In Part 1 I explained how it all began and in Part 2 I told you how I did it and now I'm going to give you concrete examples of what I ate and the exercise I did to drop 7 sizes.
- I ate 4 meals a day - yes MEALS; not snacks - I kept food going in every 3-4 hours up until 2 hours before I slept to repair my metabolism and keep my body well fueled.
- I only ate 12 hours of the day, for instance I ate either from 10-10, 11-11 or 12-12 - it all depends on my sleep or what time I finally eat breakfast. So, say I eat breakfast at 11am, meal 2 would be at 3, meal 3 at 7 and meal 4 at 11pm. This not only helps your metabolism and blood sugar but it will keep you FULL and you won't need to snack in between; if you are eating enough at each meal.
- Each meal contained a protein, fat and carb. I ate 50% carbs, 30% fat and 20% protein on average, though sometimes my carbs were higher.
- I aimed to get 4-6 vegetable servings a day and 1-3 fruit servings.
- I strived for at least 30 grams of fiber but usually it was 35g+ most days.
- I ate mostly complex carbs - 100% whole wheat bread, brown basmati rice, 100% whole wheat tortillas, beans, etc. (See list below)
- I ate 80% healthy foods and 20% other foods to keep life happy!
- I didn't eat fake stuff like all those nasty sugar alcohols (I used real cane sugar and raw honey for my sweeteners) and I eventually stopped eating those high fiber wraps that are just full of added fiber that wasn't naturally occurring. I also didn't do any of those high protein gimmicks - you can't possibly metabolize more 30 grams of protein in one go! Skip these fad things that will ultimately tax your liver and kidneys. I stayed away from "diet" foods.
- I drank at least 8 cups of water daily and made this a priority and I also made sure I took my vitamins and supplements.
Here are some examples of actual meals I ate:
Foods I mostly ate:
Proteins:
Eggs
Unsweetened soymilk
Nonfat Greek yogurt
Chicken breast
Tuna
Beans
Turkey
Salmon
Tofu
Cheese
Grass-fed organic ground beef (once a week to twice a month)
Carbs:
100% whole wheat bread or pizza crust
Old fashioned oats
Basmati brown rice
Whole wheat tortillas
Corn tortillas
Potatoes
Whole wheat pasta
Oats cereal (rarely)
Shredded wheat (rarely)
Fats:
Avocado (I use premade guacamole cups)
Nuts - walnuts, pecans, peanuts and cashews
Olive oil
Flaxseed meal
Mayonnaise (made with olive oil)
Fruit:
Bananas
Blueberries
Strawberries
Grapes
Unsweetened applesauce
Vegetables:
Dark green leafy greens
Carrots
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Green beans
Green pepper
Baby Bella mushrooms
Green onions
Onions
Garlic
Butternut squash
Mixed vegetables
Peas
Celery
Treats I had regularly:
Fun size Snickers
Real hot cocoa (I can only handle Belgian chocolate)
Whip cream aerosol as a topping on fruit
Pure chocolate syrup
Dark chocolate hummus
Cashew ice cream
* My exercise consisted of hiking, walking, dancing, rowing, recumbent bike and weight lifting/strength training. I exercised 5-6 days on average for 9 hours a week.
