Weeks 1 & 2, Think and Grow Thin

Today it starts! Three months of massive, life-altering change. Or at least that's the plan.

If you're following along with me on this journey, the plan is this: every other week, I will post about the nutrition plan for that period. On Saturdays, which is the day you're allowed a refuel meal, I hope to post a healthy recipe that I made that day (worry not, no tofu-seaweed wraps here.) Progress will be posted monthly, as will any random thoughts along the way. Also, hoping to post any different and new workouts I try, meaning different or new to me. I have Zumba for Kinect and have tried it once so far. It's something to work up to.

Now onto the meal plan!

For breakfast, I'm going with Option 1, which includes a protein shake made with 8oz water, 6 frozen strawberries, 1 scoop whey protein, and flax seed oil. Since it's easier to come by, I will be taking a flax supplement. Rounding out breakfast is 1 1/3 cups dry, lightly sweetened, whole grain cereal (such as Kashi. I like the really crunchy one.)

First snack of the day is one piece of fresh fruit (choices being apple, orange, pear or mango. I'm going with apples.)

Lunch will be Option 2, which consists of a 12" turkey breast sub on whole wheat, double meat, with mustard. It will be hard to give up cheese, but you're allowed to add romaine lettuce, spinach, tomato, onion, sprouts, vinegar and pepper only. I do like adding plain broccoli slaw to a sandwich, for the crunch, but it's not allowed. For a side, you can choose between a 1oz bag of baked potato chips or one banana. I choose chips, as I hate bananas.

Snack 2 will be 6oz nonfat, no-sugar-added yogurt. I'm debating whether or not this will be artificially sweetened yogurt, or some plain Greek with a tablespoon of Polaner All Fruit or Sugar-Free Smucker's stirred in.

Dinner will be Option 1, which is 8-10oz boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast, cooked without added fat or salt, 1 tablespoon nonfat sauce, 2 cups of one or a combo of asparagus, spinach, kale, broccoli or green cabbage (I think broccoli slaw would be great for this), and one cup of brown or long grain wild rice.

Snack 3 can be 1/2 an apple or pear, 1 peach, or 1 clementine (I choose clementines, as long as I can find any, otherwise it'll be apples.)

The only drinks allowed are zero-calorie ones. I'm trying to give up soda, and I drink a lot of teas, and really need to work on my water consumption.

The thought of eating the same meals day in and day out is both appealing and kind of soul-sucking all at once. On my own, not thinking about things, I usually do eat the same old things. But having to do so really makes my "you can't boss me around!!" side come rushing to the surface. It's worth it to try if it means improving my health. I will still be using My Fitness Pal to record my meals and workouts, because having to be accountable for my daily behaviors does seem to help keep me on track, and I've been really good about using it for the last few weeks. Refuel meals are not supposed to be an excuse to abandon all good sense and run for the border. I have a few ideas about what I'd like for those days, so look forward to those (hopefully) every Saturday.

So these are weeks 1 and 2! Fingers crossed that I keep it up and it leads to lasting change. Here I go :)