About the Author
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David Zinczenko is the #1 New York Times bestselling
author of Zero Belly Diet, Zero Belly Cookbook, Zero Belly
Smoothies, and Zero Belly Breakfasts, and the co-author of the
Eat This, Not That! franchise (which has sold more than eight
million copies worldwide) and the Abs Diet book series. He is a
and contributor at NBC News and has appeared on
Today, Good Morning America, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and Rachael
Ray and is the award-winning former editor in chief of Men’s
and editorial director of Women’s , Prevention, and
Best Life magazines. Zinczenko is also the founder and chief
executive of Galvanized Media, where he oversees a number of
life-changing brands. He lives in New York City.
Michael Freidson is executive director of editorial at Galvanized
Media, working alongside David Zinczenko to oversee Eat This, Not
That!, the Zero Belly franchise, and Best Life. He is the former
editor in chief of Time Out New York and global lifestyle editor
of Metro International. Freidson has appeared on CNN, CBS, Fox,
and The Today Show.
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
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Chapter 1
THE Zero Belly Breakfast SECRET
Griddle cakes with freshly tapped le ; fluffy scrambled
eggs with cracked pepper and a fresh tomato; crunchy grits with
whole milk and a biscuit; eggs Benedict and a Bloody Mary; the
classic egg and bacon sandwich, made with cri ers; creamy
Greek yogurt topped with fresh berries and dark chocolate.
Some people wake up to seize the day. I wake up to eat breakfast.
It’s my favorite meal of the day, and has been all my
life—although my choices weren’t always the iest. As a kid
growing up in the 1980s, I greeted every morning with my BFFs
(that’s Breakfast Friends Forever): Cap’N Crunch, Count Chocula,
and the Cookie Crook, literally pouring chocolate chip cookies
into a . By the time I was 14, I had a belly the size of my
dad’s, carrying 212 pounds on my 6-foot frame.
I wasn’t alone.
The adult obesity rate has more than doubled since the 1980s,
growing from 15 percent to 35 percent in the mid-2000s. It’s now
at 35.7 percent—yes, more than one-third of Americans are
considered obese, according to the National Institutes of .
Obesity shortened my her’s life, and for most of my childhood
I struggled with that extra 25 pounds as well. I figured it was
my genetic destiny to be , too.
But like you, I got and tired of being and tired, and
since then, I’ve made it my life’s work to learn everything there
is to know about belly .
As the editorial director of Men’s , Women’s , and
Prevention, I poured over the latest research about obesity,
, and a longer life. My findings helped inform The Abs
Diet, and while there, I wrote Eat This, Not That!, the first of
a bestselling series that helped Americans make the right food
choice—every time—in a world before there were calorie counts on
every menu. Eat This, Not That! went on to sell 8 million copies,
and lives on at eatthis.com, the most authoritative website
anywhere about and tion. But I still wanted to
know how to blast belly —for good. And that’s when I
discovered that certain foods can target your belly specifically,
especially if you eat them in the morning. That’s when I knew I
had to write the Zero Belly series.
Turn Off Your Genes—with Zero Belly
We all want to look good in a bathing suit at the beach, but
there’s a far more important reason to lose that roll of belly
creeping over your waistband: your and longevity.
Belly —or “visceral ,” as the doctors call it—is the common
link in almost every major life-threatening disease we face
today, from es to heart disease, from dementia to cancer.
That’s because visceral is like an invading army. It tries to
take over your body by releasing compounds that erode muscle,
damage your ability to manage insulin, and increase the levels of
inflammation in your body. These three things not only put you at
risk for heart disease, es, and Alzheimer’s, but they do
something else: They set you up for more belly .
By reducing the a of belly you carry around, you will
dramatically improve your chances of living a long and active
life.
Easier said than done? Sure. Except that the new science of
genetics—the study of how food and interact—is making it
easier than ever, and turning the odds of flat belly success in
your favor. It’s this exciting new field of research that forms
the basis of Zero Belly, the first program to eliminate belly
, not through traditional calorie-restrictive weight-loss
methods but by actually “turning off” our genes, altering our
genetic destiny, and reversing the march of obesity and its
related diseases.
Since introducing the series, it’s sold hundreds of thousands of
copies and changed the lives of that many readers worldwide.
Because obesity is a worldwide epidemic. A study by Public
England found that children there are eating half their daily
allowance of sugar before they head to school. As a result, “a
quarter of five-year-olds have tooth decay and nearly a fifth of
children are already obese by the time they leave primary
school,” reports the BBC.
How Breakfast Targets Your Belly
The solution for this worldwide epidemic is clear. It’s
breakfast.
We’ve all heard the saying that breakfast is the most important
meal of the day, but the author of that adage probably didn’t
have doughnuts and Belgian waffles in mind when they said it.
With so many high-carb, high-sugar options available in the a.m.,
breakfast is often the cause of our low energy throughout the day
as well as our expanding waistlines. Instead of reaching for a
starchy snack that will give you a quick burst of energy and
cause you to c later, enjoying a meal that combines protein,
y s, and slow carbohydrates will help your energy levels
stay stable all day and won’t undo the hard work you’ve done to
achieve your Zero Belly.
The studies prove they work. New research from universities
around the world have come to the conclusion that eating a
y, high-protein breakfast every day—like the kinds found in
Zero Belly Breakfasts—leads to and prevents obesity.
In one, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology,
scientists evaluated the relation between eating patterns and
obesity, over a four-year period, for nearly 500 participants.
They found those who ate regular meals throughout the day,
including a consistent breakfast, lost more weight than those who
didn’t, while “skipping breakfast was associated with increased
prevalence of obesity.” (What’s interesting was that where you
eat breakfast also made a difference. Those researchers found
that if you ate breakfast at home, you’d lose more weight.)
That’s why Zero Belly Breakfasts is so important. The recipes
contain a unique approach to that attacks belly
in three ways.
First, they light a fire under your sm, triggering your
body’s natural calorie-burning mechanism—a mechanism that
specifically targets belly . Zero Belly Breakfasts unleash the
power of protein, fiber, and y s to burn calories by
encouraging lean muscle growth and maximizing the thermogenic
effects of eating—in effect, burning more calories by eating more
great food.
Second, Zero Belly Breakfasts attack inflammation throughout the
body by triggering your digestive system’s natural defense
system, shrinking bloat, easing digestion, and flattening your
stomach with shocking rapidity. While the diet plan isn’t
strictly dairy-free or gluten-free, these meals substantially
reduce your intake of lactose (the naturally occurring sugar in
dairy), gluten (the protein found in wheat), and animal-derived
saturated , and they will eliminate inflammation-causing
additives.
Third, this program turns off your -storage genes by focusing
on nine power food groups that are linked directly to the
emerging science of how ents in food influence gene
expression.
And these breakfasts are simple to make, with ingredients you
already have at home. To wit:
•A study published in Foods for Human tion found that
eating oatmeal aided in , improved liver function, and
got hip-to-waist ratio into a more desirable territory.
•Scrambled eggs are one of the easiest ways to enjoy a
protein-packed breakfast without a ton of preparation. A study by
the International Journal of Obesity found that consuming eggs at
breakfast helped participants lose 65 percent more weight.
•Protein-rich quinoa provides a nutty, slightly crunchy texture
that works well with the soft sweetness of berries, bananas, and
baked apples.
Other cookbooks can help you lose weight, but only Zero Belly
Breakfasts places a bull’s-eye on the cells that matter most.
The result: that is easier, faster, more lasting, and
more delicious than you’d ever imagine.
FOUR WAYS breakfast is best
Enjoying a delicious Zero Belly breakfast every morning will help
you quickly strip away flab in a number of ways. Here’s what
makes Zero Belly Breakfasts so effective:
They Help You Keep the Weight Off
Science proved it. Of people who’ve lost 30 pounds or more, 80
percent kept the weight off by eating a high-protein breakfast
every day, according to a study done by the National Weight
Control Registry, who concluded that “eating breakfast is a
characteristic common to successful maintainers.”
They Help You Eat Less
A study in Obesity found that eating a high-protein breakfast led
to “the prevention of body gain, voluntary reductions in
daily intake, and reductions in daily hunger.” Meanwhile,
skipping it leads to eating more food throughout the day—and
unnecessary weight around your midsection.
They’re the Most Important Meal of the Day—for Burn
Your mom was right. “People who eat their largest daily meal at
breakfast are far more likely to lose weight and waist line
circumference than those who eat a large dinner,” reported
researchers in a 2013 study from Tel Aviv University titled
“Eating a Big Breakfast Fights Obesity and Disease.” “They also
had significantly lower levels of insulin, glucose, and
triglycerides throughout the day, translating into a lower risk
of cardiovascular disease, es, hypertension, and high
cholesterol.”
They Taste Amazing!
And you won’t believe how hearty they are. For example, steak and
eggs may seem like a rich combo, but they can also be a part of
your quest to banish belly , thanks to the high protein
content of this satisfying meal. Choose a lean cut of meat and
you can enjoy this low-carb breakfast without concerns over its
heart-iness.
Regardless of your history, your lifestyle, or even your
genes, Zero Belly Breakfasts will give you the power to flatten
your belly, heal your body, soothe your soul, and wake up happier
than ever!
YOUR ZERO BELLY CHEAT SHEET
“Crazy busy.” There’s no escape from it. No matter who you
ask—family, friends, colleagues, retirees—everybody seems to be
“crazy busy.” You’re crazy busy, too. That’s why we made Zero
Belly Diet easy to follow and simple to practice. If you’re new
to the program, here’s an at-a-glance guide to the Zero Belly
principles, the diet plan that will flatten your belly, turn off
your genes, and help keep you lean for life. (And if you
would like a turbocharged version of the program, check out the
“Zero Belly BreakFAST” chapter!)
SUBJECT: Number of Meals
GUIDELINE: Three meals, one snack, and one Zero Belly Smoothie
per day.
SUBJECT: The ZERO BELLY Foods
GUIDELINE: Each of the meals and snacks is built around the 9
ZERO BELLY Foods, each carefully selected for its microent
content. Every meal or snack should have protein, fiber, and
y , derived from one of these sources:
Zero Belly Smoothies
Eggs
Red fruits
Olive oil and other y s
Beans, rice, oats, and other y fiber
Extra protein
Leafy greens, green tea, and bright vegetables
Lean meats and fish
Your favorite spices and flavors (ginger, cinnamon, even
chocolate)
SUBJECT: Portion Size
GUIDELINE: While most diets center around controlling calorie
intake, Zero Belly focuses on maximizing your intake of key
ents. When you eat protein, fiber, and y , you’ll
crowd much of the junk out of your diet and control your hunger
and calorie intake naturally.
SUBJECT: Secret Weapons
GUIDELINE: Smoothies. You’ll find some in this book, and 100+
more in Zero Belly Smoothies, and it’s in these delicious drinks
that the principles of Zero Belly come together so brilliantly.
Each of the smoothie recipes combine the Zero Belly Foods into
high-ent meals that are ready in just 90 seconds, and each
combines protein, fiber, and y to ensure you’re always
highly fueled and never hungry.
SUBJECT: tional Ingredients to Emphasize
GUIDELINE: Protein, fiber, y s
SUBJECT: tional Ingredients to Limit
GUIDELINE: Dairy, wheat gluten, added sugars. (Note: Zero Belly
is not strictly dairy-free or gluten-free. But because these can
cause bloating and inflammation in some people, I’ve made sure
that the entire program can be done without either ingredient.
Each of the recipes in this book is gluten-free and dairy-free.)
SUBJECT: Alcohol
GUIDELINE: Limit yourself to no more than two or three drinks per
week to maximize the benefits of the program. Because of its high
concentration of resveratrol, a compound that helps turn off
-storage genes, red wine is the best choice
SUBJECT: Exercise Program
GUIDELINE: To turbocharge the weight-loss effects of Zero Belly,
I’ve created the Zero Belly Workouts, a unique full-body fitness
experience that builds abs while simultaneously toning your
entire body. The complete Zero Belly Workout plan is found in
Zero Belly Diet.
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