A couple of people have emailed me and commented that they wanted to know what I was doing in terms of food/diet and exercise with my program.
Now, let me be the first to say I am no expert by any means in this area and that to date I have lost about 8 lbs. I will say that I did however do a lot of learning, reading and web searching for programs and ideas before I started. I spoke with a nutritionist and also met with my doctor as well. 8lbs is in 3 weeks which really is pretty good.
I decided first of all not to go with a “pre-packaged” diet like Weight Watchers, Nutri System, South Beach or Best Life. Not because these aren’t all decent programs, but because I figured if I did not learn from scratch how to do this and design it for me, it would be harder to follow and stay motivated. I wanted to also ensure that I had food choices that I like and not alter things so radically that it would be tough to follow.
Here are the basics of what I came up with…not re-inventing the wheel or anything.
* No processed sugars or sugary foods 6 days a week. Things that contain sugar like cookies, cakes, white breads, sodas etc. Fruit is ok because it is natural and through compounding your body processes it better.
* Less fattening foods. Watch the oils, deep fried, and scale back on non lean meets. Cut back on butter, sour cream and those heavier items that tend to carry a ton of fat in them. Many of them fall into the above category with a lot of sugar so it is pretty easy to figure them out.
* A ton of vegetables. The core of my dinner and sometimes lunch. Fill up on the veggies and limit the rest.
* Smarter portions. Holy crap do restaurants and well…us…make big portions. Going with the fist size portions for just about everything and then stopping. Ironically I have yet to be hungry!
* 2 cheat meals a week (1 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday) You might ask why on this. Simple. I figure if you 100% deny yourself something, at some point you will break down and go back to what got you where you were in the first place. I am still watching my portions here, but it is a chance for me to grab a little Mexican food, a small slice of cake or some cookies etc. Then I don’t miss them during the week as much.
So, with the basics in place here is the Meal/Exercise component. These are a sampling of what i have been doing..not completely though…way to much to list otherwise.
EATING Week Days:
Breakfast: Option 1: 1 Cup of Cheerios and a Banana. Coffee or Water to drink. Sweeten coffee with Truvia. Option 2: Life cereal (1 cup) with berries or other fruit. Option 3: Two eggs scrambled with yogurt based butter and a slice of whole grain bread.
Snack: Small apple or handful of almonds (almonds have really good oils in them and are filling)
Lunch: Turkey Sandwich on whole wheat Healthy Request bread with a slice of 2% cheese and 1 tbsp of light mayo. Iced tea to drink. 100 Cal pack of chips if really needed or celery sticks. Option 2: Tuna on whole wheat. Option 3: Grilled chicken salad with Fiber One Yogurt (only 50 cals).
Snack: Apple, handful of almonds, Fiber One Bar, TLC Bar or something like that with limited sugar and calories.
Dinner: Whatever is cooked, just watch the portions and always served with a healthy salad. Some house favorites: Spaghetti with whole grain pasta (small portion)(ground turkey if meat sauce). Option 2: Crock Pot Whole Chicken with onions, carrots and red potatoes. (great recipe). Option 3: Crock Pot Roast with veggies-no gravy. Option 4: BBQ Chicken on the grill (find BBQ sauce that is low in sugar like Stubs)
No eating after dinner and two hours before bed- it is key.
EXERCISE:
Monday: Usually SPIN class for 1 hour or 1 hour of walking
Tuesday: Weights for 45 minutes- tend to do a pretty fast pace and circuit
Wednesday: 30-40 minutes of walking or an elliptical trainer at the Y
Thursday: 30 minutes of walking
Friday: 30 minutes of walking and weights for 45 minutes (if possible) no matter what walking
Saturday: Usually my big workout: 3-4 mile walk in the morning then weights for an hour at the Y (at least 3-4 mile walk…if I know I cannot get to weights I extend the walk)
Sunday: Off usually. If time I catch a 30 minute walk.
There you have it. It is not rocket science and we all really know what we need to do. Just finding the motivation to do so is what is hard sometimes.
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