Your GOOD. strategy
Anyone heading somewhere needs a starting point first. That is what you capture today. Not to judge yourself; it is simply where you stand right now, and from here it goes forward. No calorie counting, no athlete-level training schedule. Everything you fill in here is saved automatically on this device.
Capture 4 things today. Takes fifteen minutes, including the most entertaining fitness test you have ever done on a stair step.
Pick one goal. Not three. The weekly plan adapts automatically to your choice.
Tick off 12 weeks. Then simply keep going; somewhere along the way you notice it starts running on its own.
1 · Capture your starting point today
Your weight (for the calculator further down)
Waist
Measure on bare skin, exactly at navel height, breathing out and relaxed, tape level all the way round. Measure twice at the same time of day and note the average. This is your most important number: if your waist keeps getting smaller over the coming weeks, you are very likely losing fat, even when the scales do nothing.
The GOOD. Recovery Test (from my book GOOD.21: your-good-life.com/good21)
Take a sturdy step or the bottom stair. Step up and down for 3 minutes in a steady rhythm: up-up-down-down, one footstep per tick (free metronome app at 96 ticks). Straight afterwards, count your heartbeat for 15 seconds and multiply by 4. Sit down for 1 minute and count again. The bigger the difference, the better your recovery: more than 25 beats is excellent, 15 to 25 good, 10 to 15 moderate, under 10 deserves attention. Use the same step every time and compare with yourself above all. If you feel dizzy, short of breath or any chest pain: stop at once.
Your movement in a day
If your phone counts steps, note an ordinary weekday. No counter? Estimate it: 500 metres (once round the block, to the bakery and back) is roughly 650 steps.
Count your protein meals
Look at your 3 meals today. In how many was a protein source the centre of the plate? The protein list further down shows what counts.
2 · Pick one goal (really just one)
Tap your goal; the weekly plan below adapts automatically.
Strength training twice a week, 20 to 30 minutes, plus a daily walk. You make it heavier in small steps: one repetition more than last week, or a small weight added. No idea where to start? A complete home circuit is waiting below.
A daily walk, plus intervals twice a week in whatever form suits you: 30 seconds as briskly as you can (on a bike, the stairs or simply walking faster), then rest until your breathing settles, 4 to 6 times. Japanese walking counts too: 3 minutes brisk, 3 minutes easy, for half an hour. Strength training once a week keeps the base in place.
Strength training twice a week, a daily walk and a protein source with every meal. Cardio is welcome if you enjoy it, but do not expect the main result from it: that comes from your muscles and your daily movement. Desk job? Stand up every half hour and move for 2 minutes.
3 · Tick off your 12 weeks
After 4 weeks I take first stock; after 12 weeks I see the full difference.
Everything you tick and fill in is saved automatically on this device. Prefer paper? Print the PDF at the bottom.
Week 12 · the new youThe home circuit
Five exercises, one after the other, and you go round that loop 3 times. Every exercise has a lighter and a heavier form; choose what suits you today. The drawings move from starting position to end position.
Standing up from a chair (squat)
Sit on a sturdy chair, feet hip-width, arms crossed over your chest. Stand up without using your hands, then sit back down so gently you barely hear the chair. That is 1 repetition; do 10 to 12.
Lighter: push off with your hands on your thighs. Heavier: only touch the chair briefly; later, hold weights.
Pushing against the worktop (push-up)
Hands on the worktop, feet a good step back, body in one straight line. Bend your arms until your chest almost touches the top, then push back. 10 to 12 times.
Lighter: hands against the wall. Heavier: hands ever lower: table, sofa, and finally a mat, first on your knees, then on your feet.
The lunge
Stand tall with one hand on the back of a chair. Take a big step forward and let your back knee sink calmly towards the floor, as far as today allows. Push yourself back. Alternate, 10 per leg.
Lighter: a smaller step, less depth; the chair back stays your friend. Heavier: without support; later, hold weights.
The bridge
Lie on your back on a mat, knees bent, feet flat. Push through your heels and lift your hips until knees, hips and shoulders form one line. Hold for two counts, lower slowly. 10 to 12 times.
Lighter: lift your hips just a few centimetres; that trains too. Heavier: extend one leg while lifting.
The plank
Start on hands and knees. Lower onto your forearms and slide your knees back until your body is one straight line from head to knees. Brace your belly and hold for 20 to 30 seconds, breathing normally.
Lighter: hold for less time, more often. Heavier: on your toes; 5 seconds longer each week, up to 1 minute.
Protein: where to find it
Guideline for healthy adults doing strength training: 1.6 to 2.2 grams of protein per kilo of body weight per day (if you have a kidney condition or medical protein advice, check with your doctor first). Build every meal around one source from this list, and mind the right-hand column, because not every protein source is a lean one.
| Source (portion) | Protein | Calories |
|---|---|---|
| White fish such as cod, 150 g | 26 g | ± 120 kcal |
| Protein shake, 1 scoop (30 g) (v possible) | 23 g | ± 120 kcal |
| Mature cheese, reduced-fat, 40 g (v) | 13 g | ± 135 kcal |
| Unsweetened soya yoghurt, 250 g (v) | 10 g | ± 135 kcal |
| Low-fat quark or skyr, 250 g (v) | 27 g | ± 150 kcal |
| 2 eggs (v) | 13 g | ± 155 kcal |
| Chicken breast, cooked, 100 g | 30 g | ± 165 kcal |
| Lean beef such as steak, 100 g | 28 g | ± 170 kcal |
| Pork tenderloin, cooked, 100 g | 27 g | ± 175 kcal |
| Tofu, 150 g (v) | 19 g | ± 180 kcal |
| Lentils, cooked, 200 g (v) | 18 g | ± 230 kcal |
| Peanut butter, 3 tablespoons (50 g) (v) | 12 g | ± 300 kcal |
| Mixed nuts, 50 g (v) | 10 g | ± 300 kcal |
“It is high in protein” is true on paper, but every gram comes with a lot of calories attached. For the same 300 kcal, quark delivers over 4 times as much protein as peanut butter. Peanut butter and nuts are still fine as a flavour maker (1 tablespoon), just not as the meal's protein source. Vegetarian? Combine quark, eggs, mature cheese, soya yoghurt, tofu, lentils and a shake; that gets you to the guideline without any tricks.
Peckish between meals? My 2-minute shake
For the moment the biscuit tin starts calling: 1 scoop of protein powder (vanilla, mine: this one), 250 ml unsweetened soya milk or semi-skimmed milk, a handful of frozen berries and a spoonful of fibre stirred in (I use the Fibre myself). Everything in the blender, 30 seconds, done. A good 25 grams of protein for roughly 220 kcal (your powder's label is what counts), extra filling thanks to the fibre, and the hunger is genuinely gone rather than quiet for ten minutes.
This is what your plate looks like
The GOOD. bowl: the easiest healthy meal there is
Learn to build a bowl once and you can do it for the rest of your life, no recipe needed. You build from the bottom up:
Carbohydrates as the base, at the bottom: 100 to 150 g cooked rice, potato or quinoa (2 to 3 serving spoons, not half the pan). Clever trick: cook them a day ahead and let them cool; part of the starch becomes resistant starch, which keeps your blood sugar calmer.
Protein, for satiety: 150 to 180 g chicken or fish, or 3 eggs with a generous spoonful of quark.
Vegetables, on top, generously: lettuce and raw vegetables (pepper, cucumber, grated carrot) plus steamed vegetables (broccoli, green beans, cauliflower).
The dressing over it, it brings the flavour and the fat in one go.
3 tbsp tahini · 2 tbsp tamari · 1 tbsp sesame oil · juice of 1 lemon
Mix everything and stir in warm water spoon by spoon until the dressing pours. In a screw-top jar the rest keeps for 5 days in the fridge. Over the bowl: 2 tablespoons, then scatter sesame seeds on top.
From my book GOOD.21, which holds three more weeks of meals like this. When you eat the bowl, keep to the order below.
The order of eating
Eat your vegetables first, then your protein and fats, and your carbohydrates last. Same plate, same calories, but the blood sugar peak after the meal turns out milder; what it does to your appetite, you will notice yourself within days.
And your water
Your sum: body weight in kilos x 0.03 = your litres of water per day. Officially all fluids count, tea included; I keep to water and herbal tea myself, then I know it adds up. Easiest strategy: set out your day's supply in the morning, then there is nothing to remember, only to drink.
I take the MetaPWR softgels every morning myself, and often with dinner too (the label allows up to 5 a day). Why I started and how I fit them in: my product page. A supplement remains a supplement; the rest of this page does the real work.
And now you.
Put your starting point on paper today. And in four weeks, do write and tell me what has changed; I read every mail myself.
One more step every week
This worksheet gives you your starting point and your goal. The 5 GOOD. minutes brings you one thing a week to build into it: what the research shows, a recipe or an exercise. Free, and you can unsubscribe any time with one click.