Mario Lopez - Extra Lean Family: Get Lean and Achieve Your Familys Best Health Ever

GET LEAN AND ACHIEVE YOUR FAMILYS BEST HEALTH EVER A CELEBRA BOOK Celebra
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80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England Published by Celebra, an imprint of New American Library,
a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright Via Mar Productions, Inc., 2011
All rights reserved All photos courtesy of Michael Darter, except the photo facing page 1 courtesy of the author.
Food Styling: Food CrewJeff Parker and Lisa Barnet CELEBRA and logo are trademarks of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. p. cm. cm.

ISBN: 978-1-101-53711-4
1. Weight loss. 2. Nutrition. 3. 4. 4.

Lopez familyHealth.
I. Pea, Jimmy. II. Title.
RM222.2.L5758 2011
613.25dc22 2010053460 Set in Din PUBLISHERS NOTE
The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

Publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the authors rights is appreciated. To the most important women in my life
Mom, Marissa, Mazza, and Gia Francesca
for teaching me everything I know about food and love.

Y OU CARE ABOUT your family and you want them to be healthy, energetic, and live life to the fullest.

Thats what Extra Lean Family is all about. My last book, Extra Lean , introduced a foolproof plan that radically changes the way you eat. That plan revolves around three simple yet effective rules designed to turn your body into a fat-burning machine: 1) balance your daily intake of carbs, protein, and fat; 2) practice proper portion control; and 3) eat frequently throughout the day. Extra Lean teaches you how to eat the right balance of foods, at just the right times and in the correct portions, to achieve a healthy weight by burning unwanted fat and calories more efficiently. Following this lifestyle even allows you to indulge occasionally without sabotaging your diet or gaining weight. You no longer feel inclined to binge on holidays or weekends, because you already eat the foods you love.

Although I live by the principles of Extra Lean every day, I wasnt raised on them. In fact, I was an overweight baby and basically looked like a mini version of the Michelin tire man. But the story of how I got so big is actually not based on the fact that I was gaining too much weight early on. Instead, my initial problem was that I was losing weight! To make matters worse, the doctors had no idea why and what was causing this rapid weight loss. Their only diagnosis was a failure to thrive. My parents were so convinced that I might not make it, a priest even came in to bless me.

In desperation, my terrified father drove me south of the border to seek out a Mexican bruja thats a sort of witch doctorto help bring me back to good health. This woman mixed up some sort of concoction from different herbs and liquids. To this day, I still dont know what it was. Unbelievable as this may sound, her magical brew worked! I started gaining weight right away. Pretty soon I had huge rolls of fat all over my bodya sure sign of a healthy baby in my mothers loving eyes! She still loves to tease me about how she used to have to separate the folds of skin with her fingers to bathe me, because I was such a big baby. As I grew into childhood, I kept eating for pleasure and developed a real passion for food.

I ate everything from Mexican favorites like my grandmothers enchiladas to my moms meatloaf and her favorite pasta dishes. My parents taught me to love food, but my Mexican upbringing meant that I didnt necessarily eat the healthiest foods I could. Luckily, my mother realized that I was the kind of child who needs lots of activities to burn off energy. As I started elementary school, she began signing me up for activities at the Boys and Girls Club. It was through this organization that I got into wrestling and other sports, and my mentors were always involved in helping me take joy in being physical and competitive. By high school, I was a wrestling champion and much more conscious of eating healthy foods for energy instead of just devouring whatever was around.

As an actor, too, I realized that being fit was part of my profession. I had to look and feel good to get new roles and succeed at the challenges presented to me. By about age eighteen, I had my own apartment and finally started cooking for myself. I was big on breakfast foods. I made scrambled eggs and put everything I had in the refrigerator into those eggs, from vegetables to cheese. I was a fan of the grill too, and grilled pretty much everything I ate for supper: fish, steaks, pork chops, and even grilled cheese.

The problem was that, because I was so busy and so anxious about being less fit than I could be, I stuck to the same boring routine of eggs, lean meats, and vegetables. In a way, I still struggled to find that balance between enjoying food and staying in shape. When it came down to it, I didnt want to sacrifice the food I loved to look good. As I learned more about my body and nutrition, I realized that by keeping my metabolism running at a maximum efficiency, calories kept coming off. And the key wasnt necessarily exercise; it was food. When I incorporated optimal combinations of daily nutrients, watched my portion sizes, and ate frequent small meals, my body was in a constant state of burning fat.

As long as I followed these principles, I was able to enjoy all kinds of food without ever feeling guilty. My approach to food changed my life. I was living Extra Lean . My parents taught me to love food The same year that Extra Lean was published, I became a father. As I held my beautiful daughter, Gia Francesca, for the first time, I understood that every life choice I make from now on will affect my child. Children look to the people who care for them to find their way in the world.