In yesterday‘s comments Mary Bess asked me to talk a little more about what I was eating when I was losing fat gaining my ideal body. Actually, my meal plans then were very similar to what I am eating now, with a few minor tweaks.
For example, a weekday meal plan would consist of:
- 1/2 cup (40 g) of rolled oats (measured dry) plus water, cooked, topped with 1/2 banana and stevia, 2 slices Welshire Farms reduced-fat bacon, 4 egg whites scrambled, coffee with skim milk
- smoothie: 1/2 (60 calories) scoop whey protein powder, 1 cup skim milk, a peach or mango or cup of strawberries or blueberries
- 1 slice toasted ezekiel bread (90 calories), 1/2 can light tuna mixed with chopped pickles, celery, mustard, little low-fat mayo (or lean, no nitrate, low-sodium deli meat with a little mayo and fresh spinach)
- large spinach salad with 3-4 oz grilled chicken, 1/2 apple, chopped, 1/2 oz walnuts, few dried cherries, sprinkle of parmesan, and Garlic Expressions dressing or pork tenderloin and a side veggie, or chicken and veggie
- the usual dessert or a LARABAR or sugar-free chcolate pudding made with skim-milk and chocolate protein powder mixed in
I ate this way Monday through Friday and then allowed myself more carbs/calories on the weekends, had my oatmeal pancake, etc. I didn’t have a free for all, but I allowed myself a little bit of freedom, which I think helped me overall to keep my sanity and stay on track. Near the end, when I only had a few pounds to lose, I had to start paying more attention. I still ate what I wanted on Saturdays, but I counted the calories using Fitday.com even on the weekend, and only ate things where I knew how many calories were in it, so I wasn’t just guessing.
I used this formula for figuring how many calories to eat per day and essentially followed the principles taught in Leigh’s book. I’m tellin ya, she taught me everything I know about nutrition, calories, and fat loss.
I drank a LOT of water, still do. I’m talking a gallon and a half a day. Granted, I didn’t start out drinking this much water, I worked my way up to it, but I think that helped me to escort the fat out of my cells. At least I choose to believe it did. 
Once I was getting close to my goal, I added in an hour of walking at night to help me to burn more calories, while not over-taxing my body with too much intense exercise. Side note: I wrote this article, Burn Baby Burn, about NEAT last year right before Christmas, and it was posted on the Yahoo home page after the first of the year. It was a pretty popular article and an important concept to understand.
I say all this and then I read it over and I think, wow it all sounds so… intense! I don’t want to scare you into thinking that you have to be like super obsessive and fixated on every little thing in order for the “magical” formula of fat loss to work. I don’t think it really has to be this… serious. Right now, I am maintaining my losses with a much more lax approach. The bottom line is that you’ve got to burn more calories than you eat. I think that it’s more about learning the principles of how fat loss works, and then just sorta… being aware of them and living by them, yet not being super focused on it.
Even though I added in the walk and counted calories on the weekends as I neared my goal weight, I also kinda relaxed a little bit. Yeah, I did those things, but I didn’t spend much time thinking about it, if that makes sense. At this point, it was part of my routine, but not something I thought or worried about about constantly. I just did it, and focused the majority of my attention on other things that were more fun or rewarding.
As I did that, the last few pounds just seemed to fall off. Even as I began adding more calories back in once I reached my goal, I lost even a little more weight, without even trying. So this is why I say that mindset has soooo much to do with it. When you are in that good feeling place, where you are doing what you know you need to do, however you aren’t really focusing on it, stuff that used to feel hard, can suddenly feel easy.
Hope that helps. Do you have any other fat loss questions I can help you answer?
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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow. I have never really taken the time to sit down and look at everything, well.. scientifically, using the tools you mentioned. I am going to start doing that tomorrow to look what my average week is really like including both nutrition and activity level.
It has been really great to read all your recent blog posts. They have been very educational. I have learned a lot and have a lot to think about/research. Thank you!
Thanks Katrina! Glad I could help give you some insight by sharing my experiences.
Thank you so much for posting this! I’m still learning about food and how it effects my body and fat loss. I, too, purchased Leigh Peele’s Fat Loss Trouble Shoot but have been kind of ‘scarred and intimidated’ about all the info she relates, which has thus slowed me down on getting more involved with her way of losing fat! You have helped break some of this down for my understanding for which I’m grateful…I hope to study up more about this so I can drop this last bit of body fat that seems to not want to go anywhere!
xx MB
Don’t feel overwhelmed by it MB. If you look at it as just one more way to better understand your body, it’s less intimidating and more interesting. When I read scientific type books, I get myself in the mindset where I realize I don’t have to retain every part of the book, but if I pick up even a few things, that is more than I knew before, and I then I can always go back and reference specific areas I want to learn more about.
Love this!
And yes, Leigh is the go to guru for ALL things fat loss! You need to get her out to Cali for a live chat with you and Val!
Mary Bess- Leigh’s book/info will help yoiu get rid of that last bit of fat! Its that last bit where she really helps. (but I don’t see where you have any to lose!)
Thanks Missy. It would be awesome to have Leigh come visit!
Thanks Missy! Yeah, I changed B/C medications this summer so my body has been in hormonal flux the past several months getting used to them…I guess! I’ve put on about 10 pounds out of nowhere and I cannot lose them…and it’s made me a little bit fluffy in my tummy and hips…gee whiz! I’m so frustrated so I’m really aware of what I’m eating and getting my exercise in so I can hopefully get my body to respond again.
We are such a true science experiment, aren’t we?!
xx MB
Mary Bess – Sounds like water to me esp when hormones are involved. Leigh talks about water/hormonal issues alot. Do you listen to her podcasts? They are also great (and free) resources. But yes, we are experiments and were all different!