Beer Wine Chocolate Fitness Plan

Okay, I refuse to call it a diet, but the goal is to lose the extra holiday pounds and tighten everything up in time for our March cruise and the celebration of a big birthday. So let's just call it a readjustment plan. I need to readjust down about 8 pounds to be at my triathlon weight, back when I was in my peak condition. It's actually pretty easy and it works. I do some version of it every year. Life is way too short to go without beer, wine or chocolate, so they're all included.  

1. Ramp up my exercise. I already run, walk and work-out at the gym. To ramp it up I need to increase all these activities to burn off at least 100 more calories a day. Just run or walk a mile more and that should do it.  I also work in a three story building, so I make sure I run up and down the stairs at least 5 times a day. Great for the legs!

2. Record everything I eat. I use the My Fitness Pal app on my iPhone. There is also a android version. It's free, easy to use, and calculates calories and the nutritional components of food. It helps you set up the appropriate number of daily calories you can eat and still lose weight. For me it's about 1500 calories. I need to be religious about this step. Nothing passes these lips without being recorded.

3. Stick to a Mediterranean diet rich in fish, seafood, poultry, vegetables, fruits and whole grains. I also include two portions of Greek yogurt every day. It's filling, satisfying and studies have shown that including low fat dairy in your diet helps reduce belly fat!

4. Every day include one glass of beer or wine, and a small portion of chocolate.  I choose Lindt because it's my favorite, but any fine quality dark chocolate will do. Two squares (about 100 calories) are just enough to be satisfying. I pair the chocolate with either a glass of craft beer or favorite wine, and focus only on the experience of enjoying my end of the evening treat. I include these treat calories in my daily allowance of 1500.

And that's all there is to it. Let me know if you try some version of this. I'll check back on March 1 and let you know how I did.
Cheers and Happy New Year.

Some of my favorites.