It seems like there’s a lot to remember to take care of your body properly, but it’s really all about making decisions. Every day, at every moment, you are faced with a choice that will affect your fitness goal positively or negatively. Listening to your body, really listening to what it needs is the best way to know if you are making the right decision.

Sometimes your body needs rest, and sometimes you may be forced to burn more calories. Sometimes you need to eat healthy vegetables and nutritious grains and other times you do need that dark chocolate.

Here are my top 9 belly busting tips that will help you lose weight:

1. Drink lots of water. Drink all you can. Carry a bottle with you and sip it throughout the day. You’ll be full and snack less, stay hydrated, your skin will even look better, and your muscles will recover faster from your workouts (this means less soreness from that painful lactic acid).

If you must have coffee, drink it neat (it takes some getting used to, but eventually you won’t want it any other way).

2. Eat raw vegetables and fruits. Be inventive, creative and adventurous. Eat them cooked too.

3. Get enough sleep.

4. Eat enough calories (the good ones, not the junk food) to support the energy your body requires; this helps speed up your metabolism.

5. Stretch. Whether it’s old-fashioned yoga, meditation, or stretching, your body will benefit. Stretching allows your muscles to become longer and leaner instead of knotted balls of stress. It helps expel lactic acid and gets the blood flowing through them again.

5. Mix up your workouts to cover cardiovascular (aerobic and anaerobic), strength training, muscle power (running response), and endurance.

6. Have fun and love your body for allowing you to push it every day and overcome new challenges. Confidence and self-esteem are integral aspects of motivation.

7. Knowing when to reward yourself is also key to motivation. Likewise, a key to not defeating yourself is how you reward yourself.

8. Rest, a gift, a praise all work for some people. For others it is food. This doesn’t mean starting to eat more than you should or diving into the nearest fast food restaurant. This means finding something you really don’t want to live without and creating a way to make it better. Best body; better fuel.

9. Be sure to incorporate protein-rich foods into your diet. This Eggs Benedict recipe is perfect for a satisfying brunch. It uses all fresh ingredients and stays under 200 calories.

Will need:

juice of half a lemon

1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/4 teaspoon chopped tarragon or dried powder

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallots

pinch of paprika

1 egg

1 slice of ham or loin bacon

1 slice of whole wheat toast

Chopped chives or parsley

To make the sauce, mix together the lemon juice, yogurt, oil, tarragon, salt, shallots, and paprika.

Grill or fry the ham on the grill.

Poach the egg

Place the ham on the toast and the egg on the ham. Pour sauce on top until almost covered. Sprinkle with chives or parsley.

Tips; drain eggs well so sauce sticks (will not stick if wet), sauce can be refrigerated if covered for two days and warmed to room temperature

Healthy adaptations of your favorite foods can be found or created. This is still a rich option but it is for those special days and has less than a third of the calories of a traditional Egg Benedict. Making food at home allows you to have a complete knowledge of what it contains. Creamy soups, for example store-bought or served at a restaurant, are often thickened with cream. Oddly enough, some of the original recipes don’t call for cream at all. The vegetables cook slowly and release their own thickeners. Try cooking at home. Learning to cook is not scarier than not knowing what you are eating; and it’s easier to reward yourself if you can trust the reward.