This post deviates a little from my norm- but a couple people have asked me how I lost weight and if I could write down some meal plans, so I decided to put it in a blog in case others were interested!
I am not a nutrition expert- nor do I think what I did will work for everybody, but this is my story, and how it worked for me.
From the middle of 2011 to 2012, I lost 23lbs, all from changing the way I eat. Sure, I worked out, but I also worked out before losing weight and I was only getting bigger with muscle. Changing the way I ate made all the difference in changing my body.
This was me at the end of my tour with Student Life in 2010. We ate gas station food, fast food, and fried fish-stick cafeteria food. Not ideal for someone who wants to be healthy! This is how I gained most of my weight and it stayed with me.
2012-Back to the size I should be!
Now, I said all I did was change the way I eat- but actually this is not true. I changed the way I THOUGHT. If you're someone who is interested in losing weight- it's a battle of the mind, so you need to be prepared.
1. You need to want it for YOU. If you're trying to do it for someone or something else, you'll lose steam- YOU are the one who needs to decide that you want it enough.
2. Once you want it enough, you have to have the ability to SAY NO. You need to decide that looking and feeling better is more important than eating that piece of cake. You also need to realize that there will be other opportunities to have baked goods and homemade potato chips. Everyone always thinks, "Oh I'll be good, but I have to try this cake my co-worker made." No, you don't. Once you eat that cake, it will be someone's birthday the next day and they'll be offended if you don't eat birthday cake with them. There's always something, and you have to know when to say no.
As you can see, saying "no" was hard for me.
3. ACCOUNTABILITY definitely helped me get started with this. My friend and I decided to be on a very strict diet our first 2 weeks of doing this- and knowing that we didn't want to let each other down is how we got through the hard part of late night cravings!
4. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. It's crazy how our body tells us exactly what we should eat, but we don't listen. If your stomach starts hurting or you feel like you have a lot of gas, then your body is trying to get rid of whatever you put in it. It hurts because it doesn't like it. When you start eating healthy, you will definitely realize when your body doesn't like something, and it will be easier to stay away from those things.
5. You have to be prepared for a LIFESTYLE CHANGE. The reason I haven't put on any more weight even though I'm not as strict with what I eat, is because I look at food differently now. I see food as nourishment and not indulgence. I look at food and go- will this give me energy to do what I need to do? It's kind of crazy that my mindset has changed so much- but I couldn't be more grateful- because when you change how you think- it becomes much easier to handle. Also, one of my biggest lifestyle changes was not eating out as much. When you eat out, it's hard to control what you put in your body. But if you're cooking at home, you can control how healthy your ingredients are.
Now- I created my own diet. It's based on the Atkins diet- but I have a firm belief that if God created something, it is healthy for us to eat. Therefore, I eat as many fruits and vegetables as I want. I mainly stay away from breads and unnatural sugar.
Here are some meals that I eat- I don't like spending money on lots of ingredients for fancy dishes- so I keep it pretty simple:
Breakfast Option #1
-Egg Scramble (1 egg white and 1 full egg) with spinach and feta
**I do a lot of egg scramble combinations:
diced onions and peppers (you can get these pre-cut at Publix or Kroger)
turkey bacon and cheese (oscar mayer turkey bacon is the bomb- very thick)
black beans, pepper jack cheese, turkey bacon, salsa
-1 cup of coffee
Breakfast Option #2 (for those of us who run out the door to work)
- Banana (or any kind of fruit)
- vanilla or strawberry light and fit yogurt- says for diabetics and carb watchers on the label
-1 cup of coffee
Lunch Option #1
- Lettuce Wrapped Tuna
*tuna in water with olive oil mayo and sweet relish
- Sliced apple with peanut butter
- Baby Carrots (a little ranch dip is ok :)
-Flavored Water
Lunch Option #2
-Low carb wrap with Turkey and Cheese
I buy mesquite turkey, chipotle mayo, and pepper jack cheese
-Any kind of fruit- I love berries
- Celery and Peanut Butter
-Water with crystal light or propel packet
Dinner Option #1
-Ginger Salmon
You can buy microwavable salmon, grill it, or pan cook it, I also add some ginger dressing to give it an Asian flair
-Zucchini
pan-cook it with some olive oil
-Sweet Potato
I'm lazy and get the microwavable sweet potatoes from Kroger and spray a little butter on it
-Flavored water (as you can see, I find regular water too boring so I have to spruce it up)
Dinner Option #2
-Big Salad- throw in whatever you want!
I'm a fan of spinach leaves, chicken, strawberries, almonds, mandarin oranges, feta, cucumbers, carrots, and a sweet dressing.
-Flavored water
Dessert Options
-an apple or banana with biscoff spread (1 table spoon only!!)
-low carb yogurt with fruit
-just fruit!
Need a smoothie?
I really like smoothies but they are full of sugar, and milk and OJ are not your friends, so here is how I make mine:
-Almond Milk
-Low Carb yogurt -vanilla or strawberry
-Banana
-A couple Strawberries
-Ice
You'll have to play around to get the perfect combination of texture
There are, of course, lots of other meal options once you get the hang of what you should eat and what you shouldn't, but here's a little starter course for anyone new to the healthy living scene.
