CHAPTER 15 – PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
We have covered a lot of material in this book so I want to offer a summary that will help you create practical first steps and then get started.
Let’s begin by taking another look at the planning and tracking sheet I showed you in Chapter 7.
This should make a lot more sense now and can act as a guide for your first week on the program.
81. You can see that this participant has selected Friday as her cheat day (indicated by the dashed box around that day of the week)
82. No eating plans were set for cheat day but the participant did record what she ate that day
83. A Friday cheat day means that Saturday is automatically scheduled as a fast day (she fasted from 7:30pm on Friday until 6pm on Saturday – almost 24 hours)
84. Notice that there is no exercise scheduled for fast day – It’s a day to rest and recover!
85. Water, exercise, and meals were pre-planned for each day of the week
86. She indicated whether or not she followed through with her plans on each day using a check or “X”
87. Some notes at the bottom explain what happened on the days that fell off plan and how to improve the following week
Now that the planning process is clearer, let’s look at all the steps involved in this program. I have indicated which chapter you can reference if you are unsure about how to approach any of these steps:
Step 1 – Choose 2 accountability buddies (Chapter 8)
Step 2 – Print your planning and tracking sheet (Appendix A)
Step 3 – Choose your cheat day (Chapter 13)
Step 4 – Schedule your fast day (Chapter 14)
Step 5 – Find appropriate meals for the 5 other days of the week (Chapter 11 and 12) and schedule them into your planning sheet
Step 6 – Schedule the type of exercise you will do each day and the time you will do it (Chapter 10)
I have loads of free home workouts available at www.makeyourbodywork.com if you need help.
Step 7 – Calculate how much water you will need to drink each day. Add it to your plan (Chapter 9)
Step 8 – Send your plan to your accountability buddies and schedule a check-in time (Chapter 8)
Step 9 – Buy groceries to cover all of your planned meals and snacks for the upcoming week (Chapter 11 and 12)
Step 10 – Prepare some of your food ahead of time (e.g. cut up veggies, cook and freeze a few meals, thaw ingredients you will need to use, etc.)
My most successful “10 in 4” clients use one day per week to prepare most of their food. This makes the rest of the week much less rushed and much more stress-free!
Once you have followed these 10 steps you are ready to begin your first week on the program. Remember, you will face barriers along the way (Chapter 5), but those will become less and less with each passing week.
I am asking that you commit to this process for 4 full weeks (Chapter 6) so that you can see some amazing changes in the way you look and feel AND so that you give your body a fair chance to overcome deeply rooted habits that you are trying to change.
While this program is very simple, it is not easy, especially during the first few weeks when you may be making a number of lifestyle changes.
If you have any questions, please visit www.makeyourbodywork.com and feel free to contact me directly.
Also, if you feel that you would benefit from working alongside others who are following this program, you may want to consider joining one of my upcoming “10 in 4” groups (Please visit www.10in4.com)
Each month I work with “10 in 4” participants as they implement the strategies you read about in this book. Our goal is to lose 10lbs in 4 weeks (hence “10 in 4”) and the vast majority of participants surpass this goal.
Working with other participants in a “10 in 4” group is a very effective way to kick off your own lifestyle shift. After four weeks in the group I guarantee you will be very prepared to continue strengthening your new habits and building on your success.
Congrats! You are now pointed in the right direction and can begin your new weight-loss lifestyle. Again, I would love to hear from you along the way and am excited to hear about the amazing results you achieve by following this program.
88. Do any of the 10 steps seem confusing? If so, what can you do to clarify that step?
89. Do any of the steps seem difficult to carry out? If so, what makes that step difficult and how can it be made more approachable?
90. Which step are you most excited to tackle?