Spring Into Your Weight Loss

Eat Your Breakfast

Since the weather is a bit nicer, you might not crave a big breakfast and just grab a piece of toast on the run. I'd rather you run right over to your kitchen table. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day when it comes to weight loss because it gives you a solid foundation for the day. Plus, you won't start off hungry and then go down that rabbit hole of snacking. JJ's JUST DO IT: Remember that you need protein at breakfast (and every meal). Have two poached eggs beside your steel cut oatmeal. Or don't eat breakfast for breakfast and do a turkey wrap.Be sure to stay away from the typical morning carb bombs -- muffins and cereal.

Start Vegging Out

Make it your personal goal to add as many non-starchy veggies as possible to your daily routine this month. Eat a colorful grouping of veggies at each meal including red peppers, bright yellow squash or dark green spinach. Start to think in terms of where you could sneak in more veggies. Toss them in eggs, roast them on a pan and add to wraps or make a huge veggie soup or salad that has much more than just lettuce and tomatoes. JJ's JUST DO IT: Make sure you're spending more time in the produce aisle than any other at the supermarket. Experiment with new veggies. You might just come to crave kale!

Flavor It Up

There's nothing worse than boring and bland diet food. I'm sure you've been on the plan where you eat that horrible naked piece of baked chicken. Why would you want to live bland? Spice it up with turmeric, garlic, cayenne, pepper and other spices. By the way, a recent study at Chicago's Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation indicated that spicy aromas stimulate your olfactory bulb in your brain and send a "full" message to your noggin, thus making you eat less. JJ's JUST DO IT: Take a package of boneless chicken breasts and cover each one with a different spice -- or do them in pairs. It's a great way to cook once and have a different meal the next night. One night do Italian chicken over spaghetti squash and the next night go Indian with curried chicken over saffron rice.

Become a Food CSI Detective

Put on your glasses and really read those labels on the foods you buy. Make sure that you look for high fructose corn syrup as an ingredient you definitely want to avoid. Other things to nix include partially hydrogenated oils. Did you know that trans fats actually jump-start the genes that can increase your belly fat by 30 percent, according to recent studies. JJ's JUST DO IT: Toss your fruity yogurts that are made with high fructose corn syrup. The same goes for BBQ sauce and ketchup.

Get Ready to Move It

This week, I want you to take stock of your fitness particulars at home. If you need them (look at the bottoms), buy new shoes and carve out an area of your house as your own private gym. Invest in a fitness ball. In the next blog, I'll focus on five ways to jump start your fitness without leaving your block. Your job this week is to get ready. Next week it's go, go, go!