Didn't want to jinx it.

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tbduarte1
tbduarte1 Posts: 83 Member
in Getting Started
I started my lifestyle change once again on January 11th and I waited two months to come on here and discuss this time around and maybe find some motivational friends. We started out slow finding what works and I feel like for the first time I do not feel overwhelmed by everything.

I am 37 years old and started this time at 390lbs. I started by trying out different recipes and altering things as I go. In two months I have lost 22 lbs and have gotten a lot stronger as we are also working out 3-4 times a week with a combination of strength training and cardio.

What seemed to have worked best for me is to create a menu for each and every meal for my wife and I. She hates tracking so she eats what I feed her. The menu is laid out for everything including snacks. I then go shopping once a week and get everything I need for that week. No more grocery trips while I am starving or being unprepared.

I am looking to meet those on a similar journey and support each other, discuss food option etc.

Replies

  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,442 Member
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    Great job on your loss so far! That's awesome! I totally agree that menu planning and meal prepping are essential.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Wow -- great results! I personally find the combination of weight loss AND increased fitness to be very motivating.

    I'm such a huge fan of pre-planning meals. I know it doesn't work for everyone, but for me it absolutely helped with the factor of "Hm, what to have for dinner?" and then consuming way more calories than I intended. Now if I had somebody to plan, shop, and cook for me? You're a keeper! :D
  • goal06082021
    goal06082021 Posts: 2,130 Member
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    Great progress!

    I am also a huge fan of meal prepping and planning. I keep a quasi-bullet journal (I don't use the "official" system, but it is a Leuchtturm1917 and I do have an absurd quantity of colorful pens) and I've taken to (1) dedicating a column of my weekly spread to meal planning, and (2) color-coding my grocery list. I'll write down everything I need to make, say, our weekly batch of breakfast burritos, and then draw a box around them in a given color.

    I make a batch of 10 breakfast burritos on Saturday or Sunday and freeze them, and then we have one for breakfast each day during the week. I wrap them in parchment paper and they freeze beautifully - I find the parchment is sufficient, I don't need to do a layer of foil, which is nice because they can go straight from freezer to microwave without having to futz with the packaging. Two minutes in the microwave, flipping halfway, and they're perfectly edible. I haven't run into many issues with uneven heating or weird textures. I've done all sorts of filling combos, they come out around 400-500 cal apiece. I could shave that down more by using a "healthy" low-carb/high-fiber/magic unicorn-skin tortilla alternative, but all of the ones I've seen are at least twice the price for half the product.

    I also batch-prep lunches for both of us for the week. I have a list of 6 dishes that are easy to make 10 servings of at a time that I rotate through weekly. This weekend I'll be sitting down to evaluate that list and decide if I'm going to make any changes; for example, my original lineup included "Egg Roll in a Bowl," basically just egg roll filling, which was good but not satisfying as a meal in itself. I replaced that this go-round with cabbage rolls, which call for more or less the same ingredients, just a different spice profile. Maybe I'll make egg rolls but with cabbage leaves instead of wonton wrappers next time. This way I'm not starting from scratch every week trying to figure out a lunch and we get a decent variety of options throughout the month.

    I have a similar rotation of dinners; I've purposefully chosen dishes that will create leftovers, so we can eat that for 2 or 3 nights and I only have to cook one or two things during the week. I'm participating in the r/52WeeksofCooking challenge over on Reddit, and Friday or Saturday night's dinner is usually my weekly entry for that - this week's theme is "Hard to Pronounce," so I'm making murgh makhani (butter chicken) for dinner tomorrow night, for instance.
  • concordancia
    concordancia Posts: 5,320 Member
    edited March 2021
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    tbduarte1 wrote: »
    She hates tracking so she eats what I feed her.

    I get this, my husband isn't too far off. Except in our case, he gets antsy if he doesn't have his default breakfast and lunch, I am just responsible for making sure the ingredients are available and getting most dinners on the table. If he does finish everything off before the next shopping day, he needs a lot of hand holding to figure out what to eat. It is an anxiety thing for him.

    Planning makes a huge difference, especially if I am leaving the house. Even if I don't think I will need to eat while I am running errands, I will take some nuts or a protein bar with me in case I do get hungry. If I know I am going to be out across a meal time, I either take the meal with me or plan exactly where and what I am going to eat before I leave the house.

    I also make sure my planning includes things that I really like. Luckily, the Costco smoked salmon is my favorite, as well as the best price. Sunflower seeds or french fried onions to add to my salads for extra crunch. All flavors of nuts (I haven't been able to find the garlic and herb almonds lately, so I am experimenting with making my own from raw almonds). I will buy a frozen pizza, slice it up and freeze the individual slices as soon as I get home and have a slice with salad or left over veggies when I can work that many carbs into a day. I buy ice cream bars, rather than tubs of ice cream, because it is easier to have just one.

  • tbduarte1
    tbduarte1 Posts: 83 Member
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    I appreciate the kind words and the pointers for sure. Finding food that I really like and is filling has been a big part of this. We have our go to recipes as well as breakfast and lunch ideas that we rotate through so we do not get tired or burnt out with the same thing every day.

    Planning the menu has become a team effort and being able to do that and go to the gym together allowed us to know we are in this together.

    A frozen pizza we really like are the California Pizza Kitchen ones that we basically can eat half a pizza for less than 500 calories, the garlic one and the bbq chicken one. Also we eat a lot of mexican food because we can cut those down to lower calorie options and they still taste amazing. I am making carne asade tacos tonight with queso fresco and homemade pico and a side of blackbeans.
  • AmunahSki
    AmunahSki Posts: 116 Member
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    The planning ahead - shopping and meal prep - is a major part of figuring out a new pattern of eating, which is all about making those consistent and permanent changes that take you to goal... and beyond, into maintenance.

    Great stuff - you’re making excellent progress!
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 13,912 Member
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    larger loser group may be a good place to hang out. good job so far!

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