6 Steps to Get Ready

1. Take stock of your items. Clean out your pantry. Get rid of all of the following items:

• Starches & grains: cereals, pasta, rice, potatoes, corn, oats, quinoa, flour, breads, bagels, wraps, rolls, and croissants.

• Sugary foods & drinks: refined sugar, fountain drinks, fruit juices, milk, desserts, pastries, milk chocolate, candy bars, etc.

• Legumes: beans, peas and lentils.

• Polyunsaturated fats & oils: vegetable, sunflower, safflower, canola, soybean, grapeseed, corn, and most seed oils, shortening, margarine, spreads, etc.

• Fruits: bananas, dates, grapes, mangoes, apples, dried fruit, etc.

2. Make your shopping list (either keto or low carb).

• List the foods you want from one of the two shopping lists available. Include items from meats, veggies and good fats and oils. If doing the low carb plan, you may include fruits from that shopping list.

3. Go shopping.

• Buy only the foods on your shopping list.

4. Set up your kitchen.

• Use a food scale to weigh your food after it has been cooked.

• Use a food processor or electric hand mixer for mixing many delicious recipes.

• Use cast iron pans (avoid aluminum or other coated pans that may contaminate your food).

• Use a slow cooker for delicious meals – cook while you are at work!

• Use a variety of spices for changing up the flavor of many meals. Make several blends to have readily on hand.

5. Plan your meals.

• Focus on fresh. Get the most from these items by eating them within a window of peak freshness. Plan accordingly.

2 days – fish, ground meat, berries, avocado.

5 days – fresh beef, lamb or pork, greens, asparagus, green beans, eggplant, summer squash, broccoli, fennel, basil, dill, radish.

7 days – cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, cucumber, leeks, cilantro, mint.

7 days + - fresh eggs (refrigerated), onion, beet, celery, sweet potato, carrot, cabbage, winter squash, rosemary, oregano.

• Pack in protein.

Be sure to incorporate protein into your meals. Chicken, turkey, fish, beef, pork and eggs are great sources of protein.

Remember not all protein needs to be animal sourced. Mix up your protein sources – beans or tofu for a meatless meal.

• Love your leftovers.

Plan your meals with leftovers in mind - toppings for salads, added to soups.

6. Portion size.

• Display the Portion Size Chart in a conspicuous area for meal plate preparation.

FOCUS on a variety of ingredients, portion size and nutritional value of each item on your plate.

CHOOSE foods and drinks with less saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars.

CREATE an eating style that can improve your health now and in the future by making small changes over time. In other words, start by focusing on increasing your vegetables at one meal, adding more vegetables to the meal with each passing day.

DOWNLOAD a calorie counting app on your phone. The following are apps. Each have a free basic platform, plus most have an upgrade to a premium for a fee: BetterMe, Carb Manager, Cronometer, Calorie Counter, Day One Journal, Fooducate, Healthi, HealthKart, Lark Health, Lose It!, MyDietCoach, MyFitnessPal, MyPlate Calorie Counter, MyNet Diary.