Weight is such a heavy issue. I've put on about 25 pounds and despite trying to feel my best about my body no matter what, I feel that the best thing that I can do to get my head in order as well as improve my health is to take some weight off. So, that being said, here I go, with this new plan from The Hungry Girl, Lisa Lillian.
I have one of her cookbooks, and while I find the flavors in her recipes to be basic, she has done one thing very well, which is coming up with recipes that are large in portion size while sticking to a low calorie count. Feeling satisfied is a really big challenge for me -- I like larger portions. So, I decided to give her plan a try. While in France, I got her book so that I could prep for when I returned, which is exactly what I did.
After a major shopping trip for fruits, veggies, and some lean protein (and a new scale), I was ready to get started. Yesterday was my first day on the plan, and here are my initial thoughts:
1. Facing the scale sucked.
2. Her portions are indeed large and filling! I took a few pictures of some of the meals that I had yesterday, and was gratified that they were enough to make me feel full. I did, however, notice that I was hungry again after 2-3 hours, but I am a snacker, so perhaps that is my own behavior that needs to change. My salad was so big that I couldn't finish it! I took a picture of the remains, which I saved for a snack later, as per her recommendation.
3. Along with three large meals, three snacks are allowed. Figuring out how to best utilize these snacks is going to be important for me, since I have found that my energy and willpower really lag in the afternoon. My strategy right now is to eat breakfast a bit later in the morning, after I exercise, and then have lunch about three hours later, saving two snacks for the period between lunch and dinner (always too long, but nothing to do about that) and keeping one snack for "dessert" (more about that later).
4. I love following a plan where everything is laid out and I don't have to think about anything. Although the meals are basic, you can control variety by the different seasonings and spices that you use. Since I don't like eating the same thing every day, variety will probably be key to my success as well.
5. For the four weeks that I am following The Hungry Girl diet, I am going to continue my Weight Watcher's membership, although I am going to reduce it to eTools only (I never go to meetings any more and can't seem to find the time to do so). However, I'm tracking my foods and find it quite interesting that yesterday I only ended up using 19 of my 26 alloted points. The Hungry Girl Diet as an aggressive daily calorie intake of 1300 calories per day, and if I find that too difficult, I will add another snack (as she suggests in the book). But for right now, I am sticking with the plan as written.
6. No wine for the first week! :( That's okay. Time to make wine more of a special occasion thing, anyway.
2. Her portions are indeed large and filling! I took a few pictures of some of the meals that I had yesterday, and was gratified that they were enough to make me feel full. I did, however, notice that I was hungry again after 2-3 hours, but I am a snacker, so perhaps that is my own behavior that needs to change. My salad was so big that I couldn't finish it! I took a picture of the remains, which I saved for a snack later, as per her recommendation.
3. Along with three large meals, three snacks are allowed. Figuring out how to best utilize these snacks is going to be important for me, since I have found that my energy and willpower really lag in the afternoon. My strategy right now is to eat breakfast a bit later in the morning, after I exercise, and then have lunch about three hours later, saving two snacks for the period between lunch and dinner (always too long, but nothing to do about that) and keeping one snack for "dessert" (more about that later).
4. I love following a plan where everything is laid out and I don't have to think about anything. Although the meals are basic, you can control variety by the different seasonings and spices that you use. Since I don't like eating the same thing every day, variety will probably be key to my success as well.
5. For the four weeks that I am following The Hungry Girl diet, I am going to continue my Weight Watcher's membership, although I am going to reduce it to eTools only (I never go to meetings any more and can't seem to find the time to do so). However, I'm tracking my foods and find it quite interesting that yesterday I only ended up using 19 of my 26 alloted points. The Hungry Girl Diet as an aggressive daily calorie intake of 1300 calories per day, and if I find that too difficult, I will add another snack (as she suggests in the book). But for right now, I am sticking with the plan as written.
6. No wine for the first week! :( That's okay. Time to make wine more of a special occasion thing, anyway.
