This 1-week plan is taken directly from my own eating program. This is how I ate to lose weight and it’s how I eat now to maintain my shape. Give it a try and adapt it to your own preferences. Again, if you find it difficult to eat a pizza during lunchtime, use your pizza as your evening meal, swapping dinner for lunch.

This is simply a guide. Developing your own plan for eating to lose weight is critically important to your ability to stick with it and achieve the results you’re looking for.

DAY ONE

 

Breakfast

½ cup high-fiber, low-sugar cereal or granola with ¼ cup homemade or store-bought, unsweetened almond milk. (Can also use skim milk.) Top with a small handful of raw, sliced almonds.

To make almond milk, combine 2 ounces organic blanched almonds with ⅔ cup warm water in a blender. Blend until smooth. Strain through a cheesecloth into a glass bottle or airtight container and add a pinch of sea salt. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Snack

1 orange

Lunch

Pizza margherita

Side of grilled zucchini

Slice 1 zucchini into ½-inch circles and cook in the grill pan for 2 minutes on each side. Drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with salt and chopped parsley.

Snack

Mix about a half-ounce of granola with 4.5 ounces plain Greek yogurt

Dinner

Grilled Chicken with Grilled Eggplant

DAY TWO

 

Breakfast

Coffee sweetened with 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup, ½ cup granola and ¼ cup almond milk. Top with fresh strawberries.

Snack

1 orange plus 1 handful of walnuts

Lunch

Marinara pizza

Side salad

Snack

1 Nature Valley Oats ’n Honey granola bar (They come two to a package.)

Dinner

Grilled Salmon with Baked Brussels Sprouts

DAY THREE

 

Breakfast

16 ounces fresh-squeezed orange juice

1 apple

1 slice whole-wheat toast, dry

1 sunny-side-up egg

Snack

1 banana

1 small handful of almonds

Lunch

Pizza margherita

Side kale salad: Toss fresh kale with a few cherry tomatoes and raisins. Top with lemon or balsamic dressing: Combine ¼ cup fresh lemon juice or balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper in a blender. With the blender running, slowly add ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil until the dressing becomes creamy. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

Snack

1 orange

Dinner

Stewed Baby Octopus with Grilled Vegetables

DAY FOUR

 

Breakfast

1 cappuccino with skim milk

Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, and Egg Sandwich

Snack

1 kiwifruit

Lunch

Pizza margherita with grilled vegetables

14 ounces apple juice

Snack

1 pink grapefruit

1 small handful of almonds

Dinner

Beef Patty with Grilled Red Pepper

DAY FIVE

 

Breakfast

1 cup green or black tea

1 3-inch pancake made from boxed, gluten-free mix, such as Trader Joe’s. Top with a drizzle of maple syrup and 1 teaspoon unsalted Irish butter.

Snack

2 slices of fresh pineapple

Lunch

Pizza with broccoli rabe and ground beef

Side salad

Snack

5 ounces fresh cherries

1 small handful of walnuts

Dinner

Grilled Turkey Breast with Spinach and Avocado Salad

DAY SIX

 

Breakfast

Black Bean Breakfast Quesadilla

Snack

7 ounces fresh cherries

Lunch

Pizza margherita

Side of grilled zucchini

Snack

1 cereal bar

1 orange

Dinner

Grilled Shrimp with White Beans

DAY SEVEN (Cheat Day)

 

Breakfast

1 cup green tea with a splash of almond milk

½ cup cereal with ¼ cup almond milk. Top with raw almonds, walnuts and fresh blueberries. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon maple syrup.

Snack

1 apple

Lunch

Cheat pizza. Feel free to top the base recipe with whatever you’d like, including previously forbidden ingredients such as pepperoni.

Snack

½ can of lentil soup

1 kiwifruit

Dinner

Cheat night. Eat whatever you want.