Hey there! Welcome to our second installment in A Plan for Success! In this series, I want to show you how everyday people can lose weight and get in shape with personalized strategies and custom meal planning. Using the example of familiar (albeit fictional) faces, you’ll see that with a SMART goal and solid action plan, change is possible for anyone, no matter their circumstances. Whether your goal is to lose the gut and get in shape or improve your health and wellness, you can reach your goal!
Today we’re going to meet Chuck, a husband and father of two who’s had a bit of a reality check. Trying to recapture the glory days at a recent reunion, he made the startling discovery that the ole’ bod ain’t what it used to be. Let’s take a closer look at Chuck’s experience.
So a guy is trying to lose weight and is looking for ways to cut calories. While he doesn’t want to give up alcohol completely, he knows his weekend six-pack isn’t doing his gut any favors. The solution? He switches to liquor because beer, as everyone knows, is sky-high in calories because of all the carbs. Problem solved!
Sound familiar? Over the years, I have heard this one over and over again. In an effort to lose weight, dieters switch from ‘fattening’ beer to wine or hard alcohol, believing the latter options are more diet-friendly. But are they?
Remember Jane? She’s our busy wife and mom of 3 kiddos who’s hoping to finally lose the 25 pounds of baby weight she’s been holding onto and get into shape. She’s got a family vacation coming up and would like to have the energy and stamina to keep up with her busy crew. Jane is ready to make some changes and eager to see results!
In the last post, we talked about strategies that would help Jane improve her eating habits, reduce her calorie intake, and make exercise a priority. Today, I want to get more specific and share an actual meal plan that would help Jane shed the 2 pounds per week she needs to lose in order to reach her goal before the plane takes off in 12 weeks.
So let’s get something going for our friend, Jane. She’s finally ready and committed to making some changes and just needs a solid action plan that will deliver results.
As you may recall from the last post, Jane has some leftover baby weight that she’d like to lose before an upcoming family vacation. She’d also like to get back in shape. Taking a closer look at the numbers, Jane is hoping to drop about 25 pounds in the next 3 months. Breaking this down further, she would need to lose approximately 2 pounds per week to reach her goal. Though this may not seem like much, creating a calorie deficit of 1000 calories per day will require consistency and commitment. She needs a battle plan.
Knowing that Jane is super busy and doesn’t want to be eating a different menu than the rest of the family, here are a few strategies that will ensure she’s creating that calorie deficit without demanding too much of her time and energy.
If New Year resolutions are any evidence, it is easy to set goals but hard to actually make anything of them. So often we know what we’d like to see happen and yet get totally stalled by the how. But not to worry! Though changing habits is hard, a clear action plan will boost your confidence and ensure you are taking the right steps to achieve your goals.
Over the next series of posts, I’ll be walking you through a few all-too-familiar scenarios and demonstrate just how to make weight loss goals a reality. To kick things off, we’ll begin with our fictional friend, Jane.
Welcome back to The Diet Oracle! In the last post, we spent some time discussing how to create an effective goal that was S.M.A.R.T.–that is, Smart, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound. Today I want to share with you the next vital step toward making your weight loss goal a reality–formulating a solid action plan.
Though the diet industry would have you believe that there is some magical secret to shedding pounds, it still comes down to calories in versus calories out. That is, your weight is a balance between the calories (or energy) you consume from food and the calories you burn through basic metabolism, digestion, and physical activity. When those two sides of the equation are equal, your body is in equilibrium and your weight will remain stable. If, however, you’re wanting to lose weight, you must take in fewer calories than you are burning to create a calorie deficit. This forces the body to tap into your various forms of stored energy and ultimately shed pounds. While there are certainly more details to flesh out, energy balance is still the name of the game when it comes to weight loss.
Have you ever set a lofty and altogether worthwhile goal only to see it all crash and burn a couple weeks later? You had the best intentions, bought all the books, grabbed the gear, maybe even started a personal YouTube vlog to capture every victorious moment and yet…kaput. You fell off the horse. Called it quits. Conceded defeat. Threw in the towel. Despite all that enthusiasm and motivation, it was all for naught. Somehow, the goal just didn’t stick and you’ve slipped back into your old comfy habits once again.
I don’t think I need to tell you that making changes can be tough, especially if you’re staring down a particularly ingrained habit. Squaring off against your second nature takes more than just a wing and a prayer, my friends. Nope, winging it just won’t cut it. So if you’re serious about making changes, take the time to sit down, focus your thoughts, and create a goal worth chasing. Though setting a goal might seem like an exercise in the obvious, a thoughtful goal can truly spell the difference between success and failure.
Happy New Year and welcome back to The Diet Oracle! I hope you had a blessed holiday season wherever you call home. We had a wonderful Christmas and even managed to get out NYE, so I’d call that a roaring success! With four boys between the ages of 2 and 10, life continues to be full to overflowing and the years just seem to be whipping by at an astonishing rate. I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe we’ve just jumped into 2020!
For a lot of folks, a new year means new resolutions. We all need a fresh start now and then and it’s hard to beat January 1, no? So what’s on your list? Do you have any big goals for the new year? The new DECADE? Yikes. That makes it sound serious, now doesn’t it?
While the new year can seem like the perfect time to shake things up and make some worthwhile changes, just remember that everyday is an opportunity for a fresh start. Heck, if you’re trying to lose weight, each MEAL is a chance to make better choices! Though embracing the hope and enthusiasm a new year brings can give you a powerful kickstart, know that everyday offers you the chance to make changes and get closer to reaching your goals. If your goal is worth it, don’t give up! When you fall and take a header off that horse (and trust me, at some point you will), don’t wait for a new year to grab those reins and get back in the saddle. Don’t even wait until next month or next week! Seize the day and chase down your goals. You can do it!
Whatever your goals may be for 2020, I wish you a year of success and look forward to sharing with you some solid strategies and practical tips to help you along the way! As always, thanks for reading and happy New Year!
Now that I’ve got a week’s worth of food logs, let’s crunch some numbers and see where the numbers landed. Across the seven days I followed Stassou’s meal plan, I averaged 1308 calories per day with 47% from carbohydrate, 32% from fat, 21% from protein (or 69 grams per day), and 22 grams from fiber. Based on all typical calculations, that calorie level should have definitely produced some weight loss given my particular height, weight, age, gender and activity level. More specifically, I should have created an average daily deficit of 500-700 calories per day, or 3500-4900 calories for the week. Assuming that 1 pound of body weight has roughly 3500 calories, I should have lost 1-1.5 pounds this week. So how did I fare?
Hey, hey! It’s our LAST day testing out The Mediterranean Diet Weight Loss Solution: The 28 Day Kick-Start Plan for Lasting Weight Lossby Julene Stassou, MS, RD! It has definitely been a busy week–so much cooking!–but I’ve enjoyed taking this diet book out for a spin and sharing with you my experiences every step of the way. Now that I’ve really had a taste of what it’s like to follow a Mediterranean-style diet for weight loss, I’ll be sure to post my best tips and insights to help you get the best results!
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