Will potatoes, corn, fruit, bread and pasta make me gain weight? Take THE CARBO-CHALLENGE and see what happens to the scale when you eat only these supposed weight-gaining foods that you’re not supposed to eat!

In the blockbuster documentary, Supersize Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock nearly killed himself by eating only McDonalds three times per day, always supersizing the meal when asked if he would like to supersize the meal. 

He gained 25 pounds in just one month and destroyed his cardiovascular system. 

But these days you hear less about avoiding McDonalds and more about the dangers of certain other now-notorious foods – known for their DIABOLICAL weight-gaining effect. 

We’re talking about starchy, high-carb, high-sugar foods that you’ve been warned to steer clear from. 

Potatoes, pasta, bread, corn, oatmeal. 

Legumes (beans). 

And worst of all, fruit!

Since it doesn’t seem to be going away on its own, it’s time to put the anti-carb fad to the test!

Do these foods really cause weight gain? 

We are highly skeptical of the scientific soundness of the claim that these foods will make you fatter. 

In fact, we are certain that it is wrong. 

We’re so certain that we’re inviting one and all to join The Carbo-Challenge! Eat only these 12 foods that you’re not supposed to eat. Do it for 10 days; and see what happens!

Let’s experiment like Morgan Spurlock and see ‘how much weight we gain’ by eating ONLY these forbidden foods. 

If we’re wrong and the trendy health gurus are right, then people will gain substantial weight when eating ONLY these ‘terrible’ foods, and we will apologize and be quiet.

But there’s only one way to know the truth of the matter…

It’s The Carbo-Challenge!

Join the anonymous 10-day Carbo Challenge below and track what happens to the scale as you eat ONLY what we are calling the Diabolical Dozen of the trendy health movement. 

The idea here is that we want to collect a bunch of data and see how we, together, average out on our weight gain (or loss…?) over 10 days of eating only these foods. 

So… here’s the 10-day trial. 

Note: this is NOT the next fad diet. It’s NOT meant as a long-term lifestyle. There are many great foods that we are holding off on for 10 days. Again, it’s simply a 10-day trial limiting us only to the list of foods below – foods you’re ‘not supposed to eat’ because they make you fat.

One more thing. We’re gonna keep our eating to within an 8-hour period, i.e. eating only two meals per day. (This ‘intermittent fasting’ concept is one trending idea that is actually very smart and science-based.) 

OK, onto the ‘Diabolical Dozen,’ upon which we will solely subsist for 10 days – it’s like Morgan Spurlock gone carbo!

1. Fruit. We were incredulous when the advice started going mainstream to avoid all non-berry fruits! What!? Bananas and apples make you fat? Who said!? 

So, instead of eating ONLY berries for our fruits as they recommend, we’re going to indulge in an all-you-can-eat fruit buffet for breakfast every morning, focusing ONLY on the highest sugar-content fruits. (Sorry, berries, we’re on a break from you for 10 days; we’re only eating things you’re not supposed to eat.)

Eat to satisfaction those ripe bananas, apples, grapes, watermelon, cantaloupe, pears, mangoes, peaches, oranges, etc. 

Note: ‘EAT TO SATISFACTION’ does NOT mean feed the ‘appetite’ but simply to satisfy hunger.

Please eat TONS of sugar/carbs in their whole form in the fruit. No juice, no candy, no soda; in fact please drink only water for beverages on The Carbo-Challenge. 

So #1 is tons of fruit.

In addition to your all-you-can-eat fruit buffet, here’s our list of what you can eat on this trial – both at breakfast and your second meal.

2. Corn. No butter or anything on it; just corn with salt if you want. You’ve heard how bad corn is for you! Indulge. We recommend non-GMO or organic corn over conventionally grown. 

3. Whole Grain Bread. If you don’t have a gluten intolerance, enjoy as much wheat as you’d like.

Just bread, though. No bologna or mayo or hamburgers or cream cheese or anything at all that you typically put on bread. We believe bread is not a weight-gain food, but the stuff we put on it is. Test it out. Plain whole grain bread.

(OK, if you’re struggling eating just plain bread with no spreads or anything on the bread, there’s one cheat allowed – feel free to add a little…)

4. …jelly (preferably a kind without sugar on the ingredients list). Apple sauce would be even better as a spread, but if having a little bit of jelly will keep you on the 10-day trial, go for it.

5. Potatoes. Oh boy, those are really gonna make me fat! Taste and see. 

But do NOT fry them or add sour cream or butter or anything. 

Again, we believe potatoes are not a weight gain food, but it’s the stuff you put on them or cook them in that causes weight gain. Don’t take our word for it. Test it and see what happens. Maybe we’re wrong.

If you’re struggling to eat just baked potatoes with salt, the cheat you’re allowed here is to add some very mild salsa (no sugar or oil in the salsa!) and of course add to your potatoes some…

6. Beans. One of the most derided and despised foods at the moment. Enjoy! Beans go great in a big bowl of corn or on a steaming plate of baked potatoes. (See below for recipes if this gets too boring.)

7. Pasta – whole wheat or rice pasta, plain with salt. I’m sure you’ve heard pasta is the greatest offender to the waist line of all. Let’s see.

Again, if you need to cheat and put a little marinara sauce (must be oil-free… if you can find oil-free marinara), we’ll still include your results. We aren’t eating gourmet fare you’ve noticed, so just keep it simple but enjoy and chew thoroughly as much pasta as you want, to your heart’s content!

8. Brown Rice. 

9. Peas. 

10. Sweet Potatoes.

(Before continuing, yes we do love our avocado, kale, quinoa, and variety of veggies, nuts, and seeds, too; but for these 10 days we’re gonna just PAUSE on those awesome foods before coming back to them. The point of the trial – again, this is not a recommended diet, just a trial – the point of the trial is to eat only stuff you’re not supposed to eat to see what happens to the scale. So we can test the fads that say these 12 foods will make you fat. It won’t be easy, but you can do it!) 

11. Oatmeal! Lest we forget! It’s been said that oatmeal is such a bad food that “you’d be better off eating the box that the oatmeal came in!” Yes, that was actually said by a trendy health guru. (Let’s make The Carbo-Challenge contribute to ending the madness.)

But how are we gonna enjoy oatmeal without pouring Mrs. Butterworth into the bowl? Put some bananas in there to sweeten it up, and, of course, our final food, one of the greatest offenders of all, LOADED with that diabolical fruit sugar:

12. Raisins (and/or chopped dates). Love ’em! 

This is not medical advice. Consult your physician. Believe it or not, those with type-2 diabetes can do this trial, but only do so after watching this and consulting your physician. Again, this is not medical advice intended to diagnose, treat or cure anything. 

FAQ:

• IS THERE A COST ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICIPATING IN THIS TRIAL! No. It is free. You are helping us when you report your weight loss number at the end of your 10 days by providing us with a body of evidence to prove the point that fruits and grains and potatoes do not cause weight gain. It’s a win-win. You will almost certainly lose a little weight, will feel great… and subsequently you’ll feel free to enjoy these awesome foods, in addition to many others, forevermore. 

• IS THE 10-DAY CARBO CHALLENGE AN ACTUAL DIET TO LIVE ON PERMANENTLY? No. It’s great short term for the purpose of proving once and for all that these foods are not weight-gain foods. But long term there are many, MANY foods you would do well to reincorporate. We can walk you through that toward the end of the 10 days. Maybe some permanent changes will be helpful when you learn something through this trial and come out the other end feeling great about life and wanting to make other changes. But first you have to experience how well just The Carbo-Challenge works! 

• CAN I HAVE HERBS? Yes. In addition to the salt, add dry herbal seasonings, onion powder, garlic powder, etc. to your heart’s content.

• IT SOUNDS LIKE I MIGHT LOSE WEIGHT DOING THIS. ARE THERE OTHER BENEFITS ALSO? Yes. Depending on what your diet was like before, most participants will feel like a different person 7-10 days into this. Happier, more social, less irritable, more energy, sharper thinking, more patience, clearer spiritual discernment… try it.

• SHOULD I EXERCISE? Exercise is a great thing. For our 10 day trial to be accurate, ideally our participants will maintain the same level of physical activity that they had before the trial, so that we control for that as a potential weight loss variable, focusing solely on the impact of these foods on weight. If you’ve been super sedentary, though, we’re worried about you and do want you to go ahead and start a daily walk or a couple walks per day, which will help you with the brain battle to stay on the plan and won’t affect the data very much. And we can correct for that variable if we have to; it takes 35 miles to lose one pound; if you walk 35 MORE miles during the trial than you did in a typical 10 day period before the trial, then we’ll make the one-pound adjustment to the data. 

• WILL I BE MISSING OUT ON NUTRIENTS? It is true that there are important nutrients in nuts, seeds, vegetables, greens, etc. So consult your physician before doing this trial. Consider an iodine supplement and other supplements you feel you could benefit from. Load up on nuts, seeds, vegetables, and greens before the trial and after the trial. Keep in mind that people fast for 10 days on only water and do great. Use your own wisdom, research, and seek medical advice as needed. This is not medical advice. 

• CAN I EAT OTHER FOODS THAN FRUIT AT BREAKFAST? Yes. Remember that you’re eating only 2x per day, restricted to a maximum 8 hour time window from the beginning of one meal to the end of the other. Any of the listed foods can be eaten at either meal. We would like to see folks eat a ton of fruit at breakfast. 

• CAN I EAT MY CORN IN THE FORM OF CORNMEAL? Yes. Ground up corn is still just corn. Follow the same guidance above under the oatmeal section.

• SHOULD I LIMIT HOW MUCH I EAT AT THE TWO MEALS? Not really. Eat till you’re fully satisfied. Not stuffed, but satisfied. There’s no reason to eat like a bird in order to lose pounds. Dig in!

• SHOULD I COUNT CALORIES? No. Just eat only twice, only the foods listed, and eat till you are fully satisfied. Not stuffed, but satisfied.

• WILL I FEEL HUNGRY? If you’re used to eating more than 2x/per day it’ll take some time to train your stomach to not expect food as frequently. You’ll feel hunger occasionally. Tell yourself, “don’t eat now, you’ve got a BIG MEAL coming up!” (Even if that meal is breakfast the next morning.) Again, eat those two meals till you’re fully satisfied; don’t hold back. Enjoy!

• TIME-RESTRICTED EATING IS NEW TO ME. WHAT DO I DO WHEN I’M HUNGRY OR CRAVE SOMETHING? Drink water. Water in the belly and being hydrated helps a ton; more than you’d think. We recommend lots of water upon awakening in the morning. Drink a lot in the hour or two or three before a meal. Drink little or none at the meal, because you want to leave room in there for more food; eat a lot of food; just chew thoroughly. 

• DOES IT MATTER WHAT TIME I EAT MY TWO MEALS? We are restricting our meals to an 8-hour time window from the time you start your first meal to the time you finish your second meal. You can figure it out from there. We recommend going to bed at 9:00pm and starting the day with a lot of water, and not skipping breakfast. But we will count all the data that comes in regardless of what time of the day peoples’ two meals are.

• CAN I DRINK ALCOHOL OR CAFFEINE? These are a definite no-no. Part of the benefit of this simple diet is resetting the pleasure reward circuitry of the brain. That will be hard for the first few days; you’ll feel lower, but just wait… you will find way more happiness after 10 days of this, but we HIGHLY recommend that you do not mess that brain reset up by engaging in any addictive behaviors – nicotine, caffeine, alcohol, video games, pornography, etc. This is a good opportunity to kick the caffeine habit or other habits! Three days of misery and headaches earn a lifetime of freedom and a lot of money saved!

RECIPES and MEAL IDEAS

Here are some examples of easy meals to enjoy while on this challenge. Keep it simple and do not stress about having many different things to eat. Also, it’s okay to repeat something you like to eat over and over.

1. Rice and beans of any kind
2. Bean tacos – with corn tortilla
3. Baked potatoes topped with corn and beans and salsa
4. Chickpea stew over rice
5. Beans over toast
6. Brown rice with lentils
7. Lentil stew with bread
8. Mashed potatoes with gravy
9. corn tortillas stuffed with Oven roasted french fries with salsa
10. Sweet potato fries with rice and beans

RECIPES

Rice and beans

Ingredients

• 3 Cups Water
• 1 1/2 Cups Long-grain brown rice
• 19 Ounce Can Kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Cups Onion, chopped
• 1 Cup Mild salsa
• 1 Tsp Cumin
• 16 Ounce Can Whole tomatoes, chopped

Directions

Bring the water to a boil. Stir in the rice. When the liquid boils again, stir in the kidney beans, onion, salsa, and cumin; return to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the tomatoes. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

White beans

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Cups Vegetable broth
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Cup Corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 3 Cans White beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 Cups Fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 4 Ounce Can Chopped green chilies
• 1 Tsp Chili powder
• 1/2 Tsp Cumin
• 1/4 Tsp Smoked paprika
• 1/8 Tsp Crushed red pepper

Directions

Place 1/2 cup of the broth in a large pot. Add onion and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, until onion is soft. Add corn, beans, tomatoes, chilies, and seasonings. Mix well. Bring to a boil, cover partially, and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  

Serve over baked or roasted potatoes, whole grains, or rolled up in a tortilla. This is also wonderful served in a bowl with some fresh bread on the side.

Refried beans

Ingredients

• 1 Yellow onion, chopped
• 3 Cups Cooked pinto beans (or 2 cans drained and rinsed)
• 3/4 Cup Water
• 1/2 Tbsp Garlic granules

Directions

Place a non-stick pan or stainless steel saucepan over low-medium. Add onion and jalapenos. Cover with a lid to keep the moisture in the pan. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking. After 5 minutes transfer the onion and jalapeno to a blender. Add beans and water to the blender. Blend until beans have a creamy consistency.

Transfer the blended bean mixture to a saucepan. Cook on low-medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Careful not to turn the heat too high because air pockets will form, pop, and splash pinto beans. The beans will thicken as they cook – the cooking time will depend on your desired consistency. Serve in tacos or as a side dish.

Black beans

• 15-ounce Can of Black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 Cup Fresh salsa
• 3/4 Cup Frozen corn kernels, thawed
• 1/4 Cup Fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Place all the ingredients except the cilantro in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat, cover, and cook for about 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the cilantro, if desired, let rest for 1 minute, and serve.

Hint: This also makes a wonderful topping for brown rice, or for a simple recipe variation, add about 3/4 cup of cooked brown rice to the bean mixture about 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time. This recipe adapts well to precooking: double the recipe, cook ahead of time, refrigerate half for use within the next 2 days, and freeze the remainder for later use.