My weight loss maintenance

So if you followed me for a while you already know I have been trying to loose weight for the last few years, and actually have been successful so far in loosing and keeping  70 pound off since I lost it. I occasionally will post a pic on Twitter or Facebook of what I'm munching on ....now some of it might be on a healthier  side and some....well not so much,  especially if I took it during the weekend. Some of you asked me  time and time again how I managed to keep all this weight off long term and not gain it back overtime? To be very honest I guess my answer would be being consistent in keeping up what I did from the start in a more " relaxed" manner. By relaxed I really meant to say not as strict but still not throwing everything I learned over time out the window .....so still sticking to a routine by maybe 80% instead of a full 100% as I used to just to maintain and manage my weight as it is as oppose to loosing more......though that is always a welcome outcome. 

So what exactly is my "routine" you might ask? Basically when I am maintaining my weight I will stick to 1500 calorie intake Mon-Fri and 2000 calorie intake limit during weekends. However when I'm trying to actually loose weight this will slightly change to 1200-1300 calorie intake limit six days a week and one 2000 intake limit cheat day per week. I have done these both with and without going to gym/doing exercise and to be perfectly honest while going to gym makes me feel more energetic and stronger it also makes me more hungry. I notice that my body becomes more toned  while going to the gym overtime but my actual weight remains pretty much the same without going down or up......because of these reasons I prefer exercising while I maintain my weight NOT while I'm trying to loose weight. 

   So what does a 1200-1300 calorie day look like?

So the first thing I do each morning as soon as I wake up and brush my teeth is go to the bathroom. After that I immediately weigh myself
before I eat of drink anything and record it on my cute pin up calendar that I  have put on a wall


 of my closet. Every beginning of the year I buy a cute calendar with pin up girls, Marilyn Monroe, or something cute and sexy to keep me inspired. This way I like to look at it as it changes from month to month just because its cute but  it also keeps me recording my weight
and that way keeps me aware of any changes - good or bad. Some people say it isn't a good thing to weigh yourself everyday, but I personally prefer it simply be cause I'm used to fluctuating weight from day to day because I have been doing it for 

few years  this way now ....it doesn't really discourage me, actually I think it made me get to know my body better. I have learned how food affects it and what works or doesn't work when it comes to my weight loos/gain this way. 

A scale, a calendar, a notebook/food diary and measuring cups where some of the first few things I bought when I first decided to  seriously loose weight. I have 

developed such a habit of using all of these every single day of my life (and even the 

cheat days) that I don't even give it much though any longer while at first I really 

struggle to get used to it all.

Breakfast for me usually consists mainly of one of these options:

- coffee  sweetened with stevia and a bit of creamer and plain oatmeal with almond milk, one whole sliced banana 1/4 cup of raisins and sprinkle of cinnamon and a tall glass of water. 

- coffee  sweetened with stevia and a bit of creamer and blueberry or raisin bagel with
 low fat/calorie cream cheese and jam and some type of sliced fruit 

- coffee  sweetened with stevia and a bit of creamer and Special K almond vanilla cereal with almond milk. 

I'm not a lunch person at all ....therefore for lunch I usually feel like having a small snack instead of a  full meal so it will look like one of these options:

- Kashi granola bar ( any type ) and tea ( any flavor ) 

- Greek low fat yogurt ( 80 cal ones)  and tea 

- fruit and yogurt 

- scrambled egg with spinach 

-Starbucks 

- a piece of fruit 

My dinner usually consists of something cooked at home since I love to cook and bake so I will have any of these options or something similar: 

-  baked fish and  a choice of brown/wild rice/basmati rice/ quinoa/mashed or roasted potatoes/beans,  side salad and diet soda

- roasted chicken and a choice of brown/wild rice/basmati rice/ quinoa/mashed or 

roasted potatoes/beans, side salad and diet soda 

- chicken mushroom Alfredo pasta and diet soda

- shrimp pasta and diet soda 

- chicken or shrimp fried rice and diet soda 

- stir fry and diet soda 

- grilled chicken panini and diet soda 

- tuna sandwich and diet soda

- sardine sandwich and diet soda 

- sushi roll (any kind) and diet soda

My cooking has changed significantly over the last few years. Nowadays I bake, roast and grill instead of deep frying and using a lot of oil/ butter for my cooking, I use olive oil, low calorie cooking spray and a tiny amount of oil when cooking and always watch out for calories of the ingredients I use. I use a lot of veggies both fresh and frozen for my meals. I eat a lot of seafood and chicken. I never drink regular soda ( though diet it still pretty bad for you), sugary juice drinks or any high calorie drinks at all. I replaced milk with almond milk but I still have low fat Greek yogurts and occasional cheese slice here and there. I almost never eat processed meat and prefer whole foods overall because they are healthier and lower in calories. 

I used to be a fan of processed meats such are salami, hot dogs and deli meats, deep fried chicken, fast food, unlimited amount of French fries, milkshakes and stuff like that ...now when I eat these though I feel tired, nauseous and bloated for days therefore I'm not keen on them nor I crave them any longer while  just few years ago I used to eat them on daily basis. 

I watch my portions/ serving sizes all the time if I'm not sure of calories in something 

(in restaurants/when eating out for example)  I will eat half of it  only - and either share with someone or take the other half home for later. When at home I fill only a third of my plate when it's dinner time and fill the rest with a  mixed veggie salad or I use a 

small plate therefore my portion also becomes smaller. 

Most of the nights sometime after dinner I have a small snack and coffee. Usually

 a mini cupcake a pice of chocolate or something similar due to my sweet tooth .....usually under 200 calories or less. I also need to point out I drink plenty of water, one tall glass with every meal or a snack. 

Now let's talk about the "cheat days" :))). During a cheat day I have pretty much allowed myself to have anything I want as long as I stay within my  2000 calories limit range. So if I want a doughnut for breakfast,  slice of cake for lunch and slice of pizza for dinner ....as long as it's under 2000 calories ....it's doable :))). This is the day when I can have anything that tickles my fancy ....or that I have had craving for during the week. All this is within a limit of course because the last thing I want to do is to undo 

all my hard work during the week in one single day of mindless eating ....so cheat day for me is a day where I take the edge of my cravings as oppose to a day where I eat all my  weekly calories back that I  worked so hard to cut in the first place. 

As you can see I actually eat a lot of different yummy food. My "diet" is not purely salad or something equally as extreme. I do not deny myself any foods .....regardless of them being good or bad for you. I eat what I want because I don't believe life should be about constantly obsessing about calories ..... BUT I do watch closely just how much of it I eat and keep a strict calorie limit. I have always loved cooking and baking and trying out different international recipes is one of my passions ....so  eating boring food  was never an option for me.  I love the art of cooking .....I also love to eat out. I never believed in punishing yourself and denying yourself foods you love. But I do believe in making better choices whenever possible just because you love and care about yourself, your health and your overall well being.