Big announcement for me! (not baby related)

So I have an announcement. I have transitioned into a new way of eating for the next few months. I love what Medifast has done for me but with Dan quitting his job to get his CNA license, lots of students taking a break for the summer, Medifast is simply not in our budget no matter how we compromise in other areas. We are paying for a lot of school right now and we're doing it all in cash and in order to continue commuting to school and having enough for school in the fall, we are basically cutting out every non-essential item we can.

SO. What am I doing? I have changed my perspective about packaged foods. Remember my rants about anything in a package? Well I think that in a perfect world, I would eat everything prepared by my own hands. In my realistic student world right now, the convenience of having a meal in a package is a lifesaver.

I love the idea of the "zone" diet even though I've never even attempted it. The premise is that by eating a balance of carbs, protein, and fat, you can lose weight. This isn't rocket science, but I love their bars (have for years!) because they are based on the "zone" principles so they are relatively low in sugar/carbs, moderate in protein and fat.

Costco has a $5 off coupon for the bars right now in 2 delicious flavors- peanut butter and fudge graham.  You get 24 bars for $13! I bought 5 boxes so that gives me about 2 bars a day for the next 2 months and then hopefully I'll find another coupon at costco and get some more.

I have been cutting their bars in half and eating them just like my medifast bars. The nutrition facts are pretty similar if you cut them in half. A little less fiber and a little less protein, but I just make up for that in my other meals. I still eat every 2-3 hours, and I have 2 "lean and green" meals with 4-6 oz of protein, and 3 servings of green, non-starchy veggies.

I am feeling very confident about this. I've started logging in myfitness pal again to keep my calories under 1200. I have been walking for exercise, drinking lots of water, and I'm feeling fabulous!

I will let you all know how the weight loss goes. I had been struggling for a little while with a plateau that was related to my inability to adhere to my medifast diet and the typical plateau that comes along with any weight loss program.

It's refreshing to have a change. I will try this for awhile and then eventually try incorporating a serving of whole grains every other day, a serving of low glycemic index fruit every other day, and eventually transition into a diet of ALL whole foods.

The thing I like most about having a meal in a package is that the math, preparation, and portion is all perfect and the only thing I have to do is eat it. I am so busy with school, I feel like I hardly have time to take a shower. Today I have a couple hours to blog since I had some students take the day off. One more week and then I'll be finished with commuting in the morning. YAY! I'm still alive, I'll do a little better to post more often.

Thanks for all your support, I love getting comments, ideas, suggestions, and sharing in the journey!