The Weight Loss Train

For the past month, I've been embarking, once again, on the diet train.  Yes, I've done this before, with some success.  I noticed during the winter months that I had put on some extra weight and the number on the scale only confirmed it.. so my weight loss journey begins again!

The Plan:
My diet plan has always been counting calories combined with exercise.  I tend to eat a larger amount of food than I realize, plus, a good habit to get into is knowing how many calories you're eating in any given day and how many calories are in the foods you like to eat.  I also drink 6 to 8 cups of water a day, particularly with meals, which really does help fill you up when you're trying to eat less.  I'm sticking to around 1200 calories a day, although sometimes I do go over (way over!)..I just don't let occasional slip-ups get me down!

Changing Habits:
Having a dog is a great way to get exercise..I try to walk Amélie 3 times a week, or more if the weather complies.  I also use our XBox Kinect to dance..the dance game has a fitness section, where it tracks calories burned, so there's no guessing involved on my part.  Sometimes I take the stairs to work or I park far away at the store, just to get my body moving.  One other habit I'm trying to get out of is eating too close to bedtime..some people might disagree with me, but I really think eating food less than three hours before you go to bed can really put on the pounds.

How:
I use an app on my smartphone to help track how many calories I eat every day.  I can also track exercise and how many cups of water I've had in any particular day.  I use an app called MyFitnessPal, which also allows me to track how many pounds I've lost since I began my diet.  Another great feature is the ability to create recipes and figure out how many calories are in each serving - this is great since I usually make dinner from scratch.  I can save the recipes and put them right into my calorie tracker for the day.  I highly recommend MyFitnessPal, I use it on my phone, my iPad, and my computer!  (If you're interested, check out the link to the right, underneath my bio)

For breakfast: I usually eat around 200-300 calories.  Sometimes I eat SpecialK Flatbread sandwiches, which are around 200 calories each, or I'll have two slices of Raisin Cinnamon Monks Bread (delicious!) for 90 calories per slice.  About  halfway through the morning (about 10:30am for me) I will have a small snack, maybe a banana, if I'm hungry.  As far as water goes, I usually drink 2 cups of water with breakfast, and then another 2 cups before lunch at 12:30.

For lunch: If I have some low-calorie leftovers in the fridge, I will sometimes bring that for lunch the next day..but chances are good that I'll just stick to having a sandwich for lunch.   I really like to use sandwich thins, filled with turkey or another low-fat/low-calorie lunch meat, some thin slice cheese, and tomato slices.  I've also had good luck with making egg salad with Greek yogurt.  It has a different taste, but its not bad in a sandwich.  I also make sure to drink 2 cups of water with lunch and to eat SLOWLY!!! The key is to give your stomach time to realize it's full and that you really are eating enough food even if it doesn't LOOK like a lot of food - it's all about tricking your tummy!  Sometimes I'll add a 100 calorie Greek yogurt, or some carrots with Greek yogurt dip (Greek yogurt is amazing..it cuts down calories like you wouldn't believe).  I try to stay under 450 calories for lunch.

For dinner: Once I get home from work, I make whatever I normally planned for dinner and just eat a smaller portion of it.  I don't think my husband should have to suffer from my dieting, so I make sure he has a good dinner!  If I have to eat some veggies to supplement my dinner, then so be it - oh, and of course, I make sure to drink water with dinner!  I try to make sure to save about 500 calories for dinner.

I have cut soda and fruit juices from my daily diet, although I still occasionally indulge in my favorite Mt. Dew.  Those drinks have more calories per serving than you probably want to know about - I still drink coffee, but don't load it up with creamer and sugar.  Water is pretty much my best friend!

My diet background - I started trying to lose weight in June of 2011.  I made some good progress, but then got stuck at a certain weight and got frustrated.  I was able to stay at a consistent weight for a while, but slowly started gaining weight at the end of last year.  In the past 4 weeks, I've lost 5 pounds - progress I'm really happy with.  I'm hoping to lose a total of 20 pounds by July..the only reason I say July is because that's when hubby and I are going on vacation, so I figure it's a good goal date!  I'll keep you up to date on my weight loss and will post some of the low-calorie food ideas I use during the week.  The weight loss game is definitely different for everyone, but I hope that the ideas I've implemented in my own weight loss journey might help you in yours!

Happy dieting!



(Please keep in mind that I'm not a health guru or doctor..you should always consult a health professional if you have questions about a healthy diet plan.  That's my disclaimer!!)