Weight Loss Wednesday

Good morning everyone! Are you ready to shed pounds with me? I'm so excited to be hosting a series on weight loss! As mentioned in my last post, I will be posting tips, recipes, workout plans and my progress which will hopefully translate to motivation for anyone who'd like to join in.

First, I feel the need to mention that there will be no talk of any type of fad diet here. Sure, you might get fast results with a fad diet, but the second you stop following said diet all of your hard work goes straight out the window.

How do I know this? I tried the Atkins diet before my wedding to shed those last few pounds so I could be a skinny mini in my dress. Big mistake! For one, I ended up losing too much weight and was pulling my dress up all night. Thank goodness it laced up in the back so we could get it as tight as possible. It also wreaked havoc on my digestive system.  As you probably know, the Atkins diet requires cutting out all carbs for two weeks. That means no veggies, no bread, no sugar, nothing. Well, without veggies and grains, you get no fiber. You can imagine where that left me.  Lastly, your body needs all of the vitamins and nutrients that can only be found in veggies. Sure, I lost those last few pounds, but I encountered problems along the way and the weight was back the second I put a carb in my mouth. So. not. worth. it!

With that said,  the plan that I follow is one by Bill Phillips. He has two amazing books called Body for Life and Eating for Life. They are geared around a sustainable way of eating healthy and working out. The recipes are delicious and the work outs are quick and easy to follow. The diet is even great for breast feeding moms since you're not eliminating anything except junk food! 

How do I know this plan works? I followed it in my early 20's right about the time that I met my husband. I was in the best shape of my life. I highly recommend checking out these books. They're super motivating and just make sense! What's more is Bill Phillips hosts a challenge where you can win $100,000 for transforming your body. Double win! You have to check it out!

Today I thought I would touch on the basic principles of his diet plan since diet is so incredibly important if you want to lose weight and keep it off.


The Eating for Life plan revolves around five small, high protein meals Monday through Saturday and taking Sunday off to eat whatever you want. Here's how it works - if you diet every day of the week, your body goes into "starvation mode" and actually starts retaining fat to keep from starving. When you give yourself one day to eat anything (and I mean anything) it wards off "starvation mode" and helps your body keep shedding fat.

Here's what a sample of my diet will look like:
Breakfast: 2 eggs, two slices of peanut butter toast and a glass of Kefir
Snack: cup of lowfat yogurt
Lunch: grilled chicken salad with lowfat dressing and water
Snack: Apple wedges with peanut butter
Dinner: Chicken breast, veggies, brown rice and water

The above is a very basic example of what I might eat throughout the day. The recipes in the Eating for Life book really are delicious. Check out a few of them at this website to see for yourself.  Also, I feel the need to mention how important portion sizes are. You can eat as healthy as you want, but if you eat too much of it, you won't lose weight. As a general rule, portions should be about the size of your fist.

So, if you've stuck with me this far, what are you waiting for? Let's get our diets on track so we can start shedding the pounds! Good luck to everyone! I'll be posting workout plans next week.