Well friends, I hate to disappoint you, but we’re not going to provide you with a magic meal plan or diet that you can follow. If that’s what you are looking for, that’s perfectly fine, but you’re not going to find it here. We have just found most of them to be too restrictive and not sustainable for the long haul. Remember, the goal here is not to figure out a way to drop a bunch of weight as fast as you can by white-knuckling it through yet another diet plan that you can’t wait to get to the end of, but to figure out a way to lose the weight and sustain it for the REST OF YOUR LIFE.

We’ve learned a few tips and tricks to help give you some guidelines, with the help from friends like Michael Bell, Kevin Geary and Corinne Crabtree. Here are a few to get you started:
- We are aiming toward consuming a diet as “clean” as possible. As Corinne likes to say, “If God made it, you can eat it.” Think of the car analogy: consider the food you put in your body like gas your put in your car. If you put in the E-85 fuel and your engine needs Premium fuel, you car is going to run like crap. Well…. put the junk food into our bodies, how do you think they perform for us??? 💩💩💩 So in the beginning, shoot for putting more fuel into your body than crap.
- “Clean” eating consists of consuming a diet primarily based on whole foods, which include lean proteins, healthy fats, healthy carbohydrates, and lots of fruits and vegetables. Just aim to have a nice blend of them all. Also, try to start cutting out as many of the highly processed, sugar packed foods as you can.
- Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. This is where you will find most of your whole, fresh foods, so where you want to focus most of your shopping time. The aisles are full of processed junk, so have your list ready and only grab what you need on it from those center aisles. Try not to do the slow grocery store shuffle… you know what I mean!
- Learn to read the food labels. Specifically pay attention to the ingredients, as you will be amazed by what is in some of those “healthy” foods. Typically the more ingredients something has, the more processed it is. The manufacturers list the ingredients in order of most to least, so the first few ingredients are the bulk of it.
- Eat when you’re feeling the hunger “whispers” and stop when you’re satisfied. The goal is to learn to listen to you body, which takes some practice. Pay attention to when you start getting those hunger whispers and when you do, it’s time to eat. Slow down and really enjoy your food, then when you feel satisfied, that’s when it’s time to stop eating. I know, the next question is “But how do I know if I’m really hungry or just having a craving?” Here’s a tip: If the food you have on your 24 Hour Plan doesn’t sound good and you’re scrounging through the fridge and pantry looking for something that trips your trigger – that’s a craving. When you’re really hungry your body will want the fuel. And how do you know when you’re satisfied? That will take some practice on your end, but if you finish up eating and could go for a walk or do some light exercise within 1/2 hour, you’re good. If the thought of it makes you feel like you want to puke… you MIGHT have overdone it.
- Drink your water. Water is life! And so crucial to your weight loss and health journey. We have heard the goal should be to drink 1/2 your body weight in ounces. That is a LOT! If your are trying to ramp up your water consumption, try starting with 64 oz. and see how your body reacts. You will pee a lot more than you are used to if you haven’t been drinking much water, and if you’re well-hydrated it will be pale yellow. If it’s darker, you will want to drink more.
- Don’t count calories or macros. Just aim to get really consistent with filling out your 24 Hour Plan and COMMIT to what you put on it. Start setting goals to try new and different whole foods, a little at a time, and see how your body responds.
Unfortunately there’s no magic diet wand, friends. I really, truly wish there were! (Boy do I ever – wouldn’t THAT would be our million dollar idea! 🙂) Just remember it’s about progress, not perfection.
As one of our new favorite mantras goes, “Learn to enjoy the process.” #bettereveryday