Hello all… I’m happy to be here!
I’ll share a bit of my story – I’ve struggled with my weight my entire life, ever since I was a kid I have been overweight, but these last 2 years I’ve been able to get into a normal BMI and keep it there, but the weight is slowly creeping back on - of course, no fault but my own!
My highest weight was in college, I think I reached 203 at one point (let's just say I lived off of fast food, yuck!) and 14's were getting tight on me. My lowest weight has been this past summer, when I was around 150-153, and I was a 6/8. I always had “145” as my goal weight, but I’ve never been able to reach that and I don’t think it’s realistic. Right now I am a steady 163, right around 8/10, and I’ve put on 10 lbs since this summer – mainly because I began working (food days like every other day, ahhh!) and I also had a problem with sciatica where I couldn't exercise for 2 months. I don’t have as much time to work out and cook every meal, like I did before, either. I can definitely tell in my clothes, and my measurements, and I really want to get back to the 150-153 zone and stabilize there. My main reason is that hubby and I are planning on trying to have a baby in the near future (after summer hopefully) and I want to be at a healthy pre-pregnancy weight.
I’ve tried basically every “diet” out there, but really I can’t hold on that long, especially when it’s really restrictive, so I want to keep around 1200-1400 kcals a day, and also I limit my starches, but I don't necessarily count carbs. I also try to do “clean” eating, meaning I don’t buy any processed foods and/or limit them. I try to limit sugar and the only substitute I use is a bit of honey or agave. Here’s a sample of what I’m thinking for meal planning:
breakfast
coffee w/ milk (1%)
oatmeal w/ 1 tbsp honey & cinnamon
8 oz OJ (no sugar added) OR a fruit
snack
fruit OR nuts w/ string cheese
lunch
lean meat (chicken/turkey)
veggie (often a mixed salad)
starch serving (bread, pasta, etc)
OR soup (I’m really into soup lately)
dinner
protein serving
veggies
starch (only if I have a workout that day)
snack/dessert (if needed)
plain greek yogurt w/ honey & sometimes flax seeds
As far as my workout regime – I do zumba 2x a week, and I also recently purchased Jillian Michael’s Ripped in 30, which I started doing but I got sick and haven’t been able to work out for a week. When I was at my lowest weight I jogged 5k (3 miles) 4-5x a week, which I might take up again when the weather gets warmer. I also do abs and arms rotating throughout the week. I do have some weights I know I need to incorporate.
One of my main concerns is my arms - everyone in my family is basically "top heavy" and I've never had small arms, and I know you can't work out one area of the body to lose weight, but if you have any suggestions as to what to do to get rid of the arm flab, that would be appreciated!
What do you ladies think overall about my eating/exercise plan? I am open to constructive criticism!