Zola’s Tips for a Successful ZReboot - Conquer the Crave

The miracle of ZReboot is right in front of you. You can almost smell it at this point.

I must, however, caution you that the keys to a successful reboot are important to follow. Just remember that with every other diet you have GAINED THE WEIGHT BACK, and sometimes, more. This time you will be given the keys to settle into a new set point (or metabolism reboot). I went from being able to eat 800 calories a day to over 2500 without gaining weight. You can realize your version of that too if you just follow some simple steps.

There will be a lot more temptation. Your horizons will be opened so wide it will be tempting to go a bit nuts, but don’t.

I am going to outline my perspective on this phase and give you the hints that I set up for myself. Those guidelines turned out to be successful so I am looking forward to sharing them with you.

First of all, I knew that I was going to go back on ZReduction so I never planned to transition to ZLife. I was looking forward to losing more weight and was more afraid of gaining than I was of losing more and having to go back on ZReduction. If you feel the same, follow my lead. If you are going to ZLife as your next stop, I’ll give you a few hints (later on) for the transition. Let me warn you…if you jump from ZReduction into ZLife you will gain the weight back just as fast as you ever have.

The time you spent on ZReduction was to LOSE. Your body is READY to reset your metabolism but the process is NOT COMPLETE yet. Your opportunity to solidify your new metabolism starts the first day of ZReboot. DO NOT mess up the first three weeks. Those are the most critical. That’s when you hit the fork in the road and decide if you are going to go back to ZReduction or if you are headed to ZLife.

Eating in ZReboot is a whole new experience. It’s not just ZReduction with another name. Your list of vegetables and fruits will increase immensely. Your fats and oils will come back – not only will they come back but you will be able to consume them in what feels like mass quantities. Your protein can increase because you are now eating three meals but don’t go over the six ounces in portion size unless it’s a very special occasion.

Everyone asks…what can I eat? How do I start?

On your first day, you will want to consume a minimum of 1600 calories (or get as close as you can). Keep in mind this is about twice as much as you have been eating for the last seven weeks. This is cause for celebration in itself. Don’t launch day one with 3000 calories. You are going to slowly ramp it up. So keep track of every meal to see where you are.

I am going to give you a link to an app so you can count your calories. You will also be able to keep track of your carbs and your fat intake. It’s free. This is the only time we will ask you to count calories. For most, it’s not to make sure you don’t consume too many. It’s to make sure you consume enough and so you can get an idea of where your new set point is. I calculated out every morsel I put in my mouth for the first three weeks of ZReboot. That’s how I found out I can eat between 2300 and 2600 calories a day without gaining weight. You might find another site that works for you. We have no vested interest in this site but it does give you the accurate information and even graphs your progress if you are into that sort of thing. *The graph is my favorite part so I hope you enjoy it.

https://www.myplate.gov/resources/tools/startsimple-myplate-app

All calorie tracker apps are based on the old calories-in-calories-out theory, so I wouldn’t advise taking their weight loss advice. But app is simple, fast and easy to learn.

Now that you have that tool, I am going to give you an idea of what I ate and give you some side notes.

BREAKFAST:

I ate one of three things.

I ate an omelet (3 eggs even) with veggies and cheese. I sautéed the veggies in oil and butter first if I thought they needed to be cooked. I expanded my veggies to include things like mushrooms and broccoli.
Sometimes I made a large crustless quiche. This way I could dip into it over a few days rather than having to make something new each morning.
With the egg dishes, I might have a couple of strawberries on the side. Sometimes even a bit more cheese, like a piece of brie. Bacon, ham, Canadian bacon, etc. NO TOAST or bread of any kind.

Try using coconut oil to make your eggs. You can get it at places like Whole Foods.

We also gave you a recipe for fluffy, wonderful scrambled eggs using unsweetened coconut milk. And no, your eggs will not taste like coconuts. This is just a perfect fat for you to eat at this point.

Be sure to stay organized enough that you leave time in your schedule for breakfast. This was an adjustment for me since I bolt off to work every morning. I needed to pack in 20 minutes extra. Don’t be rushing off to Starbucks for breakfast. BAD idea. Cooking things (as much as possible) on your own is important right now so you can make sure no sugar or flour gets involved.

If I didn’t feel like hot food I ate an apple cut into small wedges with UNsweetened peanut butter. Lots of gooey peanut butter. Six tablespoons even! MAKE sure you get unsweetened, organic peanut butter but this is readily available now too, and it’s emulsified so it’s not that old-fashioned oily stuff. Some people like the oily kind and you can have that too. I just dislike it immensely.

If you have to eat at your desk because you are on a deadline, this is a perfect idea. You can eat things like full-fat yogurt now too.

You will begin to be hungry in the morning so I want to stress again. EAT.

Snacks: You can snack anytime you want. Just be sure to make the snacks things that fit in the parameters. Nuts come to mind. I ate a handful probably twice a day. Or a wedge of brie. Something like that.

Drinks: I stuck to water, carbonated water, coffee, and tea. This is NOT the time to start drinking diet soda again. Hopefully, you will have convinced yourself that you NEVER need diet soda again. I only drank it when I was at Five Guys for a burger (with no bun and no fries). When it was my only option, I drank soda. Otherwise, it’s just not good for you.

BIG MESSAGE: You have cleaned out your system and rebooted more than your metabolism! You’ve detoxed your system. Your body wants healthy, fresh, food now. No processed, boxed, or otherwise altered food. This is just like you came out of the womb. You are fresh again. This is a lifetime opportunity to keep it that way. We hope you have your mind right now, and feel like your body deserves to be treated properly.

LUNCH:

I ate almost the same way I did before. I just switched up the ingredients. For the first time in my life, one day I sat down to a grilled pork loin chop, a salad and cheeses. I felt so French! I ate a real, large, home-cooked lunch and drank my sparkling wine out on the patio. Very Parisian.

Other times I just grilled up a burger, slathered cheese all over it and ate, even more, cheese on the side. I had other veggies. Zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower and more.

A NOTE ON VEGGIES: I stayed away from all veggies that are high carb. Corn comes to mind first. Corn would be a bad idea if you plan to go back to ZReduction later. You don’t want to kick up your insulin and eating corn will do that. No potatoes. No squash. Check carb levels if you are not well aware of which veggies are good and which veggies will hurt. You can find carb levels for foods on MyPlate or email me and I’ll help you.

I could easily eat lunch out if I wanted. I could order a grilled Caesar salad. The cheese is now fine. A few croutons are fine too, cuz you can have the same amount of bread you did before. I just stuck to grissini, or Melba toast for the most part. There are few other brands of crackers you can have now. The oil in crackers is now a good thing. Sugar is NOT. So continue to read labels on everything. I had club soda with lemon or lime. I was good to go. Sometimes at lunch out, I’d have grilled tuna or a burger with no bun. Just tell people no bun, no fries and they don’t even look at you cross-eyed anymore. They are used to it. You can negotiate all kinds of cheese and veggies/salads as substitutes. They even volunteer options

And don’t forget dessert! You are now accustomed to eating dessert twice a day. Why stop now?

Mascarpone cheese should be your new best friend. This is Italian cream cheese that comes in cartons. Mix mascarpone with a bit of Truvia and vanilla and your mouth will swear you just bit into a cheesecake. NO CRUST. Check out my recipe for crustless cheesecake and have at it. Even if I didn’t want to make four portions at once I could just dip out a big dollop of mascarpone and add chunks of fruit. I didn’t even need to sweeten it. That’s just icing on your cheesecake. You can now add pears, peaches, plums and more. At breakfast, I might have a piece of cantaloupe. I still stayed away from high carb fruits. PLEASE stay away from BANANAS! They are so high carb. I ADORE bananas but they will now be saved for eating about once every 3 – 6 months. So many other fruits will taste so sweet. The first time I bit a piece of pineapple my mouth went NUTS! Don’t eat much pineapple, and shy away from really high carb fruits like watermelon and even grapes. If you eat them to eat a couple. Not a bunch.

For other desserts, I learned to love soft cheeses like brie. You will feel so European eating cheese for dessert. Cheese with a bit of red wine is an amazing experience.

Speaking of cocktails…let’s transition to cocktail hour.

Yes, you can have cocktails. Refer to your allowed foods list often. The rule on cocktails is moderation and as straight as possible. Martinis are good. Manhattans are good. Anything with straight liquor. It’s not liquor that has carbs; it’s the mixers! A pina colada is murder. Stay away. Margaritas are a big bummer. If you want a margarita, go to the website and find the lemon-lime dessert recipe. Melted, this makes perfect no-sugar margarita mix. You can have that kind of margarita at home.

Beer is a BIG NO. Way too many carbs. Beer can come in at ZReboot 3.5 after your new set point is solidified. And drink low carb beer. You’ll get used to it. I hear Budweiser Select 55 and Michelob Ultra taste pretty good! Gin and diet tonic would also be ok. Vodka and soda is great.

Keep in mind that all cocktails will go directly to your brain. You will get drunk very quickly; no matter how large a frame you have. Your body is completely detoxed. It might not even want alcohol. Don’t be surprised if you don’t feel like drinking.

Wine. Be careful. I did allow myself a glass or two. Wine does have carbs though. Do not have creamy after dinner drinks or other sweet cordials. They will spike your insulin and send your body crazy. It’s not that you can’t have them forever. Just, please, do not have them for at least three weeks and if you have them after that, be careful.

DINNER:

You saw my column on the escargot, roasted duck breast, haricot verts and cheese and fruit for dessert. This was straight from a restaurant. I had to ask them to substitute lentils with the green beans. Not a big deal. I loved my meal. If you want to go out for dinner, order a steak or a lobster or a fun fish. Don’t dive into a plate of fried chicken or sugar-coated ribs! Be lean and conscious and you will be fine. You have so many choices now.

When you go to the website for ZReboot recipes you will be overjoyed. There are so many options there I hope you dance with glee. Everything I ate had a cream sauce. Or a cheese topping. You can continue to contribute your favorite recipes that fit ZReboot and we will post them.

Have another dessert after dinner. Wait ‘til you see my recipe for Peanut Butter Dream. No crust. Just the wonderful middle. This is so decadent.

Rule of thumb. Eat meat, veggies, cheese, and fruit. NO potatoes or pasta.

A NOTE ON POTATOES AND PASTA: We just have to get used to the fact that potatoes and pasta are not good for us. Some folks can process them. We have proven with our weight gain that we cannot. C’est la vie. For me, potatoes will be reserved for Thanksgiving and my birthday. Well, maybe two other times a year. Pasta will be about the same, so if I eat each of them 4 times a year, that’s almost once a month. Not bad. I can live with that. I can live SKINNIER and HEALTHIER with that.

MILK: Milk from a cow is not good for most humans once they are more than 2 feet tall. Switch to coconut milk if you want milk. I have had to come to grips with this. I loved milk more than any other liquid. It’s gone for me now. I use cream in my coffee. I use cream in recipes. I can live with cream. I know it seems counter-intuitive, but high fat is better for you. Go figure.

As you get to week 4 of ZReboot, if you are going to go on to ZLife, you can begin to add things like pinto beans and other higher carb elements; even a few bits of whole grain. Just take it easy. This is what we call ZReboot 3.5. I never did this because I was going to go back to ZReduction. I didn’t miss those things so why bother? Even if you are going on to ZLife you don’t have to feel obligated to start eating watermelon, bananas, ice cream or bean burritos. We hope you have become accustomed to eating healthily.

WATCH YOUR WEIGHT: You are expected to gain 2 – 3 pounds in ZReboot. That’s normal and you have to accept that for your health and stability of your weight. Just STAY within that 2 – 3 pound range! If you hit the 5 pound mark (2 lbs over the 3pounds you can gain), you MUST STOP IN YOUR TRACKS AND PERFORM A STEAK DAY! Do NOT pass go, STOP right then, no matter what you planned on eating that day. You must not eat anything that day. Drink all the water, tea and coffee you want. Down a lot or you might get hungry! Keep a water bottle in your hands at all times; or on your desk. Then, at dinner time eat the largest piece of steak you can handle. You choose the cut. I had a 15-ounce sirloin once. No problem eating it ALL. Then you can also have a raw tomato on the side or an apple. Eat that, and go to bed early. Wake up the next day and your two extra pounds will be GONE. I even lost 3.5 one time. I had to perform 2 steak days before I settled into the 2300-2600 calorie zone (more on this later). If you travel, take your scale. Leave out a pair of shoes if you have to, but take your scale! If you travel a lot or want to go on vacation, invest in a travel scale. I had one that was just bigger than a hockey puck. I could balance on it and put my hands on the wall to steady myself. It worked GREAT. Use it a few days ahead of vacation so you know if it reads out slightly different than your home scale.

These are the guidelines for a healthy, successful ZReboot. If you think of any topics that I may have forgotten before you get to ZReboot or even after you are in the middle of it, please email us and we’ll address them.

Cheers!