21-Day Guide to Fat Loss (Print this Out)

Day 1 – Monday: Recruit your support partner and set your goals. Pick one of my workout video programs and commit to it for the next 4 weeks. Exercise conservatively, work at your own level, and stick to my guidelines. Perform every exercise with perfect technique.

Day 2 – Eliminate all liquid calories and replace with water and Green Tea. Enter your food intake on Fitday.com or the LoseIt! app for the next 7 days.

Day 3 – As you workout, visualize yourself reaching your goals. Keep a positive attitude and you will remain motivated and you will continue to make progress.

Day 5 – Clean out your cupboards and don’t feel guilty about tossing the junk (donate it if you can). Remember — if it’s not in the house, you won’t eat it! Next, prepare a healthy shopping list for a big day 7 coming up.

Day 6 – Connect with a friend in your support group on this day and review how your first week went. Always be accountable to your support group. This will encourage you to stick with the exercise and nutrition program.

Day 7 – Sunday: Plan ahead for the next week and do all of your grocery shopping and meal preparation. Do some extra cooking, chop your vegetables and wash your fruit. By doing this, you will be prepared to avoid unhealthy eating situations that lead you to cheat on your plan.

Day 8 – Make sure you are doing things correctly. Hire a trainer for one session and make them a part of your support team. To help you stick to your workouts, book each exercise session like any other appointment in your daily schedule. Let nothing, except real emergencies, come between you and your workouts.

Day 9 – Add one new fruit and one new vegetable to your meal plan. If you aren’t already eating grapefruit, try one today and see how it helps fill you up because

it contains a lot of soluble fiber called pectin. Add a new vegetable to your dinner.

Day 10 – Eliminate all trans-fats and added sugar from your diet.Day 11 – Review your water intake and confirm that you are consuming enough water each day to keep you hydrated and healthy, as well as using water to stay full.
                                           
Day 12 – Review your nutrition. Check the number of calories you are consuming. Are you still eating too much? Cut back on your calories by 10%.                                Day 13 – Check your fiber intake and                   
make sure you meet the recommended intake (up to 35 grams per day). Eat more fiber to keep your appetite in check.Day 14 – Sunday: Plan, shop, & prepare for the week ahead. Make sure to include 1 new fruit and 1 new vegetable in your grocery list. Variety in your nutrition is very important, so try a new fruit today such as blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries.

Day 15 – Set a new short-term goal for your workouts, such as going 10 seconds longer in your intervals or performing one extra pushup per set.Day 16 – Purchase a new cooking appliance, such as a grill or steamer to help you eat healthy, nutritious, low-fat foods in a convenient manner.Day 17 – Try an alternative source of lean protein at dinner, such as lean beef or salmon (in case you have been eating only chicken and tuna).Day 18 – Recruit a new member into your social support, such as a new workout partner or healthy-eating partner. This will add strength to your commitment.

Day 20 – Take some time and pick an activity you really like to do (yoga, sport, martial art, dance) and make it a regular habit on Saturdays. This can be done on your own or with your social support group.

Day 21 – Sunday: 30 minutes of activity. Plan, make a shopping list, shop, & prepare. Include one new source of lean protein in your shopping list.

Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer