How'd she do that?

Here are the rules I've been following to lose weight. These are NOT a diet.. they are my life and they work! ;o) I occasionally send this to friends so if it seems worded funny, that would be why! Most of the time.. people don't want to listen.. or think they have it all figured out. Either way, I thought the only way to level the playing field for you poor souls who have accepted the challenge is to SHOW YOU WHAT I'M DOING!!
#1- Drink 16 ozs of water first thing in the morning.. before ANYTHING else!
#2- Eat breakfast within 30 minutes of waking up.. STICK TO unprocessed carbs (like oatmeal, WHOLE GRAINS, and combine it with a protein... egg whites are fantastic.. low in calories.. high in protein. ALSO drink 8 ozs of water with your breakfast.
#3- Eat 2-3 hours after breakfast. Same rules apply. Always combine a protein with your carbs so a snack could be an apple with [natural] peanut butter... I know there are calories in peanut butter but it's a great snack and it's actually good for you!!
#4- Lunch!!! WHOLE GRAINS!! NO LUNCH MEAT!! A chicken salad is great for lunch. Try it with balsamic vinegar dressing or splurge and do "light" sour cream. Fewer calories then dressing and it makes me feel like I'm eating Mexican food... which I LOVE!! PS WATER!!!!!
#5- Afternoon snack! This is a good time to do some sort of protein shake.. with 15 [unsalted as raw as you can get] almonds.

#6- Dinner! For the most part you can eat what your family is eating. AVOID overindulging at dinner... your goal is to eat 200-300 calories every meal so portion sizes are uber important. ALSO.. stick to WHOLE GRAINS!! If you are doing rice.. make sure it's brown.. tortillas and pastas should be whole grain... you can also substitute most noodles with squash! LOVE IT! WATER!!
#7 - DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!! AND a decent amount of protein as well... at least 60-80 grams!! ALSO... if you can AVOID processed carbs altogether you will be doing yourself a huge favor! I.E. NO SUGAR... and honestly, if you want to do breads, tortillas, pastas, your best option is to MAKE THEM YOURSELF. A great bread alternative is Ezekiel bread which can be found in the refrigerated section of any whole foods store.

#8 - Substitute meats for a LEAN option... ground anything should be turkey... Beef should be lean cuts... so no ribeyes, forget about breakfast meats... turkey is a better option but ALL breakfast meats are just a collage of preservatives, FAT and sodium... both are horrible for you.. (The day I gave up turkey bacon was a little traumatic... but I'm over it now!)

This is what I will be doing. This is what helped me lose those last 20 lbs. This is a way of life I am happy to live! :o)

On that note: I was IMing Amanda the other day and we were talking about the "one bite won't hurt" theory. I also noticed a few people who call me obsessive. ;o) Amanda has also noticed this. HERE'S THE DEAL... I'm not going to tell you one bite won't hurt because I KNOW that one bite can change everything. It's not just that one bite tends to lead to ten.. but one bite changes your focus. It changes the way you think about you.

It takes you one bite FURTHER AWAY FROM YOUR GOAL!

If you were a recovering alcholic I would NOT tell you that one drink won't hurt. I don't think that any of us are much different than this. We are addicted to putting crap in our bodies that is BAD FOR OUR BODIES!! We need to overcome this addiction. We need to stop feeding our addiction (literally). Sure you might relapse. But you need to learn from that moment and get back on the wagon. So.. if you really want to kick ass, you've got to change your focus. Stop feeding your addiction. Stop being a slave to your body. Take control! You are the only person standing in your way.