DAVID KIRSCH IN A NEW YORK MINUTE

After finishing the Ultimate Summer Slimdown, Lynn from Los Angeles, wrote us with this dilemma:


“I need afternoon help! I just collapse around 3:00 pm. I end up with a big tablespoon of peanut butter in front of me. Should I just have coffee?”

Lynn, please don’t go there!

Peanut butter is high in saturated fat and coffee gives you a jolt that can make you more jittery, easily frustrated and dehydrated. It also raises the cortisol levels in your blood, causing your insulin to rise and your blood sugar to spike. This is not a good thing and may actually cause you to store body fat.

The frequent meals (five low-carb/low-fat meals and snacks) suggested in my books are designed to boost your energy level, mood and overall focus. That said, I recommend drinking green tea in place of coffee. Unlike coffee, green tea works gently to give our bodies energy. It contains enough caffeine to wake you up, but no so much that it spikes cortisol levels.

For those days when your body just needs a kick, I recommend turning to natural supplements containing the herb ginseng. Ginseng is known to boost energy levels by helping to regulate blood sugar and increase blood flow.

I’d also be sure you are getting at least, 100% RDA of Vitamin B12 for energy production. Our friends at FitSugar, recently published a great list of foods with the highest sources of B12. You could also use a supplement like my B12 Spray.

Several of my One Of A Kind Supplements® include both ginseng and Vitamin B12 including Afternoon Energy, Energy Bubbles and Vitamin Super Juice, which also has green tea!

Don’t let your hard work go to waste!

If you made it through all 21 days of my Ultimate Summer Slimdown, you pushed your body to its limits and beyond. You burned fat and formed sexy muscles from following my cardio sculpting workouts. My A, B, C’s of Nutrition helped you eliminate junk from your diet and fuel your body with fresh, wholesome foods. You put yourself first and reprioritized your life, I hope in part, due to my sound motivation.

You fought laziness, fatigue, cravings and addictions to get to the body you were born to have. Enjoy this feeling of accomplishment and Ultimate Success! I am so proud of you!

Now, it’s time to embark on my next challenge: Improving your results. Armed with a new sense of energy, stamina, and confidence, you should feel strong and empowered to not only maintain but, improve your results over the rest of your life.

The good news is that the Ultimate Summer Slimdown gave you a plan for life. This phase of the plan is not as challenging as the makeover you just completed. You won’t need to work out quite so hard or quite so often. You’ll be able to relax a bit on your eating – even cheat a little here and there by indulging in your favorite foods.

I’d be lying however, if I said that you could simply revert to your old ways and keep the amazing body that you just created. No, to keep that body, you must continue some of the good habits of hard work and clean eating.

There’s no way around it.

Let the Ultimate Summer Slimdown inspire a life-long commitment to wellness that starts today!

Got questions or concerns about maintaining and improving your results? Email me and we’ll answer on a future blog.

Note: If you missed the opportunity to participate in the Ultimate Summer Slimdown, you can find a similar 14-day program in The Ultimate New York Body Plan book and 7-Day Prescription DVD.