by two factors: the amino acid balance it contains and its digestibility. A complete protein contains all of the essential amino acids in relatively the same amount as humans require. High quality protein sources should also be easy to digest and low in fat, making some of the best protein sources eggs (less some yolks), lowfat dairy products, skinless chicken and turkey, fish, and lean cuts of red meat. Lowfat soy products may also be included.

As protein is digested, long peptide chains begin to break down into amino acids, enter the bloodstream, and are rearranged into more than 50,000 new body proteins. Just as the letters of the alphabet can be arranged to create thousands of different words, the 22 commonly known amino acids are precisely arranged in the bloodstream to build thousands of necessary body proteins that make up, build, and repair the human body on a continuous basis. These body proteins include hair, skin, nails, blood, hormones,
digestive and regulatory enzymes, muscle tissue, brain neurotransmitters,
your immune system, and much more. Remember that only amino acids rebuild these vital body proteins.

If you consume adequate amounts of quality protein at every meal, a continuous supply of amino acids is available to build and repair your body. Protein in a meal also stimulates the release of glucagon, a fat burning hormone that maintains stable blood glucose levels and releases stored fat so it can be burned for energy.

Many people have heard that beans and rice are a good source of protein for vegetarians. When two plant foods, each containing the amino acids that the other lacks, are eaten at the same meal, they can
Best High Quality Protein Sources

*Cottage cheese (lowfat and nonfat)

*Chicken and turkey (skinless)

*Eggs and egg whites

*Fish

*Lean meats

*Lowfat tofu and tempeh (soy products)

*Whey protein powder (90% pure)

make a complete protein. However, a high quality protein must be not only complete but also digestible. The fibers found in plant foods wrap around the protein chains, making it difficult to digest and utilize the amino acids they contain. Besides, beans are 75% carbohydrates, and rice is 90%.
So we consider beans and rice carbohydrate foods and recommend adding additional easy-to-digest high quality protein with these foods.

A low protein diet can cause amino acid imbalance, muscle loss, and decreased metabolism, and prevents the release of glucagon necessary for burning body fat.

But too much protein can also cause problems. A high protein diet can set you up for the abnormal metabolic state known as ketosis. Sure, the first week may bring your weight down, but be aware that at best a pound or two of what you lose is fat and the rest can be lean muscle, water weight, and mineral loss. Once the dieter goes off the diet, the weight can zoom back up, quite often to a point higher than before.

what are your protein requirements?

The Formula uses the revolutionary 40-30-30 nutrition ratio. Thirty percent of your calories come from protein. Your gender, size, and activity level determine how much protein you require. You need between .5
and 1 gram of protein per pound of lean muscle weight per day. We know most people don’t like to work on math problems when they are hungry, so we have done this for you in the Macronutrient Chart (page 65).

FAT

The last of the three macronutrients is fat, certainly the most confusing of all. In the past you were told that fat is bad and to avoid it. Now you hear that there are good fats and bad fats. The most important point to remember is that fat is an essential nutrient and that we need it every day from an outside source. I often hear people say they don’t need to eat any fat, since they already have plenty of it. The truth is, you need fat to burn fat.

To maintain good health and to burn fat, your diet must contain adequate amounts of fat sources that supply essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids play a critical role in energy production, balancing hormones,
controlling hunger, and stabilizing blood sugar. It is important to remember that fat in a meal slows the digestion of the meal so that it trickles into the bloodstream, keeping blood glucose levels normal.

The right kind of fat provides omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. These “good”
fats are unprocessed and occur naturally in foods. Good sources are raw nuts and seeds, olives and avocados, and vegetable oils such as safflower,
canola, and olive. Although fish is primarily thought of as a protein source, it also provides valuable EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) fatty acids.
Coldwater fish such as salmon, tuna, sardines, and mackerel are some of your best sources of fat.

A healthy diet should contains 30% of Best High Quality Fat Sources

•Olives and olive oil

•Avocados

•Almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, and pecans

•All types of raw nuts and seeds

•Fish and fish oils

•Vegetable oils

its total calories from fat, with 10% of the total calories from saturated fat, 10% from unsaturated fat, and 10% from monounsaturated fat. Animal proteins contain saturated fats, vegetables and vegetable oils contain unsaturated fats, and avocados, olives, olive oil, nuts, and seeds contain monounsaturated fats.

The fats to avoid are called trans fats and are found in hydrogenated vegetable oils.

what are your fat requirements?

The Formula uses the revolutionary 40-30-30 nutrition ratio. Thirty percent of your calories come from fat. We know most people don’t like to work on math problems when they are hungry, so we have done this for you in the Macronutrient Chart (page 65).

SUMMARY

The key thing to remember about nutrition is balance. Balanced nutrition is the magic bullet to good nutrition. It always has been and it always will be, and the Formula is simply balanced nutrition made easy. The
Formula is a balanced nutrition program personalized for your specific requirements. Each meal and snack contains the 40-30-30 ratio of carbohydrates, protein, and fat to fuel your body correctly. Every time you eat, the carbohydrates in the meal provide glucose for your brain and prevent ketosis. The protein provides amino acids needed to build and repair body proteins and releases glucagon, your fat burning hormone. And fat supplies the fatty acids critical for blood sugar control, appetite suppression, and hormone production.

The Formula

40% Carbohydrates

* To provide fuel for your brain

* To prevent ketosis

30% Protein

* To provide amino acids to build and repair your body

* To release your fat burning hormones

30% Fat

* To stabilize blood sugar and control hunger

* To provide essential fatty acids for hormone production