Get Lean Program 12-week program completed!

This last month of my Get Lean Program, I have lost another 1.4kg that gives me a total loss of 4.5kg over the 12-week period.

I have started more challenging workouts at Intermediate Level and added more weights for resistance exercises. I am becoming leaner & fitter.

I am now 63.5kg, but I still need to work harder to get smaller improvements & eventually get down to 60kg. I also have to train extra, because at the end of June 2012 I have this challenge where I want to be able to do more full push-ups than my husband!

I managed to overcome my ‘plateau’ and as recommended by Belinda, I now need to have a short break before starting the program again.

I am taking an ‘active break’ for 2 weeks:
 - Exercise: Yoga & Pilates, and leisure walking/cycling/swimming with my family
- Nutrition: Eating more raw food including a 7-day detox with Renee from Raw Chi Food

I can’t wait to start Get Lean Program again, there is still a lot more from it I can get out of and I want to move to the Advanced Level workout program before the end of the summer.

I get one-2-one coaching from Belinda electronically, she is fantastic: although she is in Panama & I am in the UK, she always responds promptly to my questions. The Get Lean Forum is also a great community of like-minded people supporting & communicating with each other!

I finally found a nutrition & exercise program that works: The Get Lean Program.

Check my next post where I will give you my raw food detox experience!

Do follow me on Twitter @valeriemyburgh to see my progress and hopefully get inspiration from my journey!

Get Lean Program Acceleration Phase: 2nd Month completed!

Sorry it has taken me so long to write this update... you probably thought that like the majority of people I’d already gone off my ‘diet’ plan & gave everything up?!

But not at all! I really love the Get Lean Program and the impact it is having on my life, my health and the positive side effect it is having on the rest of my family’s diet!  

It has been a strange & busy month so it was tough to stay focussed, I had to prioritise and writing is not that easy for me... I had a few wobbly days there & then, I didn’t lose as much in weight as I would have hoped, but the shape of my body has clearly improved. I have lost 3.1 kg within the 2 months I have followed the Get Lean Program. You might not be impressed by this weight loss progress, so I am taking all the courage I have to show you the differences in these pictures:

         22 Aug 2010          15 Jan 2012                        22 April 2012

Now, I know I don't look like a top model & the pictures are not the best quality (some of them were even taken by my 4-year-old daughter!), but I just had the guts to show you my transformation so far & what I look like...it gives me even more motivation to work hard & have better pictures to show next time!

As I told you last month, Belinda Benn has re-launched her site & upgraded her program to workout video downloads & more personal coaching access... so I jumped over to the new improved program. The workout seemed more challenging to me, so I followed the Beginner level half-way through to familiarise myself and improve my technique.

Just started month 3 that is Peak Phase and I am moving to the Intermediate level workout. Because I am now at the weight where I usually ‘plateau’, Belinda suggested a specific weekly workout plan for me to follow & try overcome this ‘plateau’! I am doing well so far and bought some heavier weights to be able to work harder and with ‘proper tools’.

I am sure I will be proud to post so more improved pictures of myself at the end of the month (22 May 2012 will be 3 months worth of the Get Lean Program) to show you that the Get Lean Program does work and I hope that it will inspire you to give it a try too...

At the end of the program and as suggested by Belinda, I will take 1/2-week-break from the workout plan and re-do the 12-week-plan again. The nutrition plan is fantastic, my husband & children find the meals delicious...so for us it will be just continuing to eat a normally healthy & nutritious diet. My fitness will have dramatically improved, so I will eventually move from the Intermediate to Advanced workouts... exciting!!

Do follow me on Twitter @valeriemyburgh to see my progress and hopefully get inspiration from my journey!

Get Lean Program Momentum Phase: 1st Month completed!

This first month was the Momentum Phase and it has been amazing! My motivation did not fell me and I only had 3 days where I didn’t workout: 1 day was my birthday, 2^nd day was Mother’s day & the 3^rd day was during a crazy weekend!

I can see some definition on my arms & legs. I am starting to see a glimpse of my abs too! I made sure I regain good night sleep and have now more energy than before...

The nutrition plan has not only been good for me but also for the rest of my family: my husband & children love Belinda’s recipes and found them really tasty. Following the nutrition plan has helped me to be more organised in the kitchen and overall improved my time management!! 

	Start	Now	Difference
Weight	68kg	65.8kg	-2.2kg
Full press-ups	3	7	+4
Knee press-ups	34	42	+ 8
Tricep bench dips	33	27	-6
Plank (seconds)	30s	51s	21s

I have exciting news about the Get Lean Program: Belinda has now re-launched her site and upgrade the E-book version of Get Lean Program into one that includes workout video downloads with Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced levels: this will help a lot, particularly for those who are not confident exercising by themselves. I bought the upgrade yesterday and I am so excited as I will be sure to improve my technique & challenge myself to higher level of fitness!

Month 2 is Acceleration Phase and I should see more weight loss thanks to a more efficient metabolism. I need to make sure sleep is a key priority, as I have now started to have my daily workout between 5 & 6 am!

Overall I am confident I am on track to achieve my end goals...

Do follow me on Twitter @valeriemyburgh to see my progress and hopefully get inspiration from my journey!

The Benefits To Models From the Mediterranean Diet

Three Factors Relating to Beauty and the Med Diet Regimen
While it is important for fashion and fitness models to maintain their chiseled and attractive looks, many other men and women are also concerned with their appearances. Therefore, many people in different parts of the world oftentimes find themselves trying to learn more about what fashion and fitness models do to maintain their looks and appearances.
When it comes to discerning what a fashion or fitness model does to look their best, their regimens normally encompass three routines:

• cosmetic
• fitness
• dietary

In the 21st century, a growing number of fashion and fitness models are relying on the Mediterranean diet as part of their dietary routines. There are three primary reasons why these fashion and fitness models are relying on the Mediterranean diet to keep them in top notch condition.
The Med Diet Assists in Weight Management
It goes without saying that fashion and fitness models are concerned - some would say 'obsessed' - with their weight. We live in a day and age where being in good physical shape matters on many levels.
Right or wrong, many societies the world over place a great deal of importance on a person's ability to be able to maintain a healthy weight. This emphasis on being thinner transcends the obvious health issues associated with avoiding becoming or staying overweight.
When it comes to keeping weight down, many health conscious fashion and fitness models do turn to the Mediterranean diet as opposed to the fad diet schemes that gain so much media attention all of the time. Through the Mediterranean diet, these fashion and fitness models are able to control their weight but do not have to sacrifice their health in the process.
The Mediterranean Diet Fosters Great Looking Skin
When it comes to pursuing a career as a fashion or fitness model, skin care and skin appearance is absolutely vital. Scientific research in the past thirty years has conclusively demonstrated that there is a definite connection between the appearance of a person's skin and his or her diet.
When it comes to skin care and appearance, many people have come to appreciate the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Because the diet includes a selection of food items that are rich in anti-oxidants, the Mediterranean diet is proven to assist in maintaining youthful looking skin.
Anti-oxidants work to neutralize the negative effects of free radicals. It is the presence of free radicals in a person's system that causes skin to age prematurely.
The Med Diet is a High Energy Regimen
Fashion and Fitness modeling are demanding careers. In order for a person to succeed in either one of these occupations, it is important for that person to have the energy level necessary to satisfy a very demanding schedule.
Because the Mediterranean diet is a well balanced regimen, it works to provide a person with a plentiful supply of energy. Drawing calories from a wide range of healthy foods, a person who follows the Mediterranean diet finds his or her self energetic and able to meet the demands of even a very full schedule. Here's were you can see download my eBook and several free bonuses.

I’m Really Overweight-Help Me Lose Weight

I remember being overweight, and desperate to find a solution to help me lose weight. After a few failed attempts, I finally dropped the weight and I’ve managed to keep it off for years. So how did I do it? Since that darned magic pill didn’t work, I had to lose the weight the old fashioned way. I committed myself to the cause, ate healthy and got off my hump and exercised. If I can do it, so can you.

Whip Your Eating Habits into Shape

We live in a nation of processed foods. The result of this is a skyrocketing population of fluffy adults and children. When you’re overweight, you are at risk for diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and other illnesses that can reduce your quality of life and send you to an early grave.
If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it ten thousand times: processed foods are no good. Do yourself a favor and boot these items out of your diet. Replace them with healthier, natural foods like fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh fish, lean meats, poultry, beans, legumes, seeds and raw nuts.
Don’t delude yourself into thinking you can change your poor eating habits overnight. Keep in mind, bad eating habits are easy to develop, but they’re not as easy to change. It helps if you start small by making gradual tweaks to your diet.
For instance, you might make it a point to trade in your morning doughnut for a bowl of oatmeal, a piece of nitrate/nitrite free bacon and some fresh fruit. If you eat out everyday, scale back, and commit to preparing healthy, low-cal meals at home at least twice a week.
On the days you eat out, replace a few unhealthy foods with healthier menu choices. For instance, instead of ordering a bag of chips or a side of fries with you sandwich, opt for a small salad. Continue to make small dietary changes every couple of weeks until your poor eating habits are a thing of the past.

Get Up and Get Moving

When you’re trying to whittle your waistline, it’s all about the burn, baby. Once you remove all of the processed junk from your diet, you’ll automatically reduce your caloric intake and lose weight. However, if you don’t do something to set that metabolism on fire, it will slow down and you won’t see any additional weight loss results.
You don’t have to take the “whole hog” approach to exercising to see results. The most important thing is that you do something to get your body moving. Jump up and down for 10 minutes or take a stroll around the block – if it’s more physical activity than you normally get, you’re good.
Of course, as your fitness level improves, you’ll have to add to your exercise routine to keep those weight loss results coming.

Get Committed to Your Healthy Eating Plan

When we talk about losing weight, we always tackle the nutrition and exercise side of things. Let’s talk for a bit about the commitment dropping weight requires. Losing weight and keeping it off is hard work; it requires some serious lifestyle changes.
There are going to be times when you feel discouraged and disappointed, and days when you experience setbacks. If you’re committed – and I mean really committed, you’ll be able to pull yourself up, dust the cake crumbs off, and press on. If you’re not ready to dig your heels in and put in the work, you’ll be disheartened by the results.
Losing weight with proper nutrition and exercise can make you feel healthier and produce lasting results. Watch this video to learn how The Diet Solution Program can help you lose the fat and keep it off for good. If this program could help me lose weight, you can do it, too!

Squeezing Healthy Meal Plans into a Hectic Life

Just like a lot of you guys, I’m super busy. There are things I just don’t have time to do. However, no matter how hectic my life gets, I always make time for healthy meal plans. Is it easy? Not always. But good health is something I value; so the extra time I put into planning and preparing wholesome meals is well worth it. No matter how rushed life gets, you too can find time for good nutrition.

Plan Your Menus Ahead of Time

Instead of playing mealtimes by ear, plan your menu a week in advance. Weekly menu planning only takes a few minutes, but it can make working healthy meals into your life a lot easier. You can create a simple menu template on your computer or you can take a blank sheet of paper, divide it into sections and write down your meals and snacks for the week.
Some of you might find it more convenient to use a dry erase board for menu planning. There’s no right or wrong way to create a menu. It’s all about what works best for you. The only stipulation is that the meals you plan must be nutritious (no processed foods allowed). Once you finish making your menu, stick it on the refrigerator or somewhere else that’s visible.

Get Your Grocery Shopping Done in One Swoop

Preparing for Healthy Meal Plans. Plan a Menu, and Impulse Buys Will Be Thwarted.

You’re more likely to stick with a nutritious meal plan if you don’t have to make a mad dash to the grocery store everyday. Use your preplanned menu to make a list of all the foods you need to prepare your meals. Designate one day a week for grocery shopping so you can get it over with.
Take your list with you to the store so you won’t forget anything. No more running back and forth to the market because you forgot important ingredients. Using a list also helps you stay on track and reduces the temptation to fill your buggy with cookies, chips and other junk.

Prepare Extra Food and Keep Meals Simple

Prepare more food than you need for one meal so you can have leftovers for the next day. For instance, instead of preparing half of a chicken for dinner, go ahead and pop the whole thing into the oven. When you get ready to eat the leftovers, simply heat them up. Cooking enough for more than one meal reduces your time in the kitchen and makes mealtimes less taxing (take it from the queen of leftovers).
Gourmet meals are nice (and yummy), but they’re overrated. Unless you’re throwing a fancy dinner party, the meals you prepare don’t have to bear any resemblance to a gourmet meal. If you enjoy cooking this way, it’s perfectly fine. But if you’re short on time, quick dishes like salads topped with boiled eggs or salmon work for any meal.
When you live life at record speed, sticking to a nutritious meal plan can be tough. However, if you want to lose weight and improve your health, squeezing time out of your busy day to plan and prepare wholesome meals is important. Give the tips above a try – they just might work for you.
Want a jump start on healthy meal plans? The Diet Solution Program can help. Don’t spend another day with a diet that takes up all of your time!

New Study shows Mediterranean Diet To Be Great For Weight Loss And your Heart

Known as the heart health diet, the Mediterranean Diet soon became popular, but its role may be changing. In the 1960s it was discovered that some people in the Mediterranean, particularly those from Crete, had a significantly longer life expectancy than people elsewhere in the world. Their diet, which is high in vegetables, meat, pasta, beans, cereals, olive oil and wine, seemed to have the ability to protect them from heart disease and stroke.
Today though, it may become known as a weight loss diet. Spanish Researchers studying the eating habits of 1,547 men and 1615 women aged 25-74, recently found that the more closely subjects followed the diet, the lower their body fat levels became. This was surprising, because, in other studies it had been seen that Mediterraneans were not exactly slim and that contrasted sharply to the usual expectation that if you're fat, you're more likely to die of a stroke or heart attack.
The Mediterranean diet, is lower in foods like pastas, cheese, red meats, milk and lard than a common European diet, which some believe account for the difference in longevity. But sticking to lower glycemic carbs like the beans and cereals also causes a lower insulin response which is linked to the storage of fat in our bodies. Low carb advocates say that the Mediterranean diet works even better when its modified to lower the carbs, believing it will speed up the fat loss while continuing to provide the positive heart benefits.
So get the best of both worlds. Eat like Crete, with a low carb twist. And speed your way to quick weight loss and a long healthy life.
Karen Wild is an author and contributing writer for the popular www.healthy-low-carb.com an online information source for low carb diets, free low carb recipes, diet basics, books, product reviews and informative up to date dieting research. Here's were you can see download my eBook and several free

Diet Plans to Lose Weight Need Not Be Complicated

With all of the conflicting information about nutrition, it’s no wonder people give up on their diet plans to lose weight after only a few days. Dropping weight can feel like an uphill climb, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Don’t let others make the process more complicated than it actually is.
Don’t get me wrong, losing flab certainly has it challenges (trust me, I’ve been there). I’m simply saying if you’re armed with the right information, slimming down is not as hard as it seems. If you boot all the processed foods out of your diet and replace them with nutrient-dense, natural foods, you’ll lose weight and feel healthier before you know it.

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables

Adding a variety of fresh fruits and veggies to your daily diet can help you get the vitamins and minerals you need to support important functions of the body. For instance, calcium helps support bone health. Vitamin C helps the immune system thrive. B vitamins work to ease stress, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. And vitamin A supports healthy vision and skin.
Fruits and vegetables are rich sources of complex carbohydrates and fiber. Carbs are important because they provide fuel for the body. Fiber regulates the bowels and expands in your stomach to help you stay full longer. The longer you stay full, the less you eat, and the more likely you are to drop body fat.

I have always been a supporter of free roaming chicken, grass fed meets, and whole organic eggs. It just makes sense.

Poultry and Beans
When you make beans and poultry a part of your regular diet, you are giving your body the protein it needs to maintain good health. Protein is referred to as the building block of the body for a reason. This nutrient is found almost everywhere in the body. Without it, you’ll face problems like fatigue, skin ulcers, sleeping difficulties, weakness and organ damage.
Skimping on the protein can also cause crankiness, depression, anxiety and other mental issues. Also, when you add this compound to your diet, you are less likely to overeat because it makes meals more satiating and helps control your appetite.

Lean Meats, Fish and Raw Nuts

Adding lean meats to your diet will ensure you get the iron you need to build hemoglobin and transport oxygen to the cells in your body. When you don’t get enough iron in your diet, your chances of suffering with iron deficient anemia increases. Symptoms of anemia can include fatigue, problems regulating the body temperature, headaches, dizziness and weakness.
The importance of fat in the diet is underrated. When you avoid eating healthy fats, you do your body a huge disservice. Healthy fats build the brain, provide the body with energy, help produce hormones, and provide cushion for your internal organs.
Fats also enable the body use vitamins more efficiently. Make fish and raw nuts staples in your diet so you can get some of the fats you need for good health.
If you rid your diet of processed junk and replace them with the foods listed above, you can shed unwanted pounds without frustration. The weight isn’t going to come off overnight, but it will eventually come off. Oh, and remember. No diet plan is complete or 100 percent successful without exercise.
If you don’t have a plan, trying to lose weight can be frustrating. Let The Diet Solution Program provide you with effective diet plans to lose weight.

About The Mediterranean Diet

It's not at all profound but the Mediterranean Diet is now recognized as one of the healthiest in the world consisting as it does of large amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables, salads,nuts,seeds, omega-3 rich oily fish, olives and olive oil and being comparitively low in dairy products and red meats.
The people of the Mediterranean region, particuarly Greece and Spain, are very fortunate to live in an area where naturally healthy food is readily and cheaply available. The incidence of heart disease and cancer are lower here than anywhere else in the western world and experts now believe this is due in great part to what has become known as the Mediterranean diet.
Modern farming techniques and world wide transport has changed most peoples diets dramatically in the past centuary and it is now widely believed that such changes have had an exteremely detrimental effect on our health. Fortunately the impact of these developments has not had such a catastrophic effect in Mediterranean regions where to a large extent traditional diets are still followed. Of course with the advent of Globalization and MacDonalds! this is sadly changing. However, we can all learn a lot from what has become known as the Mediterranean diet and by adopting it, vastly improve our health and longevity.
The foods that grow natuarlly and abundantly in that region and have always formed a part of the local diet are as follows:- Olives, avocados, oranges, lemons, garlic, wild asparagus, walnuts, almonds, tomatoes, artichokes, figs, pomegranates, cherries, strawberries, grapes, plums, spinach, broad beans, peppers along with many other of the more common fruits and vegetables. These provide large amounts of vitamins, minerals and fibre along with a wide variety of antioxidants and phytochemicals, the importance of which scientists are only now beginning to recognize as they discover more and more healthful benefits of including these elements in our diet.
Historically alot of the milk was produced from goats and cheese made from goats and ewes milk. Very little red meat is eaten and a large majority of the protein is supplied by oily fish such as sardines, mackerel, tuna, sword fish, boquerones and anchovies.
The main oil used is olive, traditionally cold pressed virgin, and this is used not only for cooking and in salads but also for putting on bread in place of butter.
All these foods provide a wide variety of nutriments which have an astonishing array of claims for improving our health such as lowering cholesterol, improving our immune system which thus not only fights infections but also helps to prevent cancer, increasing our metabolism, improving insulin sensitivity and thus lessening the risk of diabetes. It really has never been so true that you are what you eat. Certainly since moving to Andalucia and adopting the Mediteranean diet myself I have never been so healthy or managed to maintain my ideal weight so easily.
Of coures, in addition to all the healthy components of this diet there is the added fact that honey is often used in place of sugar and little refined carbohydrates are eaten.
All in all most experts now agree that the Mediterranean diet is the optimum diet
Here's were you can see download my eBook and several free bonuses.

My New Challenge: The Get Lean Program by Belinda Benn

I bought Belinda Benn’s Get Lean Program in January while I was doing my 5-week-detox challenge with USANA programme RESET. I felt inspired by Belinda’s story and felt it was the right workout program for me.

I took a few weeks to study and plan how I was going to complete this new challenge. RESET for 5 weeks gave me an excellent base to lose weight and now I am ready not just to lose weight but to also to shape the body I want.

Get Lean Program takes 12 weeks, Belinda says it takes 21 days to stick to a new habit and she recommends 110% effort and full commitment particularly for the first 3 weeks. So for me it made sense to have a break between RESET and Get Lean Program during the school February half-term.

When I came back from my holiday, although I had a great time...I indulged too much & didn’t do much exercise: the result I picked up some weight!! This is something I need to deal with and not beat myself up for it...each time I will go on holiday and unless it is one of my favourite Thalassotherapy Holidays I am bound to come back with a few kilos as extra luggage! It actually makes me more determined to re-focus.

My weight goal is still to be down to 60 kg by the end of June 2012. Although this new challenge is no longer just about losing weight, I am using 60 kg because that’s what I weighed when I was 25, fit & healthy. It is symbolic for me because I was not really living a healthy lifestyle at that time except working out 2 hours a day, but what strike me is that it is the only time in my life I didn’t care if someone took a picture of me! If I manage to regain this attitude, I will have achieved my overall goal that is feeling good about myself inside and outside... 

I am feeling very confident because in fact I only need to lose approximately 1.5 kg each month which is not a lot, but my fitness & physical goals are the most challenging & exciting!! I have 4 specific goals: dramatically improve the shape of my triceps and abdominals, reduce the appearance of cellulite. Finally, I want to be able to do more (FULL) press-ups than my husband... considering I am currently able to do only 2 or 3 full press-ups before collapsing!!

Today is Sunday and I am on Day 5 of this 12-week program and it should take me until the middle of May 2012.  Today’s workout tested my ability to do tricep bench dips and push-ups...perfect for my goals:

68kg (I am 2 kg behind, I need to be approximately 64.5kg by the end of March 2012)

Measurements: Waist 33”, chest 36”, hips 39”, Thighs 24” right & 23.5” left, bicep 13”

2/3 full press-ups maximum and a total of 34 knee press-ups within 3 sets

33 tricep bench dips

30 second lasting plank

For my abdominal goal, I am combining the normal 6 weeks Get Lean Workout Program with Belinda’s free bonus Breakthrough Abs 12-week-program.

After starting Belinda’s Get Lean Program for now a few 5 days, these would be my recommendations:

1.       1. Get organised and make sure you nutrition program is manageable, so you can easily have your food weekly shopping ready the day you start (my food weekly shopping and deliveries fall on a Tuesday, hence why I decided to start Get Lean Program on a Wednesday)

2.       2. I made lots of mistake at first on the correct portion of the recipes... I sometimes forgot to divide between 4 & 6: as a result I probably eat too much... no wonder why I didn’t feel hungry at all: now I make sure that I note the portion for 1 person on each recipe.

3.       3. I have tried many diet plans before that failed because I had to cook 2 different meals in the evening and at the weekend and it was too much for me to stick with. I have tested some of the evening meals on my husband & kids and I had fantastic feedback: they all said the meals were tasty which is great for me, easier to cook for all!! So from now on, all family meals are from Belinda’s Benn Get Lean Nutrition Program. I just make sure my portions are the right ones. So, if you also have to cook for others do test the reactions: at the end of the day, you will help others to eat a more balanced and nutritious (low glycemic) diet!

4.      4. I have exercised before at a gym and in specific exercise workout sessions, so it is easy for me to follow the instructions of the Get Lean Workout Program e-books. If you haven’t, it is worth investing joining a gym for the first month at least or paying a few personal training sessions with someone who can go through the exercises and make sure you are doing them correctly.

The Diet Solution Recipes: How to Make Your Own

Some people are intimidated by the idea of preparing healthy meals; so they either eat grilled chicken everyday, or they stick to theDiet Solution recipes listed on this site. Newsflash! These are not your only options for nutritious meals. Making your own healthy recipes is easier than you think. Simply start with the right ingredients and learn to channel your inner chef.

Choose Natural Ingredients

When you’re preparing your recipes, always use wholesome ingredients. With all of the different foods on the market, trying to determine what’s healthy and what’s not is kind of difficult. I have one rule that I follow – keep everything as natural as possible.
Natural foods include fresh produce, whole eggs, free-range poultry and lean meats. These foods are not processed and they do not contain trans-fats, preservatives or any of the other chemical additives that make them dangerous for human consumption.

Use Organic Fruits, Veggies and Meats Whenever Possible

Those of you who read my blog or follow the DSP program know where I stand with regard to organic foods. I choose organic meat, poultry and produce for my family because these foods don’t contain synthetic chemicals, sewer sludge or genetically engineered materials.
Besides, when I think about feeding my little one food that can potentially cause or contribute to life-altering conditions, it motivates me to buy organic every chance I get.
Despite what manufacturers say, your body was not designed to handle the toxins in processed foods.

Prepare Food Using the Right Kind of Oil

You’ll find a lot of recipes that require food to be sautéed, baked, fried or grilled. If you want to make your Diet Solution recipes as healthy as possible, forget about using shortening and vegetable oil. Instead, use olive oil, real butter or coconut oil–all organic of course. All of these oils are healthy and can add nutritional value to your meals.
Coconut oil is great for deep frying foods. Olive oil and real butter can be used for sautéing. If you try to deep fry your foods in olive oil or butter, you may set your kitchen on fire, so please, don’t do it! You can also use olive oil to coat your meats and vegetables before grilling or baking them.

Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment in the Kitchen

Recipes are not etched in concrete. You have every right to modify them by swapping out unhealthy ingredients for ingredients that are more nutritious. For instance, if you come across a recipe that calls for milk, you can make it healthier by replacing it with raw milk, almond milk, or coconut milk.
If you don’t like a particular food, or you want to give a recipe a different flavor, simply replace or eliminate the ingredients of your choice.  Also, don’t be afraid to get in the kitchen and use healthy ingredients to whip up a few original concoctions of your own. Chefs do it all the time. I’m definitely not a chef and I do it too.
Sometimes my self-created mixtures are a big hit and others times – not so much. The point is there are a lot of delicious, healthy recipes to be made; so get in that kitchen and start mixing! I’m always itching to try new foods. If you come up with a dish that you absolutely love, send me the recipe so I can taste test it.
You don’t have to deprive yourself of delicious meals to slim down with our Diet Solution recipes. Watch the video to find out some simple and basic ideas that are delicious and creative.  The Diet Solution Program will teach you how to eat hearty and still lose weight.

Is Your Microwave Meddling With Your Hormones?

Do you store your food in plastic containers? Do you ever put plastic in the microwave? If so, think twice about it.
In the Your Plate, Your Fate series, you’ll learn about the dozens of chemicals found in our foods that mimic the hormone estrogen. These gender benders cause early sexual development in children, reproductive difficulties for adults, and they promote the growth and spread of cancer. And they’re quite common in plastic.
Researchers at Tufts Medical School were using plastic test tubes to store a line of estrogen sensitive breast cancer cells. That is, until they noticed the cells were multiplying wildly. Turns out the supposedly “inert” plastic test tubes were leaching a chemical that behaves just like estrogen.
When researchers at Dartmouth heated plastic wrap and vegetable oil in a microwave, they found the oil had “500,000 times the minimum amount of xenoestrogens needed to stimulate breast cancer cells…” Read that again if it didn’t sink in the first time.
The solution is simple. Use glass or ceramic to store your food. Never eat or drink anything that came into contact with hot plastic. Stay away from plastic water bottles (remember – they could have been heated in transit!). And avoid canned food, if possible. The inside of the cans are coated with plastic and the acid in the food breaks it down.
In the Your Plate, Your Fate series you’ll learn about the many other uninvited dinner guests that could be making you sick including:

• The cookware that leaches known cancer-causers into your meals – and it’s found in more than 80% of all cookware sold!
• The household staple that sucks up to 97% of the nutrients out of your food and a safe, time-saving alternative to choose
• The only two brands of canned foods that don’t contain BPA – a powerful xenoestrogen associated with prostate cancer, breast cancer and even fertility problems
• The family heirlooms that could be exposing you to dangerous levels of lead – a deadly metal that is high enough in 40% of Americans to significantly increase stroke and heart attack risk.

What is the RESET Maintain Phase:

Well done if you have finally reached you ideal weight. If you are like me and would rather not having to do it all again, the Maintain Phase is for you:

You continue to replace 1 out of 3 meals with a Nutrimeal shake and the 2 other meals need to be low-glycemic ones.

Continue to replace 1 snack with a USANA nutrition bar and the 2^nd snack needs to be low-glycemic to.

Continue your workout program to a moderate level. Continue to drink a lot of still water and take USANA Essential or HealthPak supplements.

Transform Phase Week 5

Monday morning is weigh in: lost another 600grs... I was nervous as I thought I didn't do enough exercise during the week, but it was ok because I stuck with my healthy diet!

We are still snowed it today, so I am varying my workout: 40 minutes clearing the snow out of my drive!

Tuesday: It was still icy and too dangerous to jog outside, so reverted to the living and did 45 mins of Super Circuits by Winston Squire. This is perfect for beginners!

Wednesday: Again, no jogging possible today... I miss it a lot, I enjoyed working out outside! Back in my living room and did 45 minutes of ‘Danni- Sexy Legs Now’ by Danni Levy. Quite enjoyed it (but was not prepared you need a Swiss ball –which I did have- but could do similar exercise on the floor on the sofa)