Read the title! Work work work work work work! I really hope you read that in the correct melody! :) That’s what this weight loss journey is going to be: work work work work work work! This is my 3rd Monday Motivation post. If you missed week 2 you can check it out here!

WEEK 2 RECAP:

I made a very big decision this week regarding my weight loss journey. I did an exhausting amount of research and landed on two things: keto and intermittent fasting. I guess I should say here that although I have decided to take this route, I am not a doctor and am not recommending anything.

Keto - This high fat low carb diet has been great so far! The purpose in eating high fat and low carb is to put your body in ketosis. By doing this your body is burning fat for energy instead of carbs. This is quite a simplified explanation of the keto diet, of course. There are so many great resources for information. One of my favorites has been www.tasteaholics.com.

Intermittent Fasting - It turns out that I was already doing this quite a bit. I’ve just put a little more structure to it. I am fasting between 6PM and 10AM everyday. Although staying structured is important to me I know that there will be times I don’t follow this timeline exactly. For instance, we probably won’t be eating Thanksgiving dinner this Thursday until after 7PM. I will adjust my day accordingly. The main goal is to fast for 16 hours a day.

1. Sugar - See above. Keto being low carb I have done well with this. I made an agreement with Mom and Jenny that all their junk food/candy that I would normally be searching for right now has to stay in one specific cabinet in the kitchen. We haven’t gone so far as to put a lock on it, but I have given everyone permission to slap things out of my hand that came from that cabinet. So far it hasn’t been an issue. I’m excited to be trying something new that I truly believe will work, so I have voluntarily not touched the sugar!

2. Meal Plan - I’ve always loved meal planning and meal prepping. I know some people that absolutely do not, but I love cooking in general so being in the kitchen for hours at a time is not a hardship. So far I have made some crazy yummy keto dishes like buffalo chicken lettuce wraps, fajita steak wraps, and creamy chicken and cauliflower rice casserole.

3. Work out - I am proud to say that I worked out every day this week! There were two or three days there that I was so sore in my legs that I thought I might fall over, but I think it was worth it! I started by making daily plans. Most of these use the pretty basic moves, but they are making me sweat! I am already feeling better about working out again.

WEEK 3 GOALS:

1. You gotta track it! - I think this is going to be one of the biggest things with Keto and staying away from sugar. If I plan and prep my meals ahead of time I am hoping to not have too much time to scavenge for sugar. Meal planning is also necessary to know the macros (percentage of fat, protein and carbs) of the meals that I’m making. I’ve started using MyFitnessPal to track all of my food. It’s a great free app that lets you customize your calorie goal as well as your fat, protein and carb percentage goals. I have actually had my account on MyFitnessPal for years and have been super sporadic tracking my food and exercise. I’ve already started this so my goal is to continue.

2. I have exorcised the demons! - Just kidding! But really, exercise time. I am going to continue my daily morning workouts all well as your my Fitbit to track my daily steps. I have also owned this for a while. I use it for a while, then take it off to charge it, then put it back on my wrist two years later. It’s go time and I am so excited!

Where are you in your weight loss journey? Have you tried any of the things that I’m trying? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

-Laura Herrmann

MONDAY MOTIVATION - WEEK 3 - WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK WORK