What I've Learned

Over the last two to three months I have been doing some research about weightloss since I am really trying to get the mindset of doing this cause I really need to come down....

Cause just over the last few weeks I've been really tired. Some nights it was because I went to bed late and didn't get much sleep and also I am trying to get my prayer life back on track...and other nights I'll go to bed at a decent time but when I get to work I am still tired like I just have no engery at all. I don't drink coffee or take caffine pills because somehow caffine make me really sick in my stomach even when I do eat something so I stay away from it. It's bad enough it seems as if I'm nasueous every day I don't wanna make it worse. My body is just not where it needs to be. I've done good staying away from energy drinks cause I hear they give you a sugar crash....

I gotta get my health back in order cause this is effecting so much in my life....

Over the past few months I've been watching Youtube Videos, and reading blogs and articles on weightloss and eating right and this is what I learned from reading them all.

1. Portion control is very essential ( This is a major issue because I have been praticing by using smaller plates and trying to pay attention to when I get full and not overstuff myself)

2. Drinking water (this has been a lifelong struggle....I think that I that the most calories I have been consuming is in what I am drinking cause I like flavor in my drinks so this is like the main thing that I have to beat)
3. If you burn more calories than you consume then you will lose weight.....if you burn the same amount of calories you consuming then you will maintain...but if you are consuming more calories than your burning then you'll gain weight.

4. Good Carbs such as darker foods like green leafy veggies, whole grain bread and pasta, and brown rice

5. Stay away from cookies(ouch so hard I love cookies) Cakes (my pastors cakes are so yummy ughh) candies ( this won't be too hard being that I don't eat a whole lot of candy like that)
6. Starting slow and making it a habit is easier to stick with than just going cold turkey
7. I got this from MAKEUP GEEK on youtube...do what you like when it comes to weight loss cause if you don't like it you won't stick with it
8. Cardio and weight training I have heard to be a big thing with exercise and to also do for at least 45 mins to an hour
9. Switching up the workouts with keep your body steadily working so that it doesn't get used to the routine...and also avoiding a major plateau
10. The heavier you are the more you lose at first because you body requires more effort and calories to workout (I think I got that right....I think it was said over 250lbs....I'm 253 so maybe I'm in that category idk)
11. How could I forget this...this should have been at the top..eat 5-6 small meals day. Like breakfast, snack, lunch snack, dinner and maybe water. (I heard from Passion Jones on youtube the her father told her to drink water after dinner and she wouldn't be hungry)

As far as what I eat....I am gonna start with eating the right things and eliminating the foods that aren't good for me before I start counting calories because I am still a little confused about it. So right now I wanna learn how to eat right and have it work with my lifestyle.

I have been eating breakfast somewhat not everyday which is what I am trying to do....i may eat some cereal or yogurt or maybe something from burger king or Hardees ( i think I need to cut out the starches and the sugar though) The yogurt is good but I think I need to add more fruit and fiber to my breakfast.

For lunch if I don't bring something from home like leftovers....I may eat a sub on "white" bread and fries (trying to cut out on the salt i. e. my blood pressure) or maybe a salad....so I do need to eat more veggies and fruit. I will be checking blogs and a few youtube vids on how I can eat good lunches

For dinner if my mother in law or my husband doesn't cook we'll go out to eat my last stop has been either Chinese or Wendy's (I love their Asiago Ranch Homestyle Chicken Sandwiches) so I can't completely cut out fast yet cause I have to get in the habit of learning how to cook better....so I will try to pick better choices.....

my snack I love cookies that's my weakness especially warm, fresh, and soft sugar cookies OMG.....

I mainly eat grandma cookies that you get out of the store the peanut butter is my favorite and they have to be soft not stale.....yuck. So I was thinking about an alternative for these cause honestly...I can eat two of these a day.....a day not a week...a day. These come with two cookies and for course you aren't just gonna eat one lol at least i don't. These cookies are 200 calories per cookie, 10grams of fat and 24 grams of carbs. Yeah and I said I eat at least two of these a day. So I was thinking about swapping these and substituting for Fig Newtons its about 90-100 calories and has no fat and some fiber lol...

As far as drinks which is my other weakness I love sweet drinks like tropicana juices and the tropicana twisters....I know for one it's high in sugar and I know that twister alone is 300 calories. So I plan to start with ligher juices with lower calories and low sugar. I do plan to lol be on water drinking schedule and try to start drinking more water than juice....As far a sodas I really don't drink that much soda anymore like I used too only when there's nothing left so I goal is to keep away from sodas and slowly wean myself off juice to drink more and more water.

As far as snacks I am starting to like special K bars...the strawberry and the vanilla are good and I will start tasting the fiber one bars.

As far as exercising I used to love aerobics...Denise Austin was my favorite. I think when I was 16 or 17 I used to workout twice a day and I lost the weight quickly but I gained it back when I stopped because I still wasn't eating right. I was drinking the Slim Fast shakes as a replacement meal but I was still eating what ever i wanted and was eating late at night. I have gotten better at that but I can't say that I can just stop at 6 or 7 because I get off at work at 5 and the lastest I get home is at 6. So I was thinking that maybe I will do a cut off time when me eating very heavy and eating like lighter foods like salad and fruit or something. I also like walking...cause it's any easy thing to do. All you need is some music and you're good to go.
So My next post will be like a exerising plan and I shopping list for foods. My goal for next year is to strat going to the grocery store and stay away from fast foods unless I have nothing at home and with that I will order a salad or something....