I'm losing weight like it's my job right now. I have not been a small, or fit, person in about six years. Definitely sine before college. Either way, right now, I have a goal of dropping 40 pounds. I've already made significant progress that I'm very proud of, but it's not been an easy journey. Charles can attest to the fafct that some days I'm frustrated, and the scale isn't moving the way I want. Still, I want to share some of the things that have helped me on my journey. So, here's a typical day of food.

A few things -- I use the CICO method. Calories in, calories out. More calories expended than you eat. Based on this, and my activity level, I usually eat about 1300 calories every day. I try to have them be primarily proteins and fats instead of carbs. I also do not deprive myself of the things that I like to eat, as you'll see here. This also means that I count calories religiously. I use the myfitnesspal app and weigh all of my food. When I was first starting out, this seemed crazy and extreme, but it works for me. I see real, consistent results and it keeps me accountable. I also log the bad days where I go over my allotted calories, and I log everything.  Like I said, accountability. I also usually load all of my foods for the day in there in advance. I find that I'm less likely to go over my budget when I havea plan for my day instead of going on the fly. 

This is my actual Tuesday (yesterday, now). Tuesdays are hard because we typically go to the pub for trivia night. This is an alcoholic beverage-drinking occasion. I'm not a big drinker, but I do like to have a couple on a social occasion, and this is typically that moment for me each week.

Breakfast

I work at 7:30, so breakfast is typically something that I eat in my car on my ten minute commute, plus a few things that I snack on throughout the morning. Today that is a banana and two string cheeses that I'll nibble on throughout the next three hours. 

Lunch

At 11:30, it's time for lunch. I bring my lunch from home every day (saving money!) and it also gives me a lot of control over how many calories my lunch takes up. I like to keep it very low so that I have a lot of room for a big dinner with Charles when I get home. Today I have 100 grams of mixed vegetables and a few ounces of leftover roast chicken. You can see that my primary weight loss strategy is to cut out processed carbs.

Dinner

I get home from work around 4:15 and usually start on dinner so that it's on the table when Charles gets home at 5:15. Tonight we're having green beans with chicken and bacon. I get a lot of my recipes from Skinny Taste because it does a really good job of breaking down the nutritional value as well as using mostly whole foods. I don't really like to use a lot of fillers or artificial sweetners, and it's the best. I don't usually eat pork, but this is delicious and it's been forever since I had bacon last. I always make extra so that we can eat leftovers for lunch the next day.

Snacks

At 6:30, we go out to the pub with our trivia team. I usually do two drinks. The first is my favorite craft beer that they have on tap. The second is a cocktail, like a gin and tonic or a lemon drop. I love beer, but clear alcohols have fewer calories. I compromise by having one of each. Charles or our friends will also usually order an appetizer or a dessert and I'll have some. That usually is an extra 150-200 calories that I'll leave free at the end of the day. If we don't get anything, I'll have a snack when we get home at 9 like an apple. And then I'll come home tipsy and sleepy and ready to do it again. 

Let me know what a normal day looks like for you! 

Disclaimer: This is my personal experience. It does not constitute medical advice. Speak to a doctor before drastically changing your diet or starting a weightloss plan.