STEP V: EAT REAL FOOD AS SOON AS YOUR CRAVINGS DISAPPEAR

What is real food? It’s high in protein (i.e. amino-rich) e.g. meat, poultry, eggs, cottage cheese, and fish, plus vegetables and good fats (avocados, nuts, olive oil, coconut oil, butter, glee). Carefully try whole carbs like beans, potatoes, whole wheat and fruit.

• Drop any of the higher carb foods if you can’t stop eating them, even on the aminos. Increase the amount of lower carb foods to compensate.
• Skip no meals! Keep healthy snacks on hand too so you don’t get hungry, get desperate, and eat junk.
• Stay lower in carbs if you have weight to lose. But not low in calories! That slows your metabolism, making permanent weight loss hard or impossible.
• Adults: Start lowering your amino doses when you’ve been craving-free and on a real-food diet for a few months. (Children can go off earlier.) If you get return cravings, just take your aminos again for a while.

ANTI-CRAVING DIET

Almost immediately after you start taking the amino acid supplements you need, you will want to start eating traditional, whole foods. Of course, amino rich protein needs to be at the center of that diet along with traditional fats, lots of vegetables, and other healthy carbs as needed.

No low-calorie dieting, as it can further starve your brain and slow your metabolism long term.

Note: Protein powders typically have poor amino balance, except for whey protein. (Only animal protein contains plenty of the complete amino array we need.) Adding a capsule of tryptophan to a plant protein powder may help since tryptophan is typically missing altogether (while whey protein contains 500 mg/serving).

AMINO AID WILL ONLY WORK IF YOU ALSO START AND KEEP EATING HEALTHFULLY