A typical day in the life of ME.

As per Kim's request below, here's the low down on my routine:

I never denied myself anything. If I want a cheeseburger from McDonald's (one of my weaknesses) I have one. But I don't follow it up with a super size fry and fish sandwich! I do not restrict myself from anything because like all my diets in the past, and there's been a ton, if I deny myself something eventually I'll have a weak point and totally binge on it. But when I do have that cheeseburger for lunch I keep it in mind when I am making my meals for the next couple days. I'll eat a little lighter, more veggies, leaner. And when I say once in a while I don't mean once or twice a week, once in a while to me is every 2-3 weeks or so.

Instead of having 2 fried eggs, 2 pieces of toast with butter, sausage and bacon for breakfast I have one egg scrambled, one piece of toast with a little butter and if I want one piece of sausage OR bacon, not both. I don't have time for hot breakfasts anymore though. My normal breakfast for me right now is 1 cup (a little less than a cup, but roughly) of no fat yogurt (blueberry flavored)(I started off measuring but now I can eyeball it, but every once in a while I will measure again just to keep myself in check). I add to it 2 tablespoons of a nut mix I made with walnuts, almonds and cashews (occasionally I'll throw in some pecans and pine nuts for taste). Those are the 'powerhouse' of nuts, so I've researched, and although they have fat in them, have healthy fats in them along with other vitamins I need. I also don't get enough protein on a daily basis so this helps. I add 2 teaspoonful of raisins and about 2 teaspoonful of granola cereal. The granola cereal has sugars in it, as you can imagine, but I need just that little bit of crunch so I sacrifice that. If you want to be healthier you can get some plain oats and add in some honey instead. Occasionally for breakfast I'll have a quesadilla, so a tortilla and cheese thrown in the microwave for 30 seconds. Not too fancy, but pretty decent.

Around 10:30 I may have a piece of fruit for snack. I have a late breakfast and early lunch, so most times I'm able to skip this snack.

My lunches are the same just about every day. I have a small ham sandwich, one or two pieces of thinly sliced ham and a slice of cheese on black bread (it's a Dutch bread, there is no American equivalent but it's close to a dark Rye or pumpernickel). I say a small sandwich because the bread is littler than a US loaf of bread. I also eat 2 portions of veggies with my lunch, usually cucumber, tomato and red pepper slices. I also have a small (about 1/3 the size of a wonderbread sandwich) peanut butter and sugar free jelly sandwich. The peanut butter is natural so it's healthier but I need that little bit of sweetness.

I have an apple or other fruit for snack about 2:30.

My dinners vary greatly. Sometimes I eat sauteed veggies in a wrap (onion, yellow bell pepper, zucchini and pineapple is my favorite mix). Sometimes I grill some fish with veggies. I eat lean cuts of beef, chicken, turkey...pretty much normal stuff, only lean and never fried. My meat is gently rubbed with EVOO so it doesn't stick, but in no way fried in grease. Every dinner has veggies of all sorts and a small potato or rice. Occasionally I leave the starch out.

So basically I try to get in food groups and portions. Portion control is what is most difficult for me. I don't count calories, points, watch carbs, eat clean... I just count portions. None of those other things are things I would be willing to do for the rest of my life so I didn't even bother trying them. I'm not willing to cut out carbs for a year, let alone the rest of my life, so I'm not going to try and do it for the sake of losing weight. I'm not willing to count points or calories for the rest of my life, so I'm not going to start now. I am trying to do something that works for me and can work for me forever. It's a lifestyle change.

My exercise started simple. I would walk. Then I started jalking (jog a little walk a little). That turned into more jogging and less walking, which eventually changed into full on jogs. I did it three times a week about 20-30 minutes each go. I also did weight/strength training in my own house 3 times a week. I did exercises that I remember from gym class in school and made sure each muscle group was targeted at least once in my routine. I didn't try to do something out of my realm (planks, a million sit ups, pull ups, 10000 lunges) I did things that I knew I was able to do but still challenged me. Leg lifts, arm curls, toe raises for my calves, just your basic exercises. I did all that for my first 30 pounds.

My reward for losing the first 30 was a gym membership. I now go to the gym three times a week religiously. I do a 10 minute cardio warm up, then lift weights, then a 30 minute cardio workout every single time I'm there. I meet with my trainer every 6 weeks to get a new routine. Occasionally, when I can, I try to get in a 4th cardio workout but it doesn't happen very often. When I say I do a cardio workout I don't mean I walk on the treadmill at a snails pace while reading a book. I honestly push myself with every workout. I make myself drip with sweat. I'm not fooling anybody but myself if I say I'm "walking" but really taking a stroll. I am constantly trying to increase my difficulties of my workout.

So there you have it, a general idea of what it's like to be me for a day or two.