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  You don’t have to be intimidated by cooking, and you don’t have to become Julia Child, either. These meal plans are really simple and designed for anyone to make and enjoy. The best part? They are tasty and effective at slimming you down.

  All you really need to get started is a basic set of pots and pans. Nothing fancy. You can pick these up at any home goods store. You’ll also want to have a decent set of cutlery (knives) as well. Food prep is significantly easier with sharp knives, and you’ll actually run less of a risk of hurting yourself than with dull knives.

  Other must-have items:

  Blender (I like the Vitamix)

  Can opener

  Cutting board(s)

  Colander

  George Foreman Grill

  Measuring cups

  Measuring spoons

  STOCK YOUR PANTRY

  Now that you have your kitchen stocked with the basic tools, it’s time to fill your pantry with the right ingredients. Once you’ve gotten the most basic spices and condiments, you can plan ahead each week to buy the foods you’ll need for the weekly meal plans. I’ve already created a grocery list for you each week. To keep it simple, write down just the items you need from the meal plans to help you stay on track, and don’t stray down the junk food aisle. Remember: If it’s not in the house, you won’t eat it! Using a targeted shopping list will help you be more successful.

  If you can, choose one day each week when you have a little more time to go shopping, so you won’t feel rushed and forget anything. If possible, try to shop alone—kids are sure to throw you off your game—and never shop hungry!

  My Grocery List

  The following is most likely what you would see in my cart. I especially like to keep fresh fruits and veggies, Greek yogurt, and nuts and seeds on hand for easy, healthy snacks. I get most of my fruits and veggies from a company that delivers a weekly box of organic produce right to my home. This forces me to try new things, and I always have seasonal, organic food in the house.

  Blueberries

  Frozen berries

  Small avocados

  Eggs

  Small cartons of egg whites (Sometimes these are just easier to scramble with some spinach.)

  2% Greek yogurt

  Thin-sliced fresh chicken breast

  Fresh fish (wild caught only)

  Frozen fish (such as orange roughy, flounder, and cod)

  Lean steak

  Pork loin

  Turkey burgers or ground turkey

  Canned tuna or salmon in water

  Canned coconut milk (Choose those whose only ingredients are coconut milk and water.)

  Coffee

  Green tea (I like Good Earth Tea.)

  Sesame seeds

  Slivered almonds

  CUSTOMIZE YOUR MEALS

  Because of the importance of protein, we’ve included a decent amount of fish, chicken, pork, and other sources of protein in this plan. Keep in mind that any protein sources work, so if you have a dietary restriction such as a fish allergy, feel free to substitute an equal amount of chicken or other source of protein. Don’t like red meat? Not a problem—try a different protein like tofu or fish, for example.

  We have also designed the recipes to be customizable to your taste—especially with the grilled items like chicken, pork, and red meat. We let you decide what marinades or sauces to use, so you can control the flavors and find exactly what you like so you’ll savor every bite. That said, here are a few seasoning suggestions.

  Fish: lemon-pepper seasoning (Mrs. Dash makes one we like)

  Pork and chicken: smoked paprika or chili powder with lime juice

  Shrimp: lemon juice, salt, and pepper

  Steak: a basic Montreal steak seasoning

  Essential Seasonings & Condiments

  Before you begin the 12-week meal plan, make sure you have the following seasonings and condiments on hand. You'll be using them frequently to create the delicious meals and snacks you'll be enjoying over the next 12 weeks. These can be found in any grocery store.

  Black pepper

  Kosher salt

  Oregano

  Basil

  Crushed red-pepper flakes

  Mrs. Dash (good on poultry, fish, and meat)

  Chili powder

  Ground cinnamon

  Extra virgin olive oil

  Canola oil

  Sesame oil

  Balsamic vinegar

  Rice vinegar

  Mayonnaise made with olive oil

  Dijon mustard

  Brown mustard

  Low-sodium soy sauce

  Honey or agave nectar

  Cooking spray

  SECRETS TO SUCCESS

  Whatever helps you stick to the plan is a successful strategy for healthy eating! Below are some of the most popular tips and tricks I’ve culled from clients, as well as notes I’ve saved from my own journal entries.

  CLEAN HOUSE. Get rid of any junk food or snacks that might be a trigger for you. If you need to keep certain foods around for your kids or husband that are not part of your plan, use a cupboard just for them that is off-limits to you. This is a strategy one of my clients uses with huge success. “The kids have their cupboard with their foods, and I don’t ever go in there,” she explains.

  KEEP TRACK. Purchase a journal to use for this challenge to keep track of your nutrition and your workouts.

  PLAN AHEAD. Don’t make a big deal about it, don’t stress about it, just do it! Each evening, think ahead to the next day and plan out what you’re going to eat. You can use your journal to pencil in what you plan to eat during the next day or two. Stay calm and organized, and always make sure you have healthy food with you. Pack an insulated lunch bag every day so you’re not tempted to stray from the plan. Remember that nothing tastes as good as lean and sexy feels!

  COOK EXTRA PROTEIN. Any time you cook meat, poultry, fish, or other protein, make a little extra to keep on hand in your fridge to throw on a salad or just grab and go. Keep hard-cooked eggs in the fridge at all times for an easy snack. You can also keep cans of tuna and salmon at the ready as an easy source of protein.

  Boost Your Food Power

  Your metabolism increases after you eat. This is especially true when you eat protein, which has the highest thermic effect of food. The thermic effect of food refers to the calories your body burns to process the food you eat. Studies have shown that a higher-protein diet, including increased dairy consumption as a protein source, promotes body fat loss. In addition, recent studies show that eating a protein and a fat together significantly increases metabolism more than eating protein with a low-fat meal. This plan is structured to encourage you to include protein and a fat at each meal, along with a fruit or vegetable, to take advantage of this extra metabolic boost.

  COMMIT TO GETTING CREATIVE. Do whatever it takes to make dinners that keep you interested and excited. I use a fruit and vegetable delivery company that provides many different varieties of vegetables delivered to my home once a week. I mix and match my produce with all kinds of protein options so I never get bored.

  GET WILD IN THE FREEZER. Buy frozen wild-caught fish (orange roughy, cod, mahi mahi, tilapia, flounder) that can be cooked in just a few minutes for a quick meal. I’ve brushed Dijon mustard on a frozen salmon fillet, stuck it in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, and served it with steamed veggies. Voilà—dinner is ready!

  MAKE MRS. DASH YOUR FRIEND. I use this all-purpose seasoning on my dinner most nights, and many times on my eggs in the morning. It’s a quick way to spice up a meal and keep my tastebuds happy. Salsa is also a figure-friendly condiment you can enjoy freely, and mustard works great as a dipping sauce for chicken or other protein.

  SATISFY YOUR NEED FOR CRUNCH. Buy a small bag of coleslaw, rainbow slaw, or broccoli slaw and mix it with tuna, chicken, or other protein for an instantly satisfying, crunch-worthy salad. (Thanks, Dr. John Berardi!) I also sprinkle ground flax seeds on the salad for a nutty taste along with a little olive oil and bal
samic vinegar. Keeping sliced cucumber or baby carrots in your fridge provides you with another good crunchy snack option.

  WHAT’S IN THIS PLAN

  I’m always on the lookout for new information, a better or faster way to get effective results with my clients (and myself). When I come across something in research or reading, I try it myself first. Many times it stops there. If I feel like it might be appropriate, I’ll have my staff try it out. (I have a few women on our team who love to be guinea pigs, trying new workouts and nutrition ideas—thanks, ladies!) If I still feel confident that it is in fact a better method, I’ll introduce it to a few of my clients. This was how I developed the plan for my first book, and I’ve continued to hone my plan here.

  Here are some of the key elements of this plan.

  DAY-BY-DAY MENUS. Once you know the basic principles of the plan, you can choose the foods you like while still following those principles. However, many people still want a specific menu plan for every day, along with recipes. You’re not required to follow these menus exactly for the 12 weeks, but they may help to give you ideas for new foods and recipes, how to prepare them, and what a successful day should look like on the plan.

  AN OMEGA-3 AND VITAMIN D SUPPLEMENT. Omega-3 fish oils have been shown to increase fat oxidation, among other important health benefits. In addition, brand new research shows that adding fish oil supplements can help to build muscle and strength. Vitamin D has been proven in current and emerging research to be a mandatory supplement for health and vitality. Check out “Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin” below for more on its important health benefits. Both are recommended on this plan.

  Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin

  Vitamin D has gotten a lot of attention lately, and for good reason. This "vitamin" (it's technically a hormone) has been shown to improve muscle strength as well as bone health, reduce type 1 and 2 diabetes, and help prevent cancer, Alzheimer's disease, arthritis, and a host of other ailments. A 2011 Canadian study also showed that women with higher dietary vitamin D intake have lower body fat.

  Our bodies naturally make vitamin D from exposure to sunlight, but most people don't get outside enough, and when we do, we need to slather ourselves with sunscreen, which might hinder vitamin D production. We can get some vitamin D from foods, but the problem is that there aren't many appealing options—milk, wild-caught salmon, sardines, anchovies, egg yolks, and liver are the strongest sources. So what should we do?

  It may be wise to add a vitamin D supplement to your diet. The recommended dose is 1,000 IU per day, unless your health-care provider tells you differently. A favorite product of ours is Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega-D3, which also has a high concentration of omega-3s in addition to 1,000 IU of vitamin D—a true win-win!

  TRUSTED BRANDS. When appropriate, I’ve listed specific brands on the grocery lists, such as Kashi Go Lean cereal and ak-mak or RyKrisp crackers. These products have good amounts of fiber and protein, but low sugar, plus the ingredients are all-natural. Many packaged products are highly processed, with high-fructose corn syrup listed as the first ingredient. By offering specific brands, I hope to make it easier for you to choose the right healthy snacks and other foods to satisfy your cravings!

  A GREENS DRINK. Get your veggies in one easy serving! A greens drink should supplement an already very “green” diet—meaning one loaded with green and other colored fruits and veggies. Greens drinks are also a convenient way to consume enough vegetables on the go, when healthy eating is more difficult. They surely don’t replace eating whole fruits and veggies, but they’re a good way to get additional micronutrients, antioxidants, and phytochemicals. We like Greens+ and use it regularly on top of our clean diets. You can find Greens+ products at www.greensplus.com.

  THE FUSS ABOUT FASTING

  Since I wrote my last book, intermittent fasting has become the buzz, which goes against one of my rules, “Fuel Yourself to Be Fabulous.” But, curiosity got the better of me, and I decided I couldn’t knock fasting until I tried it. Does it work? Yes. Is it extreme? Yes. Is it necessary? Absolutely not.

  Fasting is something I tried myself but never introduced to my team or my clients because it isn’t realistic. A study done in London in 2011 of 107 women compared intermittent calorie restriction to continuous calorie restriction and found that they were equally effective for weight loss.

  If the results are the same, I believe you are better off eating every day to have fuel for your workouts. A fueled body is sure to have a better workout, and quality workouts add up to more fat loss. When your body is fueled with clean foods (which we’ve laid out in the meal plans), you can lose fat, think clearly, process the right nutrients, and have energy for your workouts—all at the same time.

  One thing I did learn from my fasting experiment was a new rule you’ll hear more about on the road map, which is to de-emphasize dinner. You will survive if you don’t have a big sit-down dinner and will get better results by front-loading your food intake earlier in the day. Also, if you miss a meal, it isn’t the end of the world. Just beware of waiting too long and ending up in “The State of Total Starvation,” or you’ll set yourself up to binge.

  Overall, I recommend fueling your body with real food to be fabulous. It has worked for me and for my clients over and over again. Eating properly sets you up to be able to maintain your hottest body for the long-term. It’s healthy and realistic, and it ensures your body has all of the nutrients it needs to thrive.

  HOW TO USE THE PLAN

  The first few days will be the hardest and most uncomfortable. You’ll have moments where you’ll want to default to your old habits. Commit to following the menus as closely as you can the first week, and be sure to plan ahead and get started on the right foot. Your mind needs to be strengthened just like your muscles. Each time you can say, “No, thank you” and don’t cave to a craving, you are strengthening your mind and your body!

  The first week, challenge yourself to get through the entire 7 days following the menus exactly to prove to your­self that you can. This will put you in situations where you will be forced to troubleshoot and come up with healthy strategies and habits right away no matter how crazy your day is. As the 12 weeks continue, you’ll have the freedom to mix and match your meals, and splurge 10 percent each week, so you’ll never feel deprived. Remember: There will always be another meal. And if you do end up splurging more than your 10 percent, all is not lost! You’ll have Splurge Checks throughout your journey to make sure that on average you are hitting 10 percent.

  Here are the general meal plan rules for the next 12 weeks:

  Eat breakfast as soon as possible in the morning, followed by a meal every 3 to 4 hours. Try to de-emphasize dinner and front-load your food intake earlier in the day. People who lose weight and keep it off tend to eat breakfast—it’s a common habit you should adopt! Make breakfast your priority meal, not dinner.

  Eat a high-quality protein source along with a healthy fat at every meal and snack.

  Have an average of two servings of vegetables at each meal, working up to 10 servings a day.

  Eat nonprocessed, natural, whole foods that only contain ingredients you can pronounce! The less processed the food, the better it is for your body.

  Drink 64 ounces (eight glasses) of water each day.

  Supplement with a multivitamin, 1 to 2 grams of an omega-3 supplement, and 1,000 IU of vitamin D daily.

  Always support your workout with a recovery shake. You can drink this before, during, and/or after your workout session.

  Stick to these rules 90 percent of the time, allowing yourself 10 percent to splurge. Update your journal daily to keep track of your progress.

  Super Simple Pot Roast

  I learned this recipe from Mike Roussell, PhD, and make it when I’m feeling extra domestic. Yum!

  INGREDIENTS:

  2 tab lespoons extra virgin olive oil

  2 pounds beef chuck shoulder roast

  2 onions, chopped

  2 cu
ps chopped turnips

  4 cups baby carrots

  4 cloves garlic, minced

  1 teaspoon salt

  1 teaspoon pepper

  1 tablespoon dried thyme

  2 teaspoons dried rosemary

  1½ cups beef broth (low sodium) or red wine

  HOW TO PREPARE:

  Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a large ovenproof pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Add roast and brown on all sides. Remove roast from the pan and pour out liquid. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, onions, turnips, carrots, and garlic. Cook until the onions begin to become translucent. Meanwhile, rub the roast with the salt, pepper, thyme, and rosemary on all sides. Add roast back to the pan along with the broth or wine. Cover tightly and simmer for 5 minutes. Place the pan in the oven and roast for 2½ to 3 hours, or until the roast can easily be pulled apart with a fork. Makes 5 servings.

  ALTERNATIVE COOKING METHOD:

  Brown the roast and season it as directed above. Place in a slow cooker with the remaining ingredients and cook for 6 to 8 hours on low.

  “I really didn’t want to try my jeans on as I’d only gone down a couple of pounds, and I knew I needed to lose way more than that to fit into them. But I tried them on anyway and I was shocked! I fit into them! Muscle does take up less room than fat!”

  —ADRIENNE PATERSON, DROPPED TWO SIZES IN 8 WEEKS

  The first 30 days of this plan (or any plan!) are the most important. Most of my clients get hooked in the first 30 days, and the majority of them are successful. The ones who make their fitness goals a priority tend to be consistent and connect the positive results with the effort.