2. Plan ahead. This is essential if you’re going to succeed. Take a few minutes the night before to determine what foods you will consume throughout the next day. If you’re just starting out and don’t have some of the food items that I recommend, don’t panic. Just make yourself a short grocery list and pick up these items at your first available convenience. Your daily checklist can be a useful tool in planning the weekly grocery list for obvious reasons. Once you have carefully thought out the following day’s food plan, lay out the necessary food items, so you can easily pack them in a cooler the following day.
3. Pack a cooler. Always pack a cooler with food and carry it with you to work. I store my lunch in a six-pack sized Igloo cooler. I always bring plenty of snacks to work – things that are easily transportable, such as: canned tuna, apples, baked yams that I’ve cooked the night before, oatmeal, broiled chicken breasts, low-fat cottage cheese and fresh and frozen vegetables.

4. When eating out, plan ahead.
This minimizes your risk of getting stuck making a bad food choice. If you have your meal planned out before you arrive, the rest of the menu won’t be as tempting. Also, ask to have your meat cooked without any butter or oil, say “no thanks” to the chips or bread while you wait, and when ordering salad, ask for low-fat dressing and for it to come on the side.
5. Drink plenty of water. Keeping your body hydrated and refreshed is very important, and water is the purest source of hydration you have. Water can also help suppress your appetite. If you never seem to get filled up when eating your meals, drinking more water will make you feel full faster. Drink 8–10 glasses per day.
6. Choose low-fat foods. Though there are scores of low-fat versions of many different kinds of packaged foods available today, many are still calorie-dense and full of sugar or artificial ingredients. Seek out foods that are naturally low in fat and unprocessed when possible.
Women should take extra calcium. There are a number of
good wholesome vitamin brands on the market.
7. Avoid sugary soft drinks and too much fruit juice.
Choose water and diet drinks instead. Believe it or not, this can make a big difference in your progress. For example, the average regular soda contains 39
grams of sugar! Juice is not much better. This sugar gets converted into fat very quickly in the body. Water, however, contains no sugar and no calories.
8. Take a good multi-vitamin along with extra Vitamin E and Vitamin C. Coming soon to BeeXtreme!
9. Stay positive. Research shows that by maintaining a positive attitude you are more likely to reach and surpass all goals (and this includes weight loss)! If you are watching the scale creep down pound by pound, be proud of your accomplishment, don’t dwell on where you want to be. By keeping your chin up and staying positive you will stay on the healthy road to weight loss success! Bonus tip: Write a positive note at the start of every day on a Post It on your computer (or somewhere you will look at during the day) and be reminded all day of your goals and successes.
10. Make fitness a priority. i work 70 hours a week sometimes and still manage to squeeze in my daily workouts because I make fitness a priority. If I can do it so can you, just make your fitness time non-negotiable 5-6 days a week. If you make your workouts part of your day, you will find yourself actually craving a workout for your physical and mental health!
11. Monitor your calorie intake initially. You do not have to eat veggies and fruit all day. You can eat a balanced diet with whole grains as well, but you have to monitor your portion size. It is easy to mindlessly overeat. Do not be a victim of eating too much and monitor your calorie intake on myfitnesspal.com or any other online tracking application.
12. High protein snacks will keep you fuller longer. Beextreme’s Crave™ Whey Protein shake will not only cure your sweet tooth but will help keep you feeling fuller, longer. You can use any shake as a meal replacement or use this as an afternoon snack craver. You’ll get your daily dose of protein plus some! Some other great high protein snacks to keep you feeling full: almonds, hard boiled eggs, turkey or low sodium ham deli meat with cheese cubes, celery sticks with almond butter or peanut butter (omg delicious!), apple slices, Low fat yogurt (watch sugar!) or cottage cheese with fruit.
13. Don’t deprive yourself. You’ll just set yourself up for disaster. Allow yourself one cheat day. Eat whatever you want but remember… always eat in moderation. My cheat days are Sundays. Why? Because my week starts on Monday. On Sundays I allow myself to relax, to have an extra cup of coffee, to breathe, to have a few cookies or a bowl of ice cream with my little guy. But i also know that Monday rolls around and I need to be on top of my game! No excuses. No slacking. Game time.
14. Up the ante. If you are feeling your workouts are getting too “routine”, up the ante. Up the incline on the treadmill, up the weights, up the workout by 3 minutes longer. Add an extra squat challenge, ab challenge into your daily routine. Always keep things fresh so you aren’t getting bored.
15. Sweets. Sugar gree gum can help with cravings. Keep it sugar free so your insulin isn’t spiking with all that sugar in regular gum. Walmart has a nice selection of gums. Even cupcake flavored! lol!
I hope these little tips will keep things fresh in your mind and keep your motivation high!
Toni
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Toni Sweeney is a Triple Certified Ketogenic Diet and Primal Health Coach and weight loss expert who personally lost 80 pounds while making a total lifestyle change. The founder of TS Transformations, her formulas and plans has helped thousands of women lose weight and keep it off forever.