Zane’s New Year’s Diet is Finally Underway

Who was it that said, 'better late than never'?  I believe that often times it is true, and so while I'm a bit late getting started - my new year's diet is finally  underway.

A couple of weeks ago I announced my intention to lose at least 15 pounds in the new year, and finally got started this week on my journey. For the first time in several months I stepped on the scale to see where I stand, and it spoke loud and clear, confirming my need to lose not 15, but a full 20 pounds. My jeans have offered confirmation.

Looks like I'm not alone. The results of the poll I posted show 50% of the respondents want to lose 20 pounds or more, while about 16% want to drop 15-20. About 25% would be happy to lose 5-10 pounds in 2015.

There must be a million ways to lose weight through various weight plans, complicated diet strategies, scientific formulas, and other plans based upon years of nutrition research. It can be quite confusing, mind-boggling, and overwhelming. But, everyone just has to find the one that works for them that they will be able to follow and adhere to - and that they can afford.

To me, it's not rocket science - burn more calories than you take in and you're going to lose weight. I used this approach about five years ago and dropped 35 pounds. My wife lost 50. I figure if it worked before, it will work again.

Using the  My Plate tools at livestrong.com I am able to calculate how many calories I should consume daily in order to reach my weight loss goals. Their food tracking system makes it a breeze to record the foods I  eat --and determine how many calories are involved. My daily goal is around 1800 calories.

The basic premise of my diet is essentially no - or very minimal red meat, bread, and sweets - like cookies and donuts. It's also based on the idea of eating five carefully selected  "meals"  and "snacks" each day. This keeps the metabolism going - and helps keep me from getting hungry.

A typical day looks like this:
5:00am -  Breakfast -  Whey Protein Shake
9:00am-    Snack -2 Granola Bars
NOON -   Lunch -One ' Armour Lunchable' package (ham, crackers,cheese)
3:00pm -  Snack -Grapefruit, 1/4 cup Chex mix or rice snack
6:00pm - Dinner - Baked chicken tenders, big salad with raw veggies, green beans, low-fat cottage cheese, sugar-free fat-free pudding.

What helps is that my wife does it with me, so dinner's are easy. For the rest of the meals and snacks we just do our own thing.

Of course, in addition to the diet plan there is some exercise connected to it as well. I do a 30 minute morning workout, an evening workout on the Elliptical, and whenever possible, a mid-day walk at the park.

Stay tuned for updates on my journey --along with some tips to help you drop that weight you want to lose.