Time is not on my side!
With each passing day I realize I have no more time to waste. It’s either do or die and if I continue on the path that I’ve been on I’m afraid it may be die. That’s the harsh but true reality of the situation. The good news is that I’m ready and that’s half the battle. #MyStart is all about my recommitment to get the job done and the road I’m deciding to take to get there.
Since recommitting to getting back on track with my weight loss journey I’ve been dealing with anxiety about how and where to get started.
In the past its been a no brainer for me to start by hit the gym. Perhaps because the working out part of the weight loss equation has been the easy part for me. Eating healthy however has always been my struggle. Let’s be honest. I love to eat. I love food. Food makes me happy. Food calms me down. Food provides a distraction to what stresses me, etc. etc. You get the picture.
Here’s the other thing…there is sooo much information out there about what you should or shouldn’t eat.
One program says cut out the carbs while another says eat nothing but protein. It’s all so very confusing and honestly I don’t want to put that much effort into thinking about my food choices. The whole restrictive eating thing just doesn’t work for me. That is the quickest path to discouragement for me and that is not the path I want to take. I’m not interested in dieting but I am interested in doing what I know I’ll be able to sustain over the long-haul.
So here it is…here is #MyStart Formula
Establish a Baseline
I will start with establishing my baseline by tracking my eating as it is right now. Before making any drastic changes I want to identify what a typical day (calorically speaking) looks like for me. I won’t belabor this. For the next 3 days (which includes two week days and a weekend day). I will eat as I normally do. This is something the nutritionist I once worked with had me do so that she could see just how much I was overeating as well as to determine healthier options for me that would still satisfy me but not be unhealthy.
Slash Caloric Intake By 500 Per Day
Once my baseline has been established I am going to focus on cutting my calories down by 500 calories per day. I will do this a number of ways such as: decreasing my portion sizes, swapping out my food choices and stop drinking my calories just to name a few.
Commit To One Meal That I Can Make Healthy Consistently
Because I know that I cannot make all of the changes in my eating all at once, I am going to take baby steps. The first of which is to focus on one meal in which I can make it as healthy as possible consistently…no excuses. For me this will be my lunch meal.
Stop Drinking My Calories
I’m committed to drinking water as my drink of choice from here on out. No soda or juice. This is not an extreme change for me because I actually prefer water most of the time. I’m also good with cutting out coffee right now (at least until the weather changes). I’ll revisit the coffee thing in the fall.
Get and Keep Food in the House
I’m proud to say that I cleaned out my refrigerator and cabinets of all junk foods today. Yay me! I’ve also gone grocery shopping today for the first time in months and I am committed to cooking and eating from my own kitchen starting NOW!!
Track and Document my Eating
In order to hold myself accountable and to document my choices I will track my eating using MyFitness Pal. I will also snap photo’s of my meals and post them on my Instagram. There’s no better way to hold yourself accountable than to share with the world everything you decide to eat each day.
That’s my plan. This is #MyStart. Nothing overwhelming and all certainly doable for me.
Your Turn To Share
What are some of the things you do to restart your weight loss journey in a way that’s doable for you?