The 3x1® and 2x1® Diet: the simple method for eating without bans

If you've tried diet after diet and your body just won't respond, it isn't because you lack willpower. Almost always, it's because one piece of information was missing — about how your body actually works. And that piece has a name: the 3x1^® Diet.

It isn't one more diet built on bans. It's a lifestyle, a simple way of organising your plate that anyone can learn. There are no forbidden foods here. Just proportions that make sense.

Your body is an engine, and food is the fuel

Think of your body as an engine that works all day long. As with any engine, what matters isn't only how much fuel you put in, but what kind of fuel it is. Some fuel the body uses well, and some forces it to work overtime.

The key is a hormone called insulin. When you eat certain foods, the body produces a lot of insulin; when you eat others, it produces little. And here's what matters: the body only stores excess fat when there's an excess of insulin. So the goal of eating well isn't to go hungry — it's to keep insulin in balance.

Type A foods and Type E foods

Frank Suárez simplified all of this into two easy-to-remember groups. Instead of complicated tables, you only need to tell two kinds of food apart:

• Type A foods (the ones that SLIM you down). They trigger little insulin reaction in the body. Your body handles them calmly.
• Type E foods (the ones that put weight ON). They trigger a lot of insulin reaction. They're not forbidden, but they're best kept to the small part of the plate.

Type A — the base of the plate:

• Meat, chicken, turkey, fish and seafood.
• Eggs and cheese.
• Vegetables and salads.
• Good fats like avocado, olive oil and nuts.

Type E — the small part of the plate:

• Bread, rice, pasta and flour-based foods.
• Potato, banana and corn.
• Sugar and sweets.
• Soft drinks and juices.

How the 3x1^® Diet works

The rule is so visual you don't have to count anything. Picture your plate split into four equal parts:

• Three quarters of the plate, Type A foods (the ones that slim you down).
• One quarter, Type E foods (the ones that put weight on).

That's it. Three portions of Type A for every one of Type E. No weighing, no counting calories, no giving up what you love. You simply change the proportion of what's already on your table.

And the 2x1^® Diet?

The 2x1^® Diet is the maintenance version. Here the plate is split into three: two thirds Type A and one third Type E.

Because it carries a slightly higher proportion of Type E, the body produces a little more insulin than with the 3x1^®. That's why it's usually used once you've reached your goal and want to maintain it, while the 3x1^® is the one used when the aim is to slim down. You choose the proportion depending on where you are.

We're not all the same: excited and passive metabolism

Here's the nuance almost nobody tells you. There's no universal "balanced diet", because we don't all have the same body. You'd have to ask: balanced for whom?

In the NaturalSlim System^® we talk about two types of metabolism:

• Excited metabolism: the system in charge of "fight or flight", always revved up.
• Passive metabolism: the system in charge of relaxing, resting and digesting.

The ideal state for any of us is balance between the two. Knowing your dominant type lets you fine-tune your food choices within the 3x1^® Diet — for example, which proteins suit you best. That's why the same plate rule adapts to each person.

Diet is only one of the factors

The 3x1^® Diet is decisive, but on its own it isn't everything. It's part of a wider system with four factors that work together:

• Knowledge about how your metabolism works.
• Nutrition suited to your metabolism type (the 3x1^® Diet).
• Hydration, rest and movement that support the body every day.
• The guidance of a Certified Metabolism Consultant™, who adapts all of this to your specific case.

Hydration matters: a simple habit is drinking water steadily throughout the day. Movement adds up too — better in intervals and little by little than all at once. And rest closes the circle, because it's at night that the engine does its maintenance.

Knowledge is power

The magic of the 3x1^® Diet isn't in banning, but in understanding. Once you grasp why it works, you stop fighting with food and start making decisions that make sense for your body. You didn't fail with the other diets — you were simply missing this information.

If you'd like to see how the 3x1^® Diet fits into a complete plan for your metabolism, you can explore the NaturalSlim Personal Program. And if you'd rather have someone adapt it to your situation, at NaturalSlim Europe you have a team of Certified Metabolism Consultants — free to get started — ready to guide you step by step.