Prep Week -- Diet starts week from today!

Okay everyone, today is one-week out from the full-on, no excuses start to our 28-day diet. It's actually more of a jump start to a lifestyle change! Here's the plan to start today:

1. Get out your diet journal. Write down your goals, and your affirmations so you can re-read them later for encouragement. Write down your starting weight, your last cholesterol level (our goal is "under 150"). Don't forget to write down how you are feeling now.

2. Plan your exercise. We're going to be moving everyday, what are you going to do the first week? Plan on a minimum of 20 minutes a day to start. What are your exercise goals?

3. Don't buy any food that we'll be throwing away later in the week. We're going to have a refrigerator clean out next weekend. Plan accordingly!

4. Start reading. The Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn, and Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman are our guideline diets. What I'll be posting is a blend of these two plus other related eating plans. This gives us variety and simplicity. Here are a couple websites to check out: www.fatfreevegan.com and www.engine2diet.com

5. Brace yourself for naysayers and saboteurs. For some reason people want to try and interfere with your plan to get healthy and lose weight. Mostly it comes from them being unhappy with themselves and unwilling to make changes. Recognize it when you see it and and don't let them derail you. Be on guard! Prepare yourself for "But what about protein?" with this "If plan proteins can grow elephants and rhinoceroses, I'll be fine." And it's true!

6. Understand the rules. We'll be focusing on what we CAN eat and not what we can't, so stay positive! But to be crystal clear:

NO animal products of any kind. This includes: meat chicken fish dairy cheese milk mayo eggs. Any questions just ask me.

NO processed foods. We'll be eating fruit, vegetables and whole grains. It's easy to recognize whole grains...read the label, they use the word "whole".

Also understand that we'll be grocery shopping twice a week, due to the fact we'll be eating fresh fruits and vegetables.

Your homework until next blog: Go ahead and buy the following things, and try my Best Smoothie Ever now. You'll need: spinach, pref. baby and organic, ripe bananas, blueberries (frozen or fresh), almond milk, ground flax seeds (optional this week but you'll need them for next week) and cocoa powder. Grab a big handful (about a cup loosely packed) and smoosh it down in the blender, add a banana, and about 2/3 cup of blueberries, sprinkled cocoa and flax seeds on top,and pour in a cup of almond milk. I keep a 1/2 cup of water (or crushed ice) handy in case I need more liquid. Then blend and enjoy! Makes a lot, and it keeps me satisfied until lunch.
By the way, buy a large bunch of bananas so they will be good and ripe in a few days. Then we'll freeze them so they are sweet and frozen in time for next week's smoothies. How's that for planning ahead?? I can't wait to hear your comments.