Excerpts

THE FOUR STEPS TO TURN ON CRUISE CONTROL The Cruise Control program combines ancient dietary wisdom with modern nutritional science. What's unique about Cruise Control is the multifaceted approach used to achieve total body transformation. You are going to incorporate strategies that address the psychological, physiological, genetic, and sociological components for a truly remarkable metamorphosis. In short, Cruise Control is a comprehensive approach to boost your overall well-being with four powerful secrets:   Step 1: Nutrient Timing: The secret weapon of Cruise Control is the consumption of food nutrients in rhythm with your body's burning (fasting) and boosting (eating) cycles. I believe this is a missing link to building a healthy body and cleansing it of unwanted toxins and stubborn fat. By consuming solid foods within a finite window of time each day, your body is able to fully utilize the nutrients you eat and to cleanse, recharge, repair, and restore. On Cruise Control, you'll eat Boost Zone foods during an eight-hour window each day. You already know that the average American eats for fifteen or more hours of the day. We're simply flipping the script. It's so incredibly simple and straightforward. Instead of grazing for the majority of the day, after your eight hours are completed, you'll enjoy healthy and satisfying Burn Zone beverages, snacks, and treats during the other sixteen hours of the day. These strategies will give your body the time it needs to clean, repair, and recharge itself.   It boils down to this: you'll eat during the eight-hour time of the day that works for you (see "Choose Your Window," below). It really doesn't matter other than choosing a time that works with your schedule.   Step 2: Manipulate Your Nutrients: On Cruise Control you'll be manipulating your macronutrient intake at different times of the day to ignite your body's natural fat-burning ability and boost your metabolism. How? More on this in the next chapter, but here's the short version: * You'll eat a wide variety of delicious foods abundant in healthy fats and oils. * You'll enjoy moderate amounts of the highest-quality protein. * You'll eat a reasonable amount of yummy, healthy, nutrient-dense, and carbohydrate-containing foods.   Burning at a Glance: During the sixteen-hour Burn Zone, you'll enjoy treats and beverages made of 100 percent healthy fats. Following this protocol will restrict the amount of glucose you consume, cutting off the glucose supply to your cells, lowering insulin levels, and ultimately forcing your body to burn fat for fuel.   Boosting at a Glance: During the eight-hour Boost Zone, your diet will consist of 50 percent fat, 30 percent carbohydrates, and 20 percent protein. This breakdown of nutrients helps your body to rev up your metabolism and to pump up your health and vitality. Don't bother with your calculator. I've done all the math for you.     Step 3: Friendly Fats: Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are a form of saturated fatty acids that come with many health benefits including increased brain function and healthy weight management. Coconut oil is a top source of MCTs, comprised of nearly 65 percent of total fatty acids. This type of fat produces four times more brain-friendly energy in the form of ketones compared to regular coconut oil. MCTs are also called medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs) and are largely missing from our industrialized diets. Why? Because the public has been misled to believe that all forms of saturated fats are potentially harmful. Quite the contrary, as compared to other types of oils and fats, MCTs seem to have positive effects on fat burning and weight reduction. As part of a healthy diet, MCTs and coconut oil can help increase satiety and even raise the metabolic rate at which the body functions. Since you will be fasting for sixteen hours a day, it's essential that you embrace these healthy fats as your friends.   Step 4: Caffeine: I have developed a delicious recipe for Cruise Control Coffee (or tea) that is filled with energizing antioxidants and caffeine, and all the best healthy fats you need to stay satisfied and revved up all day long. Additionally, I recommend organic food sources of caffeine combined with powerful antioxidants such as green and black tea (unsweetened) to give you that extra boost of energy as you begin to transition from your current eating habits. Caffeine can help with a temporary lack of energy. In addition, having your coffee in the morning can be an especially helpful fuel for your brain. Research shows that a breakfast cup of coffee can increase ketones, the brain-friendly energy produced when your insulin levels are low enough. Scientific studies also show that caffeine defends against cognitive decline and reduces the risk of Alzheimer's disease, and it increases insulin sensitivity in healthy humans, which is extremely important to sustained weight loss. Why does it boost your mood? Coffee may alter serotonin and dopamine activity for a short-term emotional boost, while the antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds in coffee have been linked to long-term effects on mood. Excerpted from The Cruise Control Diet: The 28-Day Plan for Automatic Weight Loss and Forever Fat-Burning by Jorge Cruise All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.