ONE
Always eat real, unprocessed food (buy free range, cage free, grass fed and/or organic whenever possible)
TWO
Eat lots of healthy fats- avocado, olive oil, coconut oil, etc all help you burn fat
THREE
Limit carbohydrate intake, especially processed ones. No bread/pasta/white potatoes/rice after lunch
FOUR
Practice Intermittent Fasting 3-4 times/week- NO calories after 6pm/NO calories before 9am, but it can be 7pm/10am respectively. (NB: coffee or tea can be consumed before 9am as long as it is consumed black…with one exception… coconut oil can be blended into either as it does not count as “calories” to the body)
FIVE
Sleep! 7-8 hours/night are necessary. Sleep should begin no later than 11pm (within the 10 o’clock hour is preferable)
SIX
Limit alcohol consumption to 3 days/week (and always keep it within reason)
SEVEN
Drink lots of water. Rule of thumb: drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water/day. (Additional recommendation: make the first thing you drink every morning a glass of water with ¼ of a lemon squeezed in)
EIGHT
Exercise a minimum of 4 days/week- ½ hour each day, cardio and/or weight training. If can add a 5th day, add 1 day stretching/yoga/pilates
NINE
Make one meal/day salad based, preferably at dinner
TEN
Have a detox green smoothie for breakfast 3-4 days/ week
My favorite green smoothie = two scoops Metagenics UltraClear Plus (a plant based protein powder), 1 tablespoon greens powder (Trader Joe’s makes a good one), 1 cup fresh spinach or kale (or ½ cup frozen), ½ banana, ½ cup berries (fresh or frozen), 1 tablespoon almond or sunflower seed butter, 1 tablespoon raw unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp coconut oil, 1/2 cup water, ½ cup unsweetened almond/coconut milk or coconut water, lots of ice
ELEVEN
Eat three healthy meals and two snacks/day (keeping your blood sugar stable helps cut cravings and limits poor food choices)
TWELVE
Snacks should be about 150-200 quality calories and look like: carrots and hummus, a small apple or ½ banana with 2 tablespoons almond/sunflower seed butter, 1 kind bar, 30 raw almonds/walnuts/cashews…
THIRTEEN
NO extra sugar or low calorie sugar alternatives (such as soda cookies, candy, etc.)
FOURTEEN
Treat yourself to ONE cheat day/week
FIFTEEN
Maintain a Positive Mental Attitude (PMA)- a good attitude goes a long way