Moving Outside of the Box

After following what has been a very restrictive diet for the past 6 years. With dramatic highs and lows, I am now going to put together a lifestyle diet. I'll be keeping my calories at 1200 for the day. I'm a little nervous about this because I don't equate this with attaining weight loss. I am in the process of putting this plan together. I will leave my breakfast alone at this point. I don't seem to have a problem there and I'm at 330 calories. That includes my full cup of 2% milk for the day and I quite often only have 2 cups of coffee.

I've focused on lunch. I want to keep around 300 calories. I've come up with 11 different options which I'm happy about. I need to focus on stocking the pantry and refrigerator with the food I need to back this up. The thing that I'm a little concerned about at this point is the number of different places I need to go to get the groceries, and the whole point is to be prepared. No more one stop shopping, I see this as a potential snafu. I've got Walmart, Caputos, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Costco and Sam's on my list. I'm hoping I can eliminate Whole Foods and find what I need at Caputos. Oh, and Jewel, where I get my salmon.

My next focus will be dinner. I want to keep around 400 calories for the meal. My guess is that I'll be looking at protein, veggies and salads. I'll be focusing on fish, chicken and a little red meat.

I'm back to menu planning and getting the food I need in the house so I can be prepared. I'm also going to pick up the food planning diary at Barnes and Noble.