I wanted to have at least a week under my belt before reporting anything.  So far my plan of attack is working fantastic.

I started on New Year’s Day, now eight days later…. I’m 8 pounds lighter!

I was actually surprised at how much I lost.  The first week is usually the greatest loss,  but this exceeded my expectations.   I am quite plump to start with , so many would not get the same results I did, but the battle plan itself, has shown it’s merit.

Battle Blogger Bulge Plan of Attack

I considered doing one of those fad diets to for the first week of my resolution, but decided to go right into a healthy eating plan instead.

• Calorie Budget – First,  set up a calorie budget .  There are several free online software programs you can do this with.  I used the Lose It! program, since I am reviewing the accompanying book.
• Carefully Recording  - It is easy to forget you snacked here and there, and those calories can quickly add up.  Maintain a handwritten journal and/or utilize the calorie and exercise recording features of one of the free online programs.
• Measure, Measure, Measure – Americans tend to have a very distorted view of what an actual portion is.  Many times it isn’t so much what we eat, but how much of it we are eating that is the problem.  Having a good kitchen scale, and a spare set of measuring spoons and cups, may just be a dieter’s best friend.  Over time you will retrain yourself to recognize what a portion of most of your favorite foods are, and won’t need to measure everything, but it is important early on.
• Exercise – I’ve started out relatively slow in this area, and will be working myself up.  Not only does exercise give you a little extra wiggle room in your calorie budget, but it helps you burn calories more effectively.  This will become more and more important, as the calorie budget shrinks as you lose weight.
• Frozen Dinners – Diet friendly frozen dinners can be a real time saver.  There has been a lot of innovation in frozen dinners over the past few years, and they are far from the dismal things they once were.  I still check sodium on each before buying, although I am not on a low sodium diet, some are ridiculously high in sodium.
• Spread It Out – Whatever your calorie budget ends out being, breaking it down into small meals and snacks throughout the day will help your body keep burning fat.  If you cut back too drastically, or leave too long between meals your body will fight to keep it’s fat supplies intact.
• Lean Meats and Vegetables – While I have not actually gone low fat or low carb per say,  focusing on lean meats and vegetables, and sticking to healthy fats and choosing less refined carbohydrates seems to be keeping cravings at bay.
• Motivation – Everyone has a different way to motivate themselves.  I am using a two-pronged approach myself.  I’m using The Weight Loss Mindset hypnosis CD program (review soon to come) and well telling all of you about this endeavor, does add an extra  level of accountability doesn’t it

That pretty much sums up the basics of what I have been doing.  I would love to hear how you are doing with your resolutions.

How has your progress been?

What has been your plan of attack?

Do you have any special tricks to keep yourself on-track?