Eating for Weight Loss-or-How did I gain back 3.5 pounds?

Winner of $25 Target Gift Card announced at the end!
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Did somebody change the rules? Seriously. Did someone decide that eating less and moving more is no longer the key to healthy and long-term weight loss? Cuz, just as sure as I announced Friday that I had lost four pounds, I’ve gained back all but a half pound of that wonderful weight.

I was so happy last week. I even shed a tear—I was THAT happy. That was the first time in four months the scale went down. Not up, but DOWN. I had finally seen some results from all my hard work. It was beautiful.

This morning I also shed a tear. I locked myself in the bathroom and cried, I did. And snapped at Jon and yelled at my kids. Nosirreee…I’m not letting this weight issue define my mood AT ALL! I’m much too spiritually mature for that nonsense.

For what it’s worth, I did recently hear on the radio research shows a link between household clutter and obesity. And looking around my house, I’m starting to see the connection. But my house isn’t any messier than it was on Friday, so that doesn’t account for this recent fluctuation.

All that said, I did promise that I’d give you details of the plan I’m following to lose my weight. Yet,on Friday, that seemed like a much better idea than it is today.

My weight loss program is multi-faceted. It’s a combination of several fitness philosophies, as well as advice from a nutritionist, my personal trainer and a homeopathic doctor. It incorporates proper nutrition, a variety of exercises and realistic goal-setting.

In creating this plan, I’ve had to take a few things into account:

1. My body is still trying to rid itself of medication that whacked out my metabolism over the last 2.5 years.

2. I just turned 42. My body is not the same as it was, even 5 years ago.

3. My metabolism senses food and immediately packs on 3 pounds, just to mess with me.

You may be asking, why not just follow an established weight-loss program? I considered that. And for many, that may work well. I’m familiar with a lot of them and most have merit. I know many people who swear by Weight Watchers or NutriSystem, for example, with great results. But I find that with each one, there is some aspect of it with which I disagree OR there is something about it that doesn’t fit well into my lifestyle. So, I just took 25 years of fitness knowledge and created my own program. The up-side of being Fitness Friday Girl.

What I’m Eating

In this program I am not

counting calories or points (too mentally consuming)

cutting out any food groups (doesn’t work long-term)

paying someone to send pre-packaged frozen meals to me (can’t do that with a family of five)

eating processed foods or sugar substitutes (may cut calories, but they are not good for the body)

I am

drinking 72 oz of water daily

eating every 2 ½ to 4 hours (4-6 small meals daily to keep the metabolism humming)

creating meals out of a healthy carb, a healthy protein and lots of veggies (ensures I get adequate nutrition)

eating smaller portions than what I usually do (creating a calorie deficit)

cutting out my after-dinner snack (creating more of a calorie deficit)

eating whole, natural and organic foods, whenever possible (because my body needs these)

allowing myself a free meal or dessert every few days (for long-term success, I can’t deprive myself)

Here is what that looks like in real life.

Day One

1 cup coffee with flavored, non-dairy creamer (this is not something I drink all the time, but I’m on this kick right now. I usually have half and half with agave nectar)
Banana and Natural/organic peanut butter
Turkey sandwich with veggies and mustard on whole wheat
Tall soy chai tea latte
½ bbq chicken breast, rice pilaf, fresh cucumbers, cauliflower, strawberries

Day Two

Coffee w/creamer
Whole wheat bread, almond butter, grapes
Salad with veggies, left-ver chicken, left-over rice
Tea with almond milk and honey
Lowfat vanilla yogurt, ½ banana
One soy-crumbles taco, small taco salad (the guts of a second taco without shell) and a few grapes
Almonds, grapes, tea with almond milk and honey

Day Three

Smoothie—frozen berries, almond milk, flax seed, Spiru-tein powder
Coffee w/creamer
Lynn’s Paradise Café (a great local restaurant)—black beans, brown rice, chips, mango salsa
½ cup coffee with half and half
1 small box junior mints (at theater)
½ turkey sandwich, small salad
Tea, almond milk, honey

Day Four

Coffee w/ creamer
WW bread, almond butter, ½ banana, a few grapes
2 slices turkey breast, a few pieces raw cauliflower
Large soy chai tea latte and blueberry yogurt (at coffee shop)
5 chicken breast strips (breaded in corn chips and cracker, lightly fried in 1 tbsp oil), yukon gold roasted potatoes drizzled with olive oil, fresh veggies and fruit
Tea with honey and skim

Day Five
1 ½ cups coffee with creamer
½ banana and smudge of peanut butter
1 egg, 2 egg white omelet with peppers, gouda, 1 slice ww toast with thin slab butter and jelly
Q’Doba grilled veggie burrito (beans, rice, veggies, salsa, guacamole)—no tortilla, no cheese, no sour cream
Home made veggie pizza, with whole wheat crust and about ½ the cheese I’d prefer, salad

Day Six
2 cups coffee with creamer
Oatmeal, ¼ banana, 1 tsp peanut butter, flax seed, a little almond milk, honey
Handful of cheerios (to help me sustain my workout)
Can of Amy’s minestrone soup, serving of left over roasted potatoes
Apple and spoon of peanut butter
Tea with almond milk and honey
Chicken mozzarella ravioli, salad, 3 small homemade whole wheat bread sticks

Day Seven

2 cups coffee with cream
Whole wheat bread, almond butter, 3 strawberries and a sprinkle of sugar
Bowl of Kashi Cinnamon Harvest cereal and almond milk
Ravioli and salad
Smoothie (Strawberries, almond milk, almond butter, flax and Spirutein powder)
I cup mac and cheese

** My first weigh-in showing a loss of four pounds

Day eight

2 cups coffee
1 Egg 2 egg white omelet with onion, peppers, spinach, gouda, 1 slice whole wheat toast with butter and jelly
Smoothie (strawberries, water and spirutein)
2 soy hot dogs on whole wheat bread, small salad

(Went to Beth Moore conference and did not log food for dinner that night, breakfast or lunch the following day)

Day nine

Breakfast and lunch not logged
Smoothie after I returned from conference

Day ten

Cheerios with skim milk
Coffee and creamer
Q’doba mango chicken salad with guacamole (no shell, no cheese, no sour cream), handful of tortilla chips
Grande non-fat vanilla latte
Yogurt, cottage cheese, banana
Turkey sandwich on whole wheat, with lettuce and mustard
1 brownie (was baking for Elijah’s birthday and only ate ONE out of two dozen—which demonstrated an incredible amount of self-control!)

Day eleven

Coffee
Whole wheat bread, peanut butter and banana
½ turkey sandwich with tomato, peppers, lettuce, mustard, I can Amy’s split pea soup
¼ cup almonds and about 20 grapes
Japenese steak house: 1 sushi vegetable roll, 1 sushi avocado roll, salad with ginger dressing (also finished Rebekah’s salad), bowl of broth soup, green tea with sugar
Brownies warmed with ice cream on top (Elijah’s birthday)

**my second weigh-in showing an increase of 3.5 pounds.

And there you have it. Follow this and you will lose 4 pounds in a week and then gain back 3 ½ a few days later! That’s what I call progress!

Next time, I’ll give you the skinny on weight loss workouts.

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Congratulations Jen! You are the winner of the $25 Target Gift Card! Thank you for your comment and for following the blog! E-mail me your mailing address so I can get that out to you!