So you want to start Choose to Lose?
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babeinthemoon
Posts: 471 Member
From my blog, written 11/1/12: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/babeinthemoon/view/so-you-want-to-start-choose-to-lose-441366
Those who know me well, realize that I easily get really enthusiatic about the things I care about. When I was in college, I gave campus tours to high school students and their families, and I was accused of having been a cheerleader in high school. Um no. But I did get excited about how much I loved my school.
So, needless to say, when someone asks me about my weight loss, or about "Choose to Lose," I can't help but get a little excited. Really, who wouldn't be excited about losing 41 pounds in a little over 4 months?
Over the last several weeks, many people have asked me for my suggestions for how to get started with "Chose to Lose" by Chris Powell. I've answered the same questions over and over, so I thought I'd just put it all on my blog so it was easy to find in the future.
Make the plan:
So, you are thinking about "Choose to Lose" but don't know where to start? First off, get yourself a copy of the book! (http://chrispowell.com/choose-to-lose-book/) If you have a paper copy, sit down with a stack of post-its and a highlighter. Mark up the book to your heart's content. I used the post-its to flag the parts of the book that I reference often like the eating plan details, and the exercise routines. If you have a digital copy, set bookmarks and highlight w/in the book, or just take notes on a piece of paper old-school style.
Next up, decide how you want your week to look. Personally, the cycle Chris suggests in his book with Sunday being FunDay works best for me. You'll also want to decide which day of the week you want as your weigh day, mine is Saturday morning as Chris suggests.
Then, you'll want to meal plan your first week. Do what works for you, but make sure that you have 5 meals planned, and that they follow Chris's suggestions as much as possible (see pages 164-165 for more details). If you are an myfitnesspal member you can look at my food diary to get an idea of what I'm eating if you need more suggestions.
How does this look specifically in my fitness pal?
I shoot for 100-120g of protein, and 25g of fiber a day.
On Low-Carb days I shoot for 1200 cal with 35-45g fat, and under 90g carbs (veggies only).
On High-Carb days I shoot for 1500 calories with under 30g fat, and 125-200g of carbs (veggies & healthy carbs).
Sunday Funday I'll eat up to 2400 calories.
If I hit all of these numbers, my average calories for the week is 1500/day. In case you are wondering, I do not eat back exercise calories. Oh, and if you of the male persuasion, you'll want to be eating more than me. See the book for what Chris suggests! (Note: I'm rethinking my calorie intake. Read my 11/2 blog if you want to know more: My November Experiment)
Work the plan:
Now that your meal plan is finished for the week, take inventory of what you already have at home, and make your shopping list. Make sure that you have plenty of containers to put pre-made lunches in. Also buy a box of "snack size bags", and a box of gallon sized freezer bags if you don't have them already.
Before heading to the store, eat a high-protein snack/meal so that you can minimize temptation. I buy the bulk of my groceries at Cost-co, Trader Joes or Win-co. Even though my whole family is eating healthier now that I'm on this "diet," I still buy things like mac and cheese, or chicken nuggets for the nights that the kids are eating dinner at a different time than my husband and I.
When home from the grocery, I try to prepare as many of the veggies as I can before they go in the refrigerator. Peppers get sliced into strips, an onion & cucumber is diced, lettuce is washed, etc. I do this because I have found that it is much easier for me to make a salad or omelet if the veggies are prepped ahead of time.
On grocery day, or the day after I bake several chicken breasts, sprinkling with garlic or some mrs dash. After cooking, slice and put meal sized portions into snack sized bags. Label each bag with the weight/portion and spice. Place all the snack bags into a freezer bag labeled "Chicken" and store in the freezer. Now when I am making a meal for myself, or for my husband to take to work I have an appropriate amount of chicken already portioned out. I use the same technique with steak, taco meat, rice, Canadian bacon, and anything else that freezes well.
Add in exercise:
If you are like me, and hate to exercise, don't worry. Chris has some basic exercises in the book that are easy to do, in your own home! In my first 90 days I hardly exercised at all. I focused on getting the eating plan down, and worked on trying to get out for a walk at least once or twice a week. This was not what Chris recommends, but it was what worked for me.
As I neared the end of my first quarter, I began exercising 3x a week. Now I've just finished month 4, and I'm doing my "Shredders" (cardio) 6x a week!! I'm doing C25K 3 days a week, and walking or jazzercise 3 days a week. The "Shapers" (strength training) on the other hand are quite the thorn in my side. It is still my goal to get to doing them routinely 3 days a week. Right now, I'm sitting at 1-2 most weeks... which is better than "not at all."
If you are already exercising, great! Keep up the good work! Chris has some good information regarding changing up the intensity in Chapter 12 that you might want to take a look at.
To sum up:
I hope this was enough of an overview to get you started with "Choose to Lose" by Chris Powell. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me! I'm glad to help as much as I can. I have to say, that I am by no means an expert on all of this, but I am a good cheerleader, and would love to encourage you on your journey.
Good Luck!
Those who know me well, realize that I easily get really enthusiatic about the things I care about. When I was in college, I gave campus tours to high school students and their families, and I was accused of having been a cheerleader in high school. Um no. But I did get excited about how much I loved my school.
So, needless to say, when someone asks me about my weight loss, or about "Choose to Lose," I can't help but get a little excited. Really, who wouldn't be excited about losing 41 pounds in a little over 4 months?
Over the last several weeks, many people have asked me for my suggestions for how to get started with "Chose to Lose" by Chris Powell. I've answered the same questions over and over, so I thought I'd just put it all on my blog so it was easy to find in the future.
Make the plan:
So, you are thinking about "Choose to Lose" but don't know where to start? First off, get yourself a copy of the book! (http://chrispowell.com/choose-to-lose-book/) If you have a paper copy, sit down with a stack of post-its and a highlighter. Mark up the book to your heart's content. I used the post-its to flag the parts of the book that I reference often like the eating plan details, and the exercise routines. If you have a digital copy, set bookmarks and highlight w/in the book, or just take notes on a piece of paper old-school style.
Next up, decide how you want your week to look. Personally, the cycle Chris suggests in his book with Sunday being FunDay works best for me. You'll also want to decide which day of the week you want as your weigh day, mine is Saturday morning as Chris suggests.
Then, you'll want to meal plan your first week. Do what works for you, but make sure that you have 5 meals planned, and that they follow Chris's suggestions as much as possible (see pages 164-165 for more details). If you are an myfitnesspal member you can look at my food diary to get an idea of what I'm eating if you need more suggestions.
How does this look specifically in my fitness pal?
I shoot for 100-120g of protein, and 25g of fiber a day.
On Low-Carb days I shoot for 1200 cal with 35-45g fat, and under 90g carbs (veggies only).
On High-Carb days I shoot for 1500 calories with under 30g fat, and 125-200g of carbs (veggies & healthy carbs).
Sunday Funday I'll eat up to 2400 calories.
If I hit all of these numbers, my average calories for the week is 1500/day. In case you are wondering, I do not eat back exercise calories. Oh, and if you of the male persuasion, you'll want to be eating more than me. See the book for what Chris suggests! (Note: I'm rethinking my calorie intake. Read my 11/2 blog if you want to know more: My November Experiment)
Work the plan:
Now that your meal plan is finished for the week, take inventory of what you already have at home, and make your shopping list. Make sure that you have plenty of containers to put pre-made lunches in. Also buy a box of "snack size bags", and a box of gallon sized freezer bags if you don't have them already.
Before heading to the store, eat a high-protein snack/meal so that you can minimize temptation. I buy the bulk of my groceries at Cost-co, Trader Joes or Win-co. Even though my whole family is eating healthier now that I'm on this "diet," I still buy things like mac and cheese, or chicken nuggets for the nights that the kids are eating dinner at a different time than my husband and I.
When home from the grocery, I try to prepare as many of the veggies as I can before they go in the refrigerator. Peppers get sliced into strips, an onion & cucumber is diced, lettuce is washed, etc. I do this because I have found that it is much easier for me to make a salad or omelet if the veggies are prepped ahead of time.
On grocery day, or the day after I bake several chicken breasts, sprinkling with garlic or some mrs dash. After cooking, slice and put meal sized portions into snack sized bags. Label each bag with the weight/portion and spice. Place all the snack bags into a freezer bag labeled "Chicken" and store in the freezer. Now when I am making a meal for myself, or for my husband to take to work I have an appropriate amount of chicken already portioned out. I use the same technique with steak, taco meat, rice, Canadian bacon, and anything else that freezes well.
Add in exercise:
If you are like me, and hate to exercise, don't worry. Chris has some basic exercises in the book that are easy to do, in your own home! In my first 90 days I hardly exercised at all. I focused on getting the eating plan down, and worked on trying to get out for a walk at least once or twice a week. This was not what Chris recommends, but it was what worked for me.
As I neared the end of my first quarter, I began exercising 3x a week. Now I've just finished month 4, and I'm doing my "Shredders" (cardio) 6x a week!! I'm doing C25K 3 days a week, and walking or jazzercise 3 days a week. The "Shapers" (strength training) on the other hand are quite the thorn in my side. It is still my goal to get to doing them routinely 3 days a week. Right now, I'm sitting at 1-2 most weeks... which is better than "not at all."
If you are already exercising, great! Keep up the good work! Chris has some good information regarding changing up the intensity in Chapter 12 that you might want to take a look at.
To sum up:
I hope this was enough of an overview to get you started with "Choose to Lose" by Chris Powell. If you have any questions, please feel free to message me! I'm glad to help as much as I can. I have to say, that I am by no means an expert on all of this, but I am a good cheerleader, and would love to encourage you on your journey.
Good Luck!
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Replies
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If anyone has any advise on how to make a weekly menu I would be greatful for advise. This seems to be the hardest thing for me to figure out with this and I'm probably makeing it way more complicated that it needs to be.
First off, re-read the chapter on the 7 day carb cycle (#7), print off the "smart foods guide" found on Chris's website. I posted a link to this here in the discussion group. Then, figure out what days will be your low carb days, and what ones will be your high carb days. Get several pages of notebook paper, and divide each one into 5 meals.
Take a look at your calendar for the week (or 2) and determine if you'll have any events that will make eating self prepared meals a challenge. I'd put those in your calendar first. Then you'll think about breakfast. To start things off easy I would suggest that for your first two weeks you pick only one or two different breakfasts that you'll have every day. I've had the exact same breakfast almost every morning since July... and I thought I'd get bored with it, but quite frankly it has helped me not have to "think" about what I'm going to eat until I've fully awake.
Then you'll only have 4 meals a day to think through. Look through the recipies in the back of the book. You're first week (or 2) I'd plan to eat at least 2-3 of your meals from one of Chris's recipies. Plan these out next. Then, fill in the blanks with recipies or snacks from your regular eating habits (that follow the CTL plan).
For example:
Sunday: Funday
B: Morning shake: 1 serving protein shake, 1/2 c milk (almond milk makes me feel funny), 1 c frozen fruit, 1 c water
L: Grilled Cheese w/ turkey sandwich, tomato basil soup
Potluck at church.
Snack 1: Running errands, so take 1 string cheese, 1 oz of turkey jerky, and a serving of carrots
Snack 2: ice cream & popcorn with a big ol mug of tea. Maybe some turkey breast & some steamed veggies depending on what I had at the potluck.
Monday: LC
B: Morning Shake
L: Sunshine Omelet p 184 Lemon-Pepper Tilapia p. 183
S1: Caprise Salad (Tomato slices, 1 string cheese, fresh basil, balsamic vinegar and low sodium turkey breast
S2: Chocolate-Peanutbutter shake p. 181 (w/ coconut milk... almond milk makes me feel funny)
Tuesday HC
B: Morning Shake
L: Turkey Veggie Medley p 175 Steak & potatoes p. 177
S1: Greek Yogurt & Bananas p. 173 (or subsitute any other fresh fruit)
S2: Sunshine Omelet, subing a whole grain/sprouted piece of toast (or 2) for the cheese
Wednesday LC
B: Morning Shake
L: Chicken Cobb Salad p. 182 Homemade chili, pulling my serving out before adding the beans. Eat w/ cheese sprinkled on top & a side salad.
S1: Running around to all the appts: Celery, no salt added peanut butter, low-sodium turkey breast lunch meat
S2: Cottage cheese on the border p. 180 (I don't care for avocado, so sub cheddar cheese)
Thurs HC
B: Breakfast shake
L: Chicken Stir-fry p. 176 Neighborhood potluck... don't know what'll be served, bring a side salad because we're usually lacking there.
S1: Greek Yogurt w/ homemade cinnamon applesauce, and celery/carrots
S2: Chocolate Strawberry shake, like the breakfast shake, but w/ chocolate shakemix
Fri LC
B: Breakfast shake
L: Chicken Cobb Salad p. 182 Chicken stir-fry p 176, subbing cheese for the rice. (Don't knock it until you've tried it!)
S1: Sunshine Omlet
S2: Chocolate pb shake
Sat HC
Weigh today!
B: Breakfast shake
L: Spicy Tex-mex turkey p 179 Spaghetti & meatballs (my recipe)
S1: Tuna sandwich p 179
S2: Chocolate Strawberry shake
Then, when you are all done, make your grocery list based on what you'll need.
After you've been on the plan for a while, you'll decide which things you like making more often, and you'll get into a routine. My snacks are almost always the same, because I like them. I'll have an omlet several times a week on LC or HC days, and same with the stir-fry. They are easy, fun, look like a ton of food, and are pretty on my plate.
Hope this helps!0 -
From jbdowns35's calorie advice thread: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/856194-calorie-adviceOk, so I'm only on day 4 week 2. Week 1 I saw a 3lb loss. In week 1 my calories fluctuated on my low & high carb days. Now halfway thru week 2 I noticed that unintentionally my calories have been about the same, between 1400-1500 calories everyday. (Not taking exercise into account - not sure where I stand on exercise calories) And my weight has been exactly the same every morning. Should I tweek my meal plan to allow for less calories on my low carb days?? Or should I just not really be worried about the calories?? I realize I'm only halfway thru week 2, I'm not panicking because I don't see a loss yet this week. Honestly, I feel great because I've been exercising & have lots of energy.
But I thought the calories would pretty much automatically fluctuate up & down with the high carb, low carb - it just isn't working out that way this week. I think I remember reading in the book that there should be a 200 or 300 calorie difference on low - high days??? Should I make it a point to zig zag my calories???
Babeinthemoon - (and anyone else that wants to chime in) I know you are great at offering helpful advice & examining food diaries. You have my permission to pick my diary apart & critique it!!! Don't be afraid to give me some hard pointers!!!! I can take it!!
You might regret calling me out on a post. I tend to be verbose. LOL!
Okay... So here's my take on the book's calorie ranges.
They are good... but mostly crap. LOL Go figure... me giving an ambiguous answer. LOL!
Background:
I ate at 1200 LC, 1500 HC and up to 2400 FD from July - October. I lost a lot of weight., most of my loss was during this time period. In June I didn't track my calories, I just ate at portion sizes.
By the end of October I had started running, and I was exhausted. Partly from emotional crap I have going on... and partly I'm sure because I wasn't eating enough calories. This is when I did my "Novemember Experiment," increasing my calories 300/day. I lost about 8 pounds in Novemember. Not as much as I could have, but I did well. December was a hard month. I continued eating higher calories, but started to slack off on my exercise... and then I took a 2 week break from CTL because I had been on the diet for 6 months, and I was stressed out. I lost one pound in december (before Christmas) and "gained back" 6... all in water weight I'm sure. I'm back down to a new low as of last week on friday.
With all of this, I've never "eaten back' my exercise calories. Mostly because in the book, Chris expects you to be exercising, but does not address eating more calories if you exercise. Also, my thought was, that as long as I eat close to my 2400 on fun day I'm good for the week (when you take your daily average into account.
Actual answer starts here:
So. Why do I think that the calorie guidelines are crap? Because on days that I chose to eat lean red meat for one meal, I have a hard time fitting all my veggies into the lower calories. Eat red meat 2x... and well, I might as well call it quits... if I'm in "diet prison."
So, starting this month (January) I have a new set of guidelines for myself. I'm hitting 1200/1500 as the low end of my calories. My goal is to eat proper portion sizes of foods... especially getting in all my veggies for the day. If I need 1300 on a LC day to get in all my veggies, then so be it.
On the days that I'm exercising (which hasn't been at all so far this week... I have not felt well), I'll allow myself up to add calories up to 300 total like I did in November. The goal is, if I add calories, they must still be in the proper combination for the day (protein/veggie/carb or fat).
So, How does this look on mfp? To make things easy, I have my daily calories set to 1500. If you eat 1200/1500/2400 during the week, 1500 is your average daily calories.
LC days, my range is 1200 - 1500.
Protein 100-130g
Fat under 60g
Carbs will be around 100g
HC days, My range is 1500-1800
Protein 100-130g
Fat under 40g (high end of goal, often my fat is between 25-35g)
Carbs will be between 150-200g or so. Sometimes a little higher, but not by much.
Funday: 2400. I'll let myself eat more (to 2700) if I'm hungry, and if I've met the below guidelines:
protein: minimum 100g
Fat under 60g
Carbs: eaten at least 5 servings of veggies/fruit
Usually my problem on funday is not getting enough veggies in... so if I am hungry at the end of the day, that is the time to eat them. LOL.
I'm still working on eating 5x a day, every 3 hours. This is hard for me. I'm a SAHM, and I homeschool my kids, so I'm easily distracted away from eating at the appropriate times. Sigh. I try to have all my meals be around the same portion sizes... and if I'm going out for dinner (rarely) I'll allow myself to eat more at that meal, and a little less at some of the others. Not "CTL" friendly, but it works for me.
So, my new rules are a little more fluid than the book. I'm still eating as I'm hungry... and my average daily calories are closer to eating to TDEE-30%... and I'm certainly eating over my BMR on a daily basis. So that will work for me for now.
Granted... I have not been "perfect" with my new rules since getting back to basics.... I've been overwhelmed with several things at home, so cooking in the kitchen has not been at the top of my priority list.
Update: 5/13/13: Okay... here's the deal. I have not been following my own advice. Sigh. LOL. Soooo... with the new book, I will be back to basics... I'll still add extra calories if I feel I need it, and I've EARNED them... but I'm going to try to stick as close to the calories Chris mentions in the book.. because that's how I lost the bulk of my weight last summer.0
This discussion has been closed.