PLAN to Succeed!

Someone told me early in my weight loss journey, "Julie, if you fail to plan, then you plan to fail."  Wow!  Those are words that really stuck with me.

If you haven't done so already, make your meal plan for the week.  If you're doing Option #1, check easy recipes for lean & green meals from B, L & D.  And then make a plan for your in-between snacks.  What will they be?  Don't leave anything to chance!  "Chance" finds us cruising through a drive-thru.  I suggest not having more than 15g of carb at any of your meals or snacks.  Having some carb is important though, so don't skip it all together.  Remember, veggies have carbs too, which is how you can get what you need at your lean & green.

If you're doing Option #2, then make a plan--like my friend Kathleen did in the above photo--for your dinners.  Make sure you have all the ingredients on hand and prep anything ahead of time that you can!

You'll find two of my favorite websites for recipes on the sidebar under "Healthy Resources."  If you're on Sandy's Kitchen, make sure you stick to her "Medifast Only" tab for lean & green, healthy meals.

Feel free to follow me on Pinterest as well!  I have a board of lean & green options (always check your Quick Start Guide, because sometimes these recipes need to be tweaked slightly) as well as Healthy Holiday Cooking (green and tan recipes are lean & green).

I also have a lot of resources available to you on my Facebook Health Coaching site!  Make sure you click on "LIKE" so that you can follow it, as I add new things to it often.

Here we go!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

This is a fun tip for getting all your water in...Enjoy!!

Toast the New Year in with Some H2O

How much water should you be drinking?

Dr. A. recommends drinking half your body weight in ounces. (So, if you weigh 240 pounds, you will drink 120 oz. of water).  You will find, after the first week or two, that drinking that much really isn't too hard and you'll spend less time in the bathroom, even though you're still drinking a lot.  The volume of water will also help you battle hunger during the first few days.

Quick Start Guide

Look over the Quick Start Guide (Pages 3-6 detail the Lean & Green meal guidelines) and become very familiar with it.  Use it to help you shop for items you’ll need for your lean and green meals, optional snacks and condiments.  There are links on the sidebar to "the best leans"; "the best greens" and "condiments" but the Quick Start Guide is a great document to find a lot of helpful information.  It's particularly essential for Option 2, but if you're doing Option 1 it is important for your meal planning.  Someone commented under the FAQ page about what to eat on Option 1 and I replied.  If you're looking for more insights, let me know, but I think you should feel more and more confident as we continue.

What Can You Do Now?

Go grocery shopping!  Make sure you are prepared to start—have your proteins and vegetables (see links on the sidebar for your best choices) on hand for at least the first week.  Also, have optional snacks and approved condiments handy.  Also, spend some time purging tempting items from your cupboards and refrigerator.  Remember, “Failing to plan means you are planning to fail”; so, plan ahead!

Take really good “Before” photos—both front and side.  Trust me, you will want these later, even if you are uncomfortable facing your current reality.  Taking regular photos will help you SEE the progress you are making, and you will be so amazed!

Take your current body measurements: chest, waist, hips, upper arms and thighs.  I won’t ever ask you for these, but you will be astonished at the changes in your body as you are on this journey.  Sometimes when the scale slows down, the measurement loss speeds up and current clothing starts getting really loose. 

*If you're coming to Julie's house for the kick-off on January 2, you can take measurements and photos there!

Introducing Hope Bassett

I have asked my colleague and dear friend Hope to join us on this page for added support!  I am in awe over how many people have contacted me to begin this transformation in the first 90 days of 2014.  Hope has had many people contact her as well.  So, we thought it best to just team together and have her here as a resource and connection for all of you as well!  We have gone through the same certification course and both share the same passion for helping others.  Hope's story is much different than mine, and will certainly appeal to many of you here.  Her struggles have mostly been with her health and with emotional eating.  She is particularly excellent at addressing anyone with food allergies as well as those who desire to eat very clean, organic and whole foods.  She is a great example of how the habits of health can change a life beyond just weight loss and it is an HONOR to have her here on this site with us!

Getting Ready to Begin

Welcome to the beginning of what could be a life-changing 90 days for you. 

I am excited to help you leave behind the world of poor health for one of vibrant, long-lasting health.  

We take this at YOUR pace, one step at a time. These next 90 days will hopefully create momentum, give you new skills, and offer you support to set you up to enjoy the precious gift of health for many years to come.  

Many programs start out with extreme workouts or unrealistic dieting, promising quick weight loss in an unrealistic amount of time.  They disregard long-term success and do not focus on actually helping you create long-term health. The result: the diets fail, and any weight lost or health benefits are short lived and over 85% of participants gain their weight back.

These 90 days are designed to help you make a sustainable change in all areas of your health. Exercise and diet will be important parts of your journey, but they treat symptoms of poor health rather than the cause.

The first step in living a healthier life is changing the way you think about yourself and about health. Once you have made a mental change, making and maintaining the physical change will be much easier.

In our 90-Day Transformation we will work together to make measurable and significant improvements in 6 major areas of your Health.  These areas are:

• Healthy Eating
• Healthy Weight
• Healthy Habits of Motion
• Healthy Mind/Wellbeing
• Healthy Sleep
• Healthy Finances

On this blog you will find daily posts on how to improve in all of these key areas.  On Tuesday, January 2, the first official leg of your 90 days will begin. If you can check the blog once a day, you will be encouraged and keep moving forward. 

You will never be REQUIRED to do anything over the next 90 days.  I will be making suggestions.  

My first suggestion to you in my initial email was about purchasing some books.  I could not have sustained my weight loss journey without the help of Dr. Wayne Andersen—you can read more about him on the “FAQ” page of the blog. 

My second suggestion would be decide (honestly) if Option 1 or Option 2 is the best choice for you when it comes to healthy eating and weight loss.  You’ll find answers to some burning questions under the “FAQ” page as well.

Take a few moments to check out all of the links.  If you’re going to plan your own meals, I would recommend not eating anything that isn’t on the “lean” and the “green” lists. (Condiments can also be used according to the condiment recommendations)  If you are not trying to lose weight in the new year, then you will want to add in other healthy foods besides the ones on the lists provided.  Simply send me a comment here and let me know if you’d like the guide to maintaining your current weight.

I’m always cheering for you!

Welcome to the 90 Day Transformation!

Thank you for joining me on this 90 day transformation!  I really would love for this to be a place where there is interaction, so feel free to introduce yourself in the comments sections and rise to the challenges I'll be posting here each day.  This is going to be fun and we're going to lay down new habits.

Charlotte Mason, a British educator who revolutionized how we looked at helping children form good habits, said: "Habits are to life as rails are to trains."

For many of us, our trains have been going down some pretty rough rails for a long time.  And they've taken us to some unhealthy places.  So, over the next 90 days, we're going to do the hard work (and the HEART work) of pulling up those rails and laying down new tracks that take us where we want to go. This isn't just about weight loss, it's about becoming a healthy person in every area of our lives.

While you're waiting for the 90 days to begin on January 2, please feel free to share what you hope to gain out of this transformation!