I thought that I would write some specifics about this program. The beauty of writing my own plan is that I can change it if it doesn't work for me. Brilliant, no?
Anyway, I'm trying to stay away from tracking my calories regularly, because I don't want to track forever and I don't want to do anything to lose weight that I won't be willing to do to maintain the loss, otherwise I will gain the weight back again. Yes, again. This is not my first rodeo.
This plan will be fluid, nothing strict or permanent or precise. Which may be the reason that it works. Or the reason that it doesn't work. But I'm going to stay positive and assume that my program will work.
People are not overweight because they are lazy, or because they don't know anything about nutrition. Us fatties actually know a lot about nutrition. Okay, I should probably only speak for myself on this blog, so I retract the previous sentence. Instead I will say that I know a lot of nutrition. I know all about how to lose weight. If all one needed was the knowledge of how to lose weight in order to reach an ideal weight and stay there, we would be a nation of thin people. But, we aren't.
Oh, be-tee-dubs, I'm in the United States, so that is the nation that I was referring to up there.
This plan is not a quest for me to get a body like Sarah Michelle Gellar's body. That plan would be impossible to write, as she is a teeny tiny uncurvy person and I am a large framed pear-shaped person. I don't want to have unrealistic expectations here.
This plan is a quest for me to love my body, and to get it in its own best shape. This would be a health at every size plan, except that I am trying to lose weight, so it really doesn't fit the criterea. But I do believe in HAES, just FYI. I just don't believe that I'm at my healthiest right now, at this size. Because I got to this size with a lot of emotional eating of snack cakes and potato chips. I am not naturally this size. This is artificial fat.
Not all of it, though. I'm pretty sure that I am naturally a bit smaller. But we'll find out in a few months, won't we?
Anyway, the point of this post was supposed to be about plan specifics. Oops.
Plan specifics...
Basically, this will be one of those "eat healthily monday through friday and relax a bit on the weekends" plans.
I plan to listen to my hunger signals more through the week, which means that I will probably eat several snacks throughout the day instead of large meals, because when I actually listen to my hunger signals, that is what happens. But here is a rough outline of "the plan" (I should mention that I'm pescatarian, so there won't be any meat besides fish in this program):
Monday-Friday "SMG Plan"
2 small breakfasts daily (if hungry for both), to be chosen from these options:
- 1 packet oatmeal (or 1/4 cup oats) cooked with soy milk
- 2 eggs cooked with cheese and/or vegetables
- 1 piece whole wheat toast, 1 piece/serving fruit
- 1 piece fruit with 1 spoonful peanut butter
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese with 1 piece/serving fruit
- granola bar and yogurt
- 1 bowl whole grain cereal with soy milk
- green monster smoothie
2 small lunches daily (if hungry for both), to be chosen from these options:
- peanut butter sandwich with 1 serving fruit
- soup and salad
- Lean Cuisine
- Boca burger with veggies
- sandwich with veggie meat and veggies
- cottage cheese with fruit
- veggies and hummus
- veggies and salsa
- 1/4 cup beans, 1/4 cup brown rice or whole grain pasta, 1 tsp EVOO, lots of veggies
- leftovers from a healthy dinner (lunch portion, which should be smaller than dinner portion)
1 big dinner daily, to be chosen from these options:
- fish fillet with brown rice or whole grain pasta, veggies (cooked with EVOO and various spices, herbs, and vinegars)
- anything cooked from a healthy cooking cookbook or website (I know this is vague, but I want to experiment with new recipes and don't want to set limits with this one. If I think it's healthy, and I go to the effort to cook it, then I can eat it for dinner during the SMG portion of the week. I figure that she sometimes cooks or has people cook for her).
- beans, brown rice/whole grain pasta, cooked with lots of veggies, EVOO, spices, herbs, and vinegar)
- Going out to eat occasionally through the week (if it comes up, I refuse to stay home because I'm "on a diet". This is a plan for life hopefully, and sometimes I will go out through the week.) So if this happens, I will just enjoy myself and listen to my hunger signals while enjoying the company and making as healthy choices as possible.
2 evening snacks daily (if hungry for both), to be chosen from these options:
- air-popped popcorn
- veggies and hummus
- green monster smoothie
- fruit and peanut butter
- small bowl of cold cereal
- 1 serving fruit sorbet
- 1 serving Terra vegetable chips
Now I've done the math and if I eat 2 breakfasts, 2 lunches, 1 dinner, and 2 evening snacks, I will be eating around 1850 calories a day. Through the week, I plan to exercise at least 4 of these days (running, biking, pilates, etc.), so I will probably be netting between 1200 and 1500 calories per day. As a 218 pound woman, this is a good amount of calories to consume to lose weight at a good pace (a pound or two a week).
Notice the "if hungry for both" part. Some days I won't eat 2 breakfasts, or 2 lunches, or 2 evening snacks. Some days I will eat all of them.
And that's okay.
The weekend "Buffy Plan" is to just listen to my hunger signals, and to allow myself to eat more junk food treats and go out to eat more. Plus walks and runs in the park (or the cemetery!).
Okay, so that's it.
