HOW I LOST 142 (not finished yet) - My plan

Thrilled with today's 7 LB loss….it has never happened before and don’t expect it again. My goal from the beginning has been about 2 lbs. a week loss. (Only recently started regular walking and watching water intake).

My loss last week is - not realistic and I DO EAT A VERY HEALTHY DIET!

I do not consider myself some kind of crazy dieter looking for instant miracles and knew this was going to take over 1 year. I won’t go through the years of failures of trying this or that diet - until I essentially threw in the towel.

One of my cardiologists recommended Medifast. The plan called for 5 meals a day with fortified products necessary to meet a low 1,000 calories per day diet. I adjusted to the calories after a couple weeks, but within 3 months I got sick of the food. It’s not a bad plan for losing 10-50 lbs. in my opinion, but that was nowhere near what I needed to attain.

One day, I came across this calorie phone app. and wondered, if it might work. Given the amount I needed to lose, I decided to keep the 1000 @ day calorie target. I made no dietary rules…just the calorie limit.

Only an idiot thinks they can eat 1000 calories of ice cream (400 calories a cup), beer (2 cans 300 calories), pizza, French fries (365 calories a single medium order) etc. as their entire daily intake and stay healthy or really have a chance for success.

The only option for me was to make healthy choices – not because some said I “had” to; but because it was the only logical answer…otherwise why even start.

EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT. JUST SHARING WHAT HAS WORKED FOR ME.

Again - I eat “VERY” healthy – despite an extremely low daily calorie intake for a man. Some of my self-imposed rules are:

- Use calorie app. 100% of the time.

- Think carefully about every meal decision. There are no rules about what is right or wrong for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Shake things up! Save 100 calories for the end of the day to cover that “snack” by the TV – Fiber bar, 100 calorie popcorn, whatever.

- I NEVER, NEVER, NEVER…eat from a container. I “ALWAYS” make my meals look delicious and never looking like diet food. PRESENTAION counts even when it’s for yourself. People ask for my recipes all the time and can’t believe how I present meals “to myself.”

- No excuses about “not having time to make a nice meal.” This is 2014. When necessary I can cut things up and weigh them the night before while watching TV – get the plate prepared, enter data in app ahead of time and in the morning zap most of it. If egg’s are involved – it might take 5-10 minutes to prepare the entire meal.

- I allow an occasional treat a couple times a month. ALWAYS planned. By treat, I mean a small treat – say 5 oz. piece of fried fish or a frozen yogurt in a cone. Once in blue moon I’ll count out 10 fries with it – but pretty much stopped because the calories are huge and mean making day-before and day-after adjustments.

- When I go to a restaurant, I generally make the meal decision ahead of time. I will go on the internet & check out menus in advance with regards to calorie content. If I forget, I always select something from the under 500 calorie menu and adjust other calorie usage accordingly.

- I never discuss an extreme amount of my plans and goals, except for a very few friends or MFP. Some people mean well…others may try to sabotage. There are always people ready to tell you the goals you set are wrong – even if the goal you set is higher than health recommendations. People that are fat themselves – will advise of the correct way to lose weight. Yada yada…I could go on, but basically I keep deep details close to home or share with others “seriously” in the trenches.

For now, I’ll end here. MFP has helped increase my water intake and added to my walking commitment. I need to do some strengthening exercises, but that is still a challenge. Best of luck to all.
FYI only – here is a small sample of the kind of food I eat.

Today’s Breakfast: [ TOTAL CALORIES 115 ] Baby Corn, Cleaned and Cut, 1.0 Baby Corn (1 piece); Generic - Acorn Squash, 1 oz; Rotisserie Plain Chicken (Without Skin)(2 oz.); Asparagus Tips, 2 spears;

DINNER; Grilled Lemon Garlic Chicken Breast (3 ½ oz); Squash (1 ½ oz.); Broccoli (1 ½ oz) – TOTAL [ CALORIES: 166 ]

Breakfast [ TOTAL Calories 106 ] Asparagus tips (2); Squash ½ oz.; Mushroom ¾ oz.; Broccoli ½ oz.; Tomato slice 1 oz.; ½ slice lite toast; 1 Eggland’s Best egg.

SATURDAY BREAKFAST: Haddock (cooked the other ½ of piece from last night) 3 ¾ oz.; Brocolli (1/2 oz.); Squash (1 oz.) Mushrooms ½ oz. [TOTAL CALORIES 116]

LUNCH (Thrown together in 5 min.) – Fresh carved beef (2 ½ oz.); Broccoli (1 ½ oz.); Squash (1 ½ oz.); Mushrooms (1 ¼ oz.); Fat-Free gravy (1 ½ tbsp…) [TOTAL CALORIES 192]