Simple Life - Winning the Battle

Some things stayed the same and some things changed.  I'm still fasting from 5 pm - 7 am the next morning.  No that I'm in the habit of fasting every day I can't imagine not.  It gives my body time to full digest my last meal.  I don't feel so full when I go to bed and I sleep better.

I'm still doing my 3 mile walk/job every morning at 5:30 am.  It gets my metabolism going and energizes me for the day.  I has become so much of a habit that I never set an alarm and I wake up and get up early on the weekends too.  I'm a morning person and I embrace it.  The downside is that I'm ready for bed early in the evening.  That can be a bummer for my husband sometimes but I'm doing what works best for me.  On the weekends I stay up a little later to watch a movie with him. 

I'm still doing 45 minutes of step/weight bearing exercises in the afternoon, after work.  I've added weight to my workout but I keep the workout to 45 minutes.  I feel like this has become so important.  I've let myself get so soft and when you add my age to that you get a recipe for a flabby old lady.  I don't want to be that so I put all my effort in this.

I'm still eating a plant based whole foods diet.  I really don't miss dairy at all.  I will admit that when I smell fried chicken or a cheeseburger I want one.  But I want to be skinny and healthy more.  So, although the smell is still pleasant to me, I'm not going backwards.

What's new this week is that I'm paying attention to food density.  My morning meal and lunches are both made up of foods that are very low in calories; fruits and non-starchy vegetables.  I have my starch at dinner.  Here's what that looks like:

Breakfast - I had cooked, non-starchy vegetables for breakfast each day.  I don't normally reach for these foods for breakfast, but I love vegetables so I just pretended it was lunch or dinner.

Lunch - For lunch I took a container of chopped greens with a sprinkling of tomatoes or bell peppers.  My goal with lunch is to fill up on greens.  I love salads, so as long as I have a little bit of topping that I like and a dressing that I like, it's not a problem.  I use the Skinny Girl dressings because they are sugar and fat free and taste great.

Dinner - I had my starches at dinner each night.  Most nights that mean a mixture of rice, beans and a starchy vegetable like potatoes, carrots or sweet potatoes.  I did limit the amount I ate to 3 cups.  It was plenty and I never went to bed hungry.

I lost a solid pound this week so this plan definitely works.  I feel lighter, my clothes are getting loose and I feel great.  I'm not saying that this sequence of eating is for everyone, but for those like me that are trying to loose weight, it works.  Once I get down to where I want to be I'll add a little starch back to my breakfast and lunch.  Until then, I'll keep doing what works.