Stabilization. . .here we go!

Well, here I am in my first round of stabilization. I've not reached my final goal weight, but am taking things in stages so that I don't make myself crazy with deprivation. And, I have to say: so far, so good!

I'm learning that the processes which helped me lose weight are completely different from what I have to do to keep my current weight steady. And while that means more to eat, it also means a landslide of decisions on a daily basis. While wrestling those mental gymnastics, I came across some very good advice: set up your environment for success and pre-decide as much as possible. So yesterday at our Fourth of July cookout, I had my grill-master husband sear up about 4 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breast. My plan is to to divide it all into meal size portions and freeze. Then each evening I'll pull out frozen chicken (or shrimp or fish of some variety) to thaw for the next day's lunch. I have a variety of veggies and fresh fruit on hand too and will make one selection from each group to round out the meal. Breakfast, during the warm months, will be green smoothies--LUV them!  Not sure what the plan will be for cold weather. . .hmmm. And on it goes, planning the habituation of my meals and snacks.  For right now, I'm following a plan that worked very well for me during the final weeks of my first pregnancy when I was borderline diabetic, basically limiting the number of carb servings per meal or snack but also spreading them out over the course of the day.  I've decided to just be a smart as possible about dinner, but not to get too worked up about it.

The next area I'm working on is exercise.  This is a tough one for me because the best time for me to fit it into my schedule is first thing in the morning.  The problem is, I love to sleep.  No, not love, it's more than love.  It's complete and total adoration, devotion, an obsession.  But oddly enough, if I do get myself up, I feel just fine.  So I'll be brain-storming ways to wake up each morning happy to exercise my bod and keep this good thing going!

Goals for tomorrow regarding stabilization:

1. Plan a rotation of meats, fruits and veggies for lunches. . .purchase needed items for first week.
2. Plan a rotation of snacks (1 carb serving limit). . .purchase needed items for first week.
3. Purchase items for green smoothies.
4. CELEBRATE stabilization!!!