At the end of July, it will be three years since I started down the road to a more fit and healthy lifestyle. While I have made tremendous strides, I am still not quite where I want to be. I've built up muscle and lost a lot of body fat, but am still struggling to lose the love handles and get a flatter stomach. It is much, much harder to lose a few extra pounds now than it was 10 years ago.
This week I decided to adjust my diet again. For the past 9 or 10 months, I've been pretty much following the Body For Life plan (equal parts of protein and carbs at each meal). I did Atkins once, back before I started exercising, and did not lose any weight on it at all. But having run out of ideas, I've decided to try and incorporate some of the better aspects of Atkins and BFL and see where it takes me. I'm hoping it will give my metabolism a badly-needed jump start.
So, here's what I've been doing all week: I've eliminated bread, potatoes and pasta from my diet entirely. This automatically leads to an elimination of butter, since there is nothing to spread it on. I'd been trying to use it sparingly without much success. I've also eliminated peanut butter, which is an all-or-nothing food for me.
So, for breakfast, I've been having 6 egg whites and 3 slices of Canadian bacon (as opposed to 3 egg whites and a whole grain bagel or English muffin).
For lunch, I've been eating a large salad, with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, 1 hard-boiled egg, a bit of cheese and some chicken or turkey. 1 orange for dessert.
Dinner is chicken, turkey, or fish (beef once a week) with a green vegetable and sometimes some applesauce.
Morning and afternoon snacks are a Myoplex Lite shake. Baby carrots to graze on throughout the day when I start to feel empty.
Evening treat (this is a really hungry time for me): Smoothie made of 1/2 cup nonfat yogurt, 1 cup low fat milk, whey powder, and frozen blueberries. strawberries, raspberries, or blackberries.
I am still working out with my trainer three times a week and twice a week on my own - combination of weights and cardio (boxing, running, plyometrics). I'm also signing up for a ominous-sounding class at the gym called "Boot Camp", which probably (hopefully!!
is no worse than the rigorous workouts I'm getting with my trainer.
I'm planning to stick to this regimen for about two months, and I hope I will see some positive results by then. Advice and suggestions are welcome.