Part of rededicating myself to getting back to a better weight is reviewing every aspect of my diet. One area I already knew I was deficient in was portion size. Back when I was running every other day, I could eat a little more because I was burning those calories and needed the extra food to help build the muscles. However, now that I’m unable to run, I need to reduce my serving sizes.

I started by asking Sherry to pack the same size meals for me as she eats. That’s about 30% less than my normal serving sizes, but when I think back to the time I had great success in losing 10-12 lbs per month, I was eating the same sized portions as her without feeling hungry. So, I’ve gone back to that.

I’m not on a Whole30 right now, but I’m eating Whole30 compliant meals every chance I have (outside of the holiday and special event meals).

That also means eating 5 wings at lunch instead of 10 when I go out with my co-workers. I’ve never strayed from my two-egg/two bacon slice breakfasts, but I’ve had lunches and dinners that were a bit on the larger size. No more.

How has it gone this week? Exceptionally well. I thought it would be harder to get accustomed to, but honestly, I haven’t really noticed other than meals getting done quicker. As far as hunger or appetite is concerned, I haven’t had any other than normal hunger at meal times.

As for sleep, I’ve been ensuring I get 7+ hours a night, and once again, that’s proven to be a large component in my weight loss. I have observed a direct correlation between the amount of sleep I get and the amount of weight I lose. If I ensure I get to sleep on time and get some solid sleep, not only do I feel better the next day, but I lose a lot of weight quickly. As I’ve repeatedly stated on my blog, sleep is the secret weapon to weight loss that I think everyone forgets or outright ignores.

As an aside, the Achilles heel isn’t hurting at all today! That’s great news, although my shoulder is still sore. One thing at a time. I can probably start running again next week, and hopefully I can get back to lifting shortly thereafter.

Baby steps.