Angel’s transformation

I have had a couple people ask for tips, or more information about what my specific diet plan/regime is, so I have decided to blog about what I have been doing so far and how it has helped me.

But first, I want to make something clear - just because I can lose 7 pounds a week doesn’t mean that you could/should. I weigh 327 pounds, and am in my 3rd week of weightloss - so I am only just starting… this is probably why I am losing the amount of weight I am per week. I have heard that losing 1-2% of your body weight per week is a reasonable and healthy goal. I have also heard that you can only lose 2 pounds of fat a week, so a lot of the weight I am shedding is probably water I have retained.  My weight loss will likely reduce itself to 3-5 pounds per week in the coming months. I am happy and grateful for the weight I have lost so far, it has helped me to exercise with less physical pain (due to the weight), and it has motivated me to keep going, but I know it won’t stay at this rate forever, and more importantly - I don’t really want it to. I am 327 pounds, so for me to lose 1-2% of my weight loss I can lose 3.27 - 6.54 pounds per week. But, as my weight decreases - that number will also decrease. So, if you weigh 200 pounds you should be very happy with a 2-4 pound loss per week, 7 pounds would not be healthy for you! Which is probably why you don’t get that number weekly! So, please - please! don’t get down on yourself because you aren’t losing as much weight as I am per week… when I am at your weight (notice I said when, not if! lol) I will be probably be losing at the same rate you are now.

That said, this is what I have been doing and how it has worked for me:

My diet:

I have been following the Canada food guide and adding information from the atkin/southbeach diet to it. So, I am eating all the food groups, except with less carbs and more proteins and fats. Also, I am mostly eating foods that are low/medium on the glycemic index, and avoiding those foods high on the glycemic index. My daily diet includes 8 servings of vegetables (1/2 cup - 1 cup = serving), 2 servings of fruit (1 sm-med fruit, or 1/2 cup = serving), 5 servings of carbs (1 slice of bread, 1/2 bagel/english muffin/pita/etc or 1/2 cup of cooked pasta/rice = 1 serving), 2 servings of dairy (1.5oz cheese, 1cup milk, 1 cup yogurt = 1 serving) , 4 servings of protein (3 oz or 1/2 cup of lean meats, 3/4th cup of cooked beans, 2 eggs, 2 tbsp of Peanut butter, 1 tbsp of nuts = 1 serving) , and I allow for 2-3 servings of fat/oils (1 tbsp = 1 serving). My calorie intake is between 1200-1500 per day. This is how I arrange my food per day:

Breakfast = 2 carbs, 1 protein, 2 veggies

AM Snack = 1 fruit

Lunch = 1 carb, 1 protein, 1/2 fat, 2 veggies

PM Snack = 1 fat, 1 protein

Dinner = 2 carbs, 1 protein, 1 fat, 2 veggies

Dessert = 1 fruit, 1/2 fat

I find it easier for me to plan out my days in advance. I am less likely to cheat, and more likely to eat what I need to, when I have a planned menu of food. At any given time I am following a 15 day menu, which includes 15 days worth planned meals - each organized according to the above schedule. Breakfasts and snacks are often repeated in the 15 days, but I always make sure to have 15 different lunches and 15 different dinners. I even listed out all the groceries that are needed at 3 day intervals, so I have a shopping list for every 3 days worth of food for my family (who are also following the same meals, because they are healthy foods, with my husband eating larger portions). I find having a list of the foods I need to buy every 3 days extremely helpful to avoid buying tempting foods at the grocery store. This way I know exactly what I need to buy, and I don’t buy anything more or less - and it is always the exact, perfect amount of food that I need for the next 3 days. This also helps to ensure that I only eat what is on menu, because otherwise I will run out of food at home!

I started this 3 weeks ago with only 1 - 15 day meal plan, since then I have become a better cook, and have wanted to try new recipes. So now, as I am actively using one of my 15 day meal plans, I am creating my next 15 day meal plan. That way I have a variety of different 15 day meal plans that I can follow at any given time, and in doing so I don’t get bored of the foods I am eating, and I can continue to challenge myself to make new healthy meals. I just keep collecting healthy recipes that I can use, and plan my future days with them. This ensures that I am always excited about making my food, so that I am not tempted into falling into old habits. It is really inspiring when you are excited to try a new recipe, especially when you were like I was (someone who HATED cooking, and was hopelessly addicted to fast food).

I should also mention - that along with my food intake I also ensure that I drink 500ml of water between every meal. I drink a bottle first thing in the morning before breakfast, between breakfast and my AM snack, between my AM snack and my lunch, between my lunch and my PM snack, between my PM snack and my dinner, and between my dinner and my dessert. And I usually drink a bottle between desert and bed time. I make myself finish my water bottle before I eat any meal, to prevent me from overeating. So, I drink a bottle of water at least 6 times a day = 3000 ml/day. This helps me to feel full during the day, and whenever I want to eat outside of my scheduled meals I just chew on sugar free gum and drink my water. It helps a lot.

My exercise

I plan to workout every single day for at least 30 minutes.  I am a member of a gym, and keep an active pass through the city pool. I also have a collection of workout videos at home that I alternate through. At the beginning of every month I plan out my weekly exercise options. This is because every month my gym and the pools change their weekly exercise classes, and I can adjust it as needed to fit my needs. When I plan out my week (which is repeated throughout the month) I allow for 3 different options every day. Usually I pick 1 gym exercise class, 1 swimming class, and 1 workout video. I stagger each of these throughout the day. As an example - every Tuesday in October I can choose between a 9:30am ‘Force’ (1 hour weight lifting) class at the gym , a 8:00pm Deep H20 (1 hour swim aerobics) class at the pool , or I can do my 30 minute Tae Bo workout at home. If I don’t feel like working out in the morning, I still have 2 other options in the day. I have 3 opportunities to work out, and I just make sure that I do at least 1 option a day. This has worked very well for me because it takes the “should” and “have to” out of exercising, and replaces it with “I can do this, or that, or this”.

Lately I have been mostly going with these options every week… it just works best for me:

Monday & Wednesday:  1 hour deep H20 class @ 8pm, Tuesday & Thursday: 1 hour Force class @ 9:30am, Friday & Saturday & Sunday: 1 hour ‘Breathe’ (tai chi, yoga, and pilates) class. Occasionally I don’t make it to class, and just do one of the other options instead… but I have stuck to this schedule pretty much completely this month.

My supplements

I have to take levothyroxine daily for my hypothyroidism, and I supplement it with some other vitamins and helpful pills. Such as metamucil capsules with added calcium, hydroxycut, Relacore, 5HTP, and a Women’s multivitamin. Hydroxycut helps with my energy levels and provides me with motivation. Relacore helps me to reduce my stress, elevate my mood, and reduce my anxiety. 5HTP is a natural supplement which is great for depression. This is what I take every day:

9:00am - 1 levothyroxine, 1 metamucil, 1 relacore, 1 hydroxycut

1:00pm - 1 5HTP, 1 metamucil, 1 relacore, 1 hydroxycut

5:00pm - 1 hydroxycut

10:00pm - 1 multivitamin, 4 metamucil

I have also been supplementing everything with some ’soul work’ - I have really been digging deep trying to find the roots to my problem, figuring out who I am, who I want to be, and what I want to do with my life. I spend a good portion of my day working on this aspect, with help from some good self help books which provide me with exercises to work on. I also spend 15 minutes every morning going through some positive affirmations, and it helps set up a good start to my day.

I find that all of this is taking up a huge portion of my time every day, and I am totally grateful that I have the time to do what I need to. I find that it requires a lot of focus, determination, and organizing. Planning success is probably one of the most important things I have done. I keep going through trial and error, but now I have combined everything that worked and put it together in a way that I can follow it easily. I occasionally make changes to the plan, as new things come up, or as I find things that aren’t working well, and I know that will always be a necessary part of this journey. But -it is easy to follow instructions once they have been made, so you just need to give yourself instructions, and do it every day. Eventually I will not need to focus so much on it, because it will be a habit - and then I can spend that extra time doing other things… but for now, my primary focus is on doing what I have planned and doing it properly in a healthy way.

I hope this helps, if anyone wants to know more - let me know! I would be happy to help  :)