**This blog post includes Amazon affiliate links and I will earn a commission for qualifying orders through these links.
I'm not totally sure that this blog relates to my website theme of 'creative energy', but I have tried for many years to eat right, exercise, and maintain my weight with varying success - so I had to get creative to figure out how to do this differently - and it certainly took some energy - so I guess it fits :-)
Hopefully you'll find this post easy to read, and can use the tips provided that work the best for you. There are no pills or plans to buy. I'm just sharing the actions I took and a few links to products I bought that helped me succeed. I hope that they are helpful to you as well as we get ready for 2024!
My Story:
In August of 2022 I turned 48. I weighed about 170 lbs and I was frustrated that I wasn't able to lose weight, and I was often tired with low energy. I tried eating less and exercising more, but that didn't seem to be working well - I only lost 6 lbs in 5 months. In January of 2023 I weighed 164 lbs and I thought to myself, "Ok, I'm going to be 49 this year. I need to get this figured out."
I realized that I needed to make a lifestyle change, and not just try to get a quick win. I took some time to deeply think about what routine and habits would work best for me in the long run and slowly made progress towards those goals.
From January to July I lost 34 lbs. I have kept it off since then and make sure to stay in a range of 130-133. This screen shot is from my calorie counting app My Fitness Pal.
My story of 'how' I achieved this is below. I'm not saying this is the exact journey that is right for you, but I hope that in reading it you find some inspiration that will help you create the journey that is yours.
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. Use this info at your own risk.
Here are the 4 actions I took
1
Counted Calories - all of them ;-)
A primary key to my success was following the basic weight loss equation of "calories in, minus calories out = a number <0". I needed to be very real with myself about how much I had "going in" in terms of food intake, and "going out" in terms of exercise. Two things were immensely helpful in my success:
Accurate Calorie Counting
I didn't want to cut out any particular food - again, lifestyle change! So if I wanted to eat some potato chips I needed to have the calories correct. Here's an example of why....
A serving of 'about 12 chips' for 160 calories is hard to estimate especially when all of the chips are different sizes. If you are eating 1200 calories a day, 10 food calorie estimates being off by only 20 calories each, would add up to an error of 200 calories - you could overshoot your calorie goal by 200 calories and not even realize it!
To avoid this mistake, I weighed as much food as I could. Weighing out 28 grams of chips is more accurate than estimating 'about 12 chips'. I know weighing food might seem extreme, but it was super helpful and became pretty easy to do at home.
Weighing my food at home also really helped me visually learn what portion sizes really looked like. I now have a good visual of what 5oz of salmon, chicken, etc really looks like. Or 28 grams of chips :-). This learning helped me estimate my intake better when I was at restaurants or social events.
If you only buy one thing to help in your journey, buy a kitchen scale! I use one like this and have one at home and at work.
Taylor scale I use: https://amzn.to/45Hj77F
Other options: https://amzn.to/44CfazQ
In addition to the food scale, I bought another scale - to weigh myself. In the beginning, I weighed myself once a week to track progress. I recorded my weight in My Fitness Pal. I was using my old non-digitally connected scale at first, and typing my weight into the app. A few months in, I invested in a Withings digital scale that connects to my calorie counting and exercise apps. I really like seeing all of the data this scale provides, and I really wish I had bought it earlier in my journey. I strongly suggest this be an early investment for you. The one I bought was $199, but there are other versions for under $100 (click button below).
Use a calorie counting app
The app helps you keep track of both calories going in and exercise. It's convenient that it's right on your phone. There are many available, I used My Fitness Pal (MFP). It helps you calculate how many calories you should eat to meet your goals, and can also connect to your iWatch or Fitbit to give you credit for exercise.
My initial goal was to lose 2 pounds a week. The app gave me 1200 calories. I would try to get at least 300 in exercise, so then I could eat a total of 1500 and still lose weight.
2
Increased Protein and fiber
For the first month or two of my journey I wasn't really looking at food macros (proteins, carbs, fats, etc). Then I started reading more about them. I did a lot of research and read lots of material and decided that 1 gram per pound would be right for me - you will need to decide what's right for you!
After I decided on my goal (I based the intake goal on my goal weight of 130, so 130 grams a day), I looked at my historical data in My Fitness Pal. I was surprised to see that I was only eating about 50-60 grams of protein a day. I started focusing more on adding protein to my diet, but I felt like it was almost impossible to get over 100, much less 130! What has helped me the most is a mixture of greek yogurt and protein powder. Make sure to use plain yogurt or it might be too sweet. My favorite is Oikos PRO 25g and Strawberries & Cream whey powder 24g. Mix a serving of both - just stir to mix - and you get 49 grams of protein; and it has a great taste! I eat this almost everyday. Here are pics of my favorites and a link to the powder if you want to order on Amazon. I also put granola on it on some days. Links to the one I use are below.
This is one of my favorite granola flavors, and there are many others to choose from.
Another great protein booster that I've added into my diet on almost a daily basis is bone broth. I have to admit that the first time I tried bone broth I was not a huge fan. But then I found this Swanson Sipping Bone Broth Chicken with Ginger & Turmeric. It tastes great! I heat it in the microwave for 1 minute, then enjoy. It comes in a microwavable container, but I just pour it into a mug. It has 9 grams of protein and only 45 calories.
I now get about 100-130 grams of protein a day.
Fiber was another one that I was woefully short on. I think women my age are supposed to get 25 grams a day (again, please look up what's right for you) - I was getting about 5!! I still haven't totally figured out a consistent plan for increased fiber intake, but I started drinking Evolve protein shakes and they have 10 grams of fiber along with 20 of protein. It is certainly helping.
I have always ordered the Cafe Mocha - and they now have a Double Chocolate and Chocolate Caramel flavors that I will certainly be trying!!
3
Found a Workout Time that Worked for Me!
For years I remember waking up, not feeling like working out, then telling myself I would do it when I got home from work - and it never happened. I was too tired at the end of day, so I wouldn't work out, then the same cycle would happen the next day.
I knew I had to workout in the morning before work. Problem was that I was a bit of a night owl. I would go to be around 11PM and wake up around 6:30AM. This wake up time didn't give me enough time to workout, get ready for work, and be in the office by 8AM. I had to change my wake up time.
I've read a lot of books and articles about waking up at 4 or 5AM and I always thought they were crazy - now I'm one of them! It took me about 6 months for it to be natural for me to wake up at 5AM, but I just shifted it a little bit at a time each day. Now I love it!
I also didn't kid myself in thinking that I would start working out an hour a day right from the start. I just started with 15 minutes. I did that everyday until it felt natural to add more. Now I workout about an hour a day.
I found that doing some deep thinking about when I could realistically dedicate time to working out, then slowly adjusting my habits to make it happen, worked best for me.
4
Added Strength Training
**disclaimer again: I'm not a doctor, so check with one before you start a program*
This was a game changer for me. Building muscle helps burn calories, makes you physically 'tighter', and makes you feel so much better! Even when I've weighed this same amount in the past, I was never this small. I started only doing 15-20 minutes a day and built up from there.
For me, I wasn't really sure what program to do, so I bought a Tonal machine. I LOVE IT!! I honestly don't think I would have been as successful without it.
Concluding Thoughts:
Hopefully you found this post easy to read, and can use the tips provided that work the best for you. Again, there are no pills or plans to buy. You are in control of the actions you take in 2024 - and I wish the best of luck in success toward your goals!
Meal Diary:
A friend recently asked me, "can you just tell me what you eat everyday?". I agreed to do it for the first week of January, and I'll share it with all of you as well.
I'll post screen shots from My Fitness Pal (MFP) and pics of some of the foods at the end of each day. Let me know if this is helpful for you, and maybe I'll continue after Jan.
I weighed myself this morning and I'm a little bit over my goal weight range - I enjoyed the holidays a little too much lol! I'm going to set my goal to 1800 calories a day until I get back in range, then will go back up to 2000 after that.
Disclaimer - I am not a doctor or nutritionist - so keep in mind that this is just an example of what you can eat in a day - you'll have to decide what's right for you.
Jan 1, 2024:
Updated at 7:46PM, Jan 1, 2024 (I forgot my coffee creamer in version 1)
Breakfast:
I usually eat deli ham with my eggs, but I had these little meat sticks from a holiday gift so I substituted this morning.
It's a hard time of year to get fresh pineapple, so I used frozen. It's quick to defrost in the microwave.
Weighing tips (click here to read why weighing is important):
Scan or look up your food to see if ounces or grams is best measurement.
Put the bowl on the scale, then set to zero, then add your pineapple.
Set to zero again, then add your cottage cheese.
Sometimes I put the container of food on the scale and measure how much is removed. There is an example of that in lunch below.
Lunch:
This is one of my go-to favorites, especially after a workout. High protein and tastes great. If you are interested in the products, click this link to go to Section 2 above.
Weighing tips (click here to read why weighing is important):
Scan or look up food to see if ounces or grams is best measurement.
For the yogurt, I put the container on the scale and set to zero. Then I put the weight removed into MFP to calculate calories. I do some foods this way if I'm maybe going to take a bite while dishing it out, or if some will stick to the spoon.
Put the bowl with the yogurt back on the scale, reset to zero, and add the protein powder.
Then reset to zero again and add the granola. If you use the Kind granola be cautious of which one you pick in MFP. There is one that doesn't have the right calorie count.
Dinner:
Meals like this really make me happy about doing calorie counting rather than cutting out any particular foods. I want the steak, the potato, the butter, the sour cream - all of it! Oh and I guess the green beans too :-)
Make sure not to forget to count your beverages. This goes for the whole day, not just dinner. You can put them with meals, or sometimes it's easier to group them under 'snacks'. I usually have wine with diner but I'm doing a 40 day cleanse (no alcohol and limiting sugar) so it was sparkling water for me tonight.
I probably ate a little too much meat, but it was an awesome ribeye and my husband cooked it perfectly! So I went back for 2 more ounces after my first 5.5 oz portion.
Weighing tips (click here to read why weighing is important):
When it's just me and my family at the table, I just put my plate on the scale and weigh each item as I add it to the plate, reseting to zero between each food. Yes, my family looks at me like I'm nuts, but I've been doing this for a year now so the eyeball rolls have decreased dramatically hahaha.
If I would be at a restaurant or a friends house for this meal, I would estimate the weights. Having nights where I do weigh everything is very helpful for me to learn how to estimate better.
Snacks, Exercise, and final Nutrition count:
If you are interested in information on the Bone Broth or Protein/Fiber shake, click here to go to Section 2 above.
I told you you can still have chips! Within reason ;-) And weigh them :-)
I left 280 calories on the table, but I ate 1,799 calories of food out of my 1,800 goal so I don't think I under-ate. The exercise gave me 279 more calories to eat that I didn't use.
I really only focus on three nutritional goals: Protein, Fiber, and Sugar. The protein and sugar goals are higher than my actual goals because they are a percentage of calories and MFP increases the calories allowed based on the exercise. I also pasted in a screen shot of my actual gram goals based on 1,800.
You can see that even with the Evolve shake my Fiber didn't reach the goal of 25 - but without it I would have been at 8!
My sugar was a little higher than I want - but the Yasso bar was worth it.
Jan 2, 2024:
I think I'm going to change up the format a little here and put all of the days notes first, then the pictures from the day. Please post in comments if you like one better than the other.
I also won't repeat all of the weighing tips here, and recommend taking a look at the Jan 1, 2024 post for those. Click here to read why weighing is important.
Breakfast:
I usually do deli ham with my eggs - but I couldn't let those awesome ribeye leftovers go to waste! Only 2 ounces though.
I definitely weigh my cereals since there can be too much variation in how much is in cup or 3/4 cup, and it's a higher calorie food.
The almond milk didn't have an option for a weight measure in MFP, so I weighed a 1/2 cup once and now know it is 124 g. I was 3 grams off this morning. If I have time, I do the math to make the calories precise, but since this is a lower calorie food, if it's within a gram or two I just add 1/2 cup. For me, it's actually easier to measure it all at once on the scale, just resetting to zero between adding each ingredient, than pouring into a measuring cup.
Lunch:
Again went to my go-to of protein yogurt and protein powder. I won't repeat the weighing process - you can see that on the Jan 1 paragraph above - however, I will point out the difference in the granola. They don't look very different visually, but those extra 7 grams = 26 calories. This is why measuring when you can is important - if you are off on 4 calorie estimations it could add up to over 100 calories. This doesn't mean you have to weigh everything - but it's good to weigh high calorie items and ones that can be more inconsistent in a volume measurement.
For the pretzels, I actually do count the number - they have a very consistent shape and size.
Dinner:
These little packs of rice noodles are a great base for many creations. For mine tonight I added peas and spinach for vegetables and shrimp and jammy eggs for protein. The noodles have a seasoning packet, and I added some curry powder since I added volume with the veggies and protein.
For the olive oil, I do think it's easier to measure on the scale than to pour into a tablespoon measurer - a tablespoon = ~14 grams.
Snacks, Exercise, and Nutrition:
I went with a Caramel flavored shake today. Also got in some dark chocolate.
I left 449 calories on the table, but I ate 1,703 calories of food out of my 1,800 goal so I don't think I under-ate. The exercise gave me 352 more calories to eat that I didn't use. And I don't feel hungry either - check out the protein intake of 140 grams, and sugar of only 30 grams. The calories I ate were nutritious and filling.
I really only focus on three nutritional goals: Protein, Fiber, and Sugar. The protein and sugar goals are higher than my actual goals because they are a percentage of calories and MFP increases the calories allowed based on the exercise. Gram goals based on 1,800 calorie is 135 protein and 30 sugar.
I actually got 22 in fiber today - I find that very exciting hahaha. Without the Evolve shake my fiber would have been at 12!
If you are interested in information about the protein powder, shakes, or other protein items from other days, click here to go to Section 2 to check them out. If you are interested in the rice noodles, click here to price on Amazon. I actually have these on a subscription :-)
Jan 3, 2024
I'm going to stick with the format from Jan 2 and put all of the days notes first, then the pictures from the day. Please post in comments if you like one better than the other.
I also won't repeat all of the weighing tips here, and recommend taking a look at the Jan 1Â or Jan 2 post for those. Click here to read why weighing is important.
Breakfast:
I had to go into the office today, so no time for eggs. I substituted mini Kind bars that I keep in the office.
Lunch:
See Jan 1 post for info on the pineapple and cottage cheese and yogurt and protein powder dishes.
Showing a pic of my office scale that I use to measure the protein powder; I had weighed the yogurt at home.
Dinner:
This is the big tipper for today - going out to eat!
Many chain restaurants will have menus online with fairly accurate calorie counts.
If you have local places that you go to regularly, use the Recipes or Meal feature in MFP. You can estimate the ingredients in the dish, then next time you can just add that meal quickly.
Tonight we went to a local place called The Ruddy Duck. They have a gluten free fish taco dish that I love. I estimated the lower calorie items - from learning the weights of sizes from weighing at home :-). For a higher calorie item, that can vary depending on brand, like the tortillas; I waited for a night when they weren't busy and asked my waitress if she could check the packaging in the back. She was happy to comply - again, do on a slow night or go in on an off hour. They were only 60 cals per tortilla - I had been overestimating them!
Snacks, Exercise, and Nutrition:
I went with a Double Chocolate flavored shake today.
I left 304 calories on the table, but I ate 1,653 calories of food out of my 1,800 goal so I don't think I under-ate. The exercise gave me 157 more calories to eat that I didn't use. And I don't feel hungry either - check out the protein intake of 141 grams, and sugar of 56 grams (a little higher than I wanted but not terrible). The calories I ate were nutritious and filling.
I really only focus on three nutritional goals: Protein, Fiber, and Sugar. The protein and sugar goals are higher than my actual goals because they are a percentage of calories and MFP increases the calories allowed based on the exercise. Gram goals based on 1,800 calorie is 135 protein and 30 sugar.
I actually got 25 in fiber today!! - I find that very exciting hahaha. Without the Evolve shake my fiber would have been at 15!
If you are interested in information about the protein powder, shakes, or other protein items from other days, click here to go to Section 2 to check them out.
Jan 4, 2024
I'm going to stick with the format from Jan 2 and put all of the days notes first, then the pictures from the day. Please post in comments if you like one better than the other.
I also won't repeat all of the weighing tips here, and recommend taking a look at the Jan 1Â or Jan 2 post for those. Click here to read why weighing is important.
Breakfast:
I had to go into the office again today, so no time for eggs. Honestly, I guess going into the office isn't why I don't have time - I'm really just not giving myself enough time for cooking eggs. I have a strength workout tomorrow morning and the eggs would be better for me than just cereal afterwards. I have a goal to change this pattern for tomorrow, and my time to make the eggs - I'll let you know tomorrow if I have success :-).
Lunch:
See Jan 1 post for info on the yogurt and protein powder dish - it's one of my favs.
Dinner:
Repeating the big tipper from yesterday - going out to eat!
Many chain restaurants will have menus online with fairly accurate calorie counts.
If you have local places that you go to regularly, use the Recipes or Meal feature in MFP. You can estimate the ingredients in the dish, then next time you can just add that meal quickly.
Tonight we went to a local place called The CD Cafe. They have great salads. I estimated the lower calorie items - from learning the weights of sizes from weighing at home :-). For a higher calorie item, that can vary depending on brand, like the salad dressing; I waited for a night when they weren't busy and asked my waitress if she could check the packaging in the back. She was happy to comply - again, do on a slow night or go in on an off hour.
Snacks, Exercise, and Nutrition:
I went with a Creamy Vanilla flavored shake today.
If you haven't tried this Boar's Head Dark Chocolate Hummus, you are missing out. It's really good and 80 calories for 2 Tlbs (28 grams). I dip mini pretzels in it. You can find it in most grocery stores. Remember to weigh this, or you will be tempted to eat more than you want to!
I left 420 calories on the table, but I ate 1,556 calories of food out of my 1,800 goal so I don't think I under-ate. The exercise gave me 176 more calories to eat that I didn't use. And I don't feel hungry either - check out the protein intake of 148 grams, and sugar of 42 grams (a little higher than I wanted but not terrible). The calories I ate were nutritious and filling.
I really only focus on three nutritional goals: Protein, Fiber, and Sugar. The protein and sugar goals are higher than my actual goals because they are a percentage of calories and MFP increases the calories allowed based on the exercise. Gram goals based on 1,800 calorie is 135 protein and 30 sugar.
I actually got 25 in fiber today - again!! - I find that very exciting hahaha. Without the Evolve shake my fiber would have been at 15!
If you are interested in information about the protein powder, shakes, or other protein items from other days, click here to go to Section 2 to check them out.
Jan 5, 2024
I'm going to stick with the format from Jan 2 and put all of the days notes first, then the pictures from the day. Please post in comments if you like one better than the other.
I also won't repeat all of the weighing tips here, and recommend taking a look at the Jan 1Â or Jan 2 post for those. Click here to read why weighing is important.
Breakfast:
Yesterday I had a goal to make time to make eggs this morning - and I did it!! Also got back to my honey ham to go with the eggs.
Lunch:
See Jan 1 post for info on the yogurt and protein powder dish - it's one of my favs.
Dinner:
These little packs of rice noodles are a great base for many creations. For mine tonight I added peas and spinach for vegetables and chicken and jammy eggs for protein. The noodles have a seasoning packet, and I added some curry powder since I added volume with the veggies and protein.
There is another version in the Jan 2 diary that has shrimp.
Snacks, Exercise, and Nutrition:
I went with a Creamy Vanilla flavored shake today.
I left 406 calories on the table, but I ate 1,539 calories of food out of my 1,800 goal so I don't think I under-ate. The exercise gave me 145 more calories to eat that I didn't use. And I don't feel hungry either - check out the protein intake of 172 grams (a little higher than usual - I usually stay around 130-140) - this high protein was paired with a strength training workout), and sugar of 46 grams (a little higher than I wanted but not terrible). The calories I ate were nutritious and filling.
I really only focus on three nutritional goals: Protein, Fiber, and Sugar. The protein and sugar goals are higher than my actual goals because they are a percentage of calories and MFP increases the calories allowed based on the exercise. Gram goals based on 1,800 calorie is 135 protein and 30 sugar.
I only got 18 in fiber today - a little under my goal!! Without the Evolve shake my fiber would have only been at 8!
If you are interested in information about the protein powder, shakes, or other protein items from other days, click here to go to Section 2 to check them out.
Jan 6, 2024
I'm going to stick with the format from Jan 2 and put all of the days notes first, then the pictures from the day. Please post in comments if you like one better than the other.
I also won't repeat all of the weighing tips here, and recommend taking a look at the Jan 1Â or Jan 2 post for those. Click here to read why weighing is important.
Breakfast:
I had a little bit bigger breakfast than usual. That tends to happen on my days that I'm not in the office. Pics and weighing tips for these dishes are in previous days.
Lunch:
See Jan 1 post for info on the yogurt and protein powder dish - it's one of my favs.
Dinner:
Tonight we had my husband Greg's famous pasta dish - Greg-a-toni. :-) It's the kid's favorite so we end up eating this about once a week. He makes gluten-free pasta for me and rigatoni or another type of pasta for everyone else.
Pasta is a tough one because the weights for the servings are for the pre-cooked, dry form. The weight of the cooked pasta depends on how much water it absorbs, which can be inconsistent. Here's how I approached it - early in this calorie counting process I weighed 2 oz of dry pasta, cooked it, then really tried to learn how that volume looked visually after it was cooked (if you cook it very consistently you could also weigh the cooked pasta and use that - with someone else cooking or dining out that can't work so having the visual is good). I also have to estimate the sauce since the meat is already mixed in. If the meat's not super integrated, I've measured and weighed out a "1/2 cup" (that's typical serving size) of pasta sauce so I have a good visual on that when I'm just using a spoon. I estimate the sausage and meatballs based on how many pieces I take. I did weigh the shrimp since that wasn't in the sauce (some of the kids don't like shrimp). Also weighed the cheese - it can add up fast if you don't.
Snacks, Exercise, and Nutrition:
I had 112 calories left today. I ate 1,860 calories of food against my 1,800 goal. The exercise gave me 172 more calories to eat that I did use today.
Protein intake of 135 grams and sugar of 55 grams (a little higher than I wanted but not terrible).
I only got 18 in fiber today - a bit under my goal. I ran out of Evolve shakes so didn't have one of those today - if I had my fiber would have been 28.
If you are interested in information about the protein powder, shakes, or other protein items from other days, click here to go to Section 2 to check them out.
Jan 7, 2024
This is my last planned update to the meal diary. I'm going to stick with the format from Jan 2 and put all of the days notes first, then the pictures from the day. Please post in comments if you like one better than the other.
I also won't repeat all of the weighing tips here, and recommend taking a look at the Jan 1Â or Jan 2 post for those. Click here to read why weighing is important.
Breakfast:
I had a little bit bigger breakfast than usual. That tends to happen on my days that I'm not in the office. Pics and weighing tips for these dishes are in previous days.
Lunch:
See Jan 1 post for info on the yogurt and protein powder dish - it's one of my favs.
Dinner:
Tonight we had take out from Mission BBQ, with side dishes made at home. I looked up the Mission BBQ brisket on line to know the calories per ounce. Then I did the same process as on 1 Jan of resetting the scale to zero between adding other items.
Snacks, Exercise, and Nutrition:
I had 193 calories left today. I ate 1,767 calories of food against my 1,800 goal. The exercise gave me 160 more calories to eat that I used most of today.
Protein intake of 133 grams and sugar of 50 grams (a little higher than I wanted but not terrible).
I only got 11 in fiber today - way under my goal. I ran out of Evolve shakes so didn't have one of those today - if I had my fiber would have been 21. My subscription doesn't deliver until 24 Jan - I'm probably going to have to update the frequency because my husband and son have decided that they like them too :-)
If you are interested in information about the protein powder, shakes, or other protein items from other days, click here to go to Section 2 to check them out.
