Hey there guys! I hope everyone is having a beautiful Saturday morning so far! It's been raining here in OKC for literally a month straight, with a dry day here and there, but today it's suppose to be non-stop rain soooo...it will be a beautiful day, just a wet one. Ok, so I have decided to blog about my food choices and what "diet" I'm doing to lose weight. I have have gotten many direct messages on instagram and private messages on FB, while I do enjoy getting those, and am happy for you to continue sending them...I decided it would be easier to blog about this specific question because it is the most common. But I am still happy to privately answer any questions you all have, don't be afraid to private message me, it may just take up to a week or so to respond, but I will eventually get back to you,
Alright...so to answer the question of what "diet" am I doing or following? As cliche as it sounds...I'm not really following a specific diet. I know everyone says that, but I truly have no actual diet or plan I am following. In February, I had started to really fall off track on my journey and knew I needed to make some changes, so after lots of research I had to decided I was going to publicly record my weight loss again and start counting my macros. I did enjoy counting my macros, but eventually got to a point where I was starting to get bad at tracking things. Over the past 10 plus years I have tried everything under the sun. I clearly have not been successful long term on any of them, counting my macros, weight watchers at least 9 to 10 times(not exaggerating at all), using the my fitness pal app EVERYTHING. I have never had long term success with any of these. Now please don't get me wrong, these all work and are wonderful ways to keep you on track and get you to where you want to be, but I always will slowly stop tracking which ends up leading to me failing. I can make every excuse in the book, but it's all excuses...I'm just not disciplined enough to track successfully, but am working on getting there because I would eventually like to try counting my macros again.
Now, with all that being said....here is how I do it. I don't track anything, I don't have an exact diet of what I HAVE to eat, but there are lots of rules I have learned or heard of over all my years of trying to get healthy that I try to keep in mind. You know, don't eat carbs after noon, don't eat after 8 p.m., eat lots of protein, eat your veggies, drink lots of water, work out, etc. etc. I try to follow these rules and the biggest thing is...I am 100% aware of EVERYTHING that goes into my body. Just like someone who is tracking is, I just don't record it. I honestly don't even have a specific amount of calories in which I am trying to hit a day, I just know I am losing weight, I'm not starving myself, and I'm not goring myself either. I always allow myself one cheat meal a week, in which I have dessert with as well. I love sweets, but don't allow myself any during the week. Not because I am crazy strict, but because that is how I end up gorging myself, or cheating to the extremes. When I would track, that would be a sure way for me to not track. I would track the one or two cookies that I allowed myself, but then I would get another and sometimes another, but not track it, but now I know everything I eat. I am 100% HONEST with myself. If you aren't you are not going to get anywhere. If you do eat that cookie, or eat 10...who cares...just don't do it everyday. I love that quote, what is it...something like, "one "bad" meal won't make you fat, just like one "good" meal won't make you skinny" so if you do eat a "bad" meal (which I have eaten more than just my cheat meal in a week) get over it, move on, don't let it ruin everything you have worked so hard for. When I mess up I ask myself...what are my options? Quit and get back to where I was? or forget what I did and move on? In the past it would be the first, but back then I wasn't even asking myself that question. And most of all I love this quote, saying "Oh, I've already ruined my good eating today. I'll just eat crap." is like saying, "Oh, I dropped my phone on the floor. I'll just smash it until it breaks!" Now seriously...who would really do that, yet a lot of us do that daily, but with something that is worth so much more than a phone...with our bodies. Try and think about that next time you might be emotional eating, or are mad about something you ate....don't let it define you and completely ruin all the work you have put in!
Ok, so here are just a few examples of my meals for the day. I usually try and eat a pretty good size breakfast everyday...it's definitely my favorite meal of the day! My favorite breakfast is 4 slices of turkey bacon(mmmm..mmm...mmmm), 1 whole egg with 3 egg whites scrambled, cottage cheese, and some toast with peanut butter. I look at calories and am aware, I won't eat something that is outrageous in calories. Another yummy breakfast is 2 whole eggs over easy on toast with some turkey and cheese. YUM! Sometimes I just grab a bagel with peanut butter or cream cheese, or even have a pancake or 2 with my girls. My husband and I will make a big egg casserole to have for the week too, which is easy and quick to grab when in a hurry. Also, if I'm running late I will just grab a protein bar or mix up a shake. I try not to do this too often because I eat those as snacks during the day. I try to not get stuck eating the same thing everyday, so it doesn't get boring.
Then comes lunch, my oh so AMAZING husband and I do meal prep every Sunday. We just started meal prep about a month ago and have loved it. I cut up the veggies, sweet potatoes, bell peppers, onions, and cook the rice, then he grills it all up outside, along with the chicken or salmon. We will keep some chicken separate, but the rest gets mixed with all the veggies and rice like a stir fry. This is what I have for most of my lunches. Other times I will make a turkey wrap and bake some veggies. I love zucchini and asparagus. I cut up some zucchini, put a little olive oil on it, spread some parm cheese on it...throw it in the oven on 350 and let it cook about 12 minutes depending on how quick your oven cooks. This is how I cook most of my veggies. I would say I don't have as big of variety at lunch, but mostly because this is the meal that I have always struggled with. I almost never ate lunch because I was always going, going, going. People who have a full time job have a certain time they eat, but with 3 young kids I would feed them and just forget about myself. Now, I just try to make it as easy as possible for myself.
I'm a big fan of dinner as well, because I have lots of variety for dinner. We are often on the go in our house, so there are a few times during the week that I eat a meal prep meal, but I try and mix things up as well, while still trying to keep it simple. I really like to use my crock pot because it is super easy and convenient. I will throw some chicken in there, black beans (drained), a rotel or 2, a little frozen corn, onions(if I do this it's for my husband I don't like them if they are not grilled), some salsa, a packet of taco seasoning, cheese, a little water and cook it all day. I literally just throw things together and it taste so good, and makes a good amount. I look up lots of healthy crock pot meals online or pinterest to get ideas. I like grilled salmon, served with a little brown rice, quinoa, or sweet potatoes, and a veggie. One of my favorites is like a burrito bowl from Qudoba. It is made pretty much like the stir fry, but with different flavors and cooked a little differently. I like grilling out some turkey burgers with the fam as well. Turkey meatballs are super yummy too. I look up lots of ideas for meals online, pinterest, or instagram.
For snacks I eat a protein bar or shake most of the times, because it is easiest, but I also eat fruit at times as my morning snack. A rice cake with some peanut butter always gets my sweet tooth as well.
So that is an example of some of the things I eat. For me it has been small changes from the beginning. In the past I try to change too much at once, and eventually I break. So my biggest word of advice for food, the gym, and weight loss is...don't try to change it all at once. Small changes equal big results. You are not going to lose all your weight over night. It takes time, and this is the first time I have ever been successful and it's because I finally realized just that...it takes time. This is a process, a marathon...not a sprint. If you drink 5 pops a days, don't try and cut everyone of them out at once. Slowly start eliminating one at a time. Maybe it takes 2 months to be off them completely, or only down to one, but you got there realistically. Don't try and go from not working out at all, to working out 5 times a week. Make a goal of simply once a week. After a month or so...add a day. From past experience for me, changing everything at once eventually gets overwhelming and you fall off track. I know everyone might not be that way, but I think a majority of us can admit we are. Also remember weight loss is 80% what we eat and 20% working out, while working out is amazing and extremely beneficial, you can lose weight without the gym, but not without healthier eating habits....trust me I am living proof of this. The gym has never been my problem....it's always been food. Another thing to remember is...I am not a professional....this is what I have done and what I believe is working for me. I'm not saying I am right or wrong. I'm not trying to claim I am smarter than anyone or bash something that others are doing. I try to never be negative about others in anyway. Negativity is one of the least attractive qualities someone can have. I don't like when others have to put others down to make themselves feel better. BE POSITIVE GUYS! Remember....you can do this. Anyone can do this. You can make excuse after excuse, but that does nothing for you does it? If you have a reason you can't work out....that's ok...you can still eat healthy. I hope this answered some of your questions. I am happy to still answer direct messages or private messages if you have any other questions...Please don't hesitate to ask. I want everyone to be successful, and if I can help you in any way I would love to do so, it just may take a short bit to get back to you, but I will get back to you! Thank you all so much for all you love, support, and kind and encouraging words....they are greatly appreciated and a huge reason for my success thus far! Hope you all have a beautiful day!
Brittany
