Over this past summer I had lost sight of healthy eating and exercise, instead focusing on my business, kids sports and then knocked out of commission for over a month with a bad virus…by the time October rolled around I noticed I had gained nearly 20-pounds of fat and had lost a considerable amount of muscle mass. 

There you have the problem…both gaining fat AND losing muscle mass is the worst possible scneario because you not only packing on weight for extra calories and fat-laden foods, but your body also slows down burning calories as your muscles wither away. The result…

• I felt incredible tired, low energy
• Had a noticeable gut having gained the most belly fat I had ever packed on
• Had trouble bending over to put on socks and tie my shoes (now that is NOT a good feeling)
• Zero stamina, I couldn’t keep up with the kids any longer
• Noticed the muscles in my arms and legs were decreasing
• Suddenly had trouble sleeping, up many nights with indigestion

November hit and I became fed up.  That’s when I put the following plan into action and lost more than 10lbs in less than 30-days (and have regained more muscle mass than I had earlier this year which means my body continues to burn calories at a higher rate – even when I am at rest)

1. Had a check-up with my local alternative doctor to make sure my digestive tract and blood sugar were in balance.  Of course they were not, and that fact leads to terrible cravings for carbs and sugar foods.  With some adjustments and Candacin for digestive yeast overgrowth, I was back on track within a week

2. Went from a normal breakfast of 2pcs of toast, lots of cereal and orange juice to 1-piece of wheat toast, 1/2 tsp of almond butter, large glass of water and yogurt with 2-days a week a breakfast of eggs with 1-piece of toast. 

3. Made sure I exercised at least 30-minutes 5-days of the week.  At least 3 of those days needed to be cardio where I jogged, treadmill or eliptical to keep my heart rate up for 25-30-minutes followed by various core strengthening exercises 3-days a week for 20-minutes (to build muscle, tone and increase metabolism). The other two days of the week or if I couldn’t fit cardio in I went for a fast-paced, 45-minute walk

4. Lunch – I simply changed my normal lunch of processed meat and white bread sandwiches to either salad with protein such as cottage cheese, chicken or tuna or soup and a piece of fruit (apple, banana or peach were my main staples) .  Another large glass of water instead of juice or soft-drinks

5. I found with these lunches my craving for afternoon snacks pretty much went away – but if I did have a craving I made myself a smoothie or ate an protein bar if I was on the run

6. Dinners I pretty much kept the same except making sure I was getting enough protein so that I wasn’t tempted to gorge myself again before bed.

That’s it – a very simple, effective way to continually drop 10-lbs over a 30-day period.  I am already down another 5 heading into December.  Now the challenge will be to keep relatively true to this system over the Holidays…but I feel so great right now there is every motivation to stick to the plan.

The best part of this entire weight loss process is that I lost most of the visible belly fat, I have regained the size in my bicepts and legs, have strengthened my core, have healthy skin and feel like a million bucks.  Are you up for it?