A: I often describe developing the Fast Metabolism Diet like balancing a big equation with the outcome being the creation of an environment where the body can become a fat-burning wildfire. To get to this end result I put foods in three categories:

• those that have the most healing properties;
• those that are neutral and don’t necessarily help or hinder the repair process; and
• those that are a hinderance.

Not only did I have to make sure the diet contained food lists that were manageable  and evoked change, I also had to make sure these lists steered you away from food selections that I see are common in historical dieting.

For many of my clients (including all of you in my virtual community), the FMD isn’t your first time following some sort of a food plan to lose weight. Having a familiarity with diet plans often results in the migration toward certain foods, particularly low-glycemic fruits and vegetables. The tendency to select these same low-glycemic foods over and over again can result in a gray zone of glycemic levels being created throughout the FMD phases.

While many of these familiar food choices may be good for you, they don’t exactly deliver the micronutrients your body needs during the intensive healing process the FMD provides. Also, some of these food choices can stall the weight loss process.  And that’s definitely the case when it comes to bananas and grapes —  two of the most popular foods I’m asked to explain why they’re not on the program.

Bananas

There’s a lot to love about bananas, including their high potassium and fiber content. But they’re also very high on the glycemic index. When you put that together with the potassium, it can cause a problem for the body. That quick hit of the sugar and potassium combined increases your insulin levels so quickly that it prompts the body to store the sugar as fat instead of taking it up into the cells to be metabolized. If you remember, I come from an agricultural science background. Wanna guess what’s given to animals when you want to pack weight on them fast? The animals are given high-glycemic foods with a potassium supplement. On the FMD, weight loss is your goal so this combination of high-glycemic and potassium is the last thing you need.

Grapes

Grapes are another beloved fruit. They’re anti-inflammatory and rich in resveratrol (an antioxidant that shows great promise for fighting cancer). Grapes also aren’t on the FMD because, just like bananas, they are a high-glycemic food that makes it much harder for you to lose weight.

My goal with the FMD is to create an environment for repair and also to make the body as efficient as possible to burn stored fat and metabolize it for energy and fuel. When high-glycemic foods are in the mix, even though they are “foods that are good for you,” it can stall weight loss and hold up your body’s healing process that is begins when you embark on the journey to set your metabolism on fire.

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