About 2 years ago I weighed in a range from 25 to 30 pounds heavier than I do now. I had tried to lose weight and get back in shape on my own ( I literally did nothing for about 4 years) but it really was not working out too well at all. I had worked out for about 3 months, lost about 5 pounds alone and I was annoyed. I really was not pushing myself, I mean, after 3 months I was barely even running a mile. A MILE! Seriously hard to believe now, but I wasn’t. I could not make it down the street without feeling like death. When I got married I literally weighed the most I had ever weighed in my life and I look at that time now and am like – what the heck Teal? I got a trainer, (you’ve heard about Will before) and we hit the ground running . Well sorta. I started on the elliptical, then Stairmaster, then running for cardio and we focused on the weight training in sessions. Over 2 years I have dropped a lot of my weight, but I really still want 10 more… ok really 15 pounds off. Who doesn’t?! I’m sure tons of us and if you don’t, I quite frankly am jealous!
2009 and 2011
Despite the exercise I have learned that it really doesn’t matter only about the workout side and I don’t mean that in a ‘don’t work out kind of way’. I actually really enjoy it, obviously, and it has so many more benefits to it then weight loss! I run like crazy and am at the gym all the time BUT the weight does not come off unless you eat right – FOR REAL and right MOST of the time. The key too is also being honest! Sometimes I really am not and if I want to get it off honesty is the best policy. This is a difficult task, especially when we are all busy. I am a full time teacher, I have been a full time graduate student for the past three years, and I also work a part time job. I am officially off one day a week and I usually do not get home until way late, sometimes not until 10pm or later on days that start at 5 am. I say all of this because the only way I was able to lose all that weight was because I planned, not only my workouts but my FOOD.
I have given this plan a nick name “Crazy food prep day.” Original, I know… but I really didn’t know what else to call it because it really is nuts. My kitchen on Sundays turns into an assembly line of food prep madness. I think it might even drive my husband nuts, but it works. I have been somewhat of a slacker lately- I blame long runs and my ability to eat what the kids eat at work. GROSS! But I do it, or I shove whatever in a bag and go.
I have been stuck at the weight I am at now for quite some time so I have decided to bring “Crazy food prep day” back from hiding. Plus it is the start of FAT WEEK at work and if the name of next week doesn’t scare you you should just see the mess that comes into work. It’s delicious but eeekkk, definitely will not make this booty any smaller! Fat week cannot win! So I figured with the impending doom of Fat Week and the fact that the marathon is over and I want to focus more on the weight, I figured I would share this with you guys! So here it is.
The menu:
(yep I eat the same thing EVERYDAY) I change it up each week.
Before workout if I go at 5am: Sunrise bar – these are from Costco and they are awesome 130 calories and a 5 year old can read every ingredient!
Breakfast: English muffin, 2 egg whites, 2 slices of turkey bacon, tangerine
Snack: Fage 2% greek yogurt and 2 nature valley granola bars
Lunch: Flat out roll, chicken salad, small spinach salad with Newman’s Own organic dressing
Snack: Apple and string cheese
Dinner: Orzo, veggie, and chicken soup (Tuesday Beth and I have Bunco (yep we are 95) so I’ll skip this soup and eat there- our friend Elizabeth is making homemade Chili and I am not all that concerned with it being crazy unhealthy!)
*If I am hungry late I will eat Jello or blueberries or raspberries*
I log my calories on myapex.com and have for a while so here is a screen shot of basically what this day looks like calorie wise and the protein, fat, carb breakdown. Apparently that is pretty important!
I basically did this entire thing from 7-8pm Sunday night. The total price of all this food $63.72 (not counting the sunshine bars) that’s literally 6 meals a day for 5 days! 12.74 a day! As you can see it is pretty simple stuff and it is easy to prepare.
all the food packed and ready to go!
– Teal
Teal, you look great! Congrats on your weight loss. I agree – preparation is key and eating right is a must to lose weight. I also do assembly line Sundays and it’s a lot of work, but when I do it, the week goes so much more smoothly.
Question: do you heat your English Muffin/egg combo before you eat it? I used to do greek yogurt parfaits for breakfast everyday, every week, but got really tired of it. Lately eggs are my thing. I’ve hardboiled some and bring those to work but your dish looks awesome!
Thanks, April!! =) I pre-cook everything for my egg sandwiches, make them into sandwiches, refrigerate them, in the morning I get up and put the sandwich in the mircrowave for 30 seconds, and voila!
You are so right. Eating is everything when it comes to dropping the lbs. BTW you are not the only one that needs to get back on the horse. Its been way to long for me too.
Yep! Getting back in the routine is super hard but totally worth it in the end!!
Way to go T! Sounds like your head is in the right place! Takes 3 weeks to make a habit, you got this girl! 🙂
Thanks lady!
We do the food assembly line on Sunday at our house. Otherwise, you just grab something on the go during the week and that can derail good eating habits. Sometimes you have to mix it up so that the body doesn’t get routine. Keep it guessing (exercise & diet) and can cause your body to burn more.
Yep and that routine of the same thing gets super boring! Thanks for reading Alex!
It’s amazing what you can get done in sn hour that makes the rest of the week so much easier! Your system sounds great. I wish I had the follow through to do it 🙂
You totally can do this!! I seriously love not having to think about it the rest of the week!
I love crazy food prep day! Meal planning in any form is a helpful tool. Nutrition is 80% of the equation and exercise is 20%. I wish it was the other way around. You look great! I, too, want to drop another 15 lbs. Guess it’s time to jump on the crazy food prep day bandwagon…again! 🙂 Thank you for the inspiration.
Thanks Nicole! Its annoying at first but then super easy! You’ll have to keep me posted- enjoy the rest of your week.
Okay, you are inspiring me to do better with my food intake! I am going to really work on this…and luckily I got sick over two of the fat week days, so my week hasn’t been so fat! 😉