They Fit!

Yep, that's right! They fit! I had my own little Progresso commercial moment - you know, the one where the ladies call in saying "It fits!"? I definitely pulled out my favorite pair of size 10 jeans, and they fit! (They were actually a little short in the length, but the waist and thighs fit great!) Of course, I had to do a little happy dance this morning! I just have to stay on track, especially after my little "cheat" day this weekend.

As promised, I've got quite a few yummy links for today. First, we'll start with Diet Mistakes That Make You Fat. Luckily for me, these are mistakes that I'm trying to fix (I actually prefer my fruit without dip, just gotta work on the veggies), and they didn't include the mistakes I've been making. *cough*cheatdays*cough* I will say that on cheat days I make sure to keep my intake for the rest of the day at a minimum, even though I'm pretty sure that's not the best way to do it. (For example, on Fat Tuesday I plan on eating two paczki, and then eat nothing else for two days. HA!)

Down to business. I mentioned yesterday that I had found a site with details about a 1,500 calorie diet, and here it is: What Does a 1,500 Calorie Diet Look Like? This isn't a very long article, but it's easy to understand, and it gives you a simple formula to figure out how many calories you need to sustain your weight and how many you should cut to begin losing weight. For me, I should consume roughly 2,100 calories per day to sustain my current weight. To lose a healthy 1 pound per week, I'd need to cut at least 500 calories out every day, so that I'm eating roughly the amount pictured in the link. I could theoretically cut myself down to the minimum 1,200 calories per day, but that seems a little extreme. I'd rather feel full and spend some time working off those extra calories because it'll help build my stamina and strength. (The next step in this process is actually figuring out how many calories are actually in the foods I eat, which is something I hope to discover within the next week.)

One of the neat things about the link above is that it also links to some pretty cool recipes/ideas for 3 meals and a snack. I picked out some of my favorites (meaning ones I'd like to try), and I'm interested in trying a few others considering there's a number of ingredients I've never used before (let alone even tasted!). Once I figure out how many calories are in my favorite foods, I can probably work on some substitutions to the recipes (Iron Chef those bad boys!) and make them more to my tastes.

So here's what I picked for my 1,500 calorie day:
Breakfast: Multi-Grain Waffles or Healthy Pancakes
Lunch: Turkey Pastrami Sandwich (minus the sauerkraut, maybe add homemade cole slaw instead??)
Snack: Quick Kebabs or Crunchy Cereal Trail Mix (paying close attention to portion size, modified for personal taste)
Dinner: Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Grape Sauce (you can choose 2 sides with this, 1 starch and 1 vegetable - follow the link from the 1,500 Calorie page for options)

This, to me, sounds delicious. I can only image how clean I would feel after eating like this for a day. And just think about how full you'd be if you drank lots of water during the day. Think about the fiber and protein! It would fill you up!

Seeing some of these facts finally come together is another huge step in the right direction, and it has refueled my desire to try new foods and start cooking more. If you've got any good recipes, please share! And if you happened to design your own 1,500 calorie day, I'd like to hear that too! Maybe you picked something I overlooked that would be worth trying!

For now, it's time to enjoy sweet, sweet dreams about that size 8, the next step down!