10 Keys to Success

Okay, so if I was asked to make a list (in order of priority) that are absolutely essential to success, this is what I would choose:

10: Detox drink. Either lemon and hot water or Organic Apple Cider Vinegar and water. Keeps you cleansed and happy. Lots of benefits to both drinks. Once in the morning and once in the evening.

9: Drink Green Tea. Lots of green tea. Anytime you feel hungry and you are not scheduled to eat, drink green tea. Hot, cold...doesn't matter. I prefer decaf.

8: Weigh yourself daily. This is a hot button issue and is NOT for everyone. If you are going to jump on the scale, see your weight increase by .2lbs from the day prior and go eat cake in disappointment while crying, then it isn't for you. So take a minute to hear me out about why I feel this is so critical.... Weighing yourself allows you to learn your body's patterns. How quickly/slowly do you typically lose weight? Are you making progress toward your goal? Is your gain from muscle gain (the good gain)? Is your gain from a pattern of poor choices, sodium intake or water weight? Will your gain drop back off? If so, what happened in your day that could have led to the drop? Was it a sustainable loss? In order to see the patterns and really gain an understanding of my body I have a line graph I create. It is taped right above my scale on the wall. Everyday, I plot a new dot on the chart that illustrates a loss or a gain. It has a trend line and I try to make my goal to stay under the line. Gains are not bad...they help with reflection. Again, this is not for everybody.

7: Internal Dialogue. It is very important that you keep this geared toward motivation and positivity. You are going to have this internal dialogue no matter what. I notice a difference of WHEN my dialogue comes depending on how I am eating. If I am eating poorly, my dialogue comes after I eat and in very destructive and discouraging patterns. If I am eating clean and seeing results, it comes before I eat, multiple times a day, encouraging me to stay the course.

6: Workout. You have to remember that 70% of your losses will come from the kitchen. 30 % comes from well plan, productive workouts. But this is more than just numbers on the scale. They gym does accelerate possible weight loss, but it also helps you stay in the game mentally. It is very therapeutic. I was always that person who HATED the gym. I found that the key was finding what you are into in at the gym. For me that was lifting and Zumba.

5: Log your meals. This could be handwritten but I would recommend that you get an app. This keeps track of your calories and has a data base for most foods. This also helps you reflect.

4: Know what your portions look like. For me, this was a long process of measuring and logging EVERYTHING. I still feel like I need to go back to that from time to time but now, I just eyeball my portions and log them according to my estimate. This will vary based on where you are in your learning process.

3: Write out your meals for the week before you go into the week. Make a plan. Most important part of your plan? Eat 5-6 times per day, 3-4 hours apart: Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner, Late Night Snack (Not after 8pm). Keep these meals small/within your calorie range. EAT ALL OF OUR CALORIES. If you do not your body will go into starvation mode and store fat, which means NO WEIGHT LOSS FOR YOU. Eat as clean as possible.

2: Reflect. Don't get down on yourself because of mistakes you make the prior day or week. Reflect on what went wrong and why. Analyze the pattern of your mistakes and adjust to them. For example, if I am meal planning for the week, and think back on my week and notice that I was eating random sweets from the candy jar multiple times a week after lunch, I identify that I have a need for sweets after lunch. So I may make a dairy free, sugar free cookie for after lunch to curb that craving that is a fraction of the calories. This part is fun for me.

...And for the most important Key to Success...

1: #mealprepSunday. Invest time to prepare your meals for the week. Every Sunday cook, portion and package your breakfast, snacks and lunch. I cook and freeze my dinners monthly.

#Mindset.....You can do it! 

I will take one key per day and elaborating on them for any who are interested in knowing more about any of these.