Plug Into Your Personalized “Food Blueprint”

You did the math.

You calculated your current calorie intake on Fooducate, you know your basal metabolic rate, and figured out your calorie deficit (and hopefully made plans to achieve a pleasure surplus). Now you have a daily calorie target you’re aiming for.

Next, we’re going to take those calories and plug them into a formula for eating. I call it a “food blueprint” and I describe exactly what mine looks like in my “One Meal at a Time” video. My diet is pretty repetitive, but it’s how I lost 100+ pounds and have kept it off for more than 7 years.

Why eat 5 – 6 mini-meals a day, you ask?

Besides the fact that lots of medical and weight loss experts advise this approach, I find it works for practical reasons. And I’m all about doing what actually works!

Here’s why it works:

• Blood sugar stabilizes so you avoid high and low energy extremes throughout the day.
• Metabolism is fueled by two things: eating and exercising. You stoke the fire that keeps it burning when you eat.
• Hunger is kept in check so you don’t become ravenously hungry (which triggers unplanned eating, usually of unhealthy foods).
• You practice patience (I refuse to call it “willpower”) when you know you’ve got a yummy meal or snack coming soon!

But by all means, you don’t have to stick with my blueprint. In fact, the whole idea is that you come up with one that is uniquely your own! Follow my formula, use my schedule if that works for you, but choose foods that are especially appealing to you. As long as those foods meet two mandatory criteria – they are healthy + you absolutely love them – you can work them into your food blueprint.

If you need ideas for healthy meals and snacks, I’ve linked loads of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack ideas here that you can plug into the blueprint!

“Breakfast for Weight Loss Champions”

“Breaking Bad (Breakfast Habits)”

“What’s For Lunch?”

“Wait, This Can’t Be What I Ordered, There Are Vegetables On This Plate!”

“Vegetables: It’s What’s For Dinner”

“I Ain’t French: This Girl Needs a Snack!”

Schedules create routines; routines become habits. Having healthy habits is the key to long-term, permanent weight loss.

Losing weight is hard, but it gets easier when you plan for success. And you’re so damn worth it!

Let’s go get it!