Healthy Habits
When I made the decision to work on losing weight, my goal was to also re-establish healthy habits. First, I made sure I was drinking water. My goal was to have at least one full water bottle (30 oz) each day. I made sure I was able to do this for a week and then increased to two water bottles (60 oz). When I had my water intake fairly consistent (nobody is perfect), I began changing my diet. Snacks became whole foods–mainly my favorite fruits. I also started to prioritize pairing protein with carbs in my meals. I do have a rather large sweet tooth, but I do not try many “healthy alternatives” like the ones you see online because they never seem to satisfy my cravings. Instead, I traded chocolate candy for dark chocolate chips. I also really enjoy sugar-free hot chocolate before bed. It’s lower calorie, satisfies my cravings for chocolate, and can be soothing before bed. It took me about a month before I felt confident with how I fueled myself in a caloric deficit.
Maintaining a Healthy Deficit
I was scared to try a calorie deficit because underfueling in the past often led to binging and stopping the deficit, so I never saw results. This time around, I have found that eating a little more on days that I’m a little hungrier does help to prevent binging. I also love volume eating–eating something that is large in size but low in calories. My plate looks fuller so I feel fuller. Fruit is perfect for this. Including more protein and fiber in each meal also helps keep me full for longer. A scrambled egg with some cottage cheese mixed in and an english muffin on the side is my favorite breakfast with almost 30g of protein. I also love homemade raspberry jam with chia seeds to get in some fiber. But I think my all-time favorite snack is Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Muffins. I’ll include the recipe below. What’s your favorite way to get in some protein?
Ingredients:
1/2 c peanut butter
1/2 c melted butter
1/2 c sweetener (I prefer monk fruit)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/3 c milk
1/2 c chocolate protein powder
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup chocolate chips
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Whisk together butter, peanut butter, sweetener, and vanilla in a large bowl
- Whisk in eggs and milk until smooth
- Mix in dry ingredients until combined
- Fold in chocolate chips
- Divide mixture into 6-12 prepared muffin cups and bake 18-25 minutes, or until baked through
Macros: 181 cals, 5.2g carbs, 13.6g fat, 12g protein (depends on protein powder brand)