Congratulations on making it through your first week and I hope you are already starting to see massive benefits in terms of improving your health and losing weight.

Week 2 is reducing carbs completely to lower your insulin levels. You will start this week on Monday so keep eating for week 1 until then.

Insulin is your storing hormone and high levels cause numerous health problems including metabolic disorders and obesity.

Basically this week its meat, fish and low starch veg only. Although you can have eggs, you can only have them for breakfast. Rest of the meals must be meat with veg, poultry with veg or fish with veg. You will be able to find a copy of the allowable food list for this week below.

You MUST eat 5-6 meals per day this week and drink at least 3 litres of water otherwise you will struggle. Make sure you eat every 2-3 hours without fail. It is also very important to eat lots of veg this week as vegetables contain fibre to help you feel full; however, it is equally important to eat as big a variety of vegetables as possible this week.

Most people struggle this week because they stick to the same vegetables over and over. The more you rotate the vegetables you eat the easier you will find this week and the better the results you will see. Try your best to eat all the different vegetables on your list this week.

For best results and to stop you getting bored of the diet you should also eat a big variety of meat and fish this week. Try eating as many different types as possible so you don’t get sick of the same meals.

I have attached a 7 day sample meal plan to give you some ideas on the variety of foods you should eat this week.

You cannot have fruit whatsoever this week. You also must only eat the vegetables on the allowable food list for this week. The vegetables on the list are lower carb, whereas the vegetables not on the list are higher carb which can slow down weight loss this week.

The only thing you can drink this week is water. That means no herbal tea and you can’t add lemon to water like you could last week.

Basically this week is meat, fish, veg and water only with eggs only allowed for breakfast although you can add herbs and spices to the foods. The foods you eat must be whole natural and fresh and preferably organic. They must not contain any chemicals whatsoever as chemicals slow down fat loss.

If food isn’t on the list then don’t have it.

I am not going to lie to you this will be the hardest week, however, for most people this will be the week you lose the most weight. By completing this week it will also make the rest of the diet far simpler as you can eat a larger variety of foods again from next week.

This week will be up and down as there will be times you feel great and times you don’t. This is expected as you are cutting carbs completely. Studies have shown that your body doesn’t need carbs like people think. Studies on athletes showed that during the first two weeks of cutting carbs their athletic performance dropped but after the first two weeks there athletic performance was the same not eating carbs as it was eating carbs.

To be able to get the benefits of fat burning from not eating carbs and to become used to not eating them then unfortunately you will struggle at the start. However, even though it is hard, it will not be as hard as you think it will be.

This week you will feel great and have stabilised energy if you eat regularly. However, If you don’t eat regularly you will feel rubbish and lack energy. You will feel better without the carbs but you will want them as you’re used to them. The biggest thing you will crave will likely be fruit. Look on the positive of this as now you are craving good foods instead of unhealthy foods.

It is important to remember you are just eating meat and low starch veg only for 7 days. You can add other foods back in next week so make sure you stick with it for the full 7 days. This is the most important week for the amount of weight you lose as this week most people will lose the biggest amount of weight.

Yes it may be the hardest week but it is also the most effective so the results are worth the effort.

Please remember to fill in your meal planner (you can find this on week 1 nutrition) so you know exactly what foods you are eating next week and when you are eating them so you can create your shopping list accordingly.

I also want you to carry on filling in your EMPOWER Journal (you can find this on week 1 nutrition) to help keep your mind on your goal and to make sure you take notice of what you are eating.

Don’t forget if you have any questions please ask them in the members only Facebook group.

Get fit, get healthy, get happy.

Your Coach For Life

Shaun McGill