My New Year's resolution on January 1st, 2016 was to lose weight and get healthy. I realize that everyone has this same resolution but unfortunately many fail like I have in the past. I needed something simple and easy and free that I could stick with. The plan I came up with resulted in me losing 60 pounds in 9 months. I'm 61 years old, 6'1" and weighed 280 pounds. My t-shirt size went from a 2 xl down to a large. I lost 12 inches on my waist. My blood pressure dropped from high to normal without medications. I also had chronic headaches and acid indigestion for years but not anymore. I started off trying common sense things that eventually resulted in the plan I am making available for free below.
My first step was to cut out 100% of all fast food. Next I decided to eliminate the white carbs from my diet like white bread, white potatoes, white pasta and white rice. I wasn't interested in exercising so I was only focusing on my diet as a way to lose weight at this point
I did lose weight initially but I wanted to lose more so I started reading several diet books to get ideas. Many of the diets required following specific menus that require shopping for those ingredients which required a lot of planning and time to prepare the meals. I wanted something more practical, fast and easy to follow.
I understood that to lose weight you need to decrease calories and increase physical activity. To lose 1 pound you need to either burn 3500 calories through exercise or decrease caloric intake by 3500 calories or a combination of both diet and exercise. Sounds simple but it helps to have a plan.
To begin you need to determine how many calories a day you need to lose weight. To find out how many calories you need a day to maintain or lose weight go online and Google “daily calorie calculator” and then choose one and enter your height, weight, activity level, etc. The different calculators are all usually close in their estimates or you can do 3 different ones and take the average. I like the Mayo Clinic calculator. Once you know your daily calorie number to maintain weight then you know that to lose weight you need to reduce the calories below that number. The lower the calories consumed daily the faster you will lose weight.
The 5:2 diet is a great way to lose weight fast. Google 5:2 diet to see what people say about it. It is a diet that is popular in England and is simple and easy to follow. It is based on “intermittent fasting” where you eat normal meals 5 days a week and “fast” 2 days a week. Men eat 600 calories and women eat 500 calories on fast days. It may sound extreme or not realistic but with planning it is simple and easy. I have varied it by fasting 3 days or 4 days a week which really speeds up the weight loss process.
On fast days I eat 3 meals a day that are 200 calories or less per meal. There is usually room for a snack too. Breakfast is usually 2 hard boiled eggs at 80 calories each or 160 calories total. Another breakfast idea (and a great snack) is instant plain oatmeal at 100 calories per serving with 20 fresh blueberries (1 calorie each) which is only 120 calories total. I buy store brands and dollar stores has a large package for $1. You can also eat a McDonalds Egg White Delight (250 calories) if you are in a hurry but you will need to have a lower calorie meal that day to balance out the 500 or 600 calories per fast day. This is the only fast food I eat.
Lunch is a salad with a can of solid white Albacore tuna in water with fresh spinach and as many vegetables that you want to eat. Another lunch can be soup like Progresso Light. One can with 2 servings has 140-200 calories per can depending on the type. Avoid the cream based ones. Just heat and eat. Other ideas include making a salad with lots of greens and veggies and add 4 ounces of lean cooked meat like pork, chicken, beef, fish, etc. Use balsamic vinegar instead of salad dressing.
Dinner is 4 ounces of cooked meat with as many cooked veggies as you want. There are easy to cook veggies in microwaveable bags. Avoid any with sauces or butter. Soup is also a great dinner. Add as much cooked veggies to the soup as you want. Salad is also great for dinner. I also make an omelet that takes 3 minutes to cook in the microwave and it is only 250 calories. Put diced onions, fresh spinach and chopped tomatoes into a microwaveable container. Cook on high for 45 seconds. Add 2 eggs and a splash of milk. Stir and cook for 2 minutes on high. Add a slice of cheese on top which will melt form the heat. Quick, easy, low cal and delicious.
Drink lots of water daily. 64 ounces is recommended. I drink (4) 16.9 bottles a day. Space it out throughout the day. Drink water before each meal which fills you up and you eat less. Also drink water when you feel hungry because sometimes you are actually thirsty but you may feel hungry so you eat instead of drinking. Drink when you wake up, mid-morning, in the afternoon and in the evening. Staying hydrated flushes out the sodium in your system. Sodium actually retains water so to get rid of water weight you need to drink water.
On non-fast days I try to keep my total daily calories below 1200 calories. I still follow the suggestions listed here and try to eat as healthfully as possible but there is more wiggle room for adding more of a variety of food items. I like blueberry scones but they are 400 calories so I reserve these as a treat when I make a weight loss goal and I adjust my meals to accommodate eating one item with 400 calories and limit this item to once or twice a week.
After 4 months of dieting I figured out that exercise is a good thing and will help speed up the weight loss. Exercise burns calories. While dieting alone will lose fat and decrease your weight you really need to build muscle mass as well. Dieting without exercise can cause a loss of fat and a loss of muscles as well. Muscles give the body definition and shape. Muscles also burn fat at a faster rate so you can turn your body into a fat burning machine by adding muscle mass. A pound of muscle weighs as much as a pound of fat but fat takes up a lot more volume so you can lose 10 pounds of fat and add 10 pounds of muscle and your weight will stay the same but your waist will be smaller and your clothes will fit more loosely.
To make exercising simple and realistic I work out 3 days a week with a rest and recovery day in between. I only exercise for 30 minutes each workout day. I target 8 different muscle groups with 8 different machines. I do a circuit weight resistance training of 15-20 repetitions on each machine and I repeat 2-3 times (sets). I move quickly between machines which also provides an aerobic benefit by getting the heart rate up. You should target the large muscle groups for the most bang for the buck. I focus on calf, upper front leg, upper back of leg, chest, shoulders, biceps, triceps and abs (core). I go to Youfit gym and it only costs $10 per month. The actual cost per month with the startup fees and annual fee included is $15 a month.
Any exercise is better than none so 30-60 minutes 3-4 days per week of walking, biking, running, yoga, Zumba, swimming, etc are great. Pushups, situps, jumping jacks etc are thing to do at home if there is no gym access. Planks are also great to do but the exercise benefit of a plank occurs in the first 30 seconds so instead of doing a marathon plank for several minutes it is better to get into a plank position and hold it for 30 seconds, rest for a few seconds and then get into the plank again and hold for 30 seconds, etc. Great core workout you can do at home, office or anywhere.
To maintain your weight once you hit your goal weight you need to be aware of your eating behavior by continuing to monitor your weight weekly. Continue to follow the suggestions and recommendations. You can slowly increase the calories on the non-fast days but keep them below the number of calories required to maintain your weight per the daily calorie calculator. If you start gaining weight then you should do a fast day. At the next weighing see how you are doing. If you are still over your goal weight try 2 fast days and so on. You may only need to fast one day a week or you may only need to do one fast day every 2 weeks. If you eat more then you need to exercise more. It is all about balance and you have several options and lots of tools to make it successful. Everyone is different so you need to find the schedule/strategy that works best for you.
These are suggestions and recommendations for non-fast days to stay healthy and to lose weight faster:
1.) Avoid white carbs like bread, pasta, rice, potatoes. Occasionally it is ok if you chose a substitute like brown rice, sweet potato, whole wheat bread like Ezekial (found in the freezer in most stores) or Eureka bread and whole wheat pasta. The white carbs make your blood sugar level spike quickly and later when the blood sugar level crashes you get hungry and will want to eat. These carbs make your blood sugar levels like a roller coaster with highs and lows. Your goal is to eat foods that help keep your blood sugar levels stable.
2.) When you eat out at a restaurant share a plate with a friend or only eat half and take the rest home for another meal later or ask for a half order or a small order. To avoid temptation ask the server to put half the plate to go and bring half to the table instead of having all that food in front of you and then refraining to eat the other half that you will take to go.
3.) Prepare meals at home to control portion size and to control sodium, fats, sugar, etc. in what you are eating. Use plastic microwaveable containers with lids and take to work or school.
4.) Cook with Olive oil or Sesame oil.
5.) Don’t use salt. Use a salt substitute like Mrs. Dash. I like garlic powder, onion powder and black pepper.
6.) Use balsamic vinegar instead of salad dressings. The vinegar will neutralize stomach acid which keeps food in the stomach longer and makes you fill fuller for longer.
7.) Use a zero calorie sugar substitute.
8.) Avoid sodas (diet and regular)
9.) Coffee is ok but limit the milk.
10.) Eat more protein on workout days to add muscle faster. Milk, lean meat, eggs, whey protein powder are all good things. Just don’t overdo the calories. It is better to workout on a non-fast day as you will consume more calories by adding extra protein.
11.) Buy lean ground beef (96% lean) and cook ¼ pound patties and bag them and freeze or refrigerate for later.
12.) Cook on weekends or when you have time and then freeze some and reheat on a busy work day.
13.) Drink water! When you are dehydrated the body holds on to water by holding on to sodium. This is bad because sodium will cause cardiovascular problems and you are retaining water weight. Drinking water flushes out the sodium and helps reduce the water weight.
14.) Choose vegetables and fruit that are low on the glycemic chart because they have less sugar and you can eat more of them. This will help to stabilize blood sugar and control appetite.
15.) Eat healthy snacks in-between meals to help maintain a stable blood sugar level. Fruit, instant oatmeal, granola bars, etc.
16.) Eating foods high in fiber will help fill you up so you won’t get hungry.
17.) Only weigh once a week on the same day and same time using the same scale.
18.) Your daily food intake should include the following: Eat mostly vegetables, then fruit, then protein, then fat. So using the food pyramid model vegetables are the base, then fruit on top of veggies, then protein. Then fat on the top. Use the glycemic chart and choose those rated low and eat a lot of them.
19.) Drink non-fat milk.
20.) Check the calories for the items and quantities you are eating. Google the item to make sure especially on fast days.
21.) To lose weight faster you can exercise on the days you don’t go to the gym when you use weight resistance machines. Walking, running, situps, pushups, planks, etc. Any and all calisthenics and aerobic activities will burn calories.
22.) No fast food.
23.) We have a small market (Norman Brothers) that has a smoker with cooked turkey, pork, beef brisket, etc. We buy a pound or 2 of turkey and get it sliced. Then just freeze some and put some in the fridge for quick meals.
24.) There is also a Cuban place that has really good cooked chicken breasts (Palacio De Jugos). Same as the smoked turkey we freeze some and put some in the fridge.
25.) The Paleo Diet has many of these recommendations. Specifically the theory is that ancient humans 100,000 years ago were only eating meat and any fruit or plants or eggs that they could hunt and gather. They had no dairy since animals were not domesticated. There was no wheat either. So it suggests eliminating wheat/grain products and dairy. I minimize these items but do not eliminate 100%.
26.) Read labels or Google food items to learn how many calories are in a serving.
27.) A good dessert idea from the South Beach diet is to take some Ricotta cheese and add a zero calorie sweetener. You can also add unsweetened cocoa or flavor it with vanilla or almond extract.
28.) No fried food.
29.) Google food items that are not on the Glycemic chart to find out what their glycemic number is. Avoid high numbers and stick with low or medium items.
30.) Eat protein to build up muscle mass. The best time to eat or drink protein is immediately before, during or immediately after your weight resistance workout. But there are still benefits to eating protein even several hours after a workout.
31.) It is best to work out on a non-fast day so that you can increase your protein calories more easily. Eggs, lean meats (turkey, beef, fish, pork), cheese, non-fat milk. A whey protein powder drink mixed with milk is also a quick easy way to get a lot of protein quickly.
I'm always looking for new recipes that are low calorie, cheap and easy to prepare. I hope this information helps you achieve your weight loss goals. I will be updating this plan as I come across any helpful information.