desired you

THE DESIRED YOU How To Get The Body You Have Always Wanted

by KRISTAL RICHARDSON AND TOM RICHARDSON

Copyright © Top Secret Nutrition 2011

ABOUT THE AUTHORS Kristal Richardson, Professional Figure Competitor When Kristal was 28 years old, she decided to transform her body. As a self-described “skinny fat” girl and a Type A personality, she set her goals very high. In fact, her goal was to compete in a physique competition in a category called Figure. This is quite a feat for someone whose idea of working out was running around the block twice!

Fast forward to one year later when Kristal won her first show. Six months later she won her class at the North American Championships, which earned her professional competing status - an unheard of accomplishment in the industry.

Today, Kristal is an International Fitness Model appearing on numerous magazine covers, and featured in magazines such as Flex, Status, Oxygen Magazine, Natural Muscle, Muscle Mag, Muscle and Fitness, and Muscle and Fitness Hers. As of 2011, she is currently ranked as one of the top four World Ranked Professional Figure Competitors.

A Fitness icon and spokesperson, Kristal has done over twenty live television spots in relation to fitness, diet, and nutritional supplementation. She has also produced two exercise videos and has several more in progress. As an Athlete, Celebrity Trainer, Certified Personal Trainer, and Certified Sports Nutritionist, Kristal trains and coaches elite fitness competitors and professional athletes. Most of these clients are personal trainers, so in essence Kristal is the trainer of trainers.

In addition to her fitness accomplishments, Kristal is a successful businesswoman with an International MBA Degree, co-ownership of Top Secret Nutrition, and, not to be overlooked, a Comic Book Heroine from the Iron Sirens Comic Book series. Kristal is a woman who wears many hats, however, she believes her greatest accomplishment to date is marrying her husband, Tom Richardson, and becoming a mother to their two chocolate labs, Boomer and Boogie.

Tom Richardson, CEO of Top Secret Nutrition Seven years ago, after almost two decades as a corporate consultant and entrepreneur, Tom Richardson decided to transform his body. Richardson readily admits that during the ‘80s and ‘90s he buried himself in work and growing his international consulting firm, all the while neglecting his health and loading on what he describes as, “the successful entrepreneur’s extra load of fat.”

Twenty years after completing his MBA degree at the University of Miami, Tom had high blood pressure, bouts of depression and anxiety, a heart arrhythmia later diagnosed as atrial fibrillation, and over thirty percent body fat, which was well above the healthy range for a male in his age group. Physically, he was a mess. That was when Tom decided to transform his body.

The first step was to get the atrial fibrillation under control with a procedure called radiofrequency catheter ablation. The second step was to change his routine and commit to a healthy, but intense, diet and exercise regime. His exercise plan consisted of two cardio sessions and one weight training session six days per week for six months, and a highly refined diet of complex carbohydrates, high amounts of lean protein, and nutritional supplements.

The results speak for themselves. By his 50th birthday, Tom measured in at 6’3”, 220 pounds, and 6 percent body fat. He had lost 55 pounds of fat and gained 40 pounds in muscle – a drastic, and lasting physical transformation that prompted Tom to spend the last ten years studying nutrition, fitness, and exercise physiology.

contents

INTRODUCTION THE ANSWER THE CATCH PREPARING FOR THE PLAN

Successful Permanent Transformation Steps

Defining and Describing The Desired You

Destination Goals

The Key to Motivation: The Comfort Zone

How Do You Shift Your Comfort Zone?

Hurdles and Challenges you will encounter along the way BUILDING THE PLAN

Understanding The Element of Time in Transformation Efforts Diet Exercise • Training Philosophy • Resistance Training Key Points • Cardio Training Key Points • Stretching Key Points Supplementation The Basics Summary

APPENDIX A - MOTIVATION TIPS APPENDIX B - APPROVED FOOD SUBSTITUTIONS APPENDIX C - TOP SECRET SUPPLEMENT OVERVIEW

I

INTRODUCTION

Let us start by stating that this is NOT a diet book. This is a TRANSFORMATION guide. Our intent is to provide you with the road map to create the lifestyle and supporting behaviors that will allow you to develop the body, strength and health that you always wanted, and to help you stay that way forever. This is what we call The Desired You. Most diet books, plans and products are just a prescription for what you should do. You are instructed to, “Do this to be thin,” or, “Eat that to lose weight.” This approach misses the most critical points in the process: 1. Staying motivated to eat right and exercise, and 2. Creating habits that translate into a long-term healthy lifestyle.

The magic formula for transforming your body is simple if you leave motivation out of the equation: exercise regularly, eat healthy foods, and burn more calories than you consume until you reach your goal. However, we all know that it is not as simple as that. If it was that simple, the diet and weight loss market would not be a multi-billion dollar business. So, becoming The Desired You takes more than just rocking on the new AB SCRUNCHER XP 3 minutes a day in front of your television, or drinking blended cucumber juice four times a day. Transforming your physique requires execution of the right plan, not only during the transformation process, but also for the long term.

That is the basis of this book: giving you the steps to follow; helping you stay motivated; and coaching you to build a new routine to keep you where you want to be: The Desired You. This book will share with you our beliefs on goal setting, motivation, diets, exercise regiments, nutritional supplementation, and more. In other words a “holistic” view of what we have learned after years of personal application and helping others get where they want to go. We hope you find this information helpful, that you apply it, and that you become The Desired You, forever.

Enjoy the journey!

Kristal and Tom Richardson

THE ANSWER We thought we would give you the answer right out of the gates. Here is the plan to create The Desired You forever. Are you ready?

DIET PLAN • Eat 5-6 meals per day spread out no more than three hours

apart • Eat lean protein with every meal • Eat only low glycemic carbohydrates and only vegetables and

protein for the last two meals of the day • Eat fruit in moderation • Drink alcohol in moderation EXERCISE • Do cardio 30 minutes per day at least five days a week • Strength train each body part at least once per week

Do the above until you reach your desired weight. If you stop losing weight in any given week, reduce the portion size of your meals and/or increase the amount of cardio you do until you start losing weight again.

There you have it, the secret to transforming your body. It’s simple, right? Now you know the secret.

THE CATCH Seriously, the above plan works and it will work on anyone. We are not kidding. As simple as it may seem, that is the plan.

Of course, there is more we could add to the plan – a lot more. In fact, we could write an entire volume of books on how to achieve overall health and wellness, but basically this is all there is to it. However, if you have ever tried it, you know that there is so much more to the process than just a plan. This is why so many diets fail. From our experience, 99% of diet failures occur not because people don’t have the correct plan, but because they never start, they stop executing the plan before they reach their goal, or they reach their goal and revert back to old habits.

And that, friends, is what we are going to spend the bulk of this book discussing: How to stay motivated, successfully execute the plan, and make permanent lifestyle changes so you can look and feel great forever. If you are one of the lucky, rare people who have unyielding motivation to execute the above plan, there is no need for you to read further; you are ready. Enjoy the journey. But for the rest of you, keep reading.

PREPARING FOR THE PLAN

One of the keys to achieving long-term weight loss success is being mentally prepared for the journey before you start. If you know what to expect, you can be better prepared to handle the curveballs. Remember, the objective is to transform your body, not go on a crash diet that will create short-term weight loss followed by even more weight gain. You are trying to achieve The Desired You; in order to do this, you will need to do more than limit your caloric intake for a month. You will need to change your lifestyle and adopt healthy habits.

Periodically during this book we will give you a fact, or as we call it, a KT Law, to remember.

KT Law One: Weight loss is stimulated by creating a caloric deficit.

That simply means: burn more calories than you ingest. Nobody has ever failed to lose weight while in a caloric deficit; it is simply not possible.

SUCCESSFUL PERMANENT TRANSFORMATION STEPS

Successful transformations happen when the following elements are achieved: 1. You have defined and described The Desired You. 2. You have developed an effective plan that includes:

a. Diet b. Exercise c. Supplements

3. You have started the process.

4. You have overcome any and all hurdles, distractions, and setbacks and stayed motivated to execute that plan.

5. You have made permanent changes in your routines and behavior patterns to keep The Desired You, forever.

Let’s review each of these elements.

DEFINING AND DESCRIBING THE DESIRED YOU Achieving successful transformation requires that we have a specific goal. We strongly believe that nebulous, fuzzy goals do not work well as motivators; and motivation is what we are trying to accomplish. You need specific, concrete goals; you need to determine where you want to go, and what you want to be. You need an anchor - something to shoot for. This is the first step in the transformation process. So ask yourself: what is The Desired You? And why do you want to become that. If you think you know what The Desired You is, answer the following questions: • • • • • •

How motivated are you work at becoming this new you?

What will change in your life when you are successful in achieving it?

Will you be happier? Will you be healthier?

Will it lead to a sense of accomplishment?

Do you believe others will be impressed with what you have done?

Do you believe you will be more attractive?

These are the types of questions that constantly cross our minds as we assess our desire to embark on what could be a very rewarding and challenging journey to transform our bodies.

Perform this task: Write down your thoughts about The Desired You. Be descriptive and include metrics such as pounds lost, muscle gained, clothing sizes, etc. If applicable, include health references, such as cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and so on.

You should also include lifestyle changes that you would like to make, such as making better food choices, exercising more, drinking less, and so on. Next, list the negative results of not making any changes in your lifestyle. Reach deep inside and use words that describe your feelings, those feelings you do not like and want to change. Finish the writing exercise with a visualization of your future self. Describe how you will feel and how others will react to you. List the things that you will be able to do that you could not do before your successful transformation.

Congratulations! That wasn’t, so difficult, was it? You have just created the motivating anchor, the key to a successful transformation - a goal. You have identified that you want to change, what the form of that change is, and why you want to change. You have defined The Desired You.

SIDE NOTE: It is important to make sure that your goal is realistic and achievable. Give yourself a quick reality check. If you are 60 years old and your goal is to get into shape and play tight end for the Miami Dolphins, it is reasonable to say that’s not a realistic goal.

It is most likely that the goal you developed is what we call a destination goal. A destination goal is one that has a finite ending, for example, losing fifty pounds, or getting in great shape for a special occasion. The key to any destination goal is to understand its pros and cons, and how these affect motivation. Let’s look at the power of goals in the process of transforming your body.

DESTINATION GOALS Many people who are beginning a transformation process use the destination goal as the only key motivator to drive behavior. This is risky. Humans are very oriented to short-term gratification; we want to act and get the reward immediately. If the reward/goal is too distant, we have difficulty connecting the future reward/goal with the activity required to get us there. This makes the goal an inconsistent motivator on its own. However, if we use the destination goal as an anchor and create many short-term goals around it, then the destination goal becomes very powerful.

For example, Nicole’s goal was to lose fifty-five pounds and increase muscle tone. Understanding the pitfalls of one long-term goal, she broke her goal down into five-pound increments and rewarded herself with a treat like a massage or a night out each time she reached an interim five-pound goal. This enabled her to continually get feedback and rewards from her hard work. This is a simple example of taking a destination goal and breaking it down, creating a powerful motivator.

The other issue with destination goals is that as soon as you have achieved the goal, the key motivator to drive your behavior is gone. You need to use the destination goal as motivation to change your behavior permanently and create good habits. We will discuss this more later.

Once you have defined The Desired You, it is time to develop the diet, exercise, and supplement plan. As mentioned before, this is an important process, but not terribly difficult. We will help you develop your diet, exercise, and supplement plans in the next section.

KT Law Two: There is a difference between desire and motivation.

You can have a goal, and you can have the genuine desire to reach that goal, but if you are not motivated to make changes, nothing will happen.

Here is an example of desire without motivation. John believed he was sixty pounds overweight; at 5’10” he weighed in at 240 pounds. In college, he believed he was at his perfect weight of 180 pounds. What happened in the ten years since then was an accumulation of bad eating habits and lack of exercise. John had the genuine desire to lose the weight, he just didn’t have the motivation to change his lifestyle and meet his weight loss goals.

When John asked us for help he said, “I want to change, but I just can’t seem to get motivated to do it. What can I do?” We told him that his daily routine was preventing him from losing the weight, and that in order to make a positive change, he needed to use discipline to get the process started. There is simply no other way to do it. Of course, this is obviously easier said than done. But the first hurdle was crossed; John had the genuine desire to improve his lifestyle. Secondly, he had defined his ultimate destination goal. The elements that were missing were motivation and a plan to achieve a caloric deficit.

Developing the plan was easy. As we have mentioned, the technical components of achieving a caloric deficit are simple: eat less calories than you burn. All John needed to do was bite the bullet and begin the process. John’s motivation came when he made a commitment to us to start the process. We worked with him to develop several short-term goals that were each followed with a reward. By creating mini-goals and rewards he was conditioning himself to include discipline as part of his daily routine. It worked! John was able to make the changes required to lose the weight, and change his routine to keep the weight off. This is a basic example of the difference between desire and motivation. As soon as John was able to make the transition from desire to motivation, he implemented discipline and mini-goals to achieve long-term weight loss.

THE KEY TO MOTIVATION: THE COMFORT ZONE

As we mentioned earlier, developing the plan is not the most difficult part of the transformation process. The tough part is staying committed, from starting, to executing the plan, to creating new habits, and overcoming hurdles and pitfalls. The key to success is motivation, and understanding this is the most important component of permanent transformation. Consistent motivation and successful transformation can be achieved by becoming very familiar with The Comfort Zone.

The Comfort Zone is your regular routine. It is the set of behaviors that occur with little or no discipline involved. It is the zone where you can repeat activities and actions over and over again with ease. Some people have a Comfort Zone that leads to eating very poorly, not exercising, and/or drinking heavily. It is not surprising that most of these people look and feel like they are doing a very good job of executing within that Comfort Zone. On the other hand, some people have a Comfort Zone where they exercise regularly and eat healthy foods. And again, not surprisingly, these people are likely to be justifiably happy with the way they look and feel.

The Comfort Zone is driven by both short-term gratification and pain avoidance. It may seem simplistic, but it is true – your Comfort Zone is your easy, low-discipline daily routine. Your Comfort Zone dictates what you look like and how you feel. Understanding what you do on a daily basis and actually writing it down is a necessary step to establishing the starting point of your transformation. Let’s start by defining your Comfort Zone.

Complete the following questionnaire to help you accomplish this task.

A.

Food and Drink i. How many meals do you eat during an average day? At what times? ii. What foods do you eat at these meals and in what quantities? iii. Do you eat snacks? What types and how many? iv. Why do you eat those snacks and how do you feel after? v. How much water do you drink on an average day? vi. Do you crave any specific type of food? vii. How strong are the cravings and when are they the strongest? viii. What is your biggest food and drink weakness (salty, sweet, alcohol, etc.)? ix. Do you know how many calories you eat on average in a day? If not, calculate that the total.

B.

Exercise i. What type of exercise do you enjoy the most (running, weight lifting, yoga, etc.)? ii. How many times per week do you participate in some form of exercise? iii. Where do you exercise? iv. How long are your exercise sessions? v. When exercising, what keeps you going and what makes you stop? vi. How do you feel before you start exercising? vii. How do you feel while exercising? viii. How do you feel after exercising? ix. Are you unusually sore after exercising? x. Do you suffer from a chronic condition that limits what you can do? xi. What motivates you to exercise? xii. What obstacles keep you from exercising? xiii. Do you exercise alone? Are you assisted by a professional (such as a trainer)?

C.

Personal i. How does your work and/or family schedule affect your diet and exercise routine? ii. How supportive are your family and friends regarding your diet and exercise goals? iii. What social obligations keep you from reaching your diet and nutrition goals? iv. What personal struggles (either physical, mental, or emotional) keep you from reaching your diet and nutrition goals? v. Are there foods that are too expensive for your budget? vi. Do you have the time to prepare healthy foods? vii. Do you have the ability to plan meals during the day and stick to that plan?

Don’t stop there. If you have other thoughts about your Comfort Zone, write those down. When you have completed this exercise, go back and read your answers; identify those that are hindering your ability to become The Desired You. Write down solutions and alternative behaviors that you can implement to change these habits and circumstances. Once you have done this, we are confident that you will have a clearer vision of your current Comfort Zone. We say “current” because everybody goes through cycles in his or her life and your Comfort Zone will change from time to time. Regardless of where your Comfort Zone is today, one thing is certain: the farther you move away from your Comfort Zone, the more discipline you need to carry out the correlated behavior. For example, if your Comfort Zone routine includes having a couple glasses of wine after work and lounging on the couch watching television, it will require a significant amount of discipline to change that and go lift weights for 45 minutes and then run five miles on the treadmill, six nights in a row.

KT Law Three: Permanent change cannot come from discipline alone; discipline must be converted to routine...

How can you make permanent and significant changes to your routine when so much discipline is needed to do so? The answer is simple: You need to “shift” your Comfort Zone. It may seem impossible, but it is not. Behavior and routine changes achieved solely through discipline will not last, which is why it is necessary to shift your Comfort Zone to attain long-term results.

Let’s give you an example. Joan is forty pounds overweight. She decides she needs to lose the weight for a high school reunion and gives herself four months to achieve this goal. Joan is motivated because she envisions showing off to her old classmates how good she looks.

This short-term goal is her big motivator. She is also concerned about what they will say if she shows up to the reunion forty pounds overweight. This desire to avoid pain is also a motivator.

Joan pushes herself to lose weight for four months. She cuts her calories drastically, walks four miles a day, stops drinking her nightly glass of wine, does not eat sweets, and incorporates every ounce of discipline she can muster to accomplish her goal. Sure enough, in four months she accomplishes her goal of losing forty pounds. She goes to the high school reunion and everyone is so impressed at how good she looks, she is ecstatic. BUT…. now the motivation is lost. The reason to apply all that discipline is gone and she begins to fall back into her old routine, her “unshifted” Comfort Zone, and in three months she gains back all the weight she struggled to lose, and more.

We see this scenario much too often. Joan had the strength to incorporate short-term discipline, but she did not shift her Comfort Zone, so she did not maintain all the benefits of all her hard work. This is an example of limiting success by using the destination goal as the only motivator to create change.

Take a look at the following chart:

DIET AND TRAINING EFFORT CHART No Discipline Routine

Total Discipline

COMFORT ZONE

Dictates what you look like

Requires a little discipline

Requires some discipline

Requires significant discipline

Can be performed for long periods of time

Can be performed for moderate periods of time

Can only be performed a short period of time

The farther from your comfort zone the tougher it is to continue If you want to change the way you look for good you need to move your comfort zone COMFORT ZONE

The previous chart offers a visual representation of the Comfort Zone. It is relatively easy to move into the light red area by applying discipline, and actually stay there for long periods of time. The farther we move away from the current Comfort Zone, the more discipline is required to stay there, and as we mentioned earlier, it is hard to remain disciplined for a long period of time when the changes to diet and activity levels are more drastic. Shifting discipline to become part of your routine is a great way to move your Comfort Zone.

If you could magically create your plan, execute it without little or no discipline, and have your Comfort Zone automatically moved to reflect that plan, you wouldn’t need this book. Realistically, however, we know that this isn’t the case with most people. You will certainly need to use discipline to execute your plan, but the objective is to minimize that discipline and make it part of a new routine. Below are some tips on how to shift your Comfort Zone.

HOW DO YOU SHIFT YOUR COMFORT ZONE?

Use these helpful tips to help shift your Comfort Zone: 1. Understand what your Comfort Zone is.

2. Determine what is required to make permanent changes in your body.

3. Determine what level of discipline you will need to perform those activities.

4. Continually challenge yourself to transform those discipline-driven activities into routine activities.

5. Incorporate short-term goals. These may be monthly, weekly, or even daily.

6. Incorporate long-term goals. Have a larger, realistic goal in mind.

7. Remember that motivation can come from both positive and negative stimuli. It may be just as motivating to

visualize yourself at your ideal weight, as it is to visualize yourself heavier.

8. Get organized. Every Sunday, schedule your exercise sessions and plan your meals. Make an “appointment”

with the gym by writing it in your planner; prepare some meals on Sunday for the rest of the week and freeze

them.

9. Pack a cooler every day with your meals so you won’t have the opportunity to make poor food choices. This

is also less expensive than restaurant or take-out meals.

10. Learn to make healthy choices when you travel. Find ways to exercise and eat healthy foods when you are

away from home. Most hotels have fitness facilities and most restaurants will honor a special request.

11. Keep a food and training journal. Writing down what you eat will keep you in check!

12. In this journal, write down how you feel after you eat a meal, whether it is a good meal or bad meal.

13. Incorporate supplements in to your regime. You should take supplements that will support your weight loss

goals and promote overall wellness.

14. Create a system that works for you, write it down, and check off the steps as you go. This may take some trial

and error, but just like everything in life, once you create a routine, it becomes a lifestyle.

15. Give yourself rewards other than food. Massages, electronics, or a night out with your family or friends; use

whatever motivates you most.

16. Become a certified trainer to inspire and influence others to shift their Comfort Zone and make positive changes.

You will also arm yourself with knowledge about health and fitness that will help you to reach the next level.

17. Join a fitness forum such as Top Secret Team. Share information, struggles, triumphs, questions, and blogs

with other health and fitness minded people.

18. Join a group fitness class or a running group. Not only will others motivate you, you will also make some new

friends!

19. Sign up for a competitive event such as a marathon or fitness competition. Depending on the event, this could

be either a short-term or long-term goal.

20. Create family events around physical activities. Go for a family hike or bike ride. Create a fun and healthy meal

to cook with the kids.

21. Experiment with healthy recipes and share them with your friends. Once you have educated yourself on healthy

eating habits, you can manipulate almost any recipe into a healthy option.

As you can see, the ways to snap yourself out of your Comfort Zone are limitless. Be creative and learn what works for you. Create new habits and a new lifestyle that moves you from where you are, to where you want to be… permanently.

In the process of creating a new routine and moving your Comfort Zone, you will encounter numerous challenges and hurdles - more on that in the next section.

Let’s summarize what we have already covered: 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

You have defined your transformation goal: The Desired You. You understand that the diet, exercise, and supplement plan is not the difficult part; executing the plan is.

You have defined what your Comfort Zone is.

You have learned why you need to move your Comfort Zone and how to do this.

You understand that discipline, along with short-term goals and rewards, is required to create new routines that will allow for long-term change in your behavior, ultimately moving your Comfort Zone.

Now that you understand your Comfort Zone, the benefits of shifting it, and how you can do it, you need to recognize some hurdles and obstacles you will encounter while creating The Desired You. Becoming aware of the most common hurdles is a key factor in overcoming them.

Here is a list of the most common hurdles and challenges, along with a helpful tip to overcome them. Hurdles and challenges are the reason people stop executing their plan. Understand what these pitfalls are and take them head on.

HURDLE HURDLES YO AND CHALLANGES WIL YOU WILL ENCOUNTER ENCOUNTE ALONG THE WAY

Cravings - You will have cravings as you start to shift your Comfort Zone. When you diet, you experience a caloric deficit and your body will crave the most calorie-dense foods, such as sweets and fats. If the cravings become strong enough, you will eat unhealthy foods.

Resolution Tip – Be prepared with healthy alternatives that will satisfy your hunger. Pack a cooler each morning with lean protein, fresh fruit and veggies, raw nuts, Greek or low fat yogurt and water.

Stress - Between work, finances, and family responsibilities, stress is a chronic problem in our society. The more stress you are under, the less priority you will put on transforming your body, thus, during these times you may not adhere to your diet and exercise plans.

Resolution Tip – Find effective ways to relieve your stress; exercise is a perfect solution! Partner up with an exercise buddy or join a class or group to keep you accountable.

Time - It takes time to prepare food, eat, do household chores, and exercise; sometimes you may not have the time in your schedule. If you do not anticipate and plan for these time issues, you may miss a workout and/or eat poorly.

Resolution Tip – Plan your schedule and your meals on Sundays.

Chop up tons of veggies and fruit. Cook a large amount of lean protein.

Set aside some servings of raw almonds. Bake up a few large sweet potatoes. Portion out multiple meals and freeze them so its easy to grab and go!

Boredom – For many people, exercise can be boring. Eating healthy foods can also seem bland when you are used to eating fatty or sweet foods. So, you should expect some boredom and try to avoid it, as it will sabotage the transformation process.

Resolution Tip – Factor in some different foods and exercises to keep it interesting. Take a fun class such as zumba or spinning. Look up some healthy recipes on the internet (www.topsecretnurition.com) has great healthy recipes!) or find them in magazines.

Lack of Perceived Progress - What do you want? Instant results! Short-term gratification is winning here. You need to understand that transforming your body is a marathon, not a 100-yard dash.

Resolution Tip – Stay motivated to reach your long-term goal by using mini-goals. As we spoke about earlier, set a destination goal but have several smaller goals with several rewards after completing these goals as you climb towards your final transformation.

Travel – You will most likely have to travel for business or pleasure at some point during this process. You will be tempted to forego exercise or eat foods that are not on your program because you are out of your element.

Resolution Tip – Plan exercises that you can do on your own, and stick to your schedule. Most hotels have small gyms so make it a point to wake up a little early to get in a quick morning workout. Or organize an evening walk/run with your travel companions. Also, most restaurants will accommodate special requests. No sauce, dressing on the side, olive oil instead of butter and skip the dessert.

Loss of Energy – There will be times when you feel completely drained of energy. This can affect your mood and make your goals seem a million miles away.

Resolution Tip – A day off to refocus may be what you need to push forward. Remember, overtraining will only set you back.

Plateaus – After a period of time of doing the same thing, your body will adjust accordingly.

Resolution Tip – Make small changes in diet or exercise to keep your body guessing. Decrease your carbohydrate intake for two days or increase your cardio by 15 minutes a day.

Disillusion - This is similar to lack of perceived progress, but it is more like a mood change. You may not feel motivated to do the “plan” anymore.

Resolution Tip – Tune into what your mind is telling you; this will help to create corrective action. Take a step back and look at the big picture and the end goal.

Short-term Gratification – You, like everybody else, want what you want and you want it now. Again, this is a marathon, not a sprint. It takes time to change old habits.

Resolution Tip – Use your mini-goals to achieve the larger goal, but make sure they are still substantial goals and not just an excuse to receive a reward.

Breaks in Momentum – You may miss a few workouts due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances.

Resolution Tip – When you miss a workout or eat less healthy foods than you should, don’t throw all your progress down the drain. You have to find a way to create even more drive to get back on track. Once you are 100% again, incorporate a few “double days”..a little cardio in the am AND pm.

Partially Met Goals – When your original goal has been partially met it can be easy to become less motivated. Say your goal is to drop 30 pounds and you have dropped 20 pounds. You receive all sorts of accolades and suddenly you are not as motivated to drop the last ten pounds. You have received a reward for your efforts and it may be tempting to stop short of your goal.

Resolution Tip – Remember that you are creating a lifestyle change; this is the only way to achieve lasting results. Go back to your original destination goal and remember WHY you chose the goal you did.

Health Issues – If you experience health issues, it will most likely be in your best interest to continue a modified exercise plan and continue to eat healthy foods.

Resolution Tip – Speak with your doctor about any necessary modifications.

Money – It is a misconception that it is cheaper to eat unhealthy foods. Think of the money you spend on vending machine items, your daily sugary coffee drink, or fast food lunches every day.

Resolution Tip – Preparing your own meals is almost always more economical.

Social and Family Pressures – You may feel guilt and pressure to skip a workout because your family wants to spend more time with you.

Family meals can also come with the pressure to eat more than you should.

Resolution Tip – Commit to a schedule that includes family time, but stick with your diet. Incorporate exercise and clean eating into a family day. Take a long walk around the lake then stop for a picnic lunch with healthy, homemade snacks.

Unrealistic Goals – There is a difference between aggressive, realistic goals and delusion. Every body has limitations and it is important to know yours.

Resolution Tip – Make sure you err on the side of aggressive goals. Do not set yourself up for failure before you start.

Poor Planning – It doesn’t matter how hard you work if your plan is not right for you. You will not get results and you will lose motivation.

Resolution Tip – Commit to spending time every Sunday to create your weekly diet and exercise plan. Write it down or put it on your IPAD. Do your best not to deviate.

Too Much Too Soon – It is very easy to bite off more than you can chew. If you try to go from no physical activity to doing cardio twice a day, plus a workout, plus changing your diet drastically, chances are you will not continue. You will burn out and revert to old habits.

Resolution Tip – Create a realistic plan that gradually increases in intensity. You will see better results and be more motivated to complete your goals.

THE GOOD NEWS! The good news is that you can overcome just about every one of these hurdles. Exercise (no pun intended!) these recommendations and watch the obstacles disappear. Even better, watch yourself move from your Comfort Zone closer and closer to achieving your goals with lasting results.

SIDE NOTE: Not all motivation is created equal. Watch out for Impulse Motivation.

This is an easy one; it happens every day and is the reason for late night infomercials. We call this pitfall Impulse Motivation. Here is an example: Suzy, is thirty pounds overweight and out of shape. She has a desire to change, and did not have the motivation to do anything about it until she watched a late night infomercial about a new piece of equipment. The infomercial showed fit people exercising using the equipment and testimonials of people losing pounds by exercising on this piece of equipment for only fifteen minutes a day in the comfort of their own home. Suzy was so motivated that she bought the equipment and began exercising with it. But, without a plan, and without understanding the source of the motivation, in one week Suzy’s new piece of exercise equipment became a clothes hanger in her bedroom.

It’s now time to transform your body,

for life!

BUILDING THE PLAN

UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENT OF TIME IN TRANSFORMATION EFFORTS

Now that you are mentally prepared for your weight loss journey, it’s time to build your personalized plan.

When developing the diet, exercise, and supplementation plan, it is important to consider the element of time. As a general rule, losing one to three pounds per week is a good achievement. Of course, the amount of weight that you can lose in a healthy fashion depends also on your current weight and gender.

You may lose more weight in the beginning as your body is shedding water and responding to the changes in your routine, but you will most surely hit plateaus along the way. When this happens, don’t get discouraged; review the hurdles and challenges section, use the resolution tips, and make the modifications necessary to overcome the plateau.

In the following sections we will explore diet, exercise, and supplementation. We will also expand on motivation as a force to shift the Comfort Zone. There are many different theories and philosophies when it comes to proper nutrition, exercise, and supplementation. Our beliefs are based on the proven methods outlined below.

DIET Following these simple steps will help you change your daily eating habits to achieve long-term weight loss success.

1. Always eat breakfast: When we sleep, our bodies are “fasting” so when we wake up, our metabolism is sluggish. An efficient metabolism is your body’s way of burning calories. The only way to get our metabolism kick-started in the morning is to eat. So, those of you who don’t eat until noon are not starting the engines until then!

2. Eat five or more small meals per day: Our bodies are very intelligent and they want to survive. The body goes into “starvation mode” when we eat only a couple of times per day. The body is saying, “Hey, I don’t know when I’m getting fed again so I better slow down my calorie burning (metabolism) to conserve energy.” As part of this survival process, the body holds on to fat. On the other hand, when we eat 5-6 small meals/snacks spaced out every 2.5-3.5 hours, we are giving our body permission to go ahead and burn (think of a revved up engine!) because it knows we will feed it again in a couple of hours. Eating many times per day is what creates a healthy, efficient, and fast metabolism.

3. Eat lean protein with each meal: Protein is the building block for creating lean muscle, and muscle is the number one calorie-burning organ in your body. It is a key component of the diet to build and support a strong and healthy body. We have included a formula below to help determine how much protein you should eat at each meal. Protein also slows the digestion of carbohydrates, which helps keep blood sugar levels normal. One of the most common questions we are asked is, “How much protein should I eat?” So, we have included a simple guide, see below:

Calculating Daily Protein Requirements in Grams Multiply your weight by the number in the right-hand column to get the approximate number of grams of protein you need daily. If you are trying to lose weight, use your desired weight. This is just a guideline; we recommend eating protein with every meal, so disperse the daily requirements across all meals.

Activity Level

Daily Protein in Grams X Body Weight

Low Activity - Sedentary adults

0.36

Moderate Activity – 30 minutes of walking per day

0.5

High Activity - Athletes who do endurance training or heavy strength training

0.54 to 0.8

4. Always eat protein within 20 minutes of finishing resistance training: This is the most important time to replenish depleted muscle so they will grow. Protein is the building block of muscle as it provides amino acids required to rebuild broken down muscle tissue.

5. Eat five or more servings of fibrous green vegetables every day: These veggies are full of healthy fiber. Our bodies need this healthy fiber to promote good digestion!

6. Eat healthy fats: Not all fats are bad for you; salmon, almonds, walnuts, avocado, olive and flax oils are examples of healthy fats. The body needs fats, just pick the right ones!

7. Limit high glycemic carbohydrates: High glycemic carbohydrates are those that spike your insulin levels. Examples of these are white breads, cakes, cookies, candy, etc. Our bodies do not need large quantities of this type of carbohydrate, and it is best to avoid them.

We have included some example diets in the appendix, but it really is up to you to decide what you want to eat. We have given you the guidelines. If we told you what to eat, you might not like it, and we need to keep you motivated. But, if you do need a detailed guideline on what to eat and when, you can always contact us directly, and we can help you out.

KT Law Four: If you hit a plateau and stop losing weight while in caloric deficit, reduce the serving size of your meals, but do not skip a meal.

EXERCISE Even with a perfect diet, you cannot achieve your body transformation goals without exercise.

TRAINING PHILOSOPHY Our objective with this section is not to replace the personal trainer. Personal trainers are very important components of training; they can teach you how to exercise properly and help motivate you as well.

First, it is important to know that your gym time should consist of three parts that work synergistically to help shape and improve your overall physical health: 1. Strength/Resistance Training is used to increase lean muscle. As previously mentioned, lean muscle is the number one calorie-burning component of your body. And remember, your body continues to burn calories well after you have left the gym after a strength/resistance session.

2. Cardiovascular Training is also an important calorie-burning activity. Cardio not only burns calories when you are doing it, but it also keeps your metabolism running and increases your endurance. Cardio training is essential to your cardiovascular health.

3. Stretching is important for muscle and joint health. Just by performing everyday routines such as driving and sitting at our desks, our bodies become tightened and tensed. Stretching relieves our bodies of this tension and protects us from injury.

Resistance Training Key Points 1. Warm up: You should spend at least ten minutes warming up prior to any resistance training session.

2. Seek help if needed: Ask a trainer for help if you are not familiar with the equipment, to design the best exercise program, and to ensure poper form.

3. Strength train using weights, bands, kettle bells, etc. at least three days a week: Depending on your physique shaping goals, we suggest one day for upper body, one day for lower body, and one day for a full body circuit each week. Another option is to work one body part each day.

4. Rest each body part at least 24-48 hours before training again: Muscles need rest to recover and grow. Overworking the muscle without proper rest will not only impede your progress, but may result in injury. If you are training extremely hard, your muscles may need more time to recover, listen to your body, it will tell you if you need more time. For intense training we advocate a week in between training each body part. Experiment and find out what is best for you.

5. Establish a mind/muscle connection when training: Strength training is not only about the amount of weight or the number of reps you do, but equally or more important is the way you connect your mind to the muscle you are working out. The motion should be con trolled and you should really concentrate on “feeling� the muscle you are engaging. Squeeze and contract the muscle during each repeti tion. The neurological connection between the brain and the muscle needs to be consciously established.

6. Work different angles: In order for a muscle to respond to resistance training, it has to be engaged. Some exercises will engage only parts of the muscle. Different exercises and different angles are required to engage all of the muscle and related fibers.

7. Increase the volume: As your body becomes more accustomed to the resistance training, continue to either increase the weights or the number of reps that you are performing. We want you to continually be challenging the body so that it will adapt.

These are just some rough guidelines for you to follow. We recommend working with a professional trainer, especially if you are new to strength training.

Cardio Training Key Points 1. Conduct cardio training often: Incorporate at least thirty minutes of cardio most days of the week: Aerobic exercise is essential to fat loss, endurance, and cardiovascular health. We call thirty minutes of cardio one unit. So shoot for 5-6 cardio units each week. If for example you spin for one hour, that counts as two cardio units.

2. Work up a sweat: The best indicator of whether or not you are working hard enough is breaking a sweat.

3. Find a cardio activity that you enjoy: Pure cardio can be boring and thus a deterrent. Get creative, there are many options such as spinning, swimming, tennis, step mill, rowing, basketball, volleyball, etc.

Also change your environment if you get bored, run bleachers, do track work, or find a competitive sport you like that gets your heart going.

4. Invest in a heart monitor: This will allow you to know when you are in the fat burning zone that you will learn more about later in this book. The best zone to work in is determined by the following graph:

KT Law Five: When you hit a plateau with weight loss, increase the amount of time you do cardio each day, and/or add a day, thus increasing the cardio units, until you begin to lose weight again.

Stretching Key Points 1. Warm up before and stretch after every workout: Most of us only think about pre-workout stretching, but we believe that warming up is just as important before hitting the weights. But remember, set aside fifteen minutes after every workout to stretch. Your muscles will be tense from the workout, and proper stretching relieves tension and safeguards against injury.

2. Do only static stretching, no ballistic stretches: Stretch and hold for thirty seconds or more. Do not bounce!

3. Practice breathing while you stretch: Take deep breaths before your stretch and you will find that you will be able to stretch deeper.

Breathing during stretching is a lot like the breathing exercises taught in yoga.

SUPPLEMENTATION DISCLAIMER: We own a nutritional supplement company, and are firm believers in taking supplements to accelerate and support the transformation process as well for general wellness. Can you be successful without taking supplements? The answer is a resounding YES. We simply believe the process is easier and more fun when you take the correct supplements.

As stated, we believe in proper supplementation, but it is important to make sure that the supplements you take coincide with at least one of these objectives: 1. Maintain health: These are supplements such as multi-vitamins, anti-oxidants, sleep and stress, digestive enzymes, and joint support.

2. Burn fat: This category consists of supplements that help prioritize fat as an energy source, create thermogenesis, and/or that give you energy to perform cardiovascular exercise.

3. Protect muscle: These are supplements such as whey protein, branched chain amino acids, nitric oxide, and creatine.

4. Improve performance: This category includes supplements such as nitric oxide, caffeine (in moderation), and creatine.

5. Speed recovery: This category includes supplements such as Glucosamine, Glutamine, whey protein, and branched chain amino acids.

Refer to Appendix C for the recommended supplements and corresponding amounts.

THE BASICS As you complete your diet, exercise, and supplementation plan, here are some facts you should know: If your goal requires you to lose fat and hopefully gain and/or tone muscle, you must go into a caloric deficit to accomplish this. You simply must burn more calories than you ingest. Let’s look at this more closely.

There are 3,500 calories in one pound. So if you want to lose one pound, you need to create a 3,500-calorie deficit. Simple right? Just eat less. Unfortunately no. The body is smarter than that. What happens when you drastically restrict your caloric intake? Your metabolic rate slows down. The body is a wonderful machine, it is designed to survive, and so if you reduce calories too drastically, your body will burn less.

Your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) is the number of calories your body burns at rest to maintain normal body functions. To determine what you BMR is go online and search “calculate BMR”, there are hundreds of websites that can help you quickly calculate your BMR. Calorie Facts Fat: 1 gram = 9 calories Protein: 1 gram = 4 calories Carbohydrates: 1 gram = 4 calories Alcohol: 1 gram = 7 calories As a baseline you can take your calculated BMR and subtract the calories you eat in a day to determine your caloric balance. Remember we want to create a deficit. This is just a rough guide, the true measure will be the scale, and how you look in the mirror.

THE DESIRED YOU SUMMARY

You have identified that you want to change, what the form of that change is, and why you want to change. We have given you the tools to make that change; all you need to do is start with your genuine desire to make a change, find a way to turn that desire into lasting motivation, and use the Top Secret keys to success.

The Top Secret keys to permanently transforming your body and creating The Desired You: 1. Determine your goal(s) a. What is it that you want to accomplish and change? b. Why do you want to do this?

2. Determine your Comfort Zone. a. What is your daily routine? b. What needs to change in order to accomplish your goals? c. Understand you need to incorporate discipline until you can shift the Comfort Zone 3. Determine your new diet.

4. Determine the right exercise and supplementation plan.

5. Incorporate discipline to begin the execution.

6. Shift your Comfort Zone in order to use less discipline and more routine to keep the changes long-term.

It’s now time to transform your body, and create The Desired You, forever.

For more information and assistance with your transformation goals, you can contact us via email at kristal@topsecretnutrition.com and tom@ topsecretnutrition.com, or visit our website- www.thedesiredyou.com.

FOREVER

APPENDIX A - MOTIVATION TIPS MOTIVATION TIP #1 Become a better negotiator.

What we are referring to here is “choices” - all day long we are negotiating with ourselves regarding behavioral choices. Some people are driven by biology, some by responsibilities, and some by discipline. For example, it’s 5:00 in the morning, you are lying in bed, it’s cold outside, you are tired, and you want to sleep another hour. But… you know that getting up and running or working out is what you should do. The negotiating begins… “I can run later, but if I run now I will feel better. I ran yesterday, my knees hurt so it’s better I take today off,” the dialogue goes on until either you get up or you don’t.

Later in the day, you are in the office and it’s someone’s birthday, there is a cake, and you are hungry. Everyone meets in the conference room and they hand you a piece of cake. What do you do? The negotiating begins. You can choose not to take the cake and have to explain to your co-workers; take it and eat it; or take it and fake eating it. There are so many choices for a simple piece of cake.

Later in the day you go to the gym (a successful negotiation!), but you don’t feel like pushing it 100%. The negotiating continues… You get the picture. Throughout the day, your choices add up, like a bank, and you end up making net deposits or withdrawals. So how do you solve this problem? First, you have to become aware of that negotiating process and identify that it is going on. Then, create a plan for when the negotiating begins. It can be as simple as using positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, or both. In other words, identify the good and bad things will happen if you make a certain choice. Consider the long-term and short-term outcomes. You have to determine what your motivating factors are and use those in the negotiating process. Quite often your mind and body will fight the “right” decision, so you have to learn to become a better negotiator with yourself.

MOTIVATION TIP #2 Watch out for string motivation.

As we put forth significant effort towards a goal, we create what we call momentum motivation: motivation based solely on a “string” of effort.

Winning streaks are a perfect example. In football, Brett Favre has the record for most starts in a row; that in itself is a motivating factor. In classrooms where teachers keep track of the number of homework assignments completed in a row, students are more likely to consistently complete their homework. While these techniques may work on a short-term basis, when the momentum stops, the success disappears, along with your motivation. For example, say your goal is to lose thirty pounds in three months. For four weeks straight you have eaten clean and stuck to the exercise plan, but then on the fifth week you get sick, miss three days of workouts, and eat poorly. Your “string” momentum is lost. You need to be careful and not let unforeseen interruptions stop you from achieving your goals. This is why it is so important to have other motivating factors. So build your motivating factor pool, and have insurance so that when one of them falters, you don’t.

MOTIVATION TIP #3 Competing with yourself has its disadvantages.

We are fully in support of challenging yourself, setting goals, and pushing your limits. However, it is possible to challenge yourself so much that you lose perspective, get disillusioned, and become unmotivated. Let’s take Mary for an example. Mary began the transformation process eager and excited; this was “the” time she was finally going to make the changes she has always wanted. The first few weeks of dieting and training were difficult, but she had that “newness” motivation that pushed her every day. But, as that novelty wore off, Mary’s motivation began to wane. Before each workout, Mary would look at her journal and see how much cardio, at what level, how many reps, and at what weight she did previously and set that benchmark as her goal for the day. Early on it was easy to surpass each benchmark, but three weeks into the program her benchmarks were tougher to surpass, and she felt “bad” if she could not match what she had done in the previous workout. As time went on, she would become less and less motivated by her inability to match her previous performance that she would eventually not do it at all. The point of this section is: 1. It is physically impossible to “beat” each previous workout; this is simply a fact.

2. When you are tired, continue to go to the gym. Reduce your work load if you need to, but maintain your commitment and go.

3. If you don’t have time to do your scheduled amount of cardio, do a portion of it. Something is always better than nothing.

4. Don’t beat yourself up when you don’t push yourself as hard as you could. It’s simply not possible to do this every day.

5. If you miss a day or two, don’t get too worried; your body actually is repairing itself, but, you should start your routine again as soon as possible.

There are other challenges that you may encounter, but the point is to keep adjusting your mindset to stay motivated. Remember, you are not transforming your body, you are transforming your lifestyle; the body will follow.

MOTIVATION TIP #4 Use motivation and short-term gratification.

This may come to a surprise to you, but people are motivated every second of every day. The key is becoming motivated to do the right thing. It is hard to argue that someone sitting on a couch eating potato chips is not motivated to do just that, and although that activity will not positively affect his/her health, they are still motivated to do it.

Motivation is driven by feelings. To be more specific, motivation is driven by our desire to acquire, perpetuate, or get rid of a specific feeling.

A perceived lack of motivation to do something is no more than a redirection of this motivation towards something else, searching for some sort of gratification. There is a tendency to be motivated to pursue those objectives with the smallest gap between the action and the gratification. The wider this gap is, the greater the chance that the individual will become distracted and shift his/her motivation to do something different, usually something with more immediate gratification (like eating those delicious potato chips).

Sigmund Freud once said, “We behave to either get pleasure or avoid pain.” It cannot be stated any clearer than that. The body is the main creator and driver of motivation: we are hungry, we want to eat, we are tired, we want to sleep, and so on. These drivers are constant, and tend to develop the human animal into a seeker of short-term gratification. In other words, into an animal that is easily distracted if the actiongratification gap is at all wide.

Everyone knows someone who sleeps past the assigned wakeup call, eats anything he/she wants at any time, or drinks more than he/she should. Yes, everyone knows someone (or many people) who lives in what can be called the “short-term gratification Comfort Zone”. It is often thought that these people are “unmotivated”, but this is incorrect. They are motivated; they are just motivated in a way that may have been of use for the caveman (when it was all about minute-by-minute survival), but in a way that does not work in today’s more complex and strategic thinking world.

It is at this point where discipline comes in. Discipline can substitute instant gratification as a behavior driver. Another way of looking at it is: discipline is what allows someone to maintain a desired behavior for as long as the action-gratification gap requires. The problem is that, too often, instant gratification trumps discipline, and maintaining discipline to reach across the gap is way too difficult. What can be done to accomplish long-term objectives where the gap between action and gratification appears to be too long?

You can focus on doing two basic things: 1. Create short-term rewards (interim or stepped gratification) 2. Incorporate the desired behaviors into a routine to reduce the dependency on discipline A “cheat meal” at the end of a hard week of dieting is an example of a short-term reward. The dieter can push through the week thinking of the delicious Sunday morning pancakes. In a way, short-term rewards are accepted or planned deviations from the desired behavior. But Monday, everything is back to normal and we are pushing through to the next enjoyable “cheat meal”. To others, the process may be even more constant, “If I do this, I will reward myself by doing that.” Soon, the objective is realized, and the process is later evaluated as having been “extremely disciplined”.

Everyone has the ability to create routines. Getting up at 6:00 a.m. to work out requires a lot of discipline to start with, but becomes easier as it develops into a routine. Converting the positive actions into routines thus becomes a key step towards maintaining discipline until the ultimate objective is reached.

Even a solid program and helpful tricks to build and maintain discipline will not prevent you from experiencing the feeling of “competing wants”.

The desire for short-term gratification that does not fit in the program is ever-present. The temptations to cheat will always be strong. You need to perform frequent motivation checks to stay on track.

A technique for performing a motivation check is to visualize the final goal, to imagine yourself there, to visualize how others are seeing the “new you”. Periodically look at how far you have come, and use that as confirmation that you are following the correct path. A second step is to do the reverse, to visualize how you will feel if you don’t achieve your goals; imagine how others will react and respond to the failure.

How will you feel tomorrow after failing today and having to start all over again? These positive and negative visualizations are very strong motivational drivers.

And if all fails…. Use discipline. Discipline is the last card to be kept in your back pocket. Although you should not overuse discipline, you should always be aware that it is there, just in case you need it.

APPENDIX B - APPROVED FOOD SUBSTITIONS Complex carbohydrates (also known as “good carbs”) • • • • •

Rice (brown) (½ cup serving measured cooked) Oatmeal (½ cup serving measured dry) Whole-wheat pasta (one cup serving measured cooked) Grits (½ cup serving measured dry) Quinoa (½ cup serving measured cooked)

• • • • •

Sweet potato (4 oz.)

Whole-wheat bread (two slices) Whole-grain/low sugar cereals (One serving per label) Ezekiel bread (two slices) Whole-wheat tortilla (one)

• • • • • •

White meat chicken or turkey breast Fish - all fish including salmon Natural peanut butter or almond butter Low fat cottage cheese Fish (tuna) Protein powder

• • •

Nuts Omega 3 fatty acids Flaxseed oil

•

Fill up with green, leafy veggies such as spinach, asparagus, cucumber and broccoli.

Good Proteins: 3-5 oz. servings • • • • • •

Lean cuts of beef White meat ground turkey Nuts Greek yogurt Eggs/egg whites Tofu

Good Fats: 1 tbsp servings • • •

Olive oil Avocado (¼ -½ serving) Natural peanut butter and almond butter

Vegetables •

All vegetables are good, you should eat the following in moderation because they are high in sugar: tomatoes, carrots, and corn.

Fruits • Apple, berries, cantaloupe, honeydew, oranges, pears, grapes, peaches, unsweetened applesauce, cherries, plums, and grapefruit are the best choices. They are all fruits with a low glycemic index so they will not spike your blood sugar. Sharp increases in blood sugar will make you hungry quicker. Fruits should be eaten in moderation.

Beverages • •

Water Coffee (skip the creamer)

• •

Iced tea/hot tea (green or black) Skim, soy, or almond milk (limit to one serving a day)

***Preferred sweeteners: Stevia, agave nectar, or natural or raw honey.

AVOID: Refined sugar (cakes, white bread, cookies, etc.), alcohol, and “white” starches (white rice, white potato, white pasta, white bread), and anything fried (this includes tempura).

SAMPLE DIET

Meal One: 8:00 am ½-1 cup egg whites and 1 whole egg scrambled with veggies (spinach, peppers. and mushrooms) and 1 oz. low fat cheese, PLUS 2 slices of whole wheat (or Ezekiel) toast with 1 tbsp apple butter OR 1 serving of Fiber One cereal with 1 cup unsweetened almond milk (or ½ cup skim milk) and ½ cup sliced strawberries.

Water

Meal Two: 10:30 am Top Secret SoyXtreme Vanilla Bean or Double Chocolate protein shake with 12 raw almonds

Meal Three: 1:00 pm 4-6 oz grilled chicken in a whole-wheat wrap with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and mustard. 6 carrot sticks with 2 tbsp hummus.

Water

Meal Four: 4:00 pm 1 cup low fat cottage cheese with 1 medium green apple OR 1 cup plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 cup blueberries Water

Meal Five: 7:00 pm 4-6 oz fish, chicken breast, lean ground turkey, or lean red meat with 1 cup steamed veggies OR 2 cups green salad with 2 tbsp of light dressing and 4 oz sweet potato OR ½ cup cooked brown rice.

Water

Meal Six: 9:30 - 10:00 pm (If still awake and hungry) Top Secret Whey protein shake with ice, water, and 12 almonds, OR 1 tbsp of all natural peanut butter or almond butter.

Water

****1-2 cheat meals a week. For this meal, enjoy what you want just control the portion. For example: 1 cup pasta with ½ cup sauce and 4 oz of chicken or shrimp 1 slice bread with 1tsp butter Salad with 1 tbsp dressing Small dessert (we suggest sharing) 1 glass wine (if you like wine)

APPENDIX C - TOP SECRET SUPPLEMENT OVERVIEW

We have only listed our own supplements from Top Secret Nutrition, because we know these work. You may have other supplements that you want to you use, that is of course ok, and totally up to you.

DISCLAIMER: We own a nutritional supplement company, and are firm believers in taking supplements to accelerate and support the transformation process as well for general wellness. Can you be successful without taking supplements? The answer is a resounding YES. We simply believe the process is easier and more fun when you take the correct supplements.

EASY Top Secret Supplement

First thing in the morning

Top Secret Jitter Free Fat Burner

2

Top Secret Astravar™

2

With meal one

20 minutes before Meal Two

20 minutes before meal three

20 minutes before meal five

2

Top Secret Appetite Suppressant

2

Top Secret Diet Accelerator N-Pack

Before workouts

2

1

Top Secret N.O. 370™

One scoop

MODERATE Top Secret Supplement

First thing in the morning

Top Secret Jitter Free Fat Burner

2

Top Secret Astravar™

2

With meal one

20 minutes before Meal Two

20 minutes before meal three

Before workouts 2

1

Top Secret Appetite Suppressant

2

Top Secret Diet Accelerator N-Pack

20 minutes before meal five

2

2

1

Top Secret N.O. 370™

One scoop

ADVANCED Top Secret Supplement

First thing in the morning

Top Secret Jitter Free Fat Burner

2

Top Secret Astravar™

2

With meal one

Top Secret Appetite Suppressant Top Secret Diet Accelerator N-Pack Top Secret N.O. 370™

20 minutes before Meal Two

20 minutes before meal three

20 minutes before meal four

20 minutes before meal five

Before workouts

2

2

2

1

1

1

2

2

2

1 One scoop

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