The Lifestyle Challenge

OK, so I've been thinking it's time to get serious about getting healthy-then I can be fit and fabulous at 50, right? Now to be honest, I've been on many, MANY diets, but the diets I've had the most success with (able to get to a healthy weight and maintain for several years each time) have been those that had me counting calories, keeping a food diary, and moving. But I want to make this change for life, not just for a few years, so I need more than a diet, I need a lifestyle that I will want to live with for the rest of my healthy and fabulous life, right?

So I started looking at an eating lifestyle that I can live with, meal plans that will satisfy me AND my family...and fit into our crazy schedule when school is in session and no one gets home before 6, but we still try to eat before 7. I've been perusing books, reading articles, catching up with Dr. Oz and Dr. Roizen, and checking out the newspaper where I found two ads that really intrigued me: At NutriSystem, there was an offer to lose 20 pounds in 8 weeks, and another ad from Metabolic Research that suggested one could lose 25 pounds in 5 weeks. I got to thinking, if I considered all of the things I had learned and combined the differnet premises, I could probably do just as well on my own AND save hundreds of dollars on the journey!

+I need to keep my calories between 1200 and 1500 per day.
+I need to exercise at least 40 minutes a day--powerwalking plus some core/weights work.
+I need to plan a menu my family could live with.

Doctors Oz and Roizen suggested that reducing choices is a great way to keep track of calories and to keep on track. So, I came up with three different meal plans for breakfast and for lunch:

Breakfast #1: whole grain toast, jam and 1 cup of 1% milk (170calories/4fibers/13proteins)
Breakfast #2: cereal and 1 cup 1% milk-->Special K, 1 cup (230/1/11)
-->MiniWheats, 24 biscuits (300/5/12)
Breakfast #3: SF Carnation Instant Breakfast w/ 1% milk (170/4/13)

Lunch #1: Fiber 1 Bar (150/9/3) and fruit
Lunch #2: Oatmeal Bar (220/5/4) and fruit
Lunch #3: Subway 6inch (320

So...breakfasts under 300, lunches between 250 and 350. That leaves about 600-800 for the rest of the day--snacks and a sensible supper! Not too bad. My plan is this--to follow this new lifestyle plan for 8 weeks and see if I can lose 20 pounds without paying all the cash required by these other programs! The challenge begins Monday...and it will be a challenge! We have two (semi-structured) weeks before school starts--those will be the hardest! Once school starts, and we get back to a routine, things will get a bit easier. We'll see...