A change will do you good

I went to see a nutritionist yesterday, and I practically skipped to my car after our session was over. I felt rejuvenated and inspired, and had all the materials for a brand spanking new food plan. As you may know, I've been working really hard for about 3 1/2 months, and haven't seen much of a downward budge on the scale. Surprisingly, the nutritionist said that may be due to not eating enough calories with all the exercise I do now. More food is fine with me! :) She suggested that I switch it up a bit and count calories instead of following the Weight Watchers plan. I'm getting out of my comfort zone -- I've been a Weight Watchers girl off and on for six years -- but I'm excited to do something different. Weight Watchers is an excellent plan, but I say if something isn't working for me, then I need to move on to something that will!

My target calories for days that I work out is 1400, and 1200 for days I don't. That's about 300 for breakfast, 400 for lunch and 500 for dinner, plus 2, 100-calorie snacks. (Which I will have to adjust for 1200-cal days) And of course I can mix up the calorie amounts if I plan to go out for a nice evening meal or need a bit more fuel in the morning. The best part? She gave me a free day once a month to eat whatever I like! Hello, Thanksgiving...drool...

To help me track everything and learn the calorie values for my favorite foods, I joined Sparkpeople. Anyone else a Sparky? My username is Megsgettinfit if you want to be friends :) I started using the food and exercise logs this morning, including tracking this healthy breakfast:

(Note: I am obsessed with this yogurt! I tried it for the first time the other day, and promptly went to the store to buy more. Loved the pineapple, and can't wait to try the plain and vanilla flavors!)

Yogurt bowl! I mixed the container of strawberry Chobani with 1/2 cup Kashi GoLean, plus 1 sliced banana and a few sprinkles of cinnamon. Scrumdidlyumptious! (And only 319 calories!)

Completed with a tall glass of chilled water and beautiful morning light streaming in the windows!

I'm off work today, so I'm about to get my exercise done, then super clean our house! And of course, spend time with this guy:

What a couch potato! :)

Lunch post to come later...

*Thanks to all our veterans and soldiers for your service and sacrifice*