Have you spent your day preparing your foods and exercise schedule for the week to proceed with your target to lose weight or at least maintain a healthy weight? The key to every success in life is to be diligent enough to set your week right. Your goal is to lose weight so you must make sure everything in your weight loss program is planned. Set your week right by motivating yourself that you can accomplish everything you have set to accomplish. It is always better to follow a plan in order for you not to miss something or skip on something if you feel like not doing it. Yup, I'm talking about accountability here!

So here's the deal. The new, healthier, skinnier, sexier YOU eats small meals frequently throughout the day, prepares simple, nutrient dense meals for the week by bulk cooking on Sunday, and carries a cooler with everywhere you go filled with heart healthy snacks like almonds, carrots, and apples so that there is no excuse to hit up McD's drive thru or raid a vending machine. Let's be smart about this!

What are you action steps? Prepare a list of items you know you need to pick up at the grocery store. I suggest you do this early in the day on Sunday. That same day after you shopped, put on your pretty little apron and get to cookin'. Part of the preparation also includes your cooler stock up! Voila, you'll never need to cook and waste your time during the week. And you've got no excuses to eat right!

Find a list here to see the staple items you need for your fridge and pantry!

Proteins

Eggs, lean chicken breasts, lean turkey, bison, pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin, 97% ground turkey beef, quinoa, Greek yogurt, low fat mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, fish( salmon, tilapia, mahi-mahi, scallops and shrimp), Protein powder like Whey, beans (lentils, kidney, black, chickpeas, edemame, lima, tofu), tempeh, oatmeal, goji berries.

Carbohydrates

Quinoa, Kasha, brown rice, oatmeal, whole wheat pasta, rye bread, Ezekial bread (my favorite), whole wheat tortillas, veggies (kale, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, onion, spinach, cabbage, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, beets, turnips), fruits in season (strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, goji berries apples, grapefruit, orange, pineapples, kiwi, banana, pears, lemon, lime, peaches, watermelon, mangoes, pomegranate, mandarin oranges, tangerines)

Fats

Coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, flax seeds, avocados, almonds, macadamias, walnuts, hemp seed, greek olives, reduced fat feta cheese, gorgonzola cheese, low fat mozzarella cheese, sunflower seeds, unsalted organic peanut butter, almond butter

Pantry Items

Low sodium broths, sea salt, pepper, cinnamon, parsley, basil leaves, garlic, cumin, Mrs. Dash, salsa, balsamic vinegar, apple cider vinegar, yellow mustard, stevia, raw honey, organic maple syrup, raw cocoa powder, pure vanilla extract, flour (whole wheat, coconut, almond, quinoa, oat)

OK OK, well what about your fitness routine. Easy! Sunday evening, take your journal out and write out your workout routines for the week. Check what times you can do your workout so not to conflict with work and other activities that you will have to attend that week. Consider the number of hours that you should be spending for your workouts if they are really needed or may only make your body suffer. Whatever you do, do NOT tire yourself out because you might get injured if you do so and healing injuries may affect your weight loss plan. You know one time I ignored a stress fracture on my foot and it took me over 3 months to recover. Yup, outa commission for 3 whole months, that wasn't fun. Consult a fitness expert for your proper workout activities, ummm like me! Consider also your rest time so that you can still allow your body to gain strength after your workouts. Rest and recovery is vital. Follow the time you set for sleeping to gain the right number of hours for sleep, at least 7 hours a night.

Here's an example of a schedule

ONE

8-10 minutes warm up on treadmill

3 sets 10 reps squats with dumbbells

3 sets 10 reps leg extensions

3 sets 10 reps alternating forwards lunges

3 sets 10 reps hamstring curls

3 sets 10 reps standing calf raises

3 sets 10 reps alternating bicep curls

3 sets 10 reps alternating hammer curls

3 sets 10 reps assisted chin ups

30 minutes HIIT on elliptical (2 min no resistance, 2 min resistance, 1 min resistance and speed)

TWO

10 min jog elliptical, 10 min rowing machine, 10 min stair climber, 10 min treadmill run

3 sets 10 reps incline bench press

3 sets 10 reps chest flies

3 sets 10 reps overhead press

3 sets 10 reps dumbbell pullovers

3 sets 10 reps front and lateral raises

THREE

30 minutes HIIT on treadmill (2 min jog, 30 sec run, 30 sec walk)

3 sets 10 reps cable rows

3 sets 10 reps lat pull downs

3 sets 10 reps dumbbell rows

3 sets 10 reps dumbbell rows

3 sets 10 reps dumbbell tricep kickbacks

3 sets 10 reps assisted tricep dips or seated dips

FOUR

8-10 minutes warm up on treadmill

3 sets of 10 reps stiff legged dead lifts

3 sets of 10 reps back extensions

3 sets of 10 reps dorsal raises

3 sets of 10 reps leg raises

3 sets of 10 reps Russian twists

3 sets of 10 reps crunches

3 sets of 10 reps sit-ups

3 sets of 10 reps weight ab crunches

30 sec side planks

30 sec planks

20 minutes HIIT on elliptical (2 min no resistance, 2 min resistance, 1 min resistance and speed)

FIVE

10 minutes walk treadmill

20 minutes steady state cardio elliptical

10 minutes stair climber

20 minute steady state job on treadmill

SIX

30-60 minutes yoga/ stretching

SEVEN

...and you rest on the seventh day!

See no excuses! Set your week right by planning the foods that you will be eating. Losing weight is not about skipping your meals. Plan your foods that are low in calories and cholesterol. Set your week right by planning ahead for your meals so that you can avoid choosing the wrong foods that prevent you from reaching you weight loss goals. I can't reiterate enough!! DO NOT skip meals. Eat nutritiously dense meals in lower quantities to satisfy you and take your hunger pangs away. Set your week right by making a simple schedule of all the activities you want to do and what do you think you can gain from them. Losing weight is not an easy thing to do because you must have discipline to follow your weight loss program. Set your week right by having your target weight loss for the week. If you set to lose 2 pounds for the week then make sure you will really lose it. It's simple, calories in calories out! How much will you eat and in combination how much will you exercise during the week? Set your mind and your body that you can really achieve your goal.

Going to The Fit Fem will give you the answer to this important question how To Burn Calories fast?

For more information, be sure to check out Personal Trainer Long Island

Sylvia Nasser is In Home Personal Trainer and runs many online fitness classes