This is what I ate in December to lose 30 pounds

I'm currently living in South Florida living in motels and sometimes sleeping in my car, so it makes shopping and planning meals a bit difficult. But I manage. And this is what I ate in December to lose nearly 30 pounds. All this food totals around 2,200 calories and is protein-centric, but I don't cut single food type or macro nutrient totally out of my diet. 

As mentioned in a previous post, I eat six meals per day over the course of 12 hours. While this isn't what I eat every day, it's a sample of what I typically at all last month:

1) I have a snack at 7 a.m. to break my fast. This is usually a banana and a yogurt.

2) Just before starting work I have a meal, usually a breakfast sandwich for convenience.

McDonald's breakfast sandwiches are a weakness that works for me

3) Then there's a snack at 11 a.m. This is almost a vegan protein shake. I'm not vegan, but my wellness coach friend Angela put me on to pea protein and while it's gross at first but I convince myself that they taste like health, and that works to trick my brain just fine.

4) My lunch meal at 1 p.m. is usually a hardy bean and vegetable soup with a packet of water-packed tuna or some ritz crackers and a can of sardines in oil

5) My afternoon snack is another protein shake and maybe a couple pistachios or carrots or fruit.

6) Unfortunately, my last meal of the day is almost always some kind of convenience food, capped at 400 calories. Maybe a McChicken sandwich with pickles and mustard instead of mayo or a ham and Swiss croissant at Starbucks. On the weekends when I have more time I'll go to Publix and get a quarter pound of Boar's Head turkey, fresh fruit, another carrot, and a small roll.

These seven simple habits helped me lose 30 pounds in 30 days

Moderation in everything, including moderation! That's my mantra these days. So with that in mind, I skipped the "dieting" and simply made these seven changes in December to lose nearly 30 pounds in 30 days in December.

1. Drinking my coffee black

Cream and sugar are banished! No explanation needed. It's just a smart idea, and we all know it.

2. Drinking more water

Based on my weight I should be drinking five liters of water daily. Well, that's not happening! But I'm up to drinking two 1.5 liter bottles and a cup here and there with meals. It helps flush toxins from my body. I feel the difference.

I like my water cold and my coffee black

3. Eating one plain Greek yogurt daily

It's got protein to help me maintain muscle while losing fat, probiotics for gut health, and a bit of satiating fiber, Plus, I feel better about this mid-morning snack when I skip the added sugar and hidden weird ingredients in yogurts processed with sugar-laden fruits (or "natural" fruit flavors and colors).

4. Fasting for 12 hours per night.

They call this intermittent fasting, and lots of people recommend eating all your food within an eight hour block during the day. Well, I guess that's a good idea. But I do for 12 hours at night because that's what I feel like doing. The key is not to be hard on yourself. So I take a good idea and tweak so I can have some success without suffering.

 5. Making sure I get at least 2,500 steps in

This is not a lot. "They" recommend getting 10,000 steps daily for general health. Well, I'm not there yet. And 2,500 is as good as it gets. For now I do what I can. Besides, it's a heck of a lot more than what I was doing before. Sadly, since the pandemic started and I began working and intermittently sleeping in my car, I had barely been getting 300 steps a day. Yikes, I know. But now I'm getting a mile in over the course of my day. Yay me.

6. Limiting myself to 2,200 calories per day

Lots of diets tell men to reduce their caloric intake to between 1,500 and 1,800 calories per day. Well, that's great for some people. Cutting myself down to 2,200 per day still gets me into a calorie deficit because of my size. And weight loss is as simple as that - burn more calories from your system than you put in. So there.

7. Eat six times per day.

Spreading out my calories  throughout the day keeps me satiated enough before "feedings". As I mentioned, I fast 12 hours, and I eat during the other 12 hours. Twelve divided by six is 2, so I eat every two hours between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. 

Maintaining a healthy diet on the road is tough but not impossible

 What do you do when you're on the road and are trying to be healthy without having access to a kitchen to prepare healthy foods? You either pay an arm and a leg at restaurants to get the healthy options, since only to bad-for-you choices are actually affordable. Or you live off of convenience foods, downing protein drinks and eating the available healthy choices, like bananas, yogurt, and hard-boiled eggs. 

Lately I've had to rely on eating out for several meals per week. I've tried to do it in as healthy way as possible, but I'm longing to have my own home and kitchen again, so I can get back to the business of getting my health back on track.

My main objective when I eat out is to get as much access to a variety of vegetables, both raw and cooked, as possible. It's tough. I like diners, and sometimes they really overcharge for the healthier options, which aren't really that thought out to be "healthy" but rather have an air of healthiness. 

Still, I'm doing the best I can. I feel I'm making good choices, and in fact my body tells me when I am and when I'm not, so via self regulation I maintain a decent diet. I am sure I can make it through the next few weeks without absolutely going off the rails.