How I Lost the Weight!

Hey everyone, so I get a lot of questions about how exactly I lost the weight and I wanted to make an easy page you could all come back to! Here’s what I did and still do!

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NUTRITION

To see exactly what I eat add my on My Fitness Pal! “kateinprogress”

~ 1250-1350 calories (it’s impossible to measure every calorie, I log this amount knowing I’m probably having closer to 1400, it’s important to give yourself wiggle room for the unexpected chocolate chip or milk-in-tea that come up every day! :) )

~ 20-30g fat

~ 170-200 carbs

~ 70+g protein

~ Vegetarian! I eat a TON of lean dairy like skim milk, egg whites, low fat cheese, 2% cottage cheese and light & fit yogurts.

~ I eat 5 meals a day: breakfast, lunch, afternoon, dinner, dessert. I space them every 3 hours so I never have to go hungry! Each meal (except dessert which is under 150) is 250-350 calories.

~ LOTS of water and tea! I try for 10+ cups per day.

~ I cook as often as I can, I find cooking inspiring love creating new recipes.

~ I take one day a week to prep my meals for the week. I make 2 big dinner dishes and portion them into individual serving tupperwares so I can grab and go through the week! I also chop any veggies I’ll need.

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EXERCISE

~ I’m realistic about the exercise I’ll be able to do. I have a really crazy busy schedule at school and I know I won’t be able to do an hour a day of exercise so I don’t ask myself to do that. By setting realistic goals I can meet it really helps me feel good about meeting+ exceeding my goal; it sets me up for success.

~ I power walk! I started at 3.5 mph and am now up to 4.3! Walking is great because it burns over 400 cals per hour, tones your legs and core, and is something everyone can start easily! With all my knee problems it was really the only cardio I could physically do consistently and it works!

~ I try to do 20-45 minutes of exercise 5 days a week. I walk, I jog in place in my dorm room, or I do one of the plans on my “At Home Exercise Plans” page. You don’t have to spend a ton of money or time to be in shape, you just have to find what you can consistantly do.

~ I work strength training into my daily life. I do squats constantly whenever I pick things up, and do sets of 5 pull/chin ups every time I stop at my room. I try to do mini-sets of push ups and planks at least 2-3 times a day too. The key to my fitness is just incorporating it into what I already do so it doesn’t feel like a lot of work.

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ATTITUDE

~ I think staying positive is incredibly important. This is never an easy journey, trust me, no one gets healthy and fit without pushing through struggles. Even when it gets most difficult you need to have faith that you’re making the right choices and your body will work it out given time.

~ Don’t rely completely on the scale. I focus on my measurements and body fat percentage to get an accurate assessment of how far I’ve come. Those measurements take muscle and water into consideration making them more accurate and consistent.

~ Give yourself time! There is NO deadline on being healthy, truly, you have your entire life to enjoy being fit/ slim/ whatever your goal is so give your body the time it needs to get there. When you take away time constraints it makes the whole process less stressful because you’re not fighting against anything!

~ Forgive yourself! If you eat something you shouldn’t or miss a workout (because we all do from time to time) DO NOT try to “make up for it” with extra workouts or eating less the next day. The absolute best thing you can do is think about it for a few minutes, figure out what went wrong and move on. Being kind to yourself and rewarding how well you’ve done really will help you keep going.

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I hope all this was helpful for everyone! If you have any questions at all let me know! :)