Healthy Habits Challenge: January Weight Loss, Part 4

I mentioned last week about how important nutrition is to losing weight. It's such an important factor that when I started my weight loss journey I was working out at the gym a lot and kicking it into high gear, but I was seeing little results. From the moment I started watching what I was eating, I saw results within the first week or two. It was so motivating and amazing! It takes a lot of hard work (and a little craziness watching everything you put into your system), but it pays off! 

 

Portion Control

It's important to use the correct portions so you can hit the percentages of carbs, proteins and fats that you set. (If you still need to set those, more on that here from our post last week). Here is a great graphic that I found from One Medical Group that illustrates what our plates should look like for meals.

I realize this graphic is missing dairy and fruits, but I think a visual representation of what our plate should look like for meals helps. And frankly, I eat my dairy and fruits for snacks it seems so I hope it helps you as much as me. Here is also another guideline (because our plates are all different sizes): Grains/Carbs: 1-3 ounces, Protein: 4-6 ounces and Veggies: unlimited.

To help you picture serving sizes, here's a couple helpful graphics. That way, you don't have to break out the measuring cup every time you want to eat something. (Images via TopsyTasty)

Meal Plans

I cannot tell you how much planning it takes to eat healthy! It's kind of insane! But I do know when I plan, I'm much better at curbing my cravings and eating what I should. I thought I would provide you a couple of my meal plans that I like. Of course, I try to switch it up, but these are some of my tried and true meal plans or daily plans..?? Whatever you want to call them, I hope they're helpful. Also, these are all examples of what I eat on a day of working out. My budget for calories is 1590 per day, and you'll realize the calories listed below are higher than that. That's because of the additional calories I'm "buying" from my workout. So in meal plan #1, it's a lighter workout day where I may only be doing a 20 minute HIIT with some random strength exercises. Or if it's a heavier day, I'll likely add another snack or two. If you're curious about some of the meals, I've put links to them below the graphics.

 

Breakfast: Baked Berry Oatmeal | Lunch: Berry Chia Shake | Dinner: Cilantro Lime Turkey Burger; Sweet Potato Chips | Snacks: Quest Bar (homemade)

  

Dinner: Spaghetti Squash with Meat Sauce | Snacks: Berry Chia Shake

Breakfast: Healthy Breakfast Burrito; Lunch: Low-Calorie Orzo Chicken Soup; Dinner: Baked Salmon; Calbacitas Con Elote; Snacks: Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie; Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Homemade Larabar

I met with a personal trainer a couple times about a month ago just to make sure I was on track and he gave me this great reference for picking "first class foods." I often glance at this when I'm planning out my meals and snacks. I hope it helps you too.

Allow Indulgence

I give myself something to look forward to by allowing myself to have 2 meals that are worry free a week. In my mind, the only way I can make these changes become habits are to make them somewhat flexible. I really don't want to be the girl hanging out with friends on "girls night" that can't have the chocolate whatever. I plan ahead so if there are meals or times I need to splurge, I can. I will say that for the first 3 months, I was very strict about my meals and didn't allow hardly any indulgence. I wanted to see results and I knew having pizza one night out of the week would kill that whole weeks results. Keep that in mind as you're planning your week. Maybe you allow one indulgence that allows you to have one cup of ice cream a week. It's your weight loss and ultimately your decision. Just don't kick yourself if you have a bad meal, a bad day, or even week. Hop back on the wagon and start kicking it into gear again. Consistency is where you will see results. You can do this!!

As usual, leave comments if you'd like to talk about your results, questions, or even frustrations. I'd love to help anyway I can!

Here's this weeks challenge:

We'll be kicking off another challenge next Wednesday for the month of February. Stay tuned!

To see other posts apart of the Weight Loss Healthy Challenge, click on the links below:
Part One- Develop a Plan, Pick a Gym
Part Two- Workout Routines 
Part Three- Tracking Calories, Reading Nutrition Labels, Quitting Soda, Curb Cravings