Weekly Update (Weigh-in, Meal Plan, & Other Goals)

My Weekly Weigh-in

Let’s jump right in, and then I’ll share my thoughts.

• Starting weight: 161
• Current weight: 160 
• Goal weight is 145

This week I lost a pound. Nothing groundbreaking, but it’s something. My goal is to lose between 1-2 pounds a week, and I’m not looking to crash diet. Like before, I want to keep it slow, steady, and sustainable.

I still feel like I’m still getting back into habits. I did much better this week than I have been doing, but I can still do better.

Also, I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m 47, and my body is different from when I first started this journey 11 years ago. 

I’m in the middle of perimenopause, and sometimes my hormones make it a struggle. 

• I get so tired but then can’t sleep.
• I feel like I look at food and gain10 pounds.
• All of my weight goes to my stomach and stays there.
• I also get headaches and cramps.

Honestly, it sucks. But it’s a season of life I need to get through.

I find that smoothies, mason jar salads, and adding lots of veggies to my other meals give me energy and focus. I also take a daily vitamin and drink lots of water. And I always feel so much better after a solid workout. So, I need to keep moving forward.

The key is to be consistent week after week. Which we all know, right?

Goals for the Week

• Continue to track all of my meals and snacks. Last week wasn’t consistent with tracking. Even though I feel like I ate less, it’s hard to know because I didn’t keep up with it. This week, I’m going to focus on tracking. To help out, I set a couple of reminders on my phone to remind to track my meals. 
• Stop eating at 6:00 pm. I stuck to this habit 4 out of the seven days. But, when I did eat, later on, I kept it low carb and healthy. For example, I had a ham and cheese roll-up. This satisfied my hunger and kept me full. Although, now that I think about it, I did eat a couple of Hershey nuggets two nights this week. Ha! See what happens when I write these posts! I stay accountable. Anyway, this week I will stay very mindful of not eating past 6 Sunday through Friday. Maybe I’ll give myself a break on Saturday.
• Drink a smoothie and eat a mason jar salad every day. This is an easy habit for me to stick with. I love smoothies and mason jar salads, and it’s a great way to get in a ton of fruits and veggies and have a portion-controlled meal. So, this week I’ll keep going with this goal.
• Exercise 5 days a week. Last week I got in 5 days! Yay! Cardio and toning. I felt great because I exercised, but I felt so proud of myself. 
• Drink 64 ounces of water. I did great with this last week; I kept a water bottle and just drank from it throughout the day. When it was empty, I’d fill it up. I plan to keep this goal for this week.
• Continue to work on my summer work schedule. I took a lot of time to plan out emails and social media this week, and I still have a lot to work on, so I will keep this a goal for this week.

A quick tip. Power up workouts when you can. For example, I have more time constraints during the week, and I can still get in a workout, but it’s hard for me to do any extra. I have more flexibility on Saturday and Sunday, so I use those days to do more, even if just 15-20 minutes.

Weekly Meal Plan

This week, Of course, smoothies and mason jar salads are on the menu. You’ll also find recipes from my new sister site, Gluten-Free Italian Eats. I like to have one cheat meal a week, and it’s always Italian!

Here’s my meal plan.

• Cherry Blueberry smoothie
• Greek Chicken Salad in a Jar
• Italian grilled chicken with Caprese Salad with cherry tomatoes
• Buffalo Turkey Burger with ranch roasted potatoes
• Steak Fajitas
• Crockpot Turkey Tacos (I’ll make a taco salad with this or gluten-free burritos)
• Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan

Meal Prep Tips

• Believe it or not, I have nothing planned for Sunday, so all of the recipes will be prepped then.
• I’ll start the turkey taco meat in the morning. 
• As that cooks, I bake the chicken for the mason jar salad.
• I’ll make the Caprese salad, ranch potatoes, and steak fajitas. Then I put everything into containers and refrigerated it.
• After the taco meat cooks, I place it into containers and refrigerate it.
• I’ll cook the Italian chicken and burgers the night they are on the meal plan.
• Chicken parmesan will be made next Saturday for a weekend dinner.