Hello Weight Loss Friends!

It has been asked what my daily routine looks like and what is helping me achieve some good success right now. There is a lot so I hope you are prepared for a long read. Also, please remember that everyone will lose weight at different rates, and those dreaded stalls just happen sometimes. Ugh!! I know, I hate them... LOL :-)

My Eating:

Carbohydrates: Veggies (Green), Complex Carbohydrates, Whole Grain anything (yes even bread), and anything high in fiber. Remember poo weighs a few pounds too!! I don't like ANY kind of extra weight hanging on and I go every single day! :-P And of course fruit. I don't spend a lot of time caring about high sugar fruits or whatever. I already know which ones are and which ones aren't. If say I'm having an orange, it is a higher sugar fruit. I eat half serving instead of a whole serving. However, strawberries I'll eat quite a few because I know it's not that high in sugar. My daily total of carbs is usually from 60g to 100g per day.

Protein: I eat Seafood including many types of fish unless its a bottom feeder fish , and Poultry. I also eat eggs. Everything I eat I will prepare it with normally chicken or turkey if it is normally made with beef or pork. I do not eat beef or pork right now while I'm in my weight loss stage. I've never been much of a beef eater anyway so I don't really miss it, but I do miss my pork!! It's funny, the reason I started doing this is because I read a little weight loss plan that mentioned my metabolism is the type that beef and pork will slow down my weight loss. At first I didn't believe it, but since I've stopped eating these meats I've been dropping weight in masses. I won't stop now!! I also drink high quality medical grade protein supplements, especially right after my morning workout. It gets my day started right! In total I'm getting around 80g to 100g protein a day.

Fats: I typically make lean meat choices, and choose anything that is lower in fats. That being said, I don't NOT eat fats entirely. I know my body needs this and really when you're doing a low(er) carb type diet, some fats are essential for weight loss. I really honestly have not tallied one time how much fat I'm getting, and right now since I'm losing so well I don't intend to. Now, if I go on a stall of 3 weeks long or more I will probably give it more thought. I normally choose the healthier fats too, if cooking its Extra Virgin Olive Oil and I do take an Omega 3-6-9 horse pill every day. I will indulge in some butter once in awhile. I do not eat margarines or fake butters... ever. Firstly they taste nothing like butter, and second they are filled with some ungodly ingredients. Yeah, I'm thinking a little butter will actually do less damage to my body than synthetic fats.

A typical meal for me: I normally will eat around 2-3 oz of meat (protein), about the equivalent of 2 broccoli heads and what turns out to be about 3-4 bites of my carbs. That's pretty much the extent of what my lil tummy can hold right now. It does get bigger as time goes on. At first starting eating solids, I could barely get 1oz of meat and maybe a bite or two of my veggies. I never had room for carbs. Also, since I've put my healthy good carbs back on my plate I've been losing quite well again. I rarely drink while I'm eating. Once in awhile I do to wet my mouth usually but that's the extent of it. However, I will drink fluids all the way up until my mealtime. I have never found this makes me any hungrier any faster. In fact, I'm never even hungry!! Thanks to my sleeve.

Meal Schedules: If I workout, I will have one of my protein shakes, and sometimes a half banana with it. For breakfast I normally have a Quaker High Fiber oatmeal packet. Wow!! This stuff really works good I don't typically eat again until lunch. I'll usually have 1-2 oz of protein, some kind of green veggie and a little bit of good carbs. Then again, do no eat until dinner, which is like that mentioned above in the A typical meal for me section. For a nightly snack, I'll sometimes have a serving of Peanuts. I've been loving these since my surgery! Other than that I might have some fruit or maybe a Fiber One bar if I have a chocolate craving. Those things are good! On average I intake about 800 calories on days I don't workout and anywhere from 1200-1400 calories per day on days I do workout.

My supplements: I use Unjury or Isopure for my medical grade quality proteins. I also will use some Atkins RTD shakes or EAS Carb Advantage as a baseline for the drinks and add the powders for additional protein. I take Alive! Multi Vitamins and Minerals and one Iron Chew along with a Sublingual B-12 first thing in the morning. 2 hours later, I take 500mg of Calcium citrate, 3mg of Potassium and 5,000 IU of Dry Vitamin D. After lunch I will take 500 mg of Calcium Citrate and my Omega 3-6-9 horse pill. Before bed I take another 500mg of Calcium Citrate, Biotin 2,500mcg and if I don't think I've had enough fiber during the day I'll take 2 Fiber Choice tablets.

My workouts: I have a pretty hefty workout schedule. My schedule was once put into question as if I don't really burn the amount of calories I say I do. Well I'm no liar I know that, so what else can it be? LOL Anyway, here is how it goes. I workout 5x per week, morning and night - and my days off are Mondays and Fridays. My early morning workout is ALWAYS done on an empty stomach. This is because the first 15-20 minutes of any workout is always going to be spent burning off the sugar in your blood if you eat anything before hand. This is always my most vigorous workout too! All fat burn baby!! So I start with a 15 minute warm up on my spinner machine, starting of resistance 2 and going up to 6. Immediately after I get on my treadmill for the next 45 Minutes. I am currently doing the C25K plan. I find it very easy going, especially since I have arthritis in both my knees. The last thing I want to do is blow them out before I even have a chance to actually run my 5K!! I have to work on not using my side rails during my running/walking. So far I can do the first 35 minutes before needing to use it. I'm getting better every day. Once my 45 minutes is up, I do a 2 minute cool down (total 47 minutes), then I will do a 10 minute stretch session. This is so important! Anyway I do this all 5 workout days... For my evening workouts: On Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday I'll do a 30 Minute session on my spinner and a 30 Minute session on my elliptical. On Sundays and Thursdays I'll do 30 minutes of calisthenics and about 45 Minutes of resistance band muscle toning.

In Closing: So that's all there is to it Anyway I just have my mind really focused right now. I'd love to make my ultimate goal by Sept 15th of this year which will be my one year Sleeversary. My ultimate goal is 154 Lbs which will place me at the highest for a normal BMI. Today I am 216 Lbs and at 34.9 BMI... so just 10 BMI points to go! Not bad when I started with a 53.3 BMI, huh???

Good luck everyone! If you have questions, ask! I'm happy to answer any. xoxo

Irene