Diet Plan

     Diet would be the biggest challenge for me because I love food and I love to eat it! My bucket list was full of eating conquests such as a 72oz steak dinners, deep dish Chicago style pizza, Chicago dogs, and the list goes on. What I realized was that my bucket list was going to make me "kick the bucket". Diet, just like exercise was going to be a mind over matter experience.

 At One Time I'd Eat It All

     Portion Control
     During the first thirty days weight loss was slow (expect this and don't get discouraged) it was shortly after this period that I was told, "Weight loss has more to do with what goes it than what goes out." (referring to exercises). In other words, eating a whole coconut cream pie and walking for 60 minutes that day is not going to cut it. I found an application for my phone, My Fitness Pal, that helped me control portions and track my caloric intake along with my exercise. The thing about this application that helped me most was that after logging my food and exercise for the day it would give an estimate of what my weight would be in five weeks if every day was like the day I just entered.This application also help with carb counts.

     Eat Original
     Choose foods that are as close to their original state as possible. This rule will help eliminate preservatives and other additives from your diet. An example would be to eat raw broccoli instead of frozen broccoli with cheese sauce in the freezer section.Or eat a raw apple instead of applesauce. The closer to the tree the better it will be.

     Super Foods
     Include these foods in your diet often: Salmon, Kale, Strawberry, Blueberry, Tomato, Cucumber, Steel Cut Oats, Beans, Avocado, Green Tea, Spinach, Almonds, Broccoli, and Eggs. There are more foods that are considered "Super" and an Internet search for a reliable source can give you more ideas. Here is what a sample breakfast would look like for me.

Breakfast

1/4 cup steel cut oats (uncooked)

teaspoon local honey

cinnamon

2 poached eggs

1/2 cup strawberries & blueberries

Morning Star Spicy Black Bean Burger

     You Will Mess Up

     You will mess up and its ok! I truly believe that the biggest factor to success in this area is to realize that you will not feel like being true to your diet sometimes. Matter of fact you should schedule some "reward" days to enjoy your favorites. If you find that you missed a few days just set your mind to starting over without any guilt.