I hope you have ordered or secured as much of the recommended foods, supplements and kitchen gadgets as you could get your hands on today. If not, work on the list tomorrow. A well-stocked kitchen and larder will make your month of 10-20-30 much easier and more enjoyable. And DO NOT neglect your supplements! Remember, one of the biggest causes of overeating and overweight is cellular starvation. We are going to make sure all 23 trillion cells of your body are happily well-fed, by supplying the appropriate nutrients that are missing even from a "good diet" because of modern food processing. Once these 23 trillion (that's a really big number) cells are happy, you'll find your hunger AND many physical disease symptoms simply go away --- without drugs, without further treatment. Now on to "the rest of the story..."

Here are the medical and health measurements to take VERY early-on:

1.) Blood work / chemistry screen. Inexpensive, usually covered by insurance, mandatory for good health (annually) AND will help you monitor your progress. Please get this done as soon as possible, Friday or early next week. See my recommendations at the end of this dispatch, OR call your doctor and ask for lab orders. Tell him/her you are starting the New Year off on a health-promoting weight loss program, you want to be monitored, and you want some blood work done at the start so he/she can chart your progress. (They will like being included in your health plans, trust me. AND, if your local doc orders the blood tests, they will probably be covered by your insurance or Medicare). My book devotes an entire chapter JUST TO YOUR DOCTOR to help him/her know how and why to monitor your diet. Your local doc will love this (being included and informed) and until then, "walk this way."

Get your blood drawn "eight hours fasting," meaning don't eat for 8 hours before the blood-draw (water is OK). This is easy. Schedule your blood draw for the morning, and wait to have your metabolism-boosting shake and breakfast until AFTER your blood is drawn. You're overweight, right? You won't blow away!

2.) Doctor's permission: I have to say it, to CMA. (Cover my as*-fanny). You are not supposed to do ANYTHING new without your doctor's permission and medical clearance. If you have not had a complete physical exam within the last year, call and get yourself scheduled for one. Be sure to ask if it is OK to start a diet and exercise program. The truth? Unless you have known heart disease or a serious illness, it is riskier to wait than to begin. But get scheduled for a complete physical anyway --- to document and track your improvement AND to keep me out of hot water!

3.) Weight / measurements / B.P.: The day before you begin:

I.) Weight: weigh yourself on a home scale (in the morning upon arising, naked, before eating). Write it down. Weigh yourself EVERY MORNING at the same time, same scale, same conditions (naked, etc.) Write it down. Even if your scale is "off" from your doctors scale, it will still tell "relative" weight lost. In other words, even if it weighs too heavy or light, it will still tell degree of "up" or "down."

II.) Measurements: bust (widest part); waist (widest part); hips (high--1.widest part and 2.right over your "cheeks," widest part--- two measurements). "Extras" upper arm (widest part) and thigh (widest part). This will be done once per week. A small spiral-bound notebook is good for keeping these records.

III.) Blood pressure; take once per week. If you don't own a cuff, get one. They cost about $20 for a digital ARM cuff (finger cuffs are unreliable). This is a good investment. If you have a low to normal B.P., you can skip this purchase (120/80 or less), but you will still need to monitor occasionally so figure out how). If your BP is higher than this, then DEFINITELY invest in a cuff. This is money well-spent.

4.) Picture: get ANYONE to take a pic, or set your camera up on "time" and take your own--- whatever. How will anyone appreciate how much better you look 1 month from now if we don't get a picture at the start? How can I make you famous in my book if I don't have "before" and "after" pics? Disposable cameras can be had for cheap at your local grocery store. Recruit a husband / wife / significant other / friend to take some pics. Best in your bathing suit (two piece) or undies. Full-front, side, back. Show me what you've got! (Trust me, you won't mind sharing "before" pics once your "after" pics look great!)

5.) "Plans": I'll reveal more tomorrow and during the coming month, but your plans MUST include the following so get thinking about this:

I.) Exercise: 10 minutes per day (yep---that's all!) of HEAVY exercise (breathing hard, sweating and "I could talk but don't really feel like it" kind of exercise). I have an indoor bicycle (actually, a "trainer" for my road-bike that I will use while it's freezing cold outside). Other options include: indoor rowing, bicycle, treadmill OR outside walking (really fast), bicycling, running---- whatever makes you feel like you are WORKING HARD. The good news? It only takes 10 minutes per day to REALLY boost you metabolism!!! Ten minutes per day of "really hard" work blasts your metabolism far more than 1-2 or more hours per day of "kinda' hard" workout. Is this time efficient, or what? This is one of the cornerstones, and BIG NEW THINGS, of The Myatt Diet. These few 10 minutes will get you into ketosis more surely than hours of slower-paced activity, which means we are boosting your fat-burning metabolism by leaps and bounds!

II.) Sleep: 7 hours MINIMUM! Eight to nine is more realistic for the health needs of the majority. That would be: to bed by 10pm, up at 6am. If you need to get up earlier. set your bedtime accordingly. Sleep deprivation elevates cortisol, a hormone that packs on fat fast! The best way to decrease the level of this hormone, plus boost melatonin and leptin (fat-burning hormone), is to get adequate sleep. Get to bed NO LATER than 11 p.m. every night, earlier if you must get up earlier. If you have trouble sleeping, take heart! The Myatt Diet (after you are in ketosis) will aid sleep. Also take melatonin and L-5-HTP if you have trouble sleeping; they will not only help your sleep cycles but also aid hormones balance and restoration. More sleep recommendations to follow in later dispatches.

III.) Water: 8 x 8 (64 ounces) per day, as water or tea. I have 3 beautiful blue glass bottles (they originally came with junky sugar-sweetened tea that I threw out),. I fill them each day and know that they are my daily "water requirement." Or use plastic bottles, whatever--- to measure your water intake. You will be losing toxins as you lose weight, and you need sufficient water to help expel this from the kidneys. Drink 64 ounces of PURE water per day.

What is pure water? I moved to an area of the country where I can still pump pure water from a ground-well (lucky me, but I chose it this way). Municipal water supplies, which include chlorine and fluoride, are not pure. Such water purveyors also do not test for a wide array of other possible contaminants. Buy reverse-osmosis purified water (not distilled) OR buy a filter for your home faucet. Either way, be SURE your 64 ounces per day is fit to drink!

IV.) Ketostix: (lipolysis, which means "fat burning" strips): you bought these, right? Pass this through your urine stream AT LEAST every morning to see what degree of ketosis you are in. You WILL NOT be in ANY degree of ketosis (unless you are an undiagnosed diabetic) before you begin the diet. These sticks will tell you if you are burning fat, and to what degree, even when the scales don't move. They should become your close friends during weight loss (even closer than the scales) because they are more accurate. They will also tell you when you have eaten too many carbs and brought your weight loss/fat-burning to a halt. They will help you know what your "carbohydrate tolerance" is. Test at least every morning.

[Funny story, an aside: One editorial board came back to us and said that they doubted people would want to "pee on a stick." (Truly spoken by someone who has never been on a weight-loss diet!). I mentioned this to two of our good friends who were having dinner with us (both WAY computer geek-engineers who have been on both Atkins AND The Myatt Diet. They laughed heartily and remarked about just how much they loved the sticks---even better than the "weigh-in." This, they explained, gave them instant feed-back about whether or not they were "doing it right" (The Diet), AND they could compare notes about how to get into a deeper degree of ketosis (more fat-burning). Although I heard this complaint from an editorial board, I have never heard ANY negative complaint from a real dieter. Why? We all love feed-back! We want to see that we are burning fat, even when the scales don't move! The Ketostix are proof! If you have comments or feedback, please pass it to me so I can give it to editors, but not once have I ever heard anything but delight from patients in being able to demonstrate fat-loss through other than the scales (which can temporarily "lie" due to body-water shifts. So please, tell me what you think).

Like Santa Claus, go "make your list and check it twice." Recipes, menus and full instructions (how to put these pieces together) will follow in Part III this afternoon.

Get Ready, Get Set....