Yes, I know I bought a Peloton, I’m just not there yet.

But here’s an overview of what I ate to drop the weight. I’m focusing on portion control, cutting back on carbs, and increasing my veggie intake. I’ve also started drinking more water (I refuse to give up Coke or Dr. Pepper… you cannot fight me on this) and being more cognitive about eating when I’m hungry versus eating socially or when I am bored.

I’m down 10 pounds, 2 inches from my waist, 1 inch down for my lower waist, 1 1/2 inches from my butt. My overall weight loss goal is 20 pounds.

Week 1

Monday
Breakfast – Greek vanilla yogurt with a handful of Safe and Fair birthday cake granola
Lunch – Spinach Turkey Wrap from Subway with light mayo, tomato, mustard, and lettuce.
Dinner – Jerk chicken with sauteed broccoli and cauliflower puree

Tuesday
Breakfast – Greek vanilla yogurt with a handful of Safe and Fair birthday cake granola
Lunch – Homemade chicken salad with mayo and pickle relish on toasted whole wheat bread + a handful of BBQ chips
Snack – Scoop of peanut butter
Dinner – Small salmon from Bonefish with broccoli and pan Asian sauce (I couldn’t resist)

Wednesday
Breakfast – Egg white delights from Starbucks
Lunch – Chicken nuggets from Chickfila and a Kale Superfood Side Salad
Dinner – Home Chef BBQ Ranch Chicken Tacos with crispy jalapneos

Thursday
Breakfast – Scrambled eggs with salsa and strawberries
Snack – Deviled eggs
Lunch – Jerk Chicken salad from Mellow Mushroom with Greek Dressing
Dinner – Home Chef BBQ Crusted Chicken with Hot Honey

Friday
Breakfast – Greek vanilla yogurt with a handful of Safe and Fair birthday cake granola
Lunch – Turkey “sub in a tub” from Jersey Mikes with lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, oil, vinegar, pickles, and banana peppers
Dinner – Jimmyz Hibachi Low Carb Bowl

Saturday
Breakfast – Scrambled eggs and wheat toast with fruit
Lunch – Moes mini moo with chicken, sour cream, salsa, tomatoes, and lettuce
Dinner – 7oz Sirloin from Texas Roadhouse with a side salad and Italian dressing

Sunday
Breakfast – Skipped
Lunch – Turkey “sub in a tub” from Jersey Mikes with lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, oil, vinegar, pickles, and banana peppers
Dinner – Grilled chicken strips from Cracker Barrel with turnips

Week 2

Monday
Breakfast – Egg white delights from Starbucks
Lunch – Chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-a and a kale superfood side salad
Dinner – Stuffed peppers

Tuesday
Breakfast – 1/2 French toast bagel with cream cheese
Lunch – Turkey sandwich at home with provolone, mayo, and mustard on toasted wheat bread with pickles
Dinner – Taco stuffed sweet potatoes

Wednesday
Breakfast – Greek vanilla yogurt with a handful of Safe and Fair birthday cake granola
Lunch – Spinach turkey wrap from Subway with light mayo, tomato, mustard, and lettuce
Dinner – Mozzarella bruschetta chicken with arugula salad

Thursday
Breakfast – Chick-fil-a yogurt with fruit and Safe and Fair birthday cake granola
Lunch – Small chili from Wendy’s with hot sauce
Dinner – Shrimp and broccoli foil packet

Friday
Breakfast – Two chicken minis from Chick-fil-a
Lunch – Rotisserie-style chicken Caesar wrap from Subway
Dinner – Jimmyz low carb chicken bowl

Saturday
CHEAT DAY — (we were in Charleston and ate ALL the food)

Sunday
CHEAT BRUNCH
Dinner – Jimmyz hibachi low carb shrimp bowl

Week 3

Monday
Breakfast – Greek vanilla yogurt with a handful of Safe and Fair white chocolate raspberry granola
Lunch – Egg salad sandwich at home with lettuce and tomatoes on hearty white bread with pickles
Dinner – 6 oz sirloin from Texas Roadhouse with a side salad, Italian dressing, and broccoli.

Tuesday
Breakfast – Skipped
Lunch – Club sub in a tub with ham from Jersey Mikes: turkey, bacon, ham, banana peppers, pickles, tomatoes, oil, and vinegar
Dinner – Chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-a and a side salad

Wednesday
Breakfast – Chick-fil-a yogurt and fruit
Lunch – Egg salad sandwich at home with lettuce and tomatoes on hearty white bread with pickles
Dinner – Grilled chicken and roasted Brussel sprouts

Thursday
Breakfast – Egg white delights from Starbucks
Lunch – Ceasar salad with grilled shrimp
Dinner – Home chef citrus miso salmon with Brussel sprouts

Friday
Breakfast – Greek vanilla yogurt with a handful of Safe and Fair blueberry granola
Lunch – Homemade chicken salad with mayo and pickle relish on toasted wheat bread with pickles.
Dinner – Hachiya (formerly, Miyabis) chicken and shrimp (no rice!)

Saturday
CHEAT DAY at the lake! I had Cheesecake Factory and a teriyaki chicken sandwich from Charley’s Subs. BUT, I did have a BLT salad with steak at Firebirds, lol.

Sunday
Breakfast – Bojangles, oops
Lunch – Skipped
Dinner – Taco Bell veggie power bowl

Week 4

Monday
Breakfast – Scrambled eggs with Pace salsa
Lunch – Tossed salad at home with balsamic dress and half of a turkey sandwich on toasted wheat bread
Dinner – Home Chef creamy chicken with wild rice

Tuesday
Breakfast – Skipped
Lunch – Turkey sub in a tub from Jersey Mikes with lettuce, tomatoes, mustard, oil, vinegar, pickles, and banana peppers
Dinner – Steaks at home with grilled asparagus

Wednesday
Breakfast – Chick-fil-a yogurt and fruit with a handful of Safe and Fair birthday cake granola
Lunch – Home Chef harvest Ceasar salad with shaved parmesan
Dinner – Baked chicken fajitas

Thursday
Breakfast – Two chicken minis from Chick-fil-a
Lunch – Egg salad and chicken salad with mini crackers and fruit
Dinner – Jimmyz low carb chicken bowl

Friday
Breakfast – Egg white delights with Pace salsa
Lunch – Mini sub from Jersey Mikes on white bread with ham, turkey, mayo, lettuce, mustard, oil, and vinegar. Plus, a handful of baked BBQ chips
Dinner – Home Chef teriyaki sriracha chicken with broccoli and peppers

Saturday
Breakfast – Scrambled eggs and one min croissant with fruit
Lunch – Prime rib sandwich (no bread) with raw horseradish
Dinner – Mexican sushi roll

Sunday
Breakfast – Skipped
Lunch – Papa Johns Cheese Pizza
Dinner – Crab cake with Brussel sprouts

What are your favorite healthy meals? I’d love to know what your go-to weight loss recipes are!

I know that Twitter is where people flock to talk shit about celebrities and contestants on the Bachelor. I get it, I do. I’ve DONE it. We live in an age where everyone feels the need to share their thoughts, particularly the nasty ones, as quickly as it enters their minds. Not taking into consideration that a real person might see the snarky remark and have it hurt their feelings, damage their self-confidence, or make them doubt their self-worth.

I am a real person. I am not a celebrity, and while I do share quite a bit of my life with my followers, I don’t have a team of people around me that are paid to build me up all day to counteract some of the nastiness myself (and other influencers, this issue is not singular to me) deal with on a day to day bases.

This is a job. This is my job. I LOVE MY JOB! Y’all have become a community, a sanctuary, a second home for me. But don’t get me wrong, this is work. Every ad you see has to be submitted and approved by a PR person directly for that company. Just when you think you filmed a perfect ad you submit it and have to reshoot because the lighting was off or you didn’t hold the product up correctly. I hustle to get you guys discount codes. I spend HOURS a day creating content, finding new outfits, blogging, responding to DM’s, editing, organizing giveaways… it may not sound like work, but, on average, I dedicate around 14 hours a day to my “job.” And this is just my side-gig! I own a boutique (The Retail Therapist), I have 10 employees, I own a tanning salon, and, most importantly, I have an 18 month old! And it’s not like I get to go home and be done with my work, and not think about it. I am constantly trying to figure out new ways to create and share content. I’ve turned down tens of thousands of dollars in ads for products or companies I don’t believe in so you guys don’t buy things that you may hate!

I’ve received death threats, I’ve been body shamed, I’ve had people make fake accounts just to send me a hateful message. Are THOSE the opinions that really need to be shared? Is that our culture now? Spreading negativity? And doing it DIRECTLY to a person that is for sure going to see it. If you don’t like my outfit, don’t “like” it. If you don’t like what I talk about or share online, UNFOLLOW ME. Someone sent me a screenshot last week of a side by side of myself and a girl mocking my pose and outfit with the caption “Nailed it.” I was gutted. And I’m a grown woman, I cannot imagine being a teenager these days with all this negativity and online hatred. I try not to take it personally as these comments usually reflect the commentator more than it does the intended subject, but teenage Whitney? I may have never left my room again.

And everyone wants to call me out if I spell something wrong or post a sarcastic poll about cleaning my house versus going on a boat/spending time with my family. (Also got some REAL nasty messages about my child not being in a life jacket that day… I can’t even go down the mom-shaming rabbit hole right now). Let’s not forget about that time I shared a few designer dupes of bags/purses and almost deleted all of my social media because of the backlash. *News flash: not everyone can/wants to buy $3000 purses! Shocking, I know.

I know this post isn’t going to change the internet. More than likely, I’ll get double the comments saying, “then why don’t you find another job,” from people missing the point completely. BUT CAN WE NOT JUST SUPPORT OTHER WOMEN INSTEAD OF TRYING TO TEAR THEM ALL DOWN? If I can prevent one screenshot sent to someone else for the pure purpose of ridicule I feel like I’ve succeeded.

We can’t make everyone happy, but maybe can we try to go back to the kindergarten mantra of “if you don’t have anything nice to say… don’t say anything at all!”