2016 will be the year that I kick this weight off of me. It will probably take more than a year to lose it, but I'm determined by the end of the year to have at least 90 pounds off!
Counting calories has always worked for me. When I was on Nutrisystem, I did count the calories. When I first started, I ate approximately 1500 calories. I'm doing the same again - minus the Nutrisystem program
Here's my basic program. Keep in mind that I can eat the same thing...day in and day out for quite some time On the weekends, I'll replace my Cheerios with oatmeal. Here's what it looks like:
Breakfast:
1 1/2 cups Cheerios
1 cup fat free milk
1 Tbsp. walnuts
1 Tbsp, dried cranberries (the ones I purchase don't have much sugar in them)
Mid Morning Snack:
1/2 cup low fat cottage cheese
Lunch:
Smoothie
1/2 small banana, frozen
4-5 frozen strawberries
1 cup fat free milk
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
Mid Afternoon snack:
Low fat (2%) greek yogurt
Snack before workout: 1 cup bone broth
Dinner:
HUGE salad
4 cups red leaf lettuce
1/2 medium tomato
1 hard boiled egg, roughly chopped
3 oz. smoked turkey breast
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. grated cheese
I mix the olive oil, vinegar and grated cheese in a huge metal mixing bowl. Then I add the rest of the salad stuff and toss it with my hands. That way all the lettuce and goodies get coated! I love making salad this way. Sometimes I'll add a squirt of fresh lemon; sometimes I'll use 5 oz. cooked shrimp instead of the meat; I'll switch up veggies and add raw mushrooms or some grated carrot or cucumbers. And sometimes I'll add fresh spinach to the mix of lettuce. There's a million ways you can fix a salad to make it different! And I love salads; thanks to when I was on Nutrisystem. For me, it was the best way to get most of my days veggies.
Okay. So...I have 175 pounds to lose. I currently weigh 345. And since the last time I lost over 100 pounds, I have since went through the change of life; so I'm praying I'll lose the pounds the same way (I averaged 2-3 pounds a week). I started out with Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred and graduated up to her Body Revelation and eventually to one of her 45 minute DVDs! I was a fat burning machine!
Right now, the 30 Day Shred is too hard for me because of how much weight I have on me. I'm starting out this time with Leslie Sansome's 1 Mile Walk (gosh, I used to LAUGH at these videos; shame on me - cause they are really challenging right now!). Once I hit 310 lbs, I will start 30 Day Shred.
I will also incorporate weight training along with the walking. That's because I know for me, weight training burns fat like crazy. And it builds muscle and give you lots of strength for your workouts.
As of today....my energy level sucks....big time Being fat isn't fun; it's so hard on the entire body. My joints ache, my back hurts; I can't stand for more than 10 minutes at a time. And doing simple things like cutting your toe nails, tying shoes, kneeling down are nearly impossible right now. Not to mention how uncomfortable my clothes fit. This is not living; I merely exist, which is so frustrating.
Bottom line; I have to start out SLOWLY. My head still remembers the feeling and the ability to do planks and hold them; to do a FULL sit up and do many sets of them; to do the hard workout DVD's and feel challenged, but able to do them. To do a push up over and over again. I have to hold back because I can seriously hurt myself if I try to push these kind of things right now. My body is not in the shape it used to be. BUT.....it WILL BE again! With hard work and determination, I will do this!
I'll post daily and let you know how my workouts are going. And I'll check back weekly to let you know of my weight loss progress. LET'S DO THIS!!!