Read more about the rainbow theory, Green, and Blue.
Check the Recipe Collection for recipes.

Of course, the Total Health Makeover® isn’t only about food. So click on the green arrow below, and get moving! Get your blood pumping and your muscles moving.

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What is Countdown? It’s a preparation period. A way to clean out your body from the worst dietary offenders. A way to transition to eating healthier. Join us now and don’t miss another day.

The 4-day Countdown to our Booty Camp consists of eliminating the Four NO’s from your diet. The Four NO’s are: NO dairy, NO red meat, NO alcohol and NO sugar. Adhering to the four NO’s for these four days will start you on your way to preparing your palate and body for upcoming days at Booty Camp. Please feel free to jump in, ask questions, and follow along here (members) or here (everybody’s welcome).

Dairy is found in foods like milk, cheese, ice cream, cream cheese, butter, and yogurt. Dairy can also be hidden in foods like bread, English muffins and other bread products, and pre-packaged foods. Soy/rice/almond milk, non-dairy ice creams, soy yogurts and rice/soy cheeses are good alternatives. But, it is best to avoid it all during these four days.

Sugar comes in many forms. A few of the sugars to avoid are refined white sugar, brown sugar, glucose, corn syrup, and maltose. Chemical sweeteners like NutraSweet and Splenda are out as well. Some good substitutes are honey, Sucanat, agave, blackstrap molasses, maple sugar, maple syrup, brown rice syrup and Stevia. But, again, it is best to avoid these substitutes during the four-day countdown. (A note about fruit: Fruit has naturally-occurring sugars. It is recommended to eat fruit during these four days).

Avoid red meat such as beef, pork, venison, lamb, buffalo meat, etc. Instead, try organic, cage-free poultry, fish, tofu, tempeh, quinoa or other grains, legumes, nuts and seeds.

Alcohol should be avoided during these four days as we work to clean our systems and palates. Jill’s favorite alternative to alcohol is sparkling water over ice with fresh squeezed lemon and lime. Other options to consider are flavored seltzers, club soda, fruit juice and herbal tea.

We are glad you are joining us for these four days and look forward to seeing YOU in Booty Camp!

In this third phase of the Total Health Makeover®, Marilu adds more legumes, particularly soy and soy foods. The recipes have more complex flavors, and some require a little more preparation. Remember, Green Week represents centered, balanced, everyday THM. Most people who follow the Total Health Makeover® tend to eat in the blue-green range, with a yellow day or purple day once or twice a week.

By now, you may be getting to know and understand your body … your hungers. You may be learning to recognize your self sabotage tendencies. Maybe you’ve adopted a new exercise routine that you miss when it’s not there. Even better, maybe you’re making the connections with your food, exercise, sleep, state of mind/gusto. And as with any step of this program, the more you listen to your body, the more you’ll find the connections.

If you are not following the 30-Day Total Health Makeover exactly, but still want to “follow the rainbow” to better health, keep eating whole foods.

• Anything that fits into Purple Week or Blue Week fits here too! That includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins like fish and poultry.
• Add more legumes, including soy and soy foods (edamame, tofu, perhaps some soy cheese or soy milk). Legumes are a good source of plant protein. Some people, however, are reluctant to add legumes to their diet for … aesthetic reasons. Yes, if you’ve not eaten them as a regular part of your diet, legumes can be somewhat shocking to the system. But the good news is that your body does adjust to them! If you find them too dense or concentrated, start out with the more easily digestible varieties, like the adzuki (also called aduki) bean. Try out different varieties and see how they feel. Soy foods, especially tofu, can be a little scary at first, but there are lots of delicious THM® recipes that even your family will enjoy.
• Add more seasonings – with a light touch.

As with every step/tip/element in the program – you know what’s best for YOU! If you find the more complex foods to be a bit too complex for your re-emerging taste buds and/or digestive system, remember that you can always pull recipes or menu ideas from the previous weeks

Remember to drink water as your primary beverage. Soy milk (or rice milk or almond milk or oat milk) is good for cereal, or for cooking and baking. But for drinking? Water is best. Keep moving every day. Break a sweat each day, and then keep up your activity for 10 minutes (or 15 if you’re ready to kick it up a notch).

Take the 30-day class and get menus and recipes, tips in the daily emails, and personalized coaching on the class message boards. Or join Marilu.com now, and take the 21-day Booty Camp starting May 4, 2009. All classes are available FREE to members.

In this second phase of the Total Health Makeover®, Marilu reintroduces healthy versions of some processed foods. This is a small change, though … mostly this week you’ll add in some refined grains, such as pasta and cornmeal, and more spices and herbs.

Your palate will continue to get used to the cleaner, fresher taste of natural foods. You may even notice a taste difference between organic and commercially grown foods. Keep a light touch on the added seasonings, so you continue to enjoy the real taste of real food.

If you are not following the 30-Day Total Health Makeover exactly, but still want to “follow the rainbow” to better health, keep eating whole foods.

• Anything that fits into Purple Week fits here too! That includes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and lean proteins like fish and poultry.
• Add some refined whole-grain products (whole grain breads, whole grain pastas) – you might enjoy sprouted grain (also called flourless) bread; try pastas made from whole wheat, whole rice, quinoa, or even lentils – serve any of these with lots of veggies.
• Add more seasonings – with a light touch.
• Add legumes, but no soy substitutes (soy milk/cheese/meat) yet.

Keep drinking water as your primary beverage, using herbal tea for a little variety. Get some exercise every day. You don’t have to become a gym rat, or pay for a trainer – just find a way to break a sweat each day, and then keep up your activity for 10 minutes.

Take the 30-day class and get menus and recipes, tips in the daily emails, and personalized coaching on the class message boards. Or join Marilu.com now, and take the 21-day Booty Camp starting May 4, 2009. All classes are available FREE to members.

Purple Week a cleansing time. You will be cleansing your palate or tastebuds of things like heavily processed foods, greasy foods, salt and spices. You will be cleansing your body of toxins, and in a way also cleansing your mind of negative attitudes and habits that adversely affect your Total Health.

The recipes in Purple Week are fairly simple and light. Some may taste rather bland if you’ve been eating a lot of processed or heavily seasoned foods. Don’t give in to the temptation to add a lot of salt especially to your food. Over time, after your tastebuds have had time to cleanse, you will come to appreciate the natural flavors of the ingredients themselves.

• Emphasis on whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins
• No refined carbohydrates (pasta, bread)
• No soy
• No legumes (unless you’re eating completely vegan – then use legumes to augment your protein)
• Low fat
• Low seasoning

Healthy food is part of the general detoxification process in Purple Week. Toxins are poisons, and if your body cannot process and eliminate them from your body, they are stored in fat away from your vital organs. When eating healthy food, your body gets the nutrients it needs to break down and eliminate these toxins and your body becomes healthier. Don’t be surprised if you notice some weight loss this week.

Healthy attitudes and habits balance out your Total Health. Sleep and exercise are important. I was amazed at how sleep, or lack thereof, really does affect other aspects of my life. Drinking water as your primary beverage, and drinking enough of it each day, will help you feel better, too. For those of you that have the 30-Day Total Health Makeover, the daily tips in that book add another level of involvement and enjoyment to the 30 days.

Take the 30-day class and get menus and recipes, tips in the daily emails, and personalized coaching on the class message boards. Or join Marilu.com now, and take the 21-day Booty Camp starting May 4, 2009. All classes are available FREE to members.

I realized that there had to be a way to describe the cycle I was continually finding myself going through in my quest to lose weight and get fit prior to adapting my current way of life. One day, I linked into this idea that all of the colors in a rainbow correlated perfectly to that vicious cycle.

Picture a rainbow in your mind. In my theory, each of the colors represents a different period and behavioral pattern in your life. You wake up one morning and you say to yourself, “That’s it! Today I am starting my new diet and fitness program and this time nothing can stop me!” You are in the Purple phase. When you’re in Purple, your attitude is come hell or high water, you’re going to stick to a program with pure perfection.

And then one day, you realize you’re starting to feel really good about your progress, and it might be okay to get out there again. You’re moving into the Blue phase. You’re feeling so good about your success in Purple, you want to show off a little bit in Blue.

A little later you find that everything in your life is in place. You’re feeling perfectly balanced, and you have reached the Green phase. You exercise regularly and can socialize without slipping up too much, and you feel really good about yourself. It’s hard to stay in the Green phase because it’s very hard to exist in the center.

Then you wake up one day and notice that you’re in the Yellow phase – you’ve integrated the program into your everyday life, but you don’t follow it 100% of the time. You’re bending the rules, without having to pay a huge price.

Beyond Yellow are two colors that are not part of THM® – Orange and Red are too far from where you should be aiming. The Orange phase is when your social life has started to consume any and all focus you once had on your physical well-being. You haven’t been to the gym in weeks, and you’re so bloated from eating and drinking that even your black jeans make you look fat! And Red! Well, in Red, you’re either lying on the floor with drool coming out of your mouth, or … you’re in Italy.

That’s when you wake up and realize you’re in the Purple phase again – ready to change.

Ideally, you will fluctuate between Green and Yellow all of the time. Purple and Blue get you back on track, and help you reclaim some order. When you get to Orange and Red, the remedy is in Purple and Blue.

Adapted from The 30-Day Total Health Makeover, by Marilu Henner

Become a member and take the 30-day class to find your Green-Yellow balance. Class starts every Monday, with personal coaching, recipes and menus, and motivational tips. Sign up now and start your own total health makeover!

Photo by Tom Lop