In deciding what kind of a program to build for Trish, we had her journal her food for several days. Here’s the thing- For Trish, the problem is not eating too much. Not by a long shot. She would eat somewhat sporadically, but, when she did eat, she chose calorie-dense, nutrient-deficient “convenience foods” like so many of us do. For example, on the days she journaled for us, she was on a Chinese food kick. Now, I love a good Walnut Prawn like anyone, but between fried and saucy, you are looking at a lot of calories in a small package with few nutrients (plus a lot of sodium and saturated fat.)

The good news is, she had some things going on with her eating- high sodium, low fiber, high saturated fat, etc.- that mean we can expect her to start seeing marked improvements both mentally and physically almost immediately upon starting the program.

The tougher news to hear, especially for a time-strapped person, is that she would need to be eating WAY more than she had been to meet the needs of her body- especially as we started her on a workout program.

So, for these first few weeks, Trish is not “counting calories” in any way. She has been given a deck of “Deal a Meal“- esque cards indicating the number of food portions she is to consume, and her job is to eat them all- especially the fresh fruits and vegetables! She gets the following quantities to start, and we’ll re-assess on her first weigh-in to be sure she is eating enough:

4 protein servings- Each serving equivalent to 3 oz of very lean meat

5 grains and starches- Equivalent of a half cup of pasta or a slice of whole wheat bread or serving of whole grain crackers

4 vegetables- Equivalent to one cup raw or half cup cooked of any non-starchy vegetables. These are not optional, and Trish is encouraged to eat as many servings of veggies as she’d like.

2 fruits- Again, not optional!

2 dairy- This includes non-fat or lowfat yogurt, milk, etc.

4 fats- Equivalent to one teaspoon of olive oil, 2 tbs avocado, 10 or so almonds. Trish is encouraged to eat the fats, since they help with feeling fuller, longer.

Also, Trish was given a ration of 7 “drink tickets” per week that she can use for one 4 oz glass of wine, 1.5 oz serving of hard liquor or Coke (Trish was drinking regular Cokes on her baseline log days.) Why so many? And why not “just say no” to these empty calories? Well, we don’t her to go screaming from the hills with a program that is not compatible with her lifestyle and, frankly, eating the sheer volume of healthy foods she needs to get to bolster her health and kickstart her metabolism is going to take some getting used to. We’ll bring the number of weekly drink tickets down if we need to, but no use starting something that is not both ATTAINABLE and SUSTAINABLE.

Other goals for this first part of the program include drinking 8 glasses of water per day and eating a balanced breakfast within an hour of waking.

For her workouts, we’ve started Trish on the Slim in 6 program from Beachbody. Given her mostly-sedentary lifestyle, we felt this program was tailored well to her fitness- starting with a 25-minute Ramp It Up workout to build a solid base, before moving on to other workouts that build in intensity over time and blend cardio with resistance band work to build lean muscle mass- a must when burning fat! She’ll doing these workouts six times a week and then we’ll guide her through the program when her fitness adapts.

Additionally, she’s got a pedometer and a goal of logging 5000 steps per day.

We’ve also set some lifestyle goals that we’ll be working with her on throughout the program. Things like getting in the habit of looking up or reading up on health and fitness topics that interest her, and other “healthy lifestyle habits” that will help her live with a consciousness of health.

The Numbers: So, what is Trish’s goal weight? Smartly, she hasn’t set one. She has a pair of pants she’d really like to fit into, but otherwise isn’t concerned with and doesn’t want to get caught up in numbers. For our purposes, we’ll track her total weight lost and celebrate every 25 lb as its own compartmentalized “goal.” My goal is to get her to at least a 25 BMI, which is the high end of healthy, and then the rest is all (low cal!) gravy. We’ll also get some baseline measurements… once we get to the end Trish might be willing to divulge the starting number so that you all can see how far she’s come!

I should also note that, other than a year spent digging through kid’s poop for pinworms as a pediatrician’s assistant, I’m not medical expert. Both Rob and I are just enthusiasts who want to see our friends succeed and are happy to share the wealth of information we’ve both spent a good deal of our lives collecting.

We hope you’ll enjoy watching Trish attain her goals as much as we’ll enjoy partnering with her to help her get there!