When Enough is Enough my New Meal Plan for Weight Loss and a Healthy Life
There is nothing really mystical about weight loss. You just need to utilize more calories than you take in, eat fresh healthy unprocessed foods and get plenty of exercise. It is not rocket science to lose weight but for so many of us including myself it has been a lifelong battle. My weight loss journey has had a lot of ups and downs over the years. But I finally feel like I’m on track to make a real difference in my life. This is my plan and this is how I intend to succeed.
The Diet
The cornerstone to any healthy lifestyle and weight loss program is of course diet. You can lose weight with diet and no exercise but you cannot lose weight with exercise and a bad diet. Now obviously the best idea is to combine both for optimum health. The trick for me has always been the more weight I have on me the harder it is to be active. Exercises is something I’m trying to do as much as possible. But my primary focus is going to be on my diet. My plan is to cut out as much sugar, processed foods and junk food as possible.
For two weeks now I’ve been on a diet that is heavily plant based that includes such foods as leafy greens, oats, brown rice, unsweetened Greek yogurt, lean meats such as chicken, berries (with the heavy emphasis on blueberries), almonds, and light cottage cheese. I also have been adding some additional fruits and vegetables as they are available to me such as strawberries and tomato’s . My goal with this diet is to provide myself a sustainable diet that does not deprive myself of any calories or nutrients to cause my metabolism to lower. I also want plenty of food to consume for dinner as I do not want to feel deprived and hungry leading to overindulgence in bad foods. This is a breakdown of my current diet plan which I am keeping track of using the myfitnesspal app.
Breakfast Blend together 1 smoothie and consume half for breakfast. Store the rest for lunch.
- Spinach, 1 cup
- 100% Whole Grain Oats (Large Flake Oats), 15 gram
- 0% M.F. Greek Yogurt, 87.5 g (unsweetened)
- Blueberries, 0.5 cup (sometimes other berries added such as Strawberries)
- Banana – 1 Med, 0.5 banana
Lunch
- Vegetables – Spinach, 1 cup
- 100% Whole Grain Oats (Large Flake Oats), 15 gram
- 0% M.F. Greek Yogurt, 87.5 g (unsweetened)
- Blueberries, 0.5 cup
- Banana – 1 Med, 0.5 banana
Dinner
- Organic Baby Spinach Spring Mix, 15 oz
- Brown rice (1 cup) or Uncle Bens Bistro Express – Wholegrain Medley – Garden Vegetable Rice (Canada), 243.0 g / 125 ml
- Boneless pork Loin Roast, chicken breast, lean beef or 4 scrambled eggs whole.
- Tzatziki Yougurt, 5 tbsp
Snacks
- Grape Tomatoes – – Measured In Grams, 200 grams
- Almonds, 30 grams
- Cottage Cheese, 1% Light, 0.5 cup (125g)
Evening Snack
So far on this program I have lost 12.5 pounds just shy of my 2 weeks eating this diet. That said I should point out that this is very likely mostly water weight reduction. You don’t generally lose over 10 pounds in a week and a half nor would that be a sustainable or healthy weight loss amount long term. The harder part of the diet will come later when weight loss is slowed and even comes back up which can happen often. This is perfectly normal especially when becoming more active and adding muscle mass. My aim will be around 2lbs a week average which should get me to my goal of 100lbs of weight loss in 1 years time. The trick will be overcoming psychological aspect of slow weight loss.
I think all in all I’m off to a good start and I feel very encouraged by how I have been feeling. Already I feel like I’m sleeping better and feel like I have more energy . It might only be 12 pounds of water weight, but if you lift a 12lb dumbbell and realize that you are no longer caring that around inside you, you realize that every little bit is significant stress off your body.
