Off season for me is from mid- October to Dec31st. My birthday is October 22nd, and I’m notorious for a month long celebration. What that includes is, more time away from the gym, enjoying a few extra glasses of champs and indulging in not-so-clean eats. It’s a two month free for all for me, and I enjoy every moment of it.

Birthday celebrations consisted of LOTS of dining out, an all girls trip by limo to the vineyard, and a vacation in Arizona- just to name a few festivities. After October, Thanksgiving sneaks up on us, another excuse to indulge. Before you know it it’s Christmas, the holiday where food is usually a little more decadent and the wine flows more heavily, and- it is also my favorite holiday. Then it’s the last hoorah- New Year’s Eve. I spend the last night of the year popping bottles, knowing the next bottle I pop will not be until February.

Jan 1st,2017 detox begins. Time to clean out all the toxins I have subjected my body to over the past two months. I have a few methods to detox, the most important method is WATER. I easily consume my body weight in ounces of water each day. Water is such an integral part of being healthy, you know the secret to know if you have drank enough water for the day? Urine. Drink until your urine is clear, those kidneys are working like a Brita filter. Plain water gets boring after a while, right? Right. Well, I have two recipes to bring some excitement to that H2o. Warm lemon water being one of them, and a grapefruit juice fat burner. I have posted about the importance of lemons previously, but just to emphasize on it’s benefits again, lemons help to increase your metabolic rate, thus allowing you to burn more calories and store less fat. It is best consumed within 30 minutes of waking up and before your first meal. I make a large batch so when I wake up all I have to do is warm it up. Lemons are known to provide energy, an extra benefit if you workout in the early morning. Secondly, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice. It is best consumed before a meal, to aid in fat burning most effectively. Certain compounds in grapefruit burn up stored body fat. I, also, make a large batch of this and bottle it for convenience. I will post both recipes for my cleanses, below. Wheat grass is slowly entering my daily regimen, as well. I have included the link for the brand I am using. I will post, solely, on the benefits of wheat grass at a later date. Oh, and last, but certainly not least, NO ALCOHOL.

Meal prep Sundays have always been consistent year round for me, but my meals become super strict for the first 2 weeks of the new year. Lots of roasted veggies, protein shakes,egg whites everyday, lean proteins and rationed portions. I will also post a sample of my meal plan. I cannot express how crucial prepping meals are to sustain a healthy diet. When all of your meals are planned, there is no room to snack on something that can sabotage your weight loss goals. Lastly, it’s back to the gym for 6 a.m. gym sessions. Six days a week, 1 hour workouts(minimum), to shed those added pounds that have piled on for 2 months. It will take just as long to work off the fluff maybe more, maybe less, but persistence is key.

No alcohol for 30+ days, lemon water, grapefruit cleanse, clean eating, and working out. That’s it, that’s my secret, that’s my master reset. Think you can do it? I think you can.

Warm Lemon Water:

3 Organic Lemons = 1 Cup

2 Tsp Trader Joes’ Raw Honey

1 Large Dash of Cayenne

1 Cup Filtered Water

• Juice lemons, mix honey,water and cayenne. Store in large glass bottle.Refrigerate. Heat to warm within 30  minutes of waking up every morning.

Grapefruit Fat Burner:

3 Grapefruits= 2 Cups

2 Tbsp Raw Honey

2 Tbsp Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Cups Filtered Water

• Juice grapefruits, mix honey, apple cider vinegar and water. Add to bottles. Refrigerate. Drink before meals.