Your Sustainable Weight Loss Journey - Part 4
- Jun 28
- 6 min read
This is the fourth post in my Sensible & Sustainable Weight Loss Series. I’m doing this series to help you lose weight in a healthy way, build a lifestyle that keeps weight off, and enjoy your life throughout the whole process and beyond.
Watch Me Discuss It
If you missed the first three blog posts, I recommend going back and reading them before moving forward with this one. Also, no matter how slow and gentle we make the weight-loss journey, it won't be for everyone. Please take a moment to read the disclaimer below.
Disclaimer
If you have a history of disordered eating, tread carefully. Work with a therapist trained in disordered eating before even considering a weight-loss journey.
Discuss potential lifestyle changes with your doctor. Changes to eating patterns and exercise routines are healthy for most people, but you must keep in mind any risk factors or underlying health issues when making lifestyle changes, even healthy ones.
The changes I suggest are considered healthy and beneficial by most standards. The suggestions I make have worked well for me and for people I know. These are common concepts used among successful nutrition and wellness coaches. But you know you best. Don't do anything that doesn't feel right to you.
You Are Here
If you've been following along, you've come a long way already.
You practiced tracking calories before making any changes to your eating habits.
You reality-checked your activity levels and maybe added more walking to your day.
You captured some starting data by weighing yourself every day and maybe taking pictures and measurements.
You calculated your TDEE and spent some time eating at maintenance.
You made a small adjustment to your daily calorie budget so that you are in a small calorie deficit (200-300 below daily maintenance).
You are focusing on protein and fiber-rich meals
You are including foods you love in your meal plans.
You are getting a variety of exercise, including walking, resistance training, and stretching.
What Issues Are Popping Up?
Below are a few issues that are likely to pop up for you, along with how I handle them. If you have other ideas, I would love to hear about them in the comments.
There is a day of the week when you have trouble sticking to your calorie budget. For me, it's Thursdays. Every week, we have friends over for snacks and wine. I do my best to plan what snacks I'm going to eat, and I budget in a few glasses of wine, but it never fails that I still go over budget. What do I do? Well, I always log what I eat and drink. And I must say, even when I feel like I really overdid it, the reality is that I typically only ate at maintenance level, which isn't horrible! Sometimes I choose to shave 100 off my budget for the next couple of days, but often I just accept that I'm eating at maintenance 1 day a week instead of in a deficit. Spoiler, I still lose weight, perhaps just a tad bit slower.
You struggle to stick to a reasonable serving size of your favorite foods. I have a story that has stuck in my mind for over 20 years. I don't know why. A friend of mine once shared a story with me about her sister struggling with her diet because of pizza. It was her favorite food, and every week her family would have pizza night, and she would totally overeat, then feel horrible and give up. Also, the place she worked would often order pizza for lunch, and the same thing would happen there. Every time she overate, she felt like she completely undid all of her progress, and she would then give up on herself. And then one day she realized that a piece of pizza with a side salad was actually a pretty balanced meal. So instead of binging on pizza once or twice a week, she chose to eat 1 slice of pizza with a salad every day for lunch. She realized she could eat her favorite food EVERY day!!! That was all she needed to do to reframe it in her head. Then pizza night wasn't such a big deal; she could eat 1 piece with a salad for lunch, and maybe have another for dinner on pizza night. Remember, you can eat anything you want, just not all of it!!
You created a meal plan that seemed sensible, but after eating a meal, you go to log it in your tracker and realize the calorie count is significantly higher than you thought! I never eat before I log. In fact, I often log a meal hours before I eat it. I use my log to plan exactly what I'm going to eat. Sometimes I log as I prepare the meal. Never let yourself be surprised by the calories in something you've already ingested!
You struggle to eat 3 meals and a snack within a calorie deficit. When I eat, I like to feel full. I don't understand people who say they eat just until they aren't hungry anymore. What? Personally, I'd rather skip a meal than eat a small meal that leaves me unfulfilled. I find Intermittent Fasting (IF) to be a big help for this. IF gets a lot of attention, both positive and negative. There is nothing magical about IF. There are no eating schedules that can trump too many calories. However, IF can help you stay in a calorie deficit by eliminating an entire meal from your day. Is this for everyone? Absolutely NOT. If you are someone who wakes up hungry, this likely is not for you. If you have issues with blood glucose stability, this is likely not for you. But, if like me, you wake up most days not feeling very hungry, maybe you want to give it a try. In my house, we eat brunch around 11:00-noon, I have a decent snack around 3:00, dinner around 6:00, and a small treat in front of the TV around 7:00 or 8:00. This means we eat 2 meals, a snack, and a sweet treat (sometimes with a glass of wine) on most days.
You can't meet your protein and fiber goals while in a calorie deficit. First of all, you might need to rethink your goals while in a calorie deficit. I have a goal of 75g of protein and 25g of fiber every day. I often come up short. However, do the best you can by focusing your meals and snacks around protein and fiber. Meals usually come easier than snacks, so here are a few of my favorite snacks. All of them contain some protein and/or fiber.
air-popped popcorn and a serving of cheese
raw veggies and hummus
greek yogurt with raspberries and granola
raisin bran with skim milk
cottage cheese and a piece of fruit
whole wheat crackers and tuna fish
a protein bar (THESE are my favorite!), but I also like THESE and sometimes THESE.
oatmeal with blueberries
boiled eggs
cocoa-covered almonds (I eat these almost every night!)
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You repeatedly reach for convenience food rather than the healthier option you had planned. You may have planned the healthier options, but did you prepare them? We often turn to convenience foods when we don't have the energy to cook for ourselves. I try to plan my meals and snacks for the week and then also do as much prep as possible so the healthy options are super convenient.
You struggle to come up with meal plans. You don't need to reinvent the wheel every week. Come up with 2 or 3 options for breakfast and lunch, and just rotate through them. When it comes to dinners, plan 2 or 3 weeks of meals and just repeat them over and over. Be sure to include your favorite foods. Trust me, you can eat really delicious food while in a calorie deficit. You can also turn to Google for simple meal ideas or, if you are so inclined, ask ChatGPT. I'm not a fan of AI in general, but I did play with this recently, and it worked pretty well. Come up with a list of several foods you like and that you find easy to prepare. Ask ChatGPT to provide a 5- or 10-day meal plan that includes those foods, prioritizes protein and fiber, and keeps daily calories under your budget. You don't have to follow the suggestions exactly, but it might give you the inspiration you need.
That's It For Now
Take care of yourself, eat mindfully, and keep at it until I see you again in the next blog post.
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