The Bossticks - #90: Tanya Zuckerbrot, The F-Factor Diet - Fiber, Protein, Weight Loss and Management, Creating a Caloric Deficit through Addition, and Thermogenesis

Episode Date: November 28, 2017

On this episode we are joined by Tanya Zuckerbrot (@tanyazuckerbrot) , MS, RD, the founder and CEO of F-Factor Diet. Tanya is a wealth of knowledge and goes into detail about how adding fiber to your diet is the key to weight loss and management. We discuss Fiber and Protein, Weight Loss and Management, Creating a Caloric Deficit by adding to you diet instead of subtracting and how Thermogenesis works. We also dive into myths about carbs and red meat. You wont want to miss this one! To connect with Tanya click HERE To learn more about F-Factor click HERE To connect with Lauryn click HERE To connect with Michael click HERE This episode is brought to you by THRIVE MARKET. We use Thrive for our online grocery delivery on a weekly basis. They provide the highest quality products and ingredients delivered straight to our door with unbeatable prices.  Be sure to grab our deal by going to to https://thrivemarket.com/skinny to receive $60 of FREE organic groceries from Thrive Market + free shipping and a 30 day trial!" Keep in mind that Thrive Market's  prices are already 25- 50% below retail because they cut out the middleman. And now they are offering $60 off free organic groceries!  

The following podcast is a Bostick media production. She's a lifestyle blogger extraordinaire. Fantastic. And he's a serial entrepreneur. A very smart cookie. And now Lauren Everts and Michael Bostic are bringing you along for the ride. Get ready for some major realness. Welcome to the skinny confidential, him and her.

Welcome to the skinny confidential, him and her podcast. Today, we have someone excited. We're interviewing Tanya Zuckerbrot of F-Factor diet. On this episode, we will discuss the importance of fiber, how to lose weight, breaking the pattern of unhealthy eating habits, and the misconceptions of dieting. For those of you who don't know us, I am Lauren Everett. My blog is called The Skinny Confidential. I wrote a book when I was 25 called, you guessed it, The Skinny Confidential. It's available on Amazon and in all Barnes and Nobles. The brand has blossomed into a podcast. obviously workout planned and YouTube channel.

And I'm Michael Bostic. Over the last 10 years, I've run multiple businesses, including my marketing firm and our business jet bed, which makes beds for corporate and private aircraft. I know weird all over the world. Recently, I've been working on launching some new brands in 2018, which you will all hear about soon. But one of my favorite things to do is talk to this podcast

on a weekly basis to all of you guys. All right. So before we get into the tip of the week, what is that? Not much. Got through Thanksgiving. Got through the whole feast. Oh, we got through Thanksgiving without any drama. There was no Renee this year. If you don't know what we're talking about, go listen to last year's Thanksgiving episode because let me tell you it was a shit show. Yeah, I forgot about that until this Thanksgiving. I guess that's like how bad the human memory is. How could you forget about Renee? Yeah, long story short, for those you guys aren't familiar. We had a woman show up. We called her crazy Renee because she went crazy. The cops ended up coming, you know, typical Thanksgiving.

Yeah, just another day. But anyways, we made it through this year, got through the family. You know, I got a lot of feedback last month, or not last month, last week, it feels like a month ago, but got a lot of feedback last week when I said that I wasn't so into the Thanksgiving cuisine. I know, like, you know, some people got upset about that, but there was a lot of people that came out of the woodworks. I'm like, yeah, you know, like, why do we have to do turkey and why do we have to do like mashed potatoes and all that stuff? Like, we can do Italian, we can do sushi. I feel like those were your own business.

Burgess maybe. No, no, no. There's a lot. And, and there's been a lot of support. for the cough that you call fake. I think a lot of people, I've got a lot of DMs. I've been snapping them that have come out and said, hey, I have that cough too, what's going on?

So we're going to maybe look a little like microgroup. Maybe in the skinny confidential, like the podcast group, we'll do a little micro group called like coffers. Okay, guys, for those of you who don't know what he's talking about, he has a fake cough that he does every morning. It's a cough that I have to hear every single time I wake up and it's fake. It's not fake. It's just I'm clearing the pipes.

then why do you do it like midday and at night? Sometimes I just got to like, I know other people out there where you feel like, you know, you just got to like clear the lungs a little bit, you know, get it out there. All right. Well, I disagree with you about Thanksgiving. I love the spicy corn bread and there's nothing better than your grandma's noodles. So. Yeah, but see, my grandma's noodles are Japanese noodles.

See, that's not typical and that's why you like him because it's a little bit, you know, changed. What about the spicy corn bread? You know, your dad does make a really good turkey. He does that southwestern bird that he's, that he likes to talk about. What about the Brussels sprouts that I made this year? And we talk, you know, we have a lot of tequila, so that's good. The Brussels sprouts, they were all right.

You know, they're okay. Yeah, right. They were so good. I was in the kitchen all day cooking them. Yeah. But stop lying to everyone. Lauren's lying. The reason I said they're okay.

Actually, they're good. Our friend Mike cooked him. Lauren didn't cook them. She showed up at the last minute and she was scared that she was going to upset my mom by not bringing Brussels sprouts, which I guarantee my mom would not have cared about. But anyways, I had to bring the Brussels sprouts this year. Next year, maybe I'll be in the kitchen with her cooking the whole thing. Okay, so we're going to Aspen on Wednesday.

Yep, we're out of here. Super excited to go skiing. Michael and I like to ski down the green bunny slope, right, Michael? And get a pretzel and a beer. It's kind of our favorite thing. I like to go skiing with Lauren one day and take her on the slope. First of all, Lauren goes on those slopes where you literally have to walk uphill. You know, like it's not even a green.

It's like you're going uphill and then she cries and whines and acts like she can't do it. I don't know why you act so scared. How many skis did I throw at you last year? You know how to ski. She's one of those girls that cries and throws her poles the whole way down. So we go skiing one day. I love drama. And then we have a beer and a pretzel at this stop.

And then the next day... Wait, the pretzels are not just like any pretzel, though. It's a pretzel that has three different dippings. There's one that's honey mustard. There's a caramel one. There's like a frosting one. There's like different dipping for these pretzels. They're like really, really good.

Listen, we don't need your whole life story. All right? Yeah, there's some dipping sauces. And then the next day, I go and ski the real mountain, which is Aspen Mountain. And I go up the top. You're obnoxious about it. I have a beer, solo beer. Then I go down in the middle.

And he snaps to me his whole life story the entire time. So if anybody's out in Aspen. So unfortunate. Next week, hit us up. You literally snapped like a reality show the entire process of you doing everything. Like I had to like live vicariously through you. Well, because you won't go to the top. So I wanted to make sure you saw what it was like.

Okay. Well, I saw. It looks the same as the bunny slope. So we'll be in Aspen. Like I said, if anybody's actually. out there. Anybody has any recommendations? Maybe he's going to be there, hit us up. Then the next week, back to LA,

working our asses off until the end of the year. Yeah, it's time to go. All through 2018. Okay. Well, I feel like this episode is so valuable and there's so many amazing tips in it. In fact, this is an episode that I'm probably going to listen back on three times. Guys, that's how good it is. I'm going to pull out my notebook.

I'm going to take, you know, voice notes. I am going to tattoo it on my forehead. I got so much out of this episode, you know, as a blogger and just tips that I can apply to my everyday life. And I just learned so much about fiber that I kind of couldn't be more excited for this episode. I have to tell you it's one of my favorites. And we will definitely have Tanya back. Before we get into it, though, I want to do the him and her tip of the week. And I will go first since we're on the subject of fiber. So my tip is a tip that a lot of you have heard if you read the Skinny Confidential and that is GG Crackers. But before we get into this episode, I kind of want to recap what GG crackers are because we talk about them a lot and then I want to talk to you about how

I use them. So this can be on your mind the entire episode. So GG crackers are filled with fiber, which like I said is so fitting for this episode. I'll leave all the details on them in the show notes on the skinny confidential, but you guys have to get on board with these crackers. They're not just for weight loss, they're for cleaning out the pipes. I hope Michael is covering his ears because I don't like to talk about that in front of you. So like go away why I finish this. I'm going to mute my headset. All right. Well, fiber is key. So like I said, you're going to hear about that. But three ways that I use these GG fiber filled crackers are salmon, pizza, and pancakes. Now let me explain. I bring them in my purse. I order locks and bagel like usual. It's on 500 menus everywhere.

And then I put the locks and a little bit of cream cheese on each cracker. And then I add capers, red onion, a little tomato. I add lemon. I feel like I'm missing something. Did I say red onion? I think I did. And then I just eat the cracker and it tastes exactly to me the same as a bagel. I'm not missing out. And I've been doing that a lot. lot and it's such a great way to get fiber and protein. Another way that I've been eating these crackers is I've been making pizza at home. So I do like raw goat cheese or a mozzarella cheese and then I'll do rouse or rios or however you say it, pizza sauce or like their spicy marinerer pasta sauce on top of the cracker. I'll broil it in the broiler for like two minutes. It cooks

super quick on the crackers and then I'll take them out and add fresh leaves of basil, a little bit of chili, like sometimes pepperoshinis, which I can't pronounce. How do you say that? Pepperuccinis. Okay. I think. And then a lot of lemon, more lemon. So they're like little mini pizzas.

They kind of taste like bagel bites. The other way that I've been preparing them and I haven't shared this with you guys is pancakes. And I got this recipe actually from Tanya. And what you do is you pulverize the Gigi Crows. and make them into a batter. And I will be sharing that recipe soon on the Skinny Confidential, but basically it's egg whites, pulverized GGs, cinnamon.

You could do a drop of stevia. You could do some nutmeg, a little almond milk, and you make this batter, and you can cook them like pancakes. So, you know, what I like about these crackers is they're filled with fiber. They keep you full. They're not bad if you use them as a vehicle. So you don't want to concentrate on just eating the cracker itself. but what you can add to the cracker.

And like I said, you mix that with protein and you're just good to go. Now, full transparency here, guys, these crackers are bland. They're not the most colorful crackers in the world. Like, you're not going to get, you know, a wheat thin mixed with a flaming hot chita. They're bland crackers. You know, it's not a pringle. They're straight to the point. They're bland, they're plain, but like I said, they're a vehicle.

Nothing too special. But if you keep them in your purse, they're just a great addition, especially when you want to get your extra protein mixed with fiber in. So if you want to cut carbs, these crackers are it. And if you read the description on Amazon, they're called the appetite control cracker. It says the appetite control cracker, Gigi Scandinavian brand crisp breads, have the highest dietary fiber and it's all natural and they're baked and they're 12 calories a slice, two net carbs, and they're ideal for those of you who are trying to lose weight

or maintain a healthy body weight. All right. So if you want more info on these crackers, you can just Google the skinny confidential skinny crackers to find out more. And you'll hear about them in this episode. Okay, so now on to my tip. Okay, so as you guys know, Lauren and I love Thrive Market.

We get all of our healthy food and snacks there. Lauren also get some beauty items, which has talked about in previous episodes. I just got that Egyptian magic clay that I'm so excited about. Yeah, Thrive really has everything. And if you've been listening to this podcast for the last few months and still haven't taken advantage of our Thrive link, which gets you $60 in free groceries and free shipping.

I'm really not sure what to tell you. I'm not sure what you're doing. You guys, that's pretty incredible that it gives you $60 in free groceries and free shipping. Yeah, I'm serious. I give the link to everyone in my office, all my friends and tell my family. So the link is thrivemarket.com slash skinny, forward slash skinny. Okay, so back to my tip of the week. As I said, Lauren and I get healthy foods and snacks,

and Lauren gets beauty products. They have stuff for pets, stuff for everyone. But what I'm really fired up about lately on Thrive are their vitamins and supplements. First, just so you know, Lauren, I think you already know this, you're told everyone. Thrive Market is always 25 to 50% off retail because they cut out the middleman. So you're already getting tremendous value. So you basically get to get your groceries online for 25 to 50% off retail and you get $60 of free groceries with free shipping.

I'm pretty obsessed at this. Yeah, it's rad. I've been getting all my vitamins delivered on a monthly basis from Thrive and it saves me a ton. So here's what I'm fired up about and it's specific. This is my tip of the week. Paul Stamitt's host defense, my community mushroom complex. Oh, come on, Michael. That's like such a, like, say it again. I know. I'll say it again because it's a lot. Paul Stamitt's host defense, my community mushroom complex. It's by far my favorite and the best immunity supplement that I've ever taken. You guys, he's been talking about this every second of every day. I can't.

No, people are going to love it. I'm telling you. So as some of you guys know, I would rather get punched in the head instead of getting sick. I can't stand being sick. I'm the biggest baby. Lauren knows this. I hate the feeling. You mean you and every other guy in the entire world? Maybe. Yeah, but it sucks. Nobody wants to be sick. I don't want to rest. It's gross. It's miserable. I have a standing policy in the office that anyone who is sick should just not come in. All right. We don't need your whole life story. Now, I don't look at anyone and say, wow, what an overachiever you came to work sick. I said, no, get the hell out of here before you contaminate the rest of us. Okay. So I heard about this product from a lot of really successful people who travel a lot and can't afford to be sick

while commuting. Lauren and I commune a lot, as you guys know, if it makes you feel better, there are also a lot of people recommending in Tim Ferriss's new book called Tribe of Mentors. That's true, guys. He hasn't put that book down. And I was taking it before. And if you are, the mentors are recommending it, then you know it's got to be good. So I'm telling you, it's the best immune support supplement that I've ever had.

I haven't been six since taking it. And Lauren I travel a lot. So you know, we are constantly exposed to the elements. There's a lot of germs running around. The elements. Yeah, you know, the element. There's people coughing in the plane. A lot of fake coffers

spreading the germs. So the mushroom complex supplement typically retails at around 40 bucks, but you can get it on Thrive right now for 25, which is rad. And with our code, you still have 35 bucks left over to get some more free stuff. So some of the other supplements

that I take on a daily basis are zinc, vitamin D3, Jaros, NAC, sustain, vitamin C and 5HTP. They have it all. You don't have to worry about which brand to get because Thrive sources, all the best brands, and provides the best quality.

I also just want to say, you know, I've talked about this a lot. I've talked about the beauty products that I get at Thrive. I love their Aztec Heel healing clay mask. I use it all the time. You just add apple cider vinegar. They have the kind I like. It's brags. It's raw on Thrive. And you mix them together and you create this mask. And it's like the same mud mask that Cleopatra used to use. And then I just got the Egyptian mud mask, which I'm loving. And they have a lot of natural beauty products on there. Like they have like a lavender hand spray. They have the wipes, just a lot of good stuff. And it's so much cheaper on Thrive. I was telling you, I was telling Wesen the other day, Wes and my partner that he needs to go and use our link and use it so he can get discounts and he can get a bunch of his stuff because he was asking me about what supplements I take. So go get some supplements, do some grocery shopping, get some beauty products for the ladies, maybe even the men.

I also have an idea. You could stuff a stocking full of products from Thrive like vitamins for your man and give them a stocking full of vitamins. Or vice versa. The women could do it or the men could do it for the women. You could do like a $60 stocking. It's a win-win all around. Having Thrive as a partner on the show has been incredible.

So check them out. Go to thrivemarket.com forward slash skinny. Remember it's not a coupon code. It's an actual link. Thrivemarket.com forward slash skinny. And get $60 of free groceries and free shipping in a one-month trial. Happy shopping. And let me know what you guys think about the mushroom complex.

He'll be waiting, guys. I actually don't think. I think I've ever been more excited in life for an interview. If you guys are wondering why, it's because Tanya Zuckerbrot, the creator of the F Factor Diet, is on the podcast today to tell us all about the importance of something called fiber. Fiber used to be taboo because apparently fiber reminds people of pilling. But fiber is such a key ingredient in people's diet and something a lot of us are lacking. So she's here to set everyone straight. Tanya is a nutrition in a private practice based in New York City.

We had the opportunity to interview her in her gorgeous office that is full of Gigi crackers, I might add. The badass boss has contributed to shape, glamour, and red book and serves on the advisory board of men's fitness. I first read about her in The Settle for More book. It's by Megan Kelly, who completely swears by the Factor diet. Megan was most definitely not paid. She just actually swears by this diet in every way.

so I was immediately interested to learn more. Also, Tanya is a nutritionist guru to many of the rich and famous and also lots of Instagram stars. I don't know if I can say names, but there is a lot of them. The best part is that Tanya eats, lives, and breathes her diet. If you guys don't believe me, just follow her Instagram account. You will be absolutely obsessed. She's great on Instagram story and Instagram Live. And she's stunning in person. And I want to go for a glass of wine with her, like ASAP. Of course, I'll have my GG crackers and my own. oversized handbag and we'll be good to go. With that, let's welcome F F Factor creator, Tanya, to the Skinny Confidential, him and her show. This is the skinny confidential, him and her. Okay, Tanya,

give us a little bit of background about yourself. So my name is Tanya Zuckerbrot and I am the CEO and founder of F Factor, which is a weight management and nutrition company. I love it. So tell us what Factor is. So F F F Factor is a program that our clients use to look and feel their best. The byproduct of following F factor could be improved energy. It could be improved health, anything from lowering cholesterol to managing sugars. And of course, I think one of the things we're most recognized for is the weight loss. It's weight loss without hunger, without deprivation, without denial, and without having to compromise your quality of life. F Factor is based on four disruptive principles that frankly sound counterintuitive.

intuitive to everything we've been encouraged to believe in the weight loss space for weight loss. What we've been taught is we need to cut out carbs, stop drinking alcohol, stop dining out, and it's recommended that we commit to some really rigorous weight loss program. In fact, we have more gyms in this country than any nation in the world. Yet despite those recommendations and our attempts to embrace one of them or all four of those things, we're fatter than ever as a nation. So it has not resulted in a thinner nation. And that's where F F F factor is a solution.

Because on F factor, from day one you can dine out, from day one you can eat carbs, from day ones you can drink alcohol. So cheers to that. And we have an entire theory about exercise. And it's extremely liberating because we are actually encouraging people to work out differently and to work out less, but yet receiving maximum results. Sold. I know. Sign me up. So how important is fiber in this whole equation?

Because I think this diet, like the GG crackers that I eat, will get into it. It feels like that's a big part of it. Fiber is the cornerstone of F factor. But 20 years ago, which just aged me, when I first stumbled upon fiber as a solution for weight management, it wasn't the sexiest nutrient out there. People thought of metamusel or prune. So the book, the Factor diet, the reason it was, F factor rather than the fiber factor was that fiber was like this dirty word that no one wanted to hear.

In fact, when I went into the publishers, you know, with my proposal, they were shocked at my age. Everyone thought that I was going to be some geriatric dietitian with this, you know, high fiber diet. They were surprised that it was a young girl in her 20s that had this method that relied on this nutrient that was far from sexy. Fiber basically is the indigestible part of carbohydrates. Your body cannot break it down. I think fiber has become so mainstream recently because we really are moving towards a more natural way of eating. Many of the diets that preceded me had many more chemicals, many more fake nutrients, added sugars or sugar substitutes, a lot of fat.

And F factor is really based on whole foods. It's based on the foods that God meant for us to eat. Fibers found in whole grains. It's found in beans. It's found in whole wheat. pastas and breads and whole grain, whole grain rice is, rice is what kind of rice. Of course, it's found in GG crackers, but it's also found in fruits and vegetables.

So fiber as a nutrient is all natural. And then the other components of F factor are lean proteins and modern amounts of fat. So what's nice about F factors, unlike other traditional diets that create a caloric deficit through omission, whether you're going to omit sugar, omit alcohol, or omit dining out, you're going to omit something to create that choloric deficit, F-factor creates a caloric deficit through addition. Rather than omitting things by adding in fiber-rich foods, you are naturally making a caloric deficit because fiber has no calories. And we could speak more to the benefits of fiber, but I think that's- And just explain that with the carbs. So if something's 20 carbs and it's five

grams of fiber, can you explain that to the audience? So the whole thing about carbs, and let's begin with dispelling the myth that carbs make you fat. Because I am fortunate to do a lot of corporate lecturing. And I like to begin by saying, so who in this audience has tried to lose weight in the past year? And almost 80% of the hands go up. And then I say, so who in this audience has cut back on carbs to lose weight? Most hands go up.

Yet when you look epidemiologically at cultures who historically have had a high carb diet, where in Italy they eat pasta every day, where in France you baguettes and quassants every day, or in Asia where they eat rice every day, they don't have the incidence of obesity that we do, but we're blaming the carbs. Now, it's not to say that carbs are free food.

Carbs eaten in excess of what your body can use for energy will be converted into fat. So that's one of F factors' major premises. But we're talking about carbs, and yet it's not called the carb factor. It's the Factor. So how does fiber come into play them with that bit of science? Fiber negates the amount of carbohydrate that gets converted into sugar.

So when you have the carbs, carbs at 20 grams and you have five grams of fiber, you actually have 15 grams. Correct. So a lot of times people are now seeing net carbs on packages. Net carb is the carb that is not ingested, but digested. The total carbohydrate on a package is what you're ingesting. But the fiber is the indigestible part of it. It's the part that your body cannot break down. It's the part that has to exit your body. So if something, for example, is 20 grams of carbs, but it contains five grams of fiber, the net is 15 grams. You subtract the fiber from the total carb to get the net carb. And it's the net carb that gets converted into sugar. And that's what your body has for energy. Now, the only way

to burn fat for fuel is in the absence of glucose. And glucose is simply the end result of carbohydrate metabolism. So if you are eating foods with very few net carbs and the body's expending calories all day And how does your body burn calories? Well, in two ways. You burn calories through voluntary activities and involuntary activities. The combination of those two equals your total caloric burn for the day. So what's involuntary? Involuntary activities are all the things your body does without you telling it to do so.

It's your central nervous system. It's thinking. It's breathing. It's digestion. It's defecation. And then you have your voluntary activities. Talking with your hands, going for a walk, running a marathon, whatever it is that you are choosing to do.

So your body has these energy needs, and that's why, frankly, athletes carb will load. So we know that carbs are not a bad thing. Without carbs, and if you've ever gotten a very low-carb diet, you actually don't feel great. You feel lightheaded, weak, shaky, cranky, you certainly don't have energy for exercising. So the idea is that if you do no carb, you don't feel great. Too many carbs, the body never needs to burn fat for fuel. F-factor has a formula that's proprietary where I, as a clinician, have looked at what your

body can store for energy and what your body needs for energy. I make sure that clients have enough carbs on step one, step two. We can talk about the different phases of the program so that you feel great. You know, you can exercise for an hour. You can think clearly throughout the day. But at some point, because of the absence of extra carbs, because we're keeping the net carbs at a certain level, the body is forced to burn fat for fuel. So our clients are for those who want to lose weight, and we can talk about F factors, not just for weight loss. It could be weight maintenance, right? we need to understand what someone's goals could just be for the health benefits. But if you are coming to F F F factor, relying on F factor for weight loss, the formula fills you up

on fiber because fiber has many benefits, which I'd like to get to in a second. But as far as the net carbs, fiber keeps net carbs low. And it's the net carbs that are responsible for whether or not the body needs to rely on fat for fuel. So let's go back a little bit. How did you, at such a young age, how did you figure this out? I actually have the same question. Because now, like, honestly, I was going to ask you 20 follow questions, but you answered all of them because you're extremely knowledgeable in this subject,

obviously. I just learned a lot. By the way, we could only stay on this topic because if you ask me about politics or anything, don't worry. I got nothing. It's the only thing I know. So thank you for believing I'm well-versed in this. This is obviously very well research, but when you were starting out,

how did you figure this out? How did you start looking into fiber? You know, I get a lot of false praise for being a pioneer, you know, the fiber industry. I mean, and trust me, when people like, oh, like if I go to a party, I'm like, aren't you that fiber girl? I'm like, Jesus, can't we come up with something better than this? Is there like, can we come up with a sexier title than that fiber lady? I stumbled upon it. I would love to say that I was like with a white lab coat, you know, sort of picking apart molecules and I recognize that fiber had this weight management properties.

When I finished my residency, which I was at NYU, you know, and this is important for your listeners, If anyone is going to think about working with a dietitian versus a nutritionist, a nutritionist is simply anyone that has studied nutrition. You can take one class online. A registered dietitian is board certified and completes a residency. And my residency was at New York University Hospital, where my rotations included gastrointestinal, a cardiovascular rotation, and you do an endocrinology rotation. You're even in the ICU where you're responsible for tube feeds for someone in a coma. It is such a clinical degree. And you're seeing a lot. And, well, you're part of the medical team. And every, every patient that's in the hospital, you recognize that nutrition intervention can either help to reverse a clinical condition or manage it to reduce symptoms. So when I left the hospital, I knew that I wanted to work in a clinical setting. I have a mother Teresa complex. I want to change the world, make the world a better place.

So I knew in an outpatient setting, the patient populations that really were impacted through diet. intervention were cardiovascular and diabetic patients. You literally can reverse type 2 diabetes through diet. And for a cardiovascular patient who has high triglycerides or high cholesterol levels through dietary intervention, you can lower those levels enough that they can get off of their medications. So here I was working with doctors in Manhattan on the Upper East Side that were referring their clients to me. Cardiologists and endocrinologists were referring their patients to me. I was working as an extension of their medical teams to prescribe diets that would enhanced the medical care they were receiving. I knew from NYU that fiber was indigestable,

so it would slow down gastric emptying, and therefore the diabetic patients wouldn't get those peaks in those crashes in sugar. And I also understood that it was like fewer net carbs, so less insulin production. I also knew from textbooks that fiber acted like a sponge, and it would absorb things, such as toxins and estrogen, which we'll talk about why the least other health benefits like colon cancer. So is it good for it to absorb it? Amazing. Absolutely amazing. It ushers it out of the body. Okay. So fiber would act like a sponge absorbing cholesterol and pull it out.

So high fiber diets really mimic what a statin drug does. It can lower cholesterol by as much as 30%. So here I was recommending fiber for its clinical applications of lowering cholesterol, managing sugars. And three months later, when we would do a repeat blood workup and weigh in the patients was just part of, you know, taking care of a client, everybody was losing weight. And even I'm scratching my head going, why is everyone losing weight? I'm just trying to lower cholesterol and manage sugar levels.

What fibers were you using at this point? The GG crackers are not. around. No, no, they were around. They were. So what were you using? I went to the health food store to look for the highest fiber products in the marketplace so I could implement them into a program. I was using Gigi crackers. I was using fiber one cereal. And then foods just found in nature, broccoli, raspberries. Like I was looking for the foods with the highest fiber contents. So because I was working in this outpatient setting, my clients were still attending family gathering, social functions, and certainly going to work every day. And I joked that if I was a

chiropractor and I fixed your back, no one's going to be. to notice when you walk into a party. No one's going to say, wow, his back looks great. Right. But when someone loses 20 pounds in three months, people question what's been going on? So here are my clinical patients out in the real world, and their friends or their family members or their colleagues would say, hey, what's going on with you? And I'd say, oh, my cardiologist made me go to this woman to lower my cholesterol. I lost 20 pounds in three months. And I've been dining out. I'm not working out more. And I'm drinking alcohol. So my phone started to ring with these friends and family and colleagues saying, hey, I'm friends with John or I'm friends with Jane. My cholesterol.

is fine. My sugar's fine, but can I get the weight loss part of what he or she did? So you quite literally stumbled on it. I joke that it's like Isaac Newton sitting under the apple tree, the apple falls on his head and he discovers gravity. So when people say you were at the forefront of really understanding fiber for weight loss, yes, I was my timing was, I was actually a little early because when my first book came out, it wasn't as popular as one would think because we were really coming off of Atkins, which was no carb and fibers only found in carbs. What I'm so proud to share with your listeners is that. the first book published in 2006 is being republished next year in 2018.

And what is that called? The F Factor Diet. Okay. And then you have another book as well. The Miracle Carb Diet was the follow-up to it. But the original Factor Diet book is selling more now 10 years later than was first published because fiber has become more mainstream, in part because, yes, the science has caught up, the food companies, and therefore their marketing budgets have caught up.

And people now understand that fiber is all natural. and it helps with weight loss, which I would love to explain to you guys when I come up for air. The four properties, what makes fiber the most important thing you should be eating if you're trying to lose weight. And even for you people who have no weight to lose, for those of you that just want to add a few years on to your life, a high fiber diet is linked to longevity. It's also looked to improved energy, better sleep patterns. There are so many other lifestyle benefits, including clear, brighter skin.

And I just have to say that I have noticed what you're saying by just eating like eight GG crackers a day with a bunch of chia seeds after reading your books. So let's talk about it a little bit and go into some detail for those people listening and for myself. Where would the starting place be for you recommending someone starting out with fiber? And I've probably had fiber in some sources. But to like really be consistent about it, what do you recommend the best way to start eating? Michael thinks this fiber that he got last night was from the bread basket. So we need all the help we can get here. It might.

If it was a whole wheat piece of bread, you might have had a grammar. But let's begin with understanding what the standards are. You know, what's the recommendation for fiber intake? For women, it's 30 to 35 grams of fiber per day. And then it's 38 grams of fiber per day. The problem is we are in a fiber deficit in this country. The average American gets 9 to 11 grams of fiber per day because we've refined all our foods. And is that because we don't know where to get it?

We don't know where to get it. And most foods don't contain it anymore because we've processed them. So whole grains have become white bread. Whole foods have become sugary fruit juices. is so we have stripped the fiber out of most foods. You know, brown rice has become white rice. We've polished off the endosperm. So we are left in, the legacy of industrialization is that we don't get enough fiber.

And it's one of the reasons that we see so many unhealthy conditions in this country, such as colon cancer and breast cancer, that you don't see in countries where they are not as industrialized, and much greater fiber rich diets, especially the weight management component. So where would you tell, like, let's take me as a case study because I'm easy to pick on. Where would you tell me to start to find good fiber sources? Like give him five fiber sources that you would say. Let's just, that's to break it down meal by meal because F Factor has a saying, fiber and protein at every meal makes losing weight no big deal.

So every meal should be a combination of fiber and protein. Okay. So for breakfast, you could have a high fiber cereal, Ram Buds, fiber one. You may say, Tanya, have an oatmeal. Oatmeal's three grams of fiber. I know it sounds like it's a high fiber food, but it's not. That's a high.

Brand buds. You know, it's funny, that's always what's been, that's like been recommending me over and over oatmeal. That's what I'm here for. There are a lot of myths out there. And my job is to help to dispel them, but to spell them with, I'm going right to the source. With science. If there's one thing, I take a lot of pride in. I will not say anything that is science-based without being able to substantiated with published journal studies or empirical scientific evidence. Of course, I have my own anecdotal evidence because I am a byproduct of that factor. I've been living this way for 15 years. I've been in private practice. I've canceled thousands of clients throughout my career. And she looks great, you guys. You'll see your Instagram at the end. But you look amazing. It's a choice. Respectfully, mom and dad, I love you both, but they're both overweight. This is a choice for me. So I do not have these genes that allow me to eat whatever I want. And just because I'm a dietitian,

it doesn't mean that my thighs are made of teflon and calories refuse to stick to them. I can gain weight just like anyone else. So my weight and my health is a byproduct of the lifestyle choices I make. And I joke to my clients. I'm like, when people are grateful when they receive the benefits of F F F Factor, like, oh, thank you so much. I'm so happy. You invented this program. I'm like, forget you people. I'm glad Factor exists for me, you know, not just because I'm Tanya Zucker right, you know, Factor, but because I'm just as vain as the next person. I love fashion. It's like, I want to look and feel good too. So I feel so fortunate that Factor exists because I love to travel. And if you follow my Insta, then you know I travel a lot. I love clothes. I love dining out.

F factor for me really allows me to live a certain lifestyle where I don't feel compromised, but I get to also look and feel my best. I feel that's where there's this push-pull is that, okay, I'm willing to lose weight, but I'm going to sacrifice everything I care about. I'm going to sit home for a few months at the frozen diet dinner. I'm not going to go to my favorite restaurants. I'm going to cut out alcohol. And yes, I'll lose weight, and I'll look good for my friend's wedding or a graduation

or whatever it might be that's on my calendar for Christmas vacation. But what I'm doing is not sustainable, A, because it's too boring. or be because I'm suffering or because I'm hungry, then how do we expect the biproduct of that to be permanent? You know, I always explain to clients, temporary solutions, temporary results, permanent solutions or permanent habits connect to permanent results. I want to go back to this because I know the audience is wondering, you were telling us what to eat for breakfast.

Yes, I'm so sorry. No, no, no. Everything you said is amazing. I just want to go back and I want you to walk me through an entire day of what you would do for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack. So if you are my clients, and I would say, So what are you typically having for breakfast? Because sometimes clients are doing some things that are right.

And I want to honor those choices because obviously these things that you're enjoying. For me, I feel like we're going to get along because for me I get a lot of heat. I catch a lot of shit for not maybe eating what people perceive to be the healthiest. But I'm also in the camp that's like moderation. I don't feel like I'm a glutton. But in the morning, like if a lot of times I don't eat heavy in the morning. But I'll have eggs. He doesn't eat enough.

I'll have eggs. Sometimes I'll have toast. Sometimes I'll have bacon. I probably need to get a source of, fiber. I'm going to make this really fun and sexy for you because what you've said to me so far, I could work with. Eggs and bacon are not a bad thing.

In fact, there's not a no fat diet. It's a low fat diet. So two pieces of bacon is no different than other fats that people are eating. Obviously, it's a saturated fat. So if you could switch to turkey bacon, okay, but if that's the only saturated fat, we could also work with that. I say it's like twice a week, too. It's not a lot.

But I want to share something with you that's going to blow your mind. If you were to pair that eggs and bacon, if you were to eat that by itself, and let's just call it 300 calories. Without anything with fiber, that's just eggs and bacon, there's no fiber and out of those. Those are just high protein and sort of high fat items. Your body would absorb all 300 calories, and probably an hour or two later, you're probably going to start to get hungry again. If you could pair that same breakfast with, let's say, four GG crackers, the crackers are indigestible. I know the label says it has some calories, but do you remember we're talking about your body burns calories through involuntary and voluntary activities?

The active digestion burns calories. But at time your body tries to break those crackers down, you actually expended more calories than they contain. So I always explained to clients, let Factor be your cardio, because when you eat fiber at every meal, you're creating a caloric deficit, the same way that you rely on a treadmill to do the same. What if I don't have the crackers? Well, but why wouldn't you? So let me finish this. So if you were to have the crackers, I want to talk about some of the other benefits of fiber, which I will get to after we go through the meals. I do want your listeners to know how to have fiber at every meal.

Fiber, remember we said it absorbs cholesterol? That's how it lowers cholesterol naturally. do you know that fiber also absorbs fat and calories in the foods that you're combining it with? Therefore, if you were to eat that eggs and bacon by itself, you would absorb all 300 calories. If you were to eat those eggs and bacon with 4G crackers, the fiber in those crackers might absorb 100 calories. From the fat and calories in the eggs and bacon, your total caloric absorption decreases when you add in fiber. And this was substantiated with the published journal study that found that when women doubled their fiber intake, from 12 to 24 grams of fiber per day, they naturally absorbed 90 calories less per day.

Now, you may say, well, 90 calories isn't a lot. But if you repeat that every day for a year, that's 9.6 pounds of weight loss in a year. So the more fiber you eat, the more weight you lose without decreasing your caloric intake. So eggs and bacon, no crackers, eggs and bacon with crackers, eggs and bacon with crackers. First of all, I'm getting crackers. I'm going to be so much more full because the crackers have 16 grams of fiber. So fiber keeps you feeling full or longer. So for the same 300 calories, you could be full until 1 o'clock in the afternoon instead of 11.

And fiber is going to absorb some of the fat and calories in the eggs and bacon rather than that fat and calories entering to your bloodstream where it could, A, lead to atherosclerosis or be converted into fat that sticks to your thighs or your belly. The fiber will bind with it and ushered out of your body into the toilet bowl. So now you have fiber that's filling you up. Okay. You're feeling five times as full as if you had the eggs and bacon without the crackers. you are revving up your metabolism, and yes, that is true. Or if your listeners weren't paying attention, pay attention now. The more fiber you eat, the faster your metabolism gets.

That is called thermogenesis. Because your body expends calories trying to break the fiber down, but it doesn't have any calories, you're actually increasing your basal metabolic rate. We have a machine here called the in-body where it is the rolls voice of how you weigh someone's, it's complete body composition analysis, including allowing us to understand, someone's basal metabolic rate. When people lose weight, typically their BMR slows down, and that's self-preservation. F-factor is the only way of dieting, a high-fiber diet, is the only way of creating a

caloric deficit without the body kicking into self-preservation mode and slowing down metabolism because of fiber. Every time you eat fiber, it's like adding coal to the furnace. So if you think of a furnace that dies down, or a fireplace that dies down, what do you add another log? When you eat fiber, the body. expends more calories breaking it down than when something has no fiber. So you're constantly revving your metabolism up. So you're going to have a breakfast of bacon and eggs. If you're a logical person,

a pragmatic person, someone who's invested in looking and feeling their best, adding four of these crackers or other fiber sources, which I will address, it's going to rev up your metabolism. It's going to bind with fat and calories in eggs and bacon, usher it out of your body, so you naturally absorb fewer those fat and calories. And it's going to keep you feeling fuller five times longer. And more energy. So you're less likely to snack in between meals and because fiber slows down digestion, you have more consistent energy throughout your morning so you can focus on your work, whatever is that you're trying to do. So fiber is, that's why the second book was called the miracle carb, because it's part of the carb you can't break down, but it's a miracle. Like how many

diets are encouraging you to eat more of something for weight loss? The fuller you feel, the better this is working. So let's talk about other diets real quick, and then I guess we'd go back to fiber and figure out sources. I promise I'll tell you what to eat for lunch, yeah, I want to know what to eat for lunch dinner. What do you see the biggest, I don't want to say mistake. But the biggest misconception that a lot of, I don't know, trainers, dietitians, nutritionists recommend to their clients that you say, no, that's bullshit or that's, that's not true. Well, I feel like there's two extremes right now. There is, there is the advice of cutting at everything. No sugar, no wheat, no dairy, no alcohol. No meat or whatever. No meat. And I think

anything that is that prohibitive or extreme leads people to actually Jones for it more. And it's like, you know, you want what you can have. And no diet should be excluding any food group. There are three food groups, protein fats and carbs, and a well-balanced diet will have all three. Use folks is beautifully everything in moderation. Yes, but I think we need to, you know, we need to define moderation because that's a whole other subject is we eat way too much, portions are out of control. That probably could be, you know, our next conversation. But so there's that school, which is you hear people talking about creating caloric deficits

through omission. People do juice cleanses. I mean, I see so much of this garbage, which ultimately just slows down the metabolism. It's not sustainable. And it's, it's down. It's like band-a-one. It's just, it's not effective. And like I said, what's the point doing something temporarily if you are looking for permanent

results? Even on F-factor, where we allow clients to drink from day one. And if you're listening, if you don't drink, you don't have to start drinking to do F-factor. But if you do drink, you don't have to stop. And clients will say to me, but Tanya, it's just empty calories. Like, you know, wouldn't it be better for me if I cut out the alcohol just to speed this up? And my response is, well, yes, you're right. Alcohol is empty calories.

There's no calcium or protein alcohol. but are you going to go back to drinking once you get to your goal weight? And the answer is, yeah, of course. I'm like, well, then why are we creating weight loss in a full setting? I rather you learn how. Why are you stopping something you're going to go right back to? I rather you learn how to. Oh, darn, I have to have a vodka soda.

Okay. But I rather my clients learn how to drink alcohol responsibly and not correlated with weight management because in Italy and France, they have a glass of wine with lunch and dinner. They don't have the instance of obesity that we do. So that's one school thought is the school of omission, which I think leaves people feeling deprived, denied, hungry, bored, and that doesn't work. And then you have this other new camp, which I think is really failing us because now you have people who are really trying.

And what we talk about here internally is there's eating healthy and there's eating healthy for weight loss. And they are not one the same. Avocado toast with a poach egg is not helping anyone lose weight. A quinole at lunch is not helping you lose weight. These are not free foods. Olive oil is not a free food. Avocados not a free food. Kema is not a free food.

I am not saying that these foods are not inherently healthy, but they may not be appropriate for weight loss. because weight loss is a formula, and you need to keep your neck carbs low so that your body's forced to burn fat for fuel. And we talk about all the science that supports this in the F-factor books. I can speak to this very in layman's terms right now so that your, you know, that your listeners don't turn this off. But I am so passionate about the science because it's a science that makes this authentic. It's why 11 years later, the F-factor diet book is selling better than ever. And it's why people, as smart as Megan Kelly, love the Factor diet. I'm often humbled by who I sit across in counseling.

Well, the scientific stuff makes sense to me because when I hear people just say, you know, you can't eat red meat or you can't eat, like it. And I say, why? And there's really nothing to back it. And they say, you know, red meat doesn't digest or, okay, I get that. There's so many, that's what they say, right? And I've never been in the camp where I believe it. I've eaten red meat my whole life.

I like red meat. I'm going to continue to eat red meat probably. But you should add four F or GG crackers. But I do believe I'm missing something. And this is where I get extremely passionate and I will, you know, debate anyone. Wanted to get you fired up here. Yes, you know, that makes these overgeneralized statement and they don't have a clinical background. Your body does digest red meat and I don't want to make this a, you know, a pro animal.

No, no, no. You know, I've gone against PETA. It's not ended well for me. But my point is that if you look first of all, I mean, there's so many organs you make, but your body does have hydrochloric acid in its stomach and that does break down. That does break down meats. I mean, we can adjust me. And, of course, you can look at, you know, at our teeth.

structure at our joint structure and people say that these are incisors blah blah blah blah my point is a lot of times people um there is a lot of propaganda out there a lot there's been a recent movie that has gotten a lot of attention i won't say but if you want to say is it that what the health movie yeah there's that one because you know Lauren had me watch that and i got and listen i'm not trying to talk about animals at all i've just this has been part of my diet but i watched that whole movie and i had so many of my friends and people call me and say well are you done eating meat i'm like nope like i understand that's, I'm not, I'm not talking about from an animal level. Like, I don't like the cruelty of mistreatment of animals, but I'm not going to remove meat from my diet. Well, I think we need

to understand, look, people have philosophical beliefs and I am an animal lover. I have two dogs. I've always had pets. And then, so, you know, there are religious reasons. People don't eat me. People are Buddhist. But if it really just comes down to health, then that's where I take a very strong stance. That's where it comes down to for me. If someone has a philosophical, religious belief, I will honor that all day long. We can create a diet that's well balanced around it. But for people just to say meat is unhealthy. Frankly, that movie, what the health?

And my IG blew up with people questioning, what do you think? What do you think? And my response was, I didn't want to get into it, you know, in a written statement. But I'm more than happy to speak to it. And even this will have to be, you know, a really sort of shortened sentence on this. But frankly, I had to turn it off halfway because the science was so faulty. Yeah, and that's what I can't get behind. The science just made no sense.

It was explaining that diets, high meat. increased sugar levels. That's not science. And if you Google it further and further and you really see the MDs now speaking that were not a part of this movie, many of them will say that the science was really faulty. But look, propaganda works for a reason. You know, it really resonates to me. And if you say something loud enough and you can twist the truth around it a little bit

enough, it is very, you know, compelling because, look, we all want to be healthy. And, you know, if you can make a case for not eating animals, sure. Like, you know, they're cute and fuzzy. It's like, okay, if I can eat in a way that I don't eat it, of course. Like, I would, we would all welcome that kind of lifestyle that honors, you know, all living creatures that supports our health. But to say that we don't digest meat, it's just, it's inaccurate. That's my problem. I don't have, I'm purely talking about it from the health standpoint.

And when people just make a blanket statement to me or the people say, you can't digest this or it doesn't work in your body or it's like, and then I say, why and there's no real like scientific background then I kind of I just tune out right and look everybody's different and you know I understand it's not one size fits all but anatomically we're sort of similar you know we most of us have one heart two kidneys one liver one GI tract now of course everyone has everyone has maybe different hormone levels or some people have intolerances and of course you know blood workups will reveal this and we can honor it but as I said I am very skeptical when people make these gross generalized statements that frankly can actually be damaging to people. I know many vegetarians or vegans who frankly are overweight and what we are losing

sight of is being overweight, puts you at risk for morbidity anyway. So of course you want to avoid a diet that's high in animal fats, that's high in saturated fats. That's not helping anyone. But lean proteins in moderation can absolutely fit into a well-balanced diet. But look, if you're vegan, we have a vegan version of F-F-Based. F F F F F F F F F F F F is a high fiber, high protein comes from animal sources, but could also come from vegetarian sources or non-animal sources. Protein can be found in tofu, can be found in satin.

I mean, there are many foods that if you are vegan, dairy-free, wheat-free, at F-Factor, we have every single version of this program, kosher, gluten-free, you name it. Give me an example of a vegetarian snack that someone could have at lunch. With the Gigi crackers. So you mean what they could have? Because for us, we have breakfast, we have lunch, and then we have a snack, and then we have dinner. So you're saying lunch? Let's say lunch.

Okay. So for example, everything, it should be a combination of fiber and protein. So whether you're vegan or not, one of the things I always recommend is have the biggest salad possible because we don't eat enough vegetables in this country. And people say, oh, I have a salad dinner. I'm like, that small, tall salad. I'm like, that's not a salad. So always, you know, go for like the largest salad that you can and add all the cruciferous vegetables that you can. Broccoli, hearts of palm, asparagus.

is. I mean, vegetables are a free food on that factor, so load up. And then pair it with a protein. If you eat animal products, you could have grilled chicken, grilled shrimp, grilled salmon. If you don't, you could have tofu, satan, and amami. I mean, so there's eggs. Eggs?

Egg whites or eggs. Yeah. A vegan wouldn't eat the eggs. But yes, you could, if you are, if you eat dairy and eggs, you certainly can have that. You know, low fat cheeses are a great source of protein as well. So going back to the breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner, you can eat. Michael said you could eat two people.

pieces of turkey bacon, some eggs, and four GGs. And then at lunch, he could have a salad. So I guess. But I would want to make that healthier for you, Michael, because I would say, like, rather than just two eggs, and there's nothing wrong with the egg yolk, if you eat them in moderation once again. It used to be, like, no more than three egg yolks a week. And the American Heart Association just expanded it now to seven.

But if you're going to have two, you know, sunny side up eggs one day, the other day, maybe do an egg one egg yolk, the egg yolk contains lutein, which is good for preventing back to its generation. There's health benefits to it. but if it's about weight management for people, then we always have to manage our caloric intake. One egg white is 14 calories, and most of the proteins in the egg white,

and egg yolk is 70. So I could have 10, you know, egg whites in an omelet or two scrambled eggs. I like volume because volume is an important part of fatality. But I would also add high fiber vegetables. Like if you do an omelet, spinach, mushroom, onions, broccoli. That was going to be my question. That's more fiber.

For me, it's like what I'm missing. And I feel like how do I, what can I do? add the things that I'm missing. So I would add fiber to your bacon and eggs by making it an omelet, put some veggies in there and pairing it with high fiber Gigi crackers or even whole wheat toast or whole wheat wrap. You mentioned really that raspberries have fiber? Eight grams of fiber, yes. So in the Factor book and we also have Factor journals, we give you a list of all the foods, proteins, fats, and carbs, and how much fibers in each one

so that you can make an educated decision, you know, and pick the foods that have the most fiber, A, because fiber keeps you feeling full as the longest. Fiber also revs of your metabolism. but the more fiber and of food, the fewer net carbs, which that's what forces a biot to burn fat for fuel. So on F factor, there's a very distinct formula. And three stages, step one, step two, step three, where we define the parameters for fat burning. So on step one, you need at least 35 grams of fiber, fewer than 35 net carbs. Step two, it's fewer than 75 net carbs because you start to add in more foods. But it is a very structured program that provides you with your choices for breakfast, lunch,

snack and dinner to make sure you're eating throughout the day that you're going to hit those fiber requirements but keep those net carbs low enough that you're burning fat for fuel every day. So give me an example of you because I like you're beautiful. You look amazing. Give us an example of your day in the life from breakfast to dinner. Okay. So I will give you what's happened today so far. For breakfast, I started off with a Greek yogurt, a non-fat Greek yogurt. I had brand buds this morning. A third cup of brand buds. The other two cereals we recommend are fiber one, or if you want an organic option, there's smart path. It's nature's path, smart brand. So it's smart brand, brand buds or fiber one. Those are the three highest fiber cereals on the market right now. Paring

that with the Greek yogurt is providing me the protein. And then I had a serving of a high fiber fruit. So I had blackberries today. Blackberries, a cup of that is providing me with eight grams of fiber. The cereal is 13 grams of fiber. Can you add a scoop of chia seed for extra? Of course. Okay. I mean, but absolutely, and that's good for omega-3s. But that's already 21 grams of fiber, which is half of my fiber needs before lunch. And even though that breakfast is only 200 calories, and we don't count calories on that factor, but there is a calorie cap just inherently in the program, I'm full until lunch. Lunch, I just came back from lunch. I was at one of my favorite restaurants called Bilbo. Okay, that's Midtown.

and I had a salad and I followed that with a tuna tartar and yes I had a glass of wine with that. I love it. Just one which is why I'm still probably coherent. I was going to have two but I was like oh shoot I got Pabcast. Anyways I had a glass of wine with that. Everything's F Factor approved. For my afternoon snack I'll probably have four Gigi pizzas and for that we just put some tomato sauce and some part-skin mozzarella and some Parmesan and Mrs. Dash seasoning and I'll have four of those.

Now I try and eat those four crackers between four and six o'clock and you might say well doesn't that ruin your appetite for dinner? And my answer is yes, that's the point. I love it. I don't want to walk into dinner ravenous. I love that. We need to change the way that we eat in this country. We need to inverse the distribution of our calories.

People eat a small breakfast or they skip it entirely, a medium lunch, and all of some, we save all our calories for dinner, especially in a metropolitan city like New York where it's the dining capital of the world. Everyone's like, oh, I'm going here tonight, a new opening. I'm not saying not to go. Go. Get dressed up. Look great.

Go for business. Go for pleasure. But stop making it like it's your last meal on earth. Right. So if you arrive full, now you can make a much more sensible decision when the menu comes and you're not just there for the food. So what will you have for dinner tonight? So I don't know what. Like I don't give an example of something.

What's a say Monday? Yeah. Oh, well, I have three kids. So Monday is meatball night. So we have Monday meatball night, Tuesdays Taco night. So we have one of my favorite. This is by far one of my favorite recipes ever. It is meatballs, but rather than breadcrums, we actually have taken the GGs and we pulverize them to make a breadcrums.

God, that's smart. My meatballs. Genius. And then mozzarella stuffed meat. balls. So we take a pizza, mozzarella, parts of get mozzarella. Where is this dinner being served? At my house, come over. We have great dinners. For the kids, I'll have pasta. For myself, I'll have zoodles. I always have a salad, typically another

vegetable on the side. On F-factor, vegetables are a free food. So you can eat all the vegetables you want because I do insert other restrictions. Protein is not a free food. This is not Atkins. Women should get four ounces of protein men around four to six. And in lieu of that, I say but vegetables are the free food. So if you think you're going to be hungry because I've slashed the portion of protein half,

because when you go out for a restaurant, it's around 10 ounces, which is two to three times what we should be eating, that's why you always should start with a salad or a broth-based soup, and then follow it with more vegetables. Vegetables, when you displace the hunger that would be present by cutting back on protein,

and trust me, the protein F-factor, it's more than 100 grams a day. You're meeting your protein requirements. It's a myth that we need all this protein, and you're getting plenty. It's protein at every meal. But when you displace the portion of protein with vegetables,

A, vegetables have fewer calories, so it's going to help with weight management. B, they have more fiber, which is also going to help with weight management because it's revving up your metabolism. And C, it has antioxidants. Chicken and steak or even tofu does not have antioxidants. It's going to come through your skin. So the antioxidants fight free radical damage, which leads to premature aging and also fight cancer. So in this method of eating, our clients are getting so much healthier. They are so much more full.

They're losing weight without hunger. They're dining out. They're drinking alcohol. They're traveling a little of the world. No one is suffering. And I think that's why F F factor, it seems like lately, like its popularity has really gained. And I always joke.

I'm like, it's like the oldest startup in the world. It's been around forever. But I think because Fiber has become mainstream, and we have a very young audience. And I think the reason for that is that Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Atkins, it's not resonating with this next generation of health-minded people. And I also think because of, it's funny,

coming from, you know, we talk about social media, and far from a professional when it comes to it. The Instagrams never really did much for F F Factor for growing the brand. What grew the brand were the stories when Instagram introduced your stories. And I think it's because people said like your personality and the fact that you were so not just transparent but open, it made it so accessible. Because it's one thing if you take a picture of a salad. She probably didn't eat the salad. You know, or it's like, oh, like she would never eat that pasta.

But I'm constantly cooking, sharing everything I'm eating. I take it on my travels. I photographed every single meal in Paris. My poor fiancee, you know, he'd go to take a bomb. I'm like, oh, don't eat it yet. I got to film this. I feel you. I mean, yeah, no.

Like, I mean, my phone almost ended up in the send like 100 times. But I really have made myself available because I am the poster child for F factor, not age-wise. I mean, you're much younger, hotter listeners than me. But what I'm saying is that if I can do it, it says people, this is really doable, whether she's in Greece, whether she's in Paris, whether she's in New York City, whether you're down the block. the foods that I'm eating are also available at any local supermarket or farmer's markets, not some obscure, expensive ingredients.

Fiber is not cost prohibitive. Anyone can afford to eat this way. And frankly, I keep getting back to this. We're eating the foods that got meant for us to eat. We're getting away from all the process refined crap that the legacy of that is a nation that's unhealthy and overweight. It's foods that you feel good about eating. And of course, you mention it, there's a beauty component of it because not just as fiber, lower cholesterol, and detoxifies your system by pulling out things such as estrogen,

which if you have a female population that listens to this, one of every seven women this country will get breast cancer. Girls, adding fiber to your diet is one of the most simple, natural things you can do to reduce your risk. Wow. In fact, a study came out of Harvard this year that found that adolescents with the highest fiber intake had 23% lower incidence of breast cancer in adulthood. I didn't bring enough GG crackers. She's going to want to eat them after this.

Well, you know, I like it. We were talking right when we came here before we started recording about Adam Platt, and I was unfamiliar with him before you told me, but he's a food critic. I'm probably not doing him just if he writes for New York Magazine. New York Magazine, big publication out here. And he became a client of yours. Yes. And the reason that I use this example is someone like him whose job it is to go around and eat for a living and drink

and test different foods and rich foods and all variation of foods, he had results working with you. Yeah, he had phenomenal results. And like I said, I've been doing this for a long time. And I've so many clients who travel all over the world, you know, to exotic locations, sometimes private planes, you know, business, pleasure. And you might ask someone, hey, you can cut back on that a little lose weight. I could not ask this guy to quit his job in order to get healthier. I had to somehow find a way to honor his profession,

but still honor his goals of looking and feeling better and becoming healthier. And I really think at F F Factor's core, that's what's resonating with people is this is a program that you can dine out from day one. You can dine out for breakfast, you can dine out for lunch, and you can dine out for dinner. By the way, if you like to cook, follow our Instagrams because I love to cook and the recipes are getting more and more created. They're blowing my mind and they're mostly coming from our followers. I love it. I mean, the pancakes, the waffles, who would ever think you could eat these foods and lose weights? So there's two books, the Factor diet, the miracle carb, there's over two.

250 recipes and then Instagram is also more and more recipes. But for someone that does not like to cook, this program is still perfect for you because in the book, we outline if Greek food, Chinese food, French food, every cuisine, what you can eat from day one. So you can do all this, but you have to incorporate the fiber because if you're just doing this. Fiber is found in vegetables. So when you go out at night, I always say the crackers that we're so recognized for. And by the way, disclaimer, not my company. Yes, not your company. I do not own them. I recommend them simply because of their efficacy, which either could make me the worst business person in the world or the most authentic. But tell us, like, explain these crackers and why they're

good and why everyone should have them. I've been eating all the different flavors. I love them. There's very filling, and I notice everything's moving. Yeah. Explain them. So fiber is indigestable, and fiber is found in many foods. The reason these crackers have become so popular is because they've always been the cornerstone of F factor. And it is because, frankly, I could not find a substitute that had more fiber and fewer net carbs and fewer calories. So out of all the high fiber foods that someone can eat, this has the fewest amount of calories for the fewest amount of net carbs and the most amount of fiber. Each cracker is 20 calories. It replaces a piece of bread that's 80 calories. Most bread is anywhere from like one gram of fiber because I have none if it's white bread,

maybe up to five. For these crackers, it is four grams of fiber for each piece of cracker, but it's six grams of carbs. So if we do the math, six minus four is three. too. The net carb is nothing. By the time your body's done digesting it, that's the thermogenesis. You're actually losing weight every time you eat these crackers and it's filling you up. And it's binding with the fat and calories and what you're combining it with. But what if you do if you're gluten-free? Because there's a lot of gluten-free listeners out there. If you're gluten-free, this company will be coming out. It's the Gigi bread and Krisbread with a gluten-free alternative. Amazing. Okay, it was supposed to be here this fall, but it's any day now.

But in the meantime, you can use flackers or Mary's gone crackers. And there are other gluten-free options. We have a gluten-free version of F-actor that we use with our clients who are gluten-free. And in fact, if you are gluten-free, you probably should be listening more closely than anyone because gluten-free diets are notoriously low in fiber. Because when they make these items gluten-free, frankly, you'll see that the cereals, the grains, they have no fiber, which is why so many people who really are gluten-free, not just using it as a diet, but they have celiac or gluten-sensitivity.

They suffer from constipation. they start to gain weight because most of the gluten-free products, when you compare them to their conventional ones, have more fat, they have more salt, they have more calories to replace the fact that the gluten has been replaced. So if you are gluten-free, you still want to focus on getting 35 grams of fiber a day. You can get it through gluten-free cereals and gluten-free breads and grains, but make sure that the net carbs are low, the fiber is high, and of course aim for higher fiber fruits and higher fiber vegetables,

which of course inherently are gluten-free. Give me five recipes. Just off the top of your head, it doesn't need to be fancy of GG crackers that people can do using them as a vehicle. Okay. So, I mean, I always explain to clients the crackers should be eaten at breakfast and at snack. In fact, if I ever, like, am walking around, I see people pulling them out at a restaurant at lunch and dinner. I know they're not my client. Oh, I do that all the time.

But you're more than welcome to. Okay. But I just don't want people, it's not a cracker diet. It's a fiber diet. And therefore, when people say, what's the limit? I'm like as many as you can tolerate as long as you stay properly hydrated. So you don't care how many we eat? Only if you're properly hydrated.

The only danger of a high fiber diet is two, there's two points. Number one, if you eat more than 80 grams of fiber per day, which no one does, as I said, people are lucky to get 9 to 11. On F factory, maybe you're getting 40 to 50. But there is Joanne Slavitt at the University of Nebraska. She's been a career of studying fiber. She says above 80 grams that it might lead to some nutrient malabsorption. because if you're...

Does it like cause liver damage? No, no, no, not at all. It's just if it leads to evacuating more than once a day, then you might not absorb all the vitamins of the nutrients. So what's your ideal client has? How many crackers a day? 4 to 8. In the morning, though.

The other concern about too much fibers, if you don't drink enough water, you can get impacted. Fiber, on the other hand, with proper water, you'll have the best bowel movements of your life. So it's such a myth when people say fiber bloats you. I'm like, no, maybe at the beginning when you're not used to it, But once you get used to a high fiber diet, you actually evacuate so regularly, it's the flatest stomach you'll ever have. But going back to what you were asking about how to use the GGs, I always say, eat your GGs at breakfast and snack.

So lunch and dinner, especially for business or pleasure for social reasons, you're just ordering right off the menu. You don't have to pull out the crackers. But know your audience. If I want to go out with a friend and pull up my crackers, so be it. But say you're out with a business colleague, you don't always need. You just don't always need to, you know, overshare everything about your life. Right. So if you get your fiber at breakfast with your high fiber cereal or the four crackers,

in the morning, and then the afternoon you have your four crackers. You've met your fiber needs because you're going to get your fiber at lunch, not dinner, through your vegetable. Do you think you've been overdoing your crackers, learn? But there's nothing wrong with it. It's all natural. And all it's doing is revving up your metabolism. It's lowering your cholesterol. It is robbing your body, fat and calories that would otherwise enter into your bloodstream. It is the healthiest thing you can be doing. It's pulling toxins out, which leads to much clearer, brighter skin. I am the official dietician to the Miss Universe organization. Everyone's like, what do they need dietitian for? they're so skinny and beautiful.

Olivia Colpo. She was my client. I got her ready for Miss USA when she won Miss Universe. I'm not working with these women for weight management. It's the health benefits of eating this way because fiber detoxes your system. So it leads to fewer breakouts because if not, toxins could break out, you know, through skin eruptions. And when you eat a high fiber diet, it exits your body and leads to clear a brighter skin.

Also, the diet's very high in antioxidants. So strong nails, shiny hair. So there's this beauty component. But anyway, point being breakfast, four crackers. You can pair them with my new favorite product is this Greek cream cheese, which is it's called Greek cream cheese. It's Ricklin Farms. It's available at Target and other supermarkets,

but it's half the fat of traditional cream cheese and four times the protein. But if you're vegan, you can use the kite hills of vegan cream cheese, and then you could top it with a protein such as smoked salmon or the everything bakel seeds. So that's been a huge hit on social. You also can take these. dry cardboard crackers, which is how people think of them, and completely change your experience by pulverize them.

By pulverizing them in the blender and adding egg whites and some seasoning, you can make a pancake batter, a waffle batter, which would blow your mind. You feel like you're eating pancakes, but it's indigestible carbs. It's a fiber that is revving up your metabolism, keeping feeling full all morning long. There is no fat, very few calories, and it's binding with anything else that you're eating it with. So we have the recipes, and we're more than happy to share it with you on your pose, the waffle recipe, the pancake recipe, using the Gigi's as a topper. We'll leave this in the show notes, you guys.

My fear is that we're going to talk about these crackers and nobody's going to be able to find them. No, no, no, they're available on Amazon Whole Foods, but yes, probably. This cracker company better gear up. You would think I should have stock in this thing by now. But anyhow, I made the most delicious dish this week, and I love leftovers, especially for things like lasagnas or biscuits, things that actually get better each time you reheat them. So we made an eggplant parmesan where we took eggplants. slices and we dredge them in egg whites and then we dip them into these Gigi cracker breadcrumbs

that I seasoned with a little bit of Parmesan cheese, some Italian seasoning, some garlic powder. Then we bake them, make crispy eggplant slices, layered it with a, we did two because one of my kids doesn't like meat sauce. So we did one with just tomato sauce, one with a meat sauce, layered it with sauce, eggplant, ricotta cheese with seasonings, mozzarella, parmesan. And I'm more than happy to show you the picture. You got to give us this recipe so I can put on the block. These kids haven't made.

It was beyond. It sounds good. And for anyone who is a yonelette. mom out there. Understand, I do not impose any of this on my children. You lead by example. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. In fact, I always tell clients, do not over-police your kids. The houses are so overly restrictive. Those are the kids that leave their house and are picking out behind their parents back. So, you know, it is everything in moderation, but you do want to provide your kids with these healthier meals. But this dish was so outrageous and got better every

time I reheated it. I'm more than happy to share it with your viewers. And when you see the picture this, your mind will be blown away. And what's so funny is people don't realize that eggplant Parmesan is actually more fattening than chicken parmesan because eggplant typically is a sponge. It absorbs more oil. So this is such a healthy way of eating, like what is considered such like a fattening favorite food for many people. And of course, this exact same recipe can be made with chicken or veal cutlets. And you could do like a chicken palm or veal parm. So these crackers, and that's where it's getting so fun, is that a cracker that was traditionally used to replace bread, so people use it for sandwiches with turkey and musk.

Now that we have been able to pulverize it, and you don't even need a food processor just put into your blender. Now people are using it to bind meatballs to make crispy coatings. You could coat like zucchini slices and almost make like instead of fried zucchini chips, bake zucchini chips and dip into mariner sauce. Fiber has no calories. The more fiber you eat, the fully you feel, the more weight you can lose without hunger. And I could just keep saying that all day long.

But to really believe me, you need to do it. I mean, so just I say every client, you eat the F-F-F-F-F-Card. your way just one day where you can dine out for dinner. You can eat a sensible breakfast at home. You can go out and have cocktails. And people always say, so how many cocktails can you have? I'm like as many as you'd like. And I know that sounds crazy. But the idea is obviously drink responsibly, but I don't limit your alcohol intake. I limit what you can drink. You can drink wine and you can drink spirits. Stay away from the sugary mixers. But you could have a vodka soda. You give a tequila with lime juice. And the idea is you don't drink sensibly, one to four, I guess.

And that, you know, trying to drink every day, as I said. I'm not saying that there's health benefits to alcohol. You're just saying you don't have to take it out of your. For many of us, it is a quality of life. It's a social life. And studies have shown that, you know, a glass of alcohol a day actually lowers blood pressure, can lower cholesterol. So once again, everything in moderation.

And our clients love that they can drink alcohol on this. And that so many diets, it's like, oh, I had a cocktail. Oh, might as well have dessert because this is feast of famine mentality. Because our clients are dining at it and they're drinking alcohol from day one, they don't have the feelings of deprivation, denial that are associated with most diets. And I even want to talk about the word diet. It is probably one of the most misused words in the English vernacular. A diet is simply a pattern of eating for man or mammal.

If you look it up in the Webster's dictionary, that's the definition. That's why they're vegan diets. They're kosher diets. These diets have nothing to do with caloric restriction or weight loss. It's just a pattern of eating. F factor is simply a pattern of eating fiber and protein at every meal. The weight loss is a phenomenal byproduct of that. But I assure you, every single client who is here and losing weight, I tell each and

every one, the weight loss is a byproduct of teaching you how to eat to be as healthy as you can be. And when you eat healthfully, your body naturally will get to a healthy weight. People who are overweight, they didn't get there by eating carrot sticks and apples. They got there by a pattern of unhealthy eating habits, and that's why they have an unhealthy weight. As far as weight, how much weight do you see clients losing and how fast does it quickly? Quick, because it's slow?

It is so wildly effective. And it's because of our secret sauce, which is the fiber. The fiber makes the weight loss happen twice as fast because of the thermogenic effect. So most women lose 10 pounds in their first month and men lose 10 to 15. And unlike other low calorie diets, we're like, whoa, that sounds like a lot of weight. That probably slows down. People probably plateau or they gain the weight back. No, because we measure their basal metabolic rate at the beginning.

And we measure their basal metabolic rate, which is the amount of calories to burn at the ends. If you were to go on to a computer and any of your listeners can look up a BMR calculator, BMR basemabolic rate calculator, it will tell you today at your weight how many calories your body needs at rest. Say you're overweight or you want to lose 10, 20 pounds. Now we do the formula with that lower weight. And I guarantee the BMR is lower because the smaller you are, the less the less calories your body needs to maintain that weight. And that's the dirty secret of weight loss no one talks about. It's like, wait. So if I lose 20 pounds, I'm entitled to eat less. Like, why bother losing 20 pounds. F-factor diet is the only diet that actually boost your metabolism, that even though

our clients lose anywhere from 10 to 100 pounds, at the end of that, they actually have a higher base of metabolic rate because we're encouraging that they put on muscle and muscles more metabolically active, but because fiber is what was allowing the weight loss to happen without hunger and it was revving up the metabolism at every meal, like adding that cold to the furnace, our clients end up leaner with a higher BMR than when they first started. If this doesn't make everyone out, add chia seeds, G-G crackers, raspberries, and what's the other one? High-fiber cereal, broccoli, asparagus.

High-fiber cereal to your diet. Hopefully you bought enough crackers for me, Lernerner. Oh, great. Where can everyone find you? That was incredible. I have six more, like, questions, but I think I need to come back again to New York and we need to do this again.

Of my pleasure. I have so many questions. Because the one thing we didn't talk about that I think is the most disruptive thing, the most, I think the biggest groundbreaking news is exercise. And the beauty of exercise, and Megan Kelly said on her show the other day, In her book, I went to Tanya because as a busy professional, as a mom, I don't have time to exercise as much as I used to.

And I just want your listeners to understand that exercise is so important for so many reasons, but weight loss isn't one of them. And F F Factor allows you to lose weight weight without relying on the gym for weight loss. What you should work out for is to maintain muscle because ladies, beginning at age 30, we lose half a pound of muscle per year, and that's what's slowing down on metabolism and we store carbs in our muscles. But we'll save that for the next time. And for men, when does it slow down? Same at 30. They lose a pound of muscle per year.

So when everyone gains weight with age, we think it's the natural aging process and that we're supposed to get matronly and patronly. If we maintain our muscle mass and keep our net carbs low by eating the F-Factor way, you'll never gain weight. So we have clients who come here, and after going to the F-Factor program, they have a better body in their 40s than they did in their 20s. Wow. I can see that. Wow.

So for more information, they go to Factor.com. If you go to Amazon, we have two books, the Factor diet and the Miracle Carb Diet and bundled underneath that says products recently, bought with. You'll see the GG crackers, many of the other products that I recommend, the cereals, the bars that we recommend. So this really is a very lifestyle-driven program. This is not something that you go on and off. Like I said, the word diet, people say, oh, I'm going on a diet. Well, that means you can go off of a diet. So with F-factor, this is a way of life. It allows people to live their lives to the fullest. I always say with F-factor, the beauty is you look and feel your

best without compromising your lifestyle. If anything, you're enhancing it. Because many of our clients, they lead great lifestyles, but they're not, they're not at their best. Well, this resonates with me because I don't want to be in a situation where I can't live and do things that I want to do and go to have, and have meals I want to have. So this, of all the interviews we've had this one makes, in terms of diet and nutrition makes the most sense to me. We are going to do a part two with you. I promise, no, I promise that we're going to come back to New York and do a part two. She's like, no. No, I actually have like 20 more questions. I think we can do a whole podcast about exercise too. I want people to follow you on Instagram though

because I think that your Instagram story is unreal. So where can people find you on Instagram? So we have two Instagrams. Once again, my name is Tanya Zuckerbra and I am the founder. So you can follow me and that's just Tanya Zuckerbrot. And then we have a company Instagram called F Factor and that is run by our team here. And you see the recipes and you get to hear about the media and new studies.

So follow both because they're pretty different. but at their core, it is about living the F-F-Factor way, which ultimately, if I were to leave your listeners with one message, life is too short to suffer, right, which is why you don't want to give all these things up, but life is also too short to settle for mediocrity. And this journey, I would say F-factor, there's a higher message here. It's not just about losing weight or getting healthier. It's about the recognition that in life, A, you don't have to be a victim of circumstances so many people feel like, I don't know what to do anymore.

That's part three. That's another podcast. I like that. It really is about don't settle for mediocrity. Be the best you could be. if something's broken, a relationship, a job, try and fix it. If not, then you've got to move on. So if you're trying to lose weight, if you're relying on the gym, if you're starving, that's not working, it's time for something else. And hopefully F-actor, once you use this, and then you arrive at your ideal body weight

and you feel so liberated, all of a sudden you have this awareness, I don't have to settle anymore. Now that I've put all my efforts into this, and trust me, everything life is having comes with work, but also you have this epiphany that life is this journey, and every day is an opportunity to be better tomorrow than we were today. where all works in progress, but no one is stuck. You know, in this world where so much is out of our control, what we put into our bodies is 100% within our control. I know we feel that we're victims of circumstances. We live in an obisogenic environment.

Food is omnipresent. It's unhealthy. But ultimately, the fork is in your hands. So what's at the edge of that fork, that's up to you? An F-factor is a great teacher. We will school you. We will inspire you. We will provide you the tools and the tips and the solutions

to help navigate these challenging environments. so you, meaning you or your listeners out there, can be the very best that you can be. I'm inspired. Don't ever compare yourself to anyone. Be your personal best. My GG crackers are in my backpack. Michael's probably going to steal them. And also just so you guys know, there's also pumpkin seed GGs and raisin and honey Gigi's

sunflower. And then also, and I don't even know I just found this randomly, there's a Gigi cereal. Have you seen that? There's the sprinkles. So the sprinkles can be used instead of croutons. You can put those in your soup. You can use those in your salads. So if you can't get the sprinkles, all you do is put your GGs in the food processor and hit pulse a few times and it's the same product.

Thank you so much for being on. You guys follow Tanya. You can also find Tanya and Factor on my Instagram at the Skiny Confidential. I'm following both of them. So if you want to just find them quick, thank you guys for listening. And everything will be linked in the show next. And Tanya, you will be back. You have to come back because we got to do part two and thing.

Thank you for having me. Thank you for doing this. Just a few things before you guys take off. Do you want a short email from me? Tipsy Thursday is a quick email with lots of valuable information that includes five tips from me. So that will include my favorite song of the week, show, book, wellness tip, random tricks, and lots of easy beauty tips. It's super short, kind of like a skinny confidential app or tea for you. To check it out, go to the skinnyconfidential.com.

Click Lauren Everett's at the top and click subscribe. Just drop your email in the box and you will get the next one straight to your inbox. So happy reading. Secondly, let's do a quick giveaway to win a skinny confidential meal plan. Simply tell me your favorite part of this episode on my latest Instagram. And lastly, as always, if you rate and review the podcast, please, please screenshot it and email it to ask Lauren at the skinny confidential.com. That's Lauren with a Y.

And we will send you my five top beauty hacks straight to your inbox. Thank you for your attention. We love you guys and we hope you love this episode. This episode was brought to you by Thrive Market. Thrive Market is your one-stop shop for high-end, high-quality, and highly discounted groceries, supplements, beauty products, and household supplies. Thrive Market guarantees its customers 25 to 50% below retail on all items because it cuts out the middleman. Thrive Market is offering all TSC, him and her listeners, $60 in free groceries and free shipping with a one-month trial when you go to Thrive Market.

com slash skinny. Again, that's thrivemarket.com slash skinny. Happy shopping. Let me know what you guys got. I want to hear all about it. And we will see you next week.