Fasting Fam, last week was a terrible week of eating. Tomorrow I leave for the beach and when I get back I plan on jumping back on some sort of healthier eating bandwagon. I remember when I lost weight before it was when I was working out intensely for 5+ hours per week and also planning my meals. I’ve done it before and can do it again! I want to be healthy and in my prime when I retire at 62. I’m 58 now.

What it boils down to is you gotta be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. The YouTubers I admire lost over 130 lbs and have kept it off for 11 years by just eating high protein in a calorie deficit, any kind of food goes they just come up with creative swaps for their favorite foods and make them low cal / high protein. They are on a budget and shop at Walmart and Costco and are relatable that way. They walk 6 days a week or do some kind of machine cardio when then can’t get outside (they live in snowy Ontario, Canada), and then they lift 3x a week.

It’s challenging fitting in alcohol calories, and there is much wisdom in not drinking your calories when dieting. It’s also just so bad for you but luxurious marketing glamorizes it. These YouTubers don’t drink..

I decided to join their members only channel because I’ve watched all of their videos over the years and can never get enough of them!

I share the same emotional eating struggles that they did have / do have, so these are truly my people. I’m also on a budget and like recipes that are quick and simple.

What I lack and need to improve on is consistency with diet and exercise. I used to be so much better about regular exercise and need to rekindle some sparks that made me fall in love with fitness to begin with like kickboxing and kettlebells, balancing that out with yoga of all kinds and Nia, a spiritual mind/body dance format that I cherish and stream. Lately I’ve become quite fond of rowing and rebounding, too. I just need to set aside time to do cardio, lifting, dance, and yoga on a regular basis. I do some of these things with my workout partner 3x a week, for which I am grateful.

A challenge for me is eating the same thing every day to see whether that # of calories works or not. I am a variety whore, but it’s also nice not having to think about it, just grab and go with meals that were prepped ahead of time and all calories and macros accounted for by portion control.

I will probably eat in this order:

coffee with half & half and zero calorie sweetener
eggs/whites/ham/cheese scramble on a bed of raw spinach
chicken salad
oats (at around 3:00 to go with tea)
vegetable soup with tofu

I would like to get 10K steps in M-F.