If you’re the kind of person who does better sticking to a detailed outline, then
by all means, follow the 21-Day Plan to a T and use it as your nutritional road
map. But you can also swap meals to address your personal health concerns or to
accommodate your lifestyle. Mix and match breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and
snacks to your heart’s content (literally). Above all, I want this plan to be easy.
To that end, I’ve calculated all the calorie counts for you—breakfast clocks in
under 420 calories per serving, lunch at 430 or fewer calories, snacks at under
400 calories total per day, and dinner at 520 or fewer calories—so you don’t
have to worry about tallying. I’m also including a shopping list to make stocking
up a cinch.
You’re three weeks away from feeling slimmer, healthier, happier—and
understanding how you want to eat for the rest of your life. Let’s get started.
The 21-Day Plan: Basics
Every day, for three weeks, you’ll eat three meals a day and two snacks. You can
follow the schedule I’ve laid out for you, or you can choose from five breakfast
recipes, seven lunches, twenty-one dinners, and twenty-one snacks. If you decide
to make your own schedule, just hold to these five simple rules:
- Eat fish at least twice a week. As we’ve seen in previous chapters, fish has
been linked to heart health, brain health, and overall longevity. Leftovers are
your best friend here—you can make a salmon entrée for dinner one night and
use a leftover fillet as a salad protein for lunch the next day. (See my take on
mercury.) - Treat red meat like a treat. Red meats like beef and pork aren’t as good for
you as the leaner kinds of protein (like poultry, fish, and veggie-based proteins).
It’s not entirely off the table, but you shouldn’t have it every night, either. That
goes double if you’re watching your cholesterol levels. So I’ve only included
one red meat recipe on my plan—a salad with skirt steak—and you should make
it no more than twice during these twenty-one days. (Red meat FYIs: In general,
it’s best to stick to cuts of beef that are at least 90% lean. Choose grass-fed meats
over grain-fed when you can. - Lean into beans. Research increasingly suggests that your body benefits from
plant-based proteins. At least once a week, try to have a plant-centric dinner,
with beans, legumes, or tofu playing the starring role on your plate.