If your looking to change your lifestyle by being active and eating healthier or if you want to take your physique to the next level then continue reading.   If you are liklike me and already eat fairly healthy and workout routinely you will learn new strategies and techniques you can incorporate into your daily plan to get you the results you need.  Four  weeks before becoming Wilhelmina’s 2010 Hottest Body I cleaned up my diet, was very disciplined and selective in the type of foods I ate in order to get my body in peak shape.  You too can transform your body with the following guidelines.

Most people don’t have a perfect diet, but understanding the key factors of foods is essential.  If you are just starting to get back in shape, have a similar goal, preparing for a  competition, a wedding, a birthday or personal achievement the following will help you boost your metabolism, eliminate cellulite and help you lose weight exponentially.
1. Eat every 3 hours.
2. Six small meals a day.
3. Avoid foods that spike your insulin levels (like bread, sugar, and pasta) or foods high in fat (bacon, cakes, butters, dairy products, fatty meats).
4. Focus on high fiber foods (vegetables, whole wheat, fruits) and protein foods (whey protein, egg whites, fish, lean chicken, lobster, and meal replacements).
5. You need to keep an eating log and record your food intake so you can make accurate adjustments.
6. If you are very active you may have to eat more.  If you are naturally obese and hold onto body fat easily you may have to eat less.
7. The only way to really know (how a certain level of food intake will affect you) is keep an eating log and discover what effect eating a certain amount of calories for a month has on you.   Then make an adjustment.

Calories: A general rule of thumb for the number of daily calories you should consume is 16 x your bodyweight.  So if your goal is to weigh 135 pounds that would be 2160 calories a day intake to maintain a bodyweight of 135.

Eat Less for Weight Loss: To lose weight eat clean and eat with a slight calorie deficit, about 200 to 300 calories below your maintenance level. Over time you will figure out the correct balance. Portion control is what will make you or break you on your fitness journey.
Remember, you can work out for an hour every single day at maximum intensity and have all the drive and dedication in the gym, but it’s what you are doing the other 23 hours of the day that will make you or break you.

BALANCED DIET:
A portion of carbohydrates is the size of your fist (one cup of potatoes, rice or pasta is about the size of a tennis ball).
A portion of protein is the size of your palm (three ounces of chicken or steak equals the size of a deck of cards or an audio tape; one ounce of chicken or steak is the size of a matchbook).
A portion of vegetables is the size of your open hand.

PROTEIN: How much protein should you eat every day?
1 gram of protein for every pound you want to weigh or more.
So lets say you are currently 140 pounds but want to weigh a lean 125. (125 x 16 = 2000 calories a day). Consume 125 grams of protein a day. That means 500 calories a day in protein (125 x 4= 500). The rest of your calories come from carbs and proteins. You can eat MORE protein if you want, as long as you eat 2000 total calories a day.

CARBS: About 65% of total calories comes from carbs. Eat things like vegetables, salads, whole wheat baking products, fruits, oat meal, and rice. Avoid sugars, alcohol, snack cakes, chips, white bread and white pastas, sodas, and candys. Eat carbs low on the glycemic index.

FATS: 10% or less of your total daily calories should come from fats. When you do eat fat in should be the fat found in fish, nuts and lean meats. Avoid fatty meats, dairy fats, butter, oil, and snacks high in fat like french fries and cookies.

Best Foods to Lose Weight Fast and Increase your Metabolism
Raw Fruits & Vegetables
Every time you’re eating RAW fruits & vegetables you’re losing weight because of the negative calorie effect so for example…When you eat an 85 calorie apple – Your body may have to burn 95 calories to digest that apple so in this example… You’d burn 10 calories every time you’d eat an apple so…The more RAW fruits & veggies you eat… The easier it’ll be for you to maintain your weight &… If you eat lots of fruits & veggies while on a weight loss plan – you’ll lose weight much faster and here’s another quick fact………
Your body burns 16% more calories after you eat a meal that’s mostly fruits & vegetables than if you ate a meal without any fruits or vegetables plus…Fruits & vegetables high in vitamin C like… Oranges, lemons, pineapples, grapefruit, apples, limes, tomatoes, broccoli, cabbage, celery, carrot, and watermelon liquefy (or burn off) body fat so the fat can be easily flushed out of your body.  Eat apples so the pectin found in apples can prevent your body from absorbing too much fat and… The pectin from apples causes your body to release fat and like Hoodia…low-calorie snack is high in fiber, which your body must burn calories to break down. Plus, since apples help you stay full for longer, you’ll eat less. Pectin is also a strong appetite suppressant that keeps you satisfied for long periods of time causing you not to overeat so you won’t gain weight and in a study done in Brazil.
Oatmeal
Oatmeal is loaded with fiber that prevents your body from storing fat and the fiber in oatmeal decreases your appetite to make you NOT gain weight and… If you eat oatmeal about 1-to-2 hours before doing a weight loss workout…Oatmeal will give you a longer lasting blast of energy that helps you workout longer & more intensely which helps you lose weight much faster. Because your body takes a long time to break down the fat-soluble fiber in oatmeal, this healthy food lowers your body’s insulin level and speeds up your metabolism as a result. It’s better to eat plain or natural oats & not flavored oatmeal packets.
Dairy
Dairy products or foods high in calcium like Low-fat yogurt, cheese, & milk breakdown fat cells faster. In a study, people who ate low-fat dairy products 3-to-4 times a day lost 70% more fat than people on a low-dairy diet and scientist also believe that foods high in calcium suppress calcitriol, a hormone responsible for making fat cells bigger and other studies have shown that… Dairy products contain high quality proteins that help suppress appetite.
Raw Nuts
Eat any kind of nuts for fiber to ward off hunger and to also get a good dose of protein & healthy Omega-3s fats to help you burn fat faster & produce more testosterone but… Make sure you eat raw & organic nuts instead of roasted & salted to get the full weight loss benefits.  Almonds’ essential fatty acids help raise your body’s metabolism. Just don’t overdo it because they’re also very high in calories.
Lean Proteins
Eat more lean proteins like fish, baked poultry, and whey protein to build more lean muscle that’ll make your metabolism higher so you can burn off more fat and…Your body burns the most calories digesting protein than any other type of food (with the exception of fruits & vegetables).Eat more fish like Salmon, Tuna, and Sardines to make your body more sensitive to a fat-burning hormone called Leptin (Leptin means “thin” in Greek). Leptin determines whether you store the calories you eat as fat or if you burn the calories you eat for energy and…Since these fish are high in protein – it’ll make you feel full stabilize blood sugar, makes you feel full and helps stimulate metabolism.
Spices
Add spices to your foods like hot peppers, cayenne peppers, cinnamon , garlic, and hot mustard to increase your fat burning metabolism by 8-to-20% for up to 3 hours after eating spicy foods and…Dr. Henry at Oxford University proved that hot peppers can increase your fat-burning metabolism by adding just 3 grams of chili peppers to meals and… In a British Study – spicy mustard made people burn an extra 45-to-75 calories over 3 hours and…Garlic is a strong diuretic that can help you flush out excess water weight plus… Spicy foods can reduce your appetite by increasing your body’s norepinephrine and epinephrine levels.
Resistant Starch
You’ll burn 20-to-30% more fat by including more foods loaded with resistant starch like navy beans, Bananas, Potatoes, Lentils, Oatmeal & Wholegrain breads in your meals and…Resistant starch also prevents your body from storing too much fat and like other types of dietary fiber… Resistant starch also makes you feel fuller longer so you’ll never gain weight (and only lose weight).

BURN FAT
1. Eat 300 calories a day below maintenance level.
2. Do aerobics 2x a day, 30 minutes for each session. Bike in the morning, bike at dinner time.
3. Eating every 3 hours tricks your body into thinking YOU ARE NOT DIETING (constant blood sugar level) so it does not store fat (go into famine mode).
4. Eliminate fat from your diet. Protein’s and carbs are not stored as easily as fat. Fat is stored as fat. Eat fat, get, fat.
5. Decrease carbs without cutting calories. Eat more vegetables and protein. Low carb lowers insulin levels, you store very little fat, and activate fat burning mechanisms in the body. Keep calories up.
6. When your metabolism slows (from dieting), eat more for 1 to 3 days, sometimes a week. Usually one day will do it. Exercise more as well. Get your metabolism going again. Usually 300 to 500 calories above maintenance will do it. If your bowel movements slow down from once a day to once every third day or something..it’s a sure sign your BMR is slowing down.
7. Do cardio with no carbs in the body. First thing in the morning is good.  Always a eat protein shake or a protein meal, before you do aerobics–so you do not burn muscle. Do cardio after you weight train, not before.
8. Switch from carbs like potato’s and rice and yams to more vegetables. You will get more ripped.
9. No carbs in the evening.
10. Do not over-diet. A tan bag of bones does not win a Figure Contest. It’s not a contest about who can starve themselves the most. Eat enough to maintain your strength, energy and your muscles.
11. Cook your own food.  Eating out adds hundreds of calories and bad fat.

GET RIPPED
The body is smart it know you are dieting and try’s to hold the fat. Here are some more ideas on how to beat the fat.
EAT LESS: Eat less the last two days before the show. Reduce your volume of food and eat “light” (half portions). This helps shrink the abs the last 48 hours. I try to eat small meals for at least a week before the show so my stomach shrinks and my abs are super flat.  This is called a “food taper”
Diet hard for 2 days with low carbs and low calories (do not starve yourself..eat a ton of protein). On day 3 eat carbs and protein, raising your calories. If you are hungry eat extra protein. Throw a chicken breast on the grill and eat it. Here is how it looks:
THREE DAY LOW CARB CYCLE DIET (for 125 pound person).
DAYS CARBS PROTEIN CALORIES
DAY ONE  50 grams carbs to 100  Protein 125 to 150 grams  1000
DAY TWO  50 grams carbs to 100 Protein 125 to 150 grams  1000
DAY THREE  250 grams to 400 carbs  Protein 125 grams  1200 to 1400

WATER: Some people do not need to limit or reduce water. Limiting water flattens them out, makes them feel weak and sick. (A tiny bit of dehydration (stop water around 3 the day before the show) will often help almost anyone.)

EXERCISE: Do abs for sure three days and two days before the show. Keep them tight.
Pose hard the Thursday and Friday before the show for at last 30 minutes. Squeeze those abs and legs. Make it hurt. It will help you peak for Saturday.

EARLY TO SWEAT: Get up early on Saturday and ride a bike or walk for 30 minutes and flush out a good sweat. This removes water from under the skin and stimulates your bowels. Eat something that will give you energy but not change how you look. A potato or small (I mean small) piece of fruit. Like 1/2 a ban nana or 1/2 of an orange. No water or only small sips.

MORE FOODS  TO EAT
Avocado is rich in B-complex vitamins and essential oils and works like an anti-inflammatory agent. It also soothes skin that is red, irritated or blotchy. You can even mix it with yogurt and berries to add some flavor!

Mangoes are in vitamin A is in store with this skin do-gooder! This fruit will repair your skin cells so that your skin doesn’t look flaky. I t has only 70 calories per serving so it’s ideal for your weight loss program as well.

Almonds contain Vitamin E helps to moisturize your skin from within. It also protects your skin from damage and premature aging. Eating almonds can help your facial tissue stay in its best shape for years!

Cottage Cheese is a great for calcium, cottage cheese is great for selenium and it’s an essential mineral for a youthful, glowing skin, Ladies!

If you don’t have the time, disciple or knowledge to prepare the right kinds of foods to help you achieve your goal then check out the Fresh Diet….www.freshdiet.com
For the next 60 days the X8 team will push Glenn Packard, (from Brooke Hogans’s show Brooke Know’s Best) to exceed his limits and take his life to next level.  We will taking Glenn through a workout program that will shed fat, increase muscle mass and energy.  Along with Glen’s active lifestyle he has also committed to the fresh diet to help achieve his goal.  Stay tuned as we transform Glenn.