At last, there’s a nutrition and fitness program that doesn’t require you to develop superhuman willpower, shun entire food groups, or devote your every waking moment to the treadmill.
Body Confidence is a revolutionary approach based on three key nutrition factors that stabilize your blood sugar and keep your body in balance:
- Eating at consistent meal intervals
- Absolute certainty in essential nutrient ratio of protein, fat, and carbohydrates
- Identifying and consuming the right amount of calories per meal
But there’s much more to Body Confidence than when and what you eat. You’ll become a master at:
- Determining your current metabolismâ??and then reprogramming it
- Focusing on body fat percentage rather than body weight
- Setting measurable, motivating goals (short- and long-term, internal and external)
- Following a customized, efficient, diverse exercise plan that makes you feel energetic and strong
- Harnessing the powers of sleep, supplements, water, and stress management, all in perfect sync to optimize your body’s performance
Body Confidence creator Mark Macdonald knows that weight loss doesn’t happen in a vacuum, and he has made room for “real life” at every stage of this program. Along the way, you’ll be introduced to some of Venice Nutrition’s extraordinary success stories, and learn how to stay on track no matter what life throws at you. Packed with recipes, nutrition guides, exercise journals, and Venice Nutrition’s proven goal-setting tools, Body Confidence walks you through every step of a process that has already changed thousands of lives.
Getting in shape (and staying in shape) no longer has to mean feeling deprived and hungry, living with low energy, being irritable and anxious, or obsessing about food and exercise. There is a way to make looking and feeling your best a permanent way of life.
A Q&A between Chelsea Handler and Mark MacDonald
Chelsea Handler is an accomplished stand-up comic and actress, as well as the bestselling author of My Horizontal Life. She is the star of her own late-night show on E!, Chelsea Lately; was one of the stars of Girls Behaving Badly; and has appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as well as Late Night with David Letterman.
Handler: Seriously, how can eating more meals actually get rid of my muffin top?
MacDonald: I know, it goes against all the dieting rules. We are trained to think, eat less, move more, and lose fat. This may work for a moment, but soon your body stops progressing, because your body actually holds onto fat when you skip meals. The reality is your body is a "re-fuel as it goes" machine. Meaning, you need to eat balanced meals throughout the day to maintain a steady supply of energy. By eating right when you get up, then every 3–4 hours, and then before bed, your blood sugar levels and hormones will stay in balance. This state of balance causes your body to consistently release its stored fat, which then gets burned as energy in your muscle tissue. This is how your muffin top will permanently become a thing of the past!
Handler: You know I love my Belvedere; can I drink on the program and still get lean?
MacDonald: Of course! The last thing I would ever remove from your program is your Belvedere! The cool thing is that making your program part of your world is never about what you cannot have; it is actually about being clear on what you want and then working together to fit that into your program. Belvedere and all alcohol is totally fine in moderation. The trick is to find the right balance with your food, exercise, and alcohol to ensure that you achieve your Body Confidence goals. Here are three adjustments to make when it is Belvedere time that will keep your metabolism humming and minimize the effects of alcohol:
- First off, let’s limit drinking to 1–2 times per week, with a max of 2 drinks at a time. Now I know there are all sizes and shapes of drinks, so let’s define a drink as a shot of Belvedere (or any hard liquor), 6 oz of wine (red or white), and 12 oz of beer (preferably light)
- Second, avoid eating all starchy carbohydrates (rice, pasta, potato, etc.) when you drink. Alcohol actually gets metabolized by the body before food does; so when you eat heavy carbohydrates along with alcohol, your meal contains too many calories and the result is typically extra fat storage (definitely not the goal!)
- And third, let’s be cautious with drinking before bed, and preferably stop drinking within two hours of bed. Alcohol affects the quality of your sleep and interrupts your sleep cycles. Since you are always on the go, you already know how important your sleep is for your daily energy. Your quality of sleep also affects the speed of your metabolism, which we both know is a big component of your burning body fat and getting and staying lean.
Handler: Mark, you know my schedule gets crazier by the day; how can I make it all work?
MacDonald: Tell me about it! Making your health work is never about doing more; it is actually about becoming better and more efficient at what you do. This way, whether you are going on location to tape Chelsea Lately in Australia, or performing a show at Caesars Palace or just powering through a hectic day in LA, you will have the tools to keep your blood sugar balanced and your muscles optimally activated to burn your body fat up, without having to do more!
With your food, it is a simple process. You will quickly know the right amount of calories, protein, fat, and carbs per meal and then basically you can eat any food, any time, as long as it stays in the right combination. This provides you the flexibility to eat anywhere your day takes you and still stay on plan. Now with your exercise, let’s get each training session working at maximum capacity. We need a combination of fat burning and high intensity cardio, utilizing the best movements to activate all of your muscle fibers (since fat is burned in muscle). Then once your cardio is dialed in, strength training is next. Since your goal is to be lean and tight, the best type of training for you is core training, like Pilates. Core training will work your entire body and also activate maximum muscle fibers. There you have it Chelsea, real solutions on how to make it all work. You will be spending the same time on your food and exercise as you currently spend, with much greater results and the knowledge to keep your health momentum rolling!Price:
No Tools and installation instructions included
