Okay, so after the holidays and the cruise, I stepped on the scale and gasp I have gained 12 pounds!! For the past few years, I’ve been struggling with my weight a bit, and I always start exercising more and start eating healthier…for a while. This time is it! I’m going to lose 32 pounds, and I’m giving myself 8 months to do it (that’s a pound a week). Here’s my diet plan:

Counting Calories

Yes, you heard me. I’m going to be a label reader. I read that, per day, it takes 12 calories per pound to maintain your weight. So, I calculated how many calories it will take to maintain my goal weight, and that is how many calories I’m allowing myself to eat each day. I don’t think it will be a huge cutback in what I eat. Nay, I believe that it is a habit I can get into for the rest of my life. I don’t plan on this being a crash diet or anything. I’m going to slowly get down to my ideal weight and hopefully stay there.

I am keeping a binder in my kitchen. Here’s the plan:

The front section is loose leaf paper. On this I am writing down how many calories certain foods have. i.e. 1 egg=75 calories, or 8oz. Dr. Pepper=100 calories. As I fill up sheets of paper, I’ll type them up and alphabetize for quick reference.

The back section is my daily food journal. I am keeping track of exactly what and how much of each food I eat, and how many calories that is. For instance, this morning I had 3/4 cup of Total cereal, 1 cup of 2% milk, 1/2 grapefruit with 1/2 teaspoon of sugar and 4 oz of orange/pineapple juice. At the end of the day I will total up how many calories I’ve consumed (including snacks and drinks). At the top of the page today (my first day of the new diet), I wrote down my weight. I weighed myself this morning right after I got up. Every 6 mornings or so I will weigh myself to track my progress.

After work today, I plan on hitting the grocery store for snacks. I know I will feel hungry on smaller portions, so I am going to stock up on greens, carrots, and fruits to help get me through the day. Also, I am now carrying around a bottle of water to drink anytime I feel hungry — just to make sure I really am hungry. Another trick I heard of that I’ll try is brushing my teeth when I get a craving. We’ll see if that one works.

As a side note, I also take a multivitamin and calcium every day to make up for what I don’t get in my diet. I’ve been in that habit for several months now.

Everyone knows that with diet, you need exercise. Starting last night, Justin and I are doing crunches and push ups during commercial breaks while we watch television. I always have down time at work, so I decided that’s a great time to stretch and do leg lifts. And, of course, Dalmation Jake always helps me with my aerobics. He gets upset if he doesn’t get walked daily. I just have to work on how briskly I walk.

Well, that’s my new lifestyle plan. I hope it works! I’ll keep you updated on my progress.