My Attempt at a Lifestyle Change

Thanks for the reply/feedback.  So far I've been sticking to my plan pretty precisely.  I agree with the concept of increasing meals, and will work on incorporating a healthy snack between smaller proportioned meals.

That's great that you've been able to consistently keep to the diet plan you have.  Taking those steps to make it habitual is absolutely key to long term success.  I just noticed that you also asked about sodium intake based on the foods you're eating.  While the soup and cottage cheese will probably carry the bulk of the sodium intake during the day, it doesn't look like you have a whole lot to worry about unless of course you're trying to restrict further due to a medical condition.  If everything is fine medically, that sodium intake shouldn't be cause for concern for someone your size.  Plus, you mention you consume a decent amount of water daily along with consistently sticking to your exercise schedule which are both positives that can counter excessive sodium consumption (which I wouldn't say you're consuming excessive amounts). 

The only other concern I would have would be regarding your total daily caloric intake.  Do you know how much you're consuming?  Do you know what your BMR is based on your current body stats?  For example, I'm 5'10" and have had stretches where I ate similarly to what you have listed (albeit across more meals) and was only taking in around 1,600 - 1,800 calories per day.  I lost a lot of weight quickly from about 170lbs to 163lbs or so and really could've stood to consume more during the day.  I put a post together a little while back talking about how to calculate your current BMR and an approximate goal weight BMR to determine a daily calorie range over at www.dietforadollar.com  It can be very easy to consume both too much or too little depending on your goals.  Right now I'm consistently in the 2,200 calories/day range and have increased activity to slowly bring my weight down without sacrificing as much muscle as I did previously.  It is a very fine balance and like anything else, when done slowly and precisely the results are typically better than those found with a quick and dirty approach. 

Keep up the good work!  A quick and easy tip for those between meal snacks:  1 serving of a high quality whey protein.  They usually only have about 100cals per serving and 24g protein with little to no carbs/fat.  You'll be getting a high quality protein, your body will be working more throughout the day digesting, repairing, etc and your caloric intake will only rise slightly. 

Take care~

I too would like to commend you on your efforts to change your lifestyle.  You will be rewarded in many ways that you never even considered!

In review this string of posts I like that the conversation is inching toward learning about a healthy calorie deficit (you can learn more about this in my recent shared posts).  I say that because I see references to things like BMR, Calorie Intake, ect...

I wanted to give you another resource from a friend/colleague of mine that will help you better understand your relationship between you and the food you eat.  The resource is called Body By Eats and it was created by Leigh Peele.  Here is a link for you to check it out:

http://tinyurl.com/ykwp3ah

I hope this helps!

Jason Chiero, CPT