Diving into the Two Week Test

I don’t think my fridge has ever held so many veggies at one time.  Today we bought carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, bell peppers, kale, spinach, mixed greens, cauliflower, zucchini and spaghetti squash.

In my previous post, I shared my review of Christopher McDougall’s latest book, Natural Born Heroes.  While reading this book, I was introduced to Dr. Phil Maffetone, who is a long-time advocate of the benefits of fat burning workouts.  The more I read about the “Maffetone Method,” the more I was intrigued.

In a nutshell, this method advocates training your body to burn fat, not carbs during the majority of your workouts.  The idea is that by using your body’s numerous fat stores as a source of energy, you will be able to sustain performance at a higher level, and for a longer period of time, with less effort.  There are several steps that Dr. Maffetone recommends if you are committed to this idea.

The first step, is to take the Two Week Test (TWT) to determine how your body processes carbohydrates.  I am confident that the majority of the carbohydrates that I eat are high-quality, whole grain carbs, but I am sure that I eat too many.  I like fruits and veggies, but I would choose a granola bar over produce just about any day of the week.  The thought of the TWT is equally intriguing and terrifying for me, however, after mulling it over for the past week, I have decided that I am going to give it a go starting tomorrow.  These are the foods that I will be consuming while on the test:

1. eggs, cheese, butter, full-fat yogurt, and heavy cream
2. cooked and raw veggies & mushrooms
3. tree nuts, seeds, and nut butters
4. oils, vinegars, and spices
5. coffee & tea
6. avocados & olives
7. sprouted tofu

These are the foods that I usually consume that I will be avoiding for the next two weeks:

1.  whole grains – oatmeal, brown rice, quinoa, whole what pasta
2. fruits
3. legumes – beans, lentils, etc.
4. natural sweeteners – honey & maple syrup
5. chocolate
6. beer

It’s hard to imagine giving up all grains and fruits (not to mention chocolate) for two weeks, but I am hopeful that tweaking my diet like this will allow me to have more even energy levels throughout the day, while not feeling hungry all the time.  I plan to post my daily progress on Facebook, and will check back in several times on the blog for updates along the way.

At least I have permission to eat as much cheese as I want.  That has to be a positive, right?