Calorie Counting and Lifestyle Change Plan Beginning January 1st 2022

Over the last month I’ve been working on my new Lifestyle Change Plan that I’ll be starting on January 1st and I’m going to be very open about what’s going on with my weight and my plan here. 

To start with I want to make clear that my plan is for me, not for anyone else. I’m not recommending this to anyone who reads this or follows me or suggesting it to anyone out there. This is for me to be done by me and is built specifically for my issues, problems and tastes. My weight loss journey is just that... mine.

As I’ve learned the hard way, binge eating disorder can get better and then very quickly get back out of hand again. At this point my eating is completely out of control and I’ve gained back almost 12 lbs since October. I’m hoping to keep it close to this until the New Year but I’m struggling daily so I don’t know what will happen. I do plan to count calories on all days between now and New Years except for Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve so hopefully it won't get much worse.

So, the plan… as you can see from the graphic I’ve gone back to LoseIt for calorie tracking (I find it fits me better than MyFitnessPal does) and I’ve been reading and rereading My 600 LB Life’s Dr. Nowzaradan’s book “The Scale Does Not Lie, People Do.” This book is exactly what I needed to read at this time. The information in it is not anything new to me but reading the book made it feel like he was speaking directly to me and wow, did I need to hear it, both as someone struggling with food and binging and as someone with a food addiction.

I will be mostly following the plan in the book with several exceptions. I will be doing moderate carb instead of low carb because going too low carb messes with my sodium levels and makes me sick so I need to watch how low I go. I will also not be doing low-fat because after all the research I’ve done over the years, I don’t believe that fat is necessarily bad for me. My calorie range will be 1200-1225 calories a day with a focus on real food, protein, veggies and fruit, 3 meals a day with no snacking and at least 2 servings of fruits/veggies a day (I know I need more but I'm starting out slow).

No "cheat foods" will be allowed and I have a long list of foods that are on the “no” list that are being fully removed until I can handle them again, if ever. I know that for me and for my success I have to start out very strict and on plan and I have to cut out certain foods or else I won’t be able to stick with it. The foods I'm removing are not anything healthy, more like pastries, ice cream, desserts, candy, chips, takeout, etc. Healthy food is staying in the plan with a much greater focus on whole foods and vegetables.

I’ll be tracking calories but I will also keep an eye on carbs, protein, fat, sugar and sodium. Especially sugar. I have a lot of risk factors for Type II Diabetes and I’d really like to avoid it if I can. 

There will be no cheat days or “off plan” days at all but I will allow some off-plan meals on special occasions, once again, when I can handle them without slipping back into binging. Even on the off-plan special occasion meals I will do my best to keep those healthy.

As I do every year I’ll be using an amazing yearly tracker from @inthisbodyilive and will be weighing in weekly and taking my measurements monthly. I think I'll go back to earning a tank top every 4 weeks but I have so many now that I might pick another "reward." It just can't be food in any form.

I absolutely want to add in exercise at some point but right now my back and hip are getting worse by the day to the point where physical therapy is on hold and I'm being sent back to my doctor until the acute pain and inflammation die down so all of that is on hold for now. It will all come down to my nutrition. And I know that the extra weight is seriously affecting my back and hip so I need to get that weight off asap and keep losing before it gets even worse. I’m also not getting any younger and my health and weight need to become a priority in my life. 
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So there it is. I’d like to say that 2022 will be my year but I say that every year so all I can do is work as hard as I can and see what happens.