Plan Ahead for Health

Over the weekend I realized that I needed quick and easy foods that I could make ahead of time and have ready on the fly. So I made a big crock pot of vegan chili. (legumes galore - I love these cholesterol blasters!), veggie lentil soup (reminds me of beef vegetable soup flavor wise) and oatmeal (with dried cranberries & apples in it). The chili is really yummy and came out to 270 calories a cup and fills me right up.

I measured everything to 1 cup portions; turns out that is a lot less than you'd think. I put  1/2 in the freezer, 1/2 in the fridge for on the go.  This is a huge help for me. I tend to over eat. (What do you mean I ate half the pizza? #shocker)


I also sat down and planned out my meals and workouts for the whole week. So this morning I just opened my 3-ring binder up, went to meal plan, and knew exactly what I needed to pack for my breakfast, lunch & snacks for at work. I also used it this morning to make sure I was doing the correct workout.


I have been listening to an app on my kindle called "weight loss." It's basically like a video blog thing with a whole bunch of them that run endlessly. Anyway, it was suggested that if you are trying to run a calorie deficit, then allow yourself 2 cheat meals a week. I figure if I do this on Wed night and Sat night, (or Wed / Sunday whatever) then I really only have be strict for 2-3 days and I catch a break. (these will also be the days I rest between workout days). It supposedly helps to keep your BMR up because your body doesn't go into starvation mode. We shall see. (I log everything I eat into my Lose It! app that I love!)


So my update... When I first started in November, I was at 220lbs. Last Tuesday when I weighed in, the scale said 208lbs.  I can happily say is that the scale was down to 204.6 lbs today! Yay me! I am wearing clothes that I haven't worn in years. Whoo! It's a great feeling. Plus I am doing really well with the not smoking! I definitely like the patch system, huge difference than past quit attempts. I So, overall I am feeling: healthy, strong, and confident. I am liking the new me. :)

But all of this and I am really not seeing the results I would like. My friend Lucy introduced me to Beachbody and the 21 Day Fix. This is where things really began to change for me!