The 45 Minute Weight Loss Plan
So you want to lose weight, but have found it pretty difficult.
You’ve tried this tens or hundreds of times only to lose 10 to 20 lbs for a few months and end up back to where you started. Never reaching your true goal. Feeling hopeless. Feeling helpless. Feeling decimated.
Been there! Done that! Way too many times.
But I hit rock bottom a few months back. I hit my heaviest of 253 lbs, in my smallish 5'6" frame. It was hard on my body.
I had launched my business 2 years prior and during the second year I had become SO time constrained that I would end up making food runs to Taco Bell, Jack In The Box, and the like, for both lunch and dinner (sometimes even for breakfast).
I felt sluggish and overly exhausted. I would get winded quickly from a simple walk. I noticed my weight kept creeping up slowly but it was so gradual that it didn’t really hit me. Much like the story of how you boil a frog (very slowly) so they don’t notice the heat change until it’s too late and they’re dead (or so I’ve read on the almighty inter-webs).
Anyway, it all changed one day when I jumped on the scale and to my horror I was reaching 250 lbs. I had never in my life been this heavy and it was a truly scary experience. If I didn’t stop or change now, this gradual increase could go in indefinitely.
Because I saw my limiting factor as time, I had to find something that would take minimal time and effort. But more importantly, I had to REALLY prioritize my health above all else, my business, volunteer work, friends, etc.
I was inspired by a couple of friends who would post images of their meal prep for the week on Facebook & Snapchat. I can cook very little and the little I know is mostly baking really; a cheesecake, a choco-flan, and …. that’s about it. So the cooking part didn’t really stick with me.
But I was desperate and willing to try anything.
For a couple of weeks I did some research.
I found a great sub on Reddit called LoseIt where I found tons of valuable information on losing weight. http://www.reddit.com/r/loseit
It was mainly, to stick to a CICO diet (Calories In, Calories Out).
I calculated how many calories I needed to consume to lose weight, I used an app called LoseIt to keep track of this and with fingers crossed, off I went.
It was important to keep things as simple as possible.
The less variables, the better. I figured out a simple menu. Chicken, vegetables, and brown rice. That was it. No fuss. Nothing fancy. Simple.
I am now a little over 3 months into this. I’ve done meal preps EVERY week without fail, and I’ve lost close to 20 lbs with minimum effort. I’ve been able to pig out on pizza, burgers, and what not once or twice a week and still maintain a healthy weight loss average. My first month I lost an average of 2.5 lbs per week. I’m now averaging about 1.5 lbs per week as I’ve fallen into a somewhat comfortable regimen.
So, a handful of people asked me about this meal prep/plan stuff so I decided to detail it so I couldn’t have to explain it to each one of them.
If you use this, and follow it pretty close, I guarantee you will see results with minimal effort. And the best thing is, you’ll feel empowered.
As someone who’s struggled with weight all of my life, this is truly the first time I actually felt in control of my weight loss. I found myself able to predict my weight loss for each given week and at no point did it feel overly constraining. No longer did I feel the need to run out and get Taco Bell. I would simply pull out a lunch or dinner, nuke for 2 minutes and have a healthy meal ready to go. That was the key for me. I could be more efficient with time during lunch and eat healthy at the same time. And if that wasn’t enough, I would only spend about $20 for the entire week. That was a huge Win-Win-Win.
Now for breakfast, I ate oatmeal with a protein shake or oatmeal with a Greek yogurt mixed in. The cost for breakfast ends up being around $10 for the week.
I’ll stop now, because I could literally go on and on about this experience. So without further ado, here’s the gist of it.
Shopping List
- 2 lb bag of chicken tenders (or breasts) — $11
- 2 lb bag of frozen broccoli — $3
- 2 lb bag of frozen spinach — $3
- 1 lb bag of brown rice — $3
Total Cost: ~$20
Cooking
Chicken: If you get frozen chicken you can let it thaw before you begin cooking it. I sometimes get non-frozen chicken so I can start cooking it right away. These are pre-packaged and cut up already but cost a few dollars more. I find the easiest way to cook the chicken is to fry it in a pan and cut it up into chunks. Add a little seasoning (cajun, black pepper, etc.) Done!
Broccoli & Spinach: These are pretty easy to cook. Basically, you boil a certain amount of water (usually a cup or so), throw in the first vegetable, let it boil again, then turn down the flame to simmer for about 5 or 6 minutes. Drain. Done!
Brown Rice: Make sure it’s brown rice, not regular rice. It’s healthier and cooks better (doesn’t stick all over the place). Mix 2 cups of rice with 3 cups of water, boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. Done!
Servings
This yields about 10 servings which is enough for 5 lunches and 5 dinners. Enough for a busy work week. Each serving turns out to be around 500 calories. If you’re sticking to a 1800 calorie diet, this takes care of 1000 and you simply need to do about 400 to 500 for breakfast and then 300 to 400 for snacks in between. I usually snack on string cheese as it’s high in protein.
To store, I used good ol’ Tupperware because that’s what I had on hand, but then used some meal prep containers like the ones below. Either one is fine. The latter is just easier to stack and store in your fridge.
The best thing about it, is it takes about 45 minutes to cook, 1 day out of the week (I usually do it on Sunday evenings). And for those 45 minutes of work, you’ll reap the humongous benefits. l have easy to access lunches and dinners for the entire week!
If you do decide to try this and have any questions feel free to hit me up.
Best of luck in your weight loss battles!
