Foods to Eat During the Test





Foods to Avoid During the Test





A Note on Alcohol





Meal Ideas

Salads

Salad Dressings





Sauces

Snacks

Dining Out

After the Test





Finding Your Carbohydrate Tolerance





Case History

Bob was determined to renew his health in a natural

way. He was overweight and overfat, always exhausted,

and his blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides

were too high. He started the Two-Week Test

and initially felt very good. But within a few days he

began getting tired and irritable. After talking with Bob

for just a few minutes, it was clear that he was doing

several things wrong. Because it caused him to spend

more time in bathrooms, he did not drink much water

during the day. In addition, since he thought about

how many calories he was eating he became calorie

conscious and ate less. To make matters worse, he

thought that yogurt was in the cheese group, and was

eating two or three containers of fruit yogurt each day.

When I told Bob that the yogurt had 6 to 7 teaspoons

of sugar in each container, and to forget about the

calories for now and plan his water intake better, he

started his test again. After the first week he was feeling

great. Within a month, his energy remained high,

and a couple of months after that, his visit to the doctor

showed his blood pressure and blood fats were

back to normal, and he had lost 14 pounds.





Maintaining Your Balance









If you have some or all the signs and symptoms of carbohydrate intolerance , the next step is to evaluate how your body functions without high amounts of carbohydrates. The Two Week Test begins with a period of time in which your insulin levels are moderated because your carbohydrate intake is decreased. Based on your signs and symptoms, this can help determine if you are carbohydrate intolerant, and if so, how to remedy it. I must emphasize that this is onlya test, and it will only last two weeks — you will not be eating like this forever. And most importantly, this is not a diet. You should not be hungry as you can eat as much of the non-carbohydrate foods as you want, and as often as you need.I developed the Two-Week Test almost 25 years ago. Thousands of people have used it to get healthy, lose body fat and significantly improve human performance. Others have found it the best way to jumpstart their metabolism because it quickly shifts the body into a high fat-burning state. Still others have reduced or eliminated medications they once required. For many, it has turned their livesaround. Of all the tools I’ve used through my career, the Two Week Test continues to surprise me at how a person can go from one extreme of poor health to great health in such a short time. It’s simplya matter of removing a major stress in a person’s life and allowing the body to heal and function at a very healthy level.It is not the purpose of the test to restrict calories or fat. It merely restricts moderate- and high glycemic carbohydrates. Nor is its purpose to avoid all carbohydrates, or go into ketosis like other diet regimes. And, there’s no need to weigh food or count grams or calories.Just eat what you’re allowed, and avoid what should be avoidedfor two weeks.Let’s discuss all the aspects of the Two Week Test, and at the end of the chapter I’ll summarize them so you have a concise list to followBefore you start the test, ask yourself about the signs and symptoms of carbohydrate intolerance described in the previous chapter. Write down the problems that you have from this list, along with any and all other complaints you have. This may take you a few days as manypeople are so used to certain problems they can’t recall them all at once. This is very important because after the test, you will review these complaints to see which ones have improved.Next, weigh yourself before starting the test. This is the only instance I recommend using the scale . During the test you may lose some excess water your body is holding, but you’ll also go into a highfat-burning state and lose body fat. I’ve seen some people lose only a few pounds during the test, and some 20 or more pounds. This is not a weight-loss regime, and the main purpose of weighing yourself is to have another sign of how your body is working, especially after thetest.Before you start the test, make sure you have enough of the foods you’ll be eating during the test — these are listed later in the chapter. Go shopping and stock up on these items. This requires a little planning, so make a list of the foods you want to eat and the meals and snacks you want to make available. In addition, go through your cabinets and refrigerator and get rid of any sweets in your house, or you’ll be tempted. Remember, many people are addicted to sugar andother carbohydrates, and for the first few days you may crave these foods.Planning is very important. Make sure you do not go hungry during the test! Schedule the test during a two-week period that you are relatively unlikely to have distractions — the holidays or times when social engagements are planned can make it too easy to stray from the plan. There are many foods to select from so you don’t ever need to go hungry. Eat as much of the allowable foods as you want — there are many of them. Don’t worry about cholesterol, fat or calories, orthe amount of food you’re eating. This is only a test, not the way you’ll be eating all the time.Plan to eat as much as you need to never be hungry. This means planning your meals and having snacks available. Most importantly, eat breakfast within an hour of waking.Following the diet for less than two weeks probably will not give you a valid result. So, if after five days, for example, you eat a bowl of pasta or a box of cookies, you will need to start the test over.You are allowed to eat as much of these foods as you like during theTwo-Week Test:-Eggs (whites and yolk), unprocessed (real) cheeses,heavy (whipping) cream, sour cream.- Unprocessed meats including beef, turkey, chicken,lamb, fish, shellfish and others.- Tomato, V-8 or other vegetable juices such as carrotjuice.-Water.-Cooked or raw vegetables except potatoes and corn.- Nuts, seeds, nut butters.-Oils, vinegar, mayonnaise, salsa, mustard and spices.-Sea salt, unless you are sodium sensitive.-All coffee and tea (if you normally drink it).Be sure to read the ingredients for many of these foods if they are packaged, as some form of sugar is commonly added.You may not eat the following foods during the Two-Week Test:*Bread, rolls, pasta, pancakes, cereal, muffins, chips,crackers, rice cakes and similar carbohydrate foods.*Sweets, including products that contain sugar suchas ketchup, honey, and many other prepared foods(read the labels).*Fruits and fruit juice* Highly processed meats such cold cuts, which oftencontain sugar.*Potatoes (all types), corn, rice and beans.*Milk, half-and-half and yogurt.*So-called healthy snacks , including all energy barsand drinks.*All soda, including so-called diet types.If you normally drink small to moderate amounts of alcohol, some forms are allowed during the test.: dry wines, and pure distilled spirits (gin,vodka, whiskey, etc.), and those mixed with plain carbonated water,including seltzer.Sweet wines, all beer, Champaign, alcoholcontaining sugar (rum, liqueurs, etc.), and those mixed with sweetingredients such as tonic, soda or other sugary liquids. If in doubt,avoid it.Below are some other suggestions for eating, food preparation anddining out which may be helpful during the Two-Week Test. You mayfind these suggestions helpful after completing the test as well.• Omelets, with any combination of vegetables, meatsand cheeses.• Scrambled with guacamole, sour cream and salsa.• Scrambled with a scoop of ricotta cheese and tomatosauce.• Boiled or poached with spinach or asparagus andhollandaise or cheese sauce.• With bacon or other meats.• Soufflés.• Chef — leaf lettuce, meats, cheeses, eggs.• Spinach — with bacon, eggs, anchovies.• Caesar — Romaine lettuce, eggs, Parmesan cheese,anchovies.• Any salad with chicken, tuna, shrimp or other meator cheese.• Extra-virgin olive oil and vinegar (balsamic, wine, apple cider). Plain or with sea salt and spices.• Creamy — made with heavy cream, mayonnaise,garlic and spices.Fish and Meats• Pot roast cooked with onions, carrots and celery.• Roasted chicken stuffed with a bulb of anise, celeryand carrots.made with fresh, chopped meat and avariety of vegetables such as diced eggplant, onions,celery, peppers, zucchini, tomatoes and spices (nobeans).• Steak and eggs.• Any meat with a vegetable and a mixed salad.• Chicken parmigiana (not breaded or deep-fried) witha mixed salad.• Fish (not breaded or deep-fried) with any variety ofsauces and vegetables.• Tuna melt on a bed of broccoli or asparagus.• Plain melted butter.• A quick cream sauce can be made by simmeringheavy cream with mustard or curry powder andcayenne pepper, or any flavor of choice. It’s deliciousover eggs, poultry and vegetables.• Italian-style tomato sauce helps make a quick parmigianaout of any fish, meat or vegetables. Put thisover spaghetti squash for a pasta-like dish. Or makelasagna with sliced grilled eggplant or zucchiniinstead of pasta.• Hard-boiled eggs.• Slices of fresh meat and/or cheese wrapped in lettuce.• Vegetable juices.• Almonds, cashews, pecans.• Celery stuffed with nut butter or cream cheese.• Guacamole with vegetable sticks for dipping.• Leftovers from a previous meal.• Let the waiter know you do not want any bread, toavoid temptation.• Ask for an extra vegetable instead of rice or potato.• Chinese: Steamed meat, fish or vegetables (no rice orsweet sauce).• Continental: steak, roast beef, duck, fish or seafood.• French: Coquille Saint-Jacques, boeuf a laBourguignonne.• Italian: Veal parmigiana (not breaded or deep-fried),seafood marinara.• Avoid all fried food as it usually has breading or iscoated in flour.Re-evaluate your original list of complaints after the Two-Week Test. Is your energy better? Are you sleeping better? Less depressed? If you feel better now than you did two weeks ago, or if you lost weight, you probably have some degree of CI, and you’re unable to eat as much carbohydrate as you did before the test. Some people who have a high degree of CI will feel dramatically better than they did before the test, especially if there was a large weight loss. Some people say they feellike a new person after taking this test. Others say after a few days of the test, they feel young again.Check your weight. Any weight loss during the test is not due to reduced calories, as many people eat more calories than usual during this two-week period. It’s due to the increased fat-burning resultingfrom reduced insulin. While there may be some water loss, especially if you are sodium sensitive, there is real fat loss.If your blood pressure has been high, and especially if you are on medication, ask your health-care professional to check it several times during the test, and especially right after the test. Sometimes blood pressure drops significantly and your medication may need to be adjusted, or eliminated, which should only be done by your healthcare professional. For many people, as insulin levels are reduced to normal, blood pressure normalizes too.If nothing improved during the test — and it was done exactly as described above — then you may not be carbohydrate intolerant. But if the Two-Week Test improved your signs and symptoms, the next step is to determine how much carbohydrate you can tolerate, without a return of these problems. This is done by adding a single-serving size of natural unprocessed carbohydrates to every other meal or snack. The purpose is to determine if any of these carbohydrates cause the return of any of the original signs or symptoms, including weight gain, or even new problems. At this stage, having just completed the test, your body and brain will be more aware of even slightreactions to carbohydrate foods — basically, you’ll be more intuitive to how your body responds to food. This is done in the following manner over the next one to two weeks:Begin adding single-serving amounts of natural, unprocessed carbohydrates at every other meal or snack. This may be plain yogurt sweetened with a little honey for breakfast, or an apple after lunch or dinner. For a snack, try tea with honey or a healthy homemade energy bar (see the Phil’s bar recipe). Avoid all refined carbohydrates such as sugar and refined-flour products (like white bread, cereals, rolls or pasta). In addition to fresh fruit, plain yogurt and honey, other suggestionsinclude brown rice, sweet potatoes, yams, lentils and beans. Most bread, crackers, cereals and other grains are processed and should be avoided — even those stating “whole grain” or “100%whole wheat.” Read the ingredients carefully. If you can find realfood whole grain products, they can be used. These include sprouted breads, whole oats (they take 30-45 minutes to cook) and other denseproducts made with just ground wheat, rye or other grains. If in doubt, avoid them during this one- to two-week period.I want to emphasize again not to add a carbohydrate in back-toback meals or snacks, as insulin production is partly influenced by your previous meal.With the addition of each carbohydrate, be aware of any symptoms you had previously that were eliminated by the test, especially symptoms that develop immediately after eating, such as intestinalbloating, sleepiness or feelings of depression. Most importantly, if any signs or symptoms that disappeared during or following the Two Week Test have now returned, you’veprobably exceeded your carbohydrate limit. For example, if your hunger or cravings were greatly improved at the end of the test, and now they’ve returned, you probably added too many carbohydrates.If you lost eight pounds during the test, and gained back five pounds after adding some carbohydrates for a week or two, you’ve probably eaten too many carbohydrates. Likewise, if blood pressure rises significantly after it was reduced, it may be due to excess carbohydrate intake. If any of these situations occur, reduce the carbohydrates by half, or otherwise experiment to see which particular foods cause symptoms and which don’t. Some people return to the Two Week Testand begin the process again. In some cases, people can tolerate simple carbohydrates, such asfresh fruits, plain yogurt and honey, but not complex carbohydrates such as sweet potato, whole grains, beans or other starches. In other situations, some individuals don’t tolerate any wheat products. During this post-test period, these factors are often easy to determine. After this one- to two-week period of experimenting with natural carbohydrates, you’ll have a very good idea about your body’s level of carbohydrate tolerance. You’ll better know which foods to avoid,which ones you can eat and those that must be limited. You’ll become acutely aware of how your body feels when you eat too many carbohydrates. From time to time, you may feel the need to go through a Two-Week Test period again to check yourself, or to quickly get backon track after careless eating during the holidays, vacations or at other times. Many people find the loss of grains in the diet leaves the digestive tract sluggish and a little constipated. After years of eating lots of carbohydrates, your intestine gets used to that type of bulk. If youbecome constipated during the Two-Week Test, or afterwards when a lower amount of carbohydrate in the diet is maintained, it could be due to a number of reasons. First, you may not be eating enough fiber (this topic is discussed in more detail in a later chapter). Bread, pastaand cereals are significant sources of fiber for many people.Psyllium is a high-fiber herb that is a very effective promoter of intestinal function. Adding plain unsweetened psyllium to a glass of water, tomato juice or healthy smoothie can keep your system running smoothly — start with one teaspoon a day for a few days to make sure it’s tolerated, then use up to about one tablespoon a day.Another way to add psyllium to your diet is to use it in place of flour for thickening sauces or in place of bread crumbs to coat meats and vegetables. If you require a fiber supplement, be sure to use the ones that do not contain sugar, so read the labels. There are some sugarfree psyllium products on the market and you should not have trouble finding one.Another reason for constipation at this time may be dehydration. If you don’t drink enough water, you could be predisposed to constipation.During the Two-Week Test, you’ll need more water — up to two to three quarts or more per day. After the test, vegetables, legumes, such as lentils, and fruits are also great sources of fiber. So ifyou become constipated, it may simply be that you need to eat more vegetables and fruits as tolerated. In addition, adequate intake of natural fats, discussed later in this book, can also be helpful.Occasionally, some people get very tired during or after the Two-Week Test. This can be due to a number of problems. Most commonly it’s from not eating enough food, and/or not eating often enough.The most common problem is not eating breakfast. And many people should not go more than three to four hours without eating something healthyOnce you successfully finish the Two-Week Test, and add back the right amount of tolerable carbohydrate foods, you should have a very good idea of your carbohydrate limits — the amount of carbohydrate you can eat without producing symptoms. This is best accomplished by asking yourself about your signs and symptoms on a regular basis:energy, sleepiness and bloating after meals, etc. You may want to keep a diary so you can be more objective in your self-assessment. In time, you won’t need to focus as much on this issue as your intuition will take over and you’ll automatically know your limits.Once you find your level of carbohydrate tolerance, you’re on your way to balancing your whole diet. Now that you know how much carbohydrate you can tolerate, in the next chapter I’ll discuss which types of carbohydrate foods are the healthiest to eat. In review, here are the basics of the Two Week Test:*Write a list of all your signs and symptoms.* Plan your meals and snacks — buy sufficient foods allowed on the test, and get rid of those not allowed so you’re not tempted.* Eat as much as you need, and as often as you need tonever get hungry.* Always eat breakfast.*After the test, re-evaluate your signs and symptoms,including weight.* Begin adding natural, unprocessed carbohydrates toevery other meal or snack, and evaluate whether thiscauses any of your previous signs or symptoms(including weight) to return.*Enjoy your newfound health