Healthy Eating Plan for the New Year!

The New Year is upon us, let’s try to get our resolutions off right! Join me and we will get healthy and lose weight together with this healthy eating plan. 

I have been trying to eat healthy for a couple of months now. I felt like my clothes were getting tighter and sluggish. So I knew I had to get back to eating healthy. There are periods in my life where I get healthy and fit and then let myself go (usually while pregnant). Who wants to eat healthy while pregnant?! If I can keep it down I eat it!

After having my second daughter I was able to lose most of the baby weight through breastfeeding and adhering to the milk and soy free diet. After letting go of breastfeeding I really had a time where I wanted to eat all the things I was not able to. Chinese, YUM!

via GIPHY

I also moved from night shift to day shift which had its difficulty with changing my eating habits. You, mean I am expected to eat 3 meals a day at normal intervals?! Which, if you are a night-shifter or know one, we don’t ever do that. I felt like I was more active which might have been true, but I was not active enough to make up for the caloric intake I was getting.

What is clean eating?

My clean eating is not a diet or I don’t use plans or pay expensive gym membership fees. I just do the work. I think we are always trying to find the easy way with losing weight. Wanting to eat the fatty foods and not exercise and get skinny. The sad reality is our bodies don’t want to lose weight. If they were excellent at it, we would have died out with the Neanderthals.

Calories!

My clean eating meal plan is based on a 1600 calorie a day meal plan. It uses healthy low-fat foods but I also allow myself cheat meals or days. No diet works, if it is not realistic, moderation is the key. If you want to follow what I have to do when getting healthy, I block out my first 2 weeks to not change any of my lifestyles but I start to write what I eat and how much activity I do. I use a step counter to help with the active portion and I use an app to help count my calories.

I use this awareness to really look at where I could be doing more activity and where I could be cutting the fat and calories from my diet. A lot of times the awareness for me is enough to be able to start to make healthier choices. Other times I need to just do a healthy grocery haul and get rid of the junk in my cupboards and fridge.

However you do it, it’s a simple formula. Cut the calories and be more active. Doesn’t matter if it’s walking dancing, or replacing one meal with a salad you will see results if you stick to it. Which is sometimes to hardest part. So let’s get down to what you came here for, the meal plan!

Monday

• Breakfast
  • Peanut Butter on multi-grain toast (190cals)
  • Banana (105cals)
  • Black Coffee or Tea
• Snack
  • Low Fat Yogurt (170cals)
  • Granola (130cals)
• Lunch
  • Pre-made Mixed Greens Salad (300cals)
  • Banana (105cals)
  • Water
• Snack
  • A handful of Almonds (149cals)
  • Dried Cranberries (123cals)
• Dinner
  • Grilled Cilantro Chicken (190cals)
  • Brown Rice (124cals)
  • Broccoli (34cals)
  • Water

Tuesday

• Breakfast
  • 2 cup Whole Grain Cheerios (200cals)
  • 1 cup Skim Milk (80cals)
  • Black Coffee or Tea
• Snack
  • Banana (105cals)
  • 2 TBSP Nutella (160cals)
• Lunch
  • Mixed Greens with Leftover Cilantro Chicken (210cals)
  • Balsamic Vinegarette (100cals)
  • Water
• Snack
  • Low Fat String Cheese (80cals)
  • Wheat Thins (140cals)
• Dinner
  • Whole Wheat Spaghetti (174cals)
  • Turkey Meatballs (100cals)
  • Spaghetti Sauce (70cals)
  • Peach Sparkling Water

Wednesday

• Breakfast
  • 2 cup Whole Grain Cheerios (200cals)
  • 1 cup Skim Milk (80cals)
  • Black Coffee or Tea
• Snack
  • Low Fat Yogurt (170cals)
  • Granola (130cals)
• Lunch
  • Healthy Spaghetti Pasta Salad (372cals)
    • Lite Italian Dressing (80cals)
    • Bell Pepper (35cals)
    • Shredded Carrot (35cals)
    • Celery (15cals)
    • Black Olives (25cals)
    • Cucumber (8cals)
  • Water
• Snack
  • Banana (105cals)
  • 2 TBSP Peanut Butter (190cals)
• Dinner
  • • Marinara (70cals)Turkey Meatball Subs (440cals)
    • Low Fat Mozzarella (80cals)
    • Whole Grain Roll (140cals)
  • Peach Sparkling Water

Thursday

• Breakfast
  • 2 cup Whole Grain Cheerios (200cals)
  • 1 cup Skim Milk (80cals)
  • Black Coffee or Tea
• Snack
  • Low Fat String Cheese (80cals)
  • Wheat Thins (140cals)
•  Lunch
  • Frozen Low Cal Meal (lean cuisine, healthy choice, etc.) (250cals)
• Snack
  • A handful of Almonds (424cals)
•  Dinner
  • Sausage and Veggie Sheet Pan Meal (360cals)

Friday

• Breakfast
  
  • Peanut Butter on Toast (190cals)
  • Banana (105cals)
  • Black Coffee or Tea
• Snack
  • Low Fat Yogurt (170cals)Snack
  • Granola (130cals)
• Lunch
  • Store Bought Mixed Green Salad (80cals)
  • Leftover Sausage and Peppers (360cals)
• Snack
  • Dried Cranberries (140cals)

•  Dinner
  • Turkey Burgers (200cals)
  • Whole Grain Bun (140cals)
  • Baked French Fries (120cals)

Saturday

• Breakfast
  • Egg whites, Ham, and Cheese on English Muffin (220cals)
  • Black Coffee or Tea
• Snack
  • Low Fat String Cheese (80cals)
  • Wheat Thins (140cals)
• Lunch
  • Modern Caprese Sandwich Half (Panera Bread) (380cals)
  • Seasonal Greens Salad Half (Panera Bread) (90cals)
• Snack
  • Banana (105cals)
    
  • 2 TBSP Nutella (160cals)

• Dinner
  • Wild Rice and Chicken Soup (458cals)

Sunday

• Breakfast
  • Oatmeal Pancakes (67cals)
  • Sugar-Free Syrup 
  • Black Coffee or Tea
• Snack
  • Low Fat Yogurt (170cals)
  • Granola (130cals)
• Lunch
  • Chicken Salad Sandwich with Lettuce and Tomato on Pita (620cals)
• Snack
  • Low Fat String Cheese (80cals)
• Dinner
  • Baked Breaded Chicken (220cals)
  • Healthy Mac and Cheese (376cals)

This all is stuff that I have eaten while trying to get my caloric intake together. Remember to snack and not starve yourself. Both are not attainable and won’t’ help your health or your weight in the long run. I have been guilty in the past of doing this and it never was successful.

If you don’t like a food swap out something that is the same calorie intake. If you like to add cream and sugar to your coffee just add the calories, as it won’t be that much as long as you are not getting a full-fat latte.

I hope this helps you. If you subscribe you can get a free shopping list for this meal plan. That’s right I said FREE! Or if you just want to join the drama. Click that SUBSCRIBE button!