Michelle's Plan · Start HereHow This Works

Michelle — this was built for you.

Not a diet off the internet. Every page was made from your own answers — your kitchen, your gym, your schedule, your 9pm sweet tooth. All of it is on purpose.

How it works

One page a day	The monthly calendar lives on the fridge: tonight's dinner (green), tonight's dessert (amber), and how you'll move. That's all you look at.
One cook day a week	Sunday you cook once — about 2 hours, music on. Every other dinner is already made or takes 15 minutes. The weekly pages hold recipes and Rick's grocery list.
No counting	No calories, no points, no food scale. Portions are in plain words — "two ladles," "a fist of rice" — printed on every recipe. Follow the pages and the math is already done.
Nothing is banned	Dessert is on the calendar every single night. Wine or a beer twice a week fits. Saturday dinners out fit. A plan you don't have to cheat on is one you can keep forever.
The scoreboard	Four checkboxes a day — meals eaten, dinner as planned, the day's workout done (gym or walk), dessert as planned. 24 of 28 boxes is a winning week, whatever the scale says.

THE COLORS, EVERYWHERE: GREEN = meals AMBER = snacks & dessert NAVY = weights TEAL = bike PLUM = walks

About Optavia, and the first few weeks — read once

Optavia did its job — you lost real weight with it, and the structure suited you. The quiet catch is how it works: it keeps you on very little food, mostly from small packets. Results come fast at first, but a body can't stay there — which is part of why the weight has come back after the finish line before.

This plan feeds you more — real meals, on purpose. So two things will happen. First, the scale ticks UP a few pounds in the first week or two as your body refills its fuel and water. Not fat; happens to everyone. Second, the first month may feel slower than Optavia felt — but this time the loss is fat, not water and muscle, which is exactly why it stays off. Your leftover fuelings are built into month 1 as snacks, so nothing you paid for is wasted.

The honest pace: 1 to 1.5 pounds a week — about 15 pounds by the end of month 3, and 140 in 6 to 8 months, getting stronger the whole way. We judge months, never days. And at 140 this plan doesn't end — it just adds food. That's the part that's different this time.

Built July 2026 by Matthew + Claude from Michelle's own answers · targets follow published guidelines for women 65+ · reviewed page by page before printing.

Michelle's Plan · Start HerePortions & Everyday Rules

Portions — your hands are the measuring cups

A BIG HELPINGMeat or protein at each meal — chicken, turkey, shrimp, beef. About your palm, plus half again.

A FISTRice, pasta, potatoes, or one mini naan. One fist per meal — pick one, not two.

TWO LADLESAny soup, chili, or saucy batch — a generous bowl and a half.

A THUMBOils, dressing, peanut butter, coffee creamer. A cheese sprinkle counts as a thumb too.

Vegetables are unlimited. Half the dinner plate at least — salad, slaw, frozen veggies, whatever's easy. Hungry between meals? Veggies, fruit, or a fueling (while they last) first.

The five everyday rules

Protein every meal — and keep the dairy in. The 11:30 breakfast and the dinner protein protect your muscle while the weight comes off. The yogurt, cottage cheese, and almond milk also feed your bones — don't trade them all away in the same day.
Drink on a schedule, not on thirst: a glass with each meal, one at the gym, one mid-afternoon — 6 to 7 glasses a day. More fiber needs more water, and two of your medicines are drying. (If you hold back on water because of your bladder, tell your doctor — there are better answers than being thirsty.)
Wine or beer stays at twice a week, with dinner. One glass, already counted in the plan. One honest note: alcohol and pregabalin stack, so this is on the doctor sheet for a quick yes.
The 3pm snack is an offer, not an order. Hungry? It's there and it's counted. Not hungry? Skip it guilt-free — your day is still a success. (If you're skipping it most days and then starving at dinner, mention it to Jeannie — she'll help rebalance.)
The 9pm dessert is eaten on purpose — the one printed on the calendar, sitting down, enjoying it. Wandering the kitchen at 9 is what we replaced. The sweet itself stays.
When a day falls apart, the freezer IS the plan. Any dinner that goes sideways = a frozen batch meal, 4 minutes in the microwave. Check the box — that counts as dinner as planned.

Eating out (Saturdays, or whenever)

Order meat + vegetables first. Steak or filet is a great order — you love it and it fits.
Bread basket: skip it or split one piece. A fist of carbs still applies — some of the potatoes, not the mountain.
Dessert out = that night's 9pm dessert. Split it and it's fully inside the plan.
No making up for it the next day. The next page just continues. One meal never broke anything.

Michelle's Plan · Start HereApproved Brands · 1 of 2

The Approved List — for Rick: anything here is a YES. Pick whichever is on deal.

Rhythm: Costco every 2–3 weeks for the big stuff (~$70–90) · Cub weekly for fresh fill-ins (~$25–35) · Lunds for the specialty items. Prices are ballpark — deal-hunt freely inside this list.

Protein powder & shakes

Product	Where	~Price	Notes
Just Ingredients protein (her daily)	justingredients.com	$52–65/30 srv	Cleanest label; subscribe-&-save cuts ~10–15%
Fairlife Core Power 26g bottles	COSTCO	~$24/10-pk	Grab-and-go backup
PBfit Organic peanut butter powder 30 oz	COSTCO	~$9–14	Best value by far; Crazy Richard's = one-ingredient alternative

Dairy & eggs

Product	Where	~Price	Notes
Fage Total 0% big tub · or Kirkland Greek 2×32oz	COSTCO / Cub	~$7	Milk + cultures, nothing else
Oikos Triple Zero / Two Good cups	Cub sales / Costco	~$1–1.25/cup	The flavored "dessert yogurt" slot
Good Culture cottage cheese 48 oz	COSTCO	$6.99	Half the per-oz price of small tubs; no gums
Kirkland cage-free eggs 24 ct · liquid egg whites 6-pk	COSTCO	~$7 · ~$11	Egg whites ≈ $1.83/carton
Kirkland unsweetened almond milk 6-pk · Malk/Elmhurst	COSTCO / Lunds	~$9 · ~$6–7	Malk = 3-ingredient label
Chobani coffee creamer	Cub / Lunds	~$4–5	Real-food label; one thumb per coffee

Meats (the bulk anchors)

Product	Where	~Price	Notes
Kirkland frozen chicken breast 6.5 lb	COSTCO	$19.99 (~$3.07/lb)	Individually wrapped, zero waste
93/7 ground turkey 4-pk · Kirkland 93% beef	COSTCO	~$2.60–3.80/lb · ~$5/lb	Freeze extras; Cub sales sometimes beat the beef price
Rotisserie chicken	COSTCO	$4.99	Cheapest cooked protein anywhere (skip the skin)
Pork tenderloin 4-pk	COSTCO / Cub	~$2.50–3.50/lb	As lean as chicken breast, no bones anywhere
Kirkland raw shrimp 2 lb · frozen cod/tilapia loins	COSTCO	~$14 · ~$4–10/lb	15-min dinners; cod/tilapia = least "fishy" white fish

Michelle's Plan · Start HereApproved Brands · 2 of 2

Pantry & soup season (soups start in the fall)

Product	Where	~Price	Notes
Kirkland organic chicken stock 6×32 oz	COSTCO	~$9 (~$1.50/qt)	The batch-cooking workhorse
L&B Minnesota Cultivated Wild Rice 16 oz	Lunds	$5.99	For chicken wild rice soup — real MN wild rice
Bush's reduced-sodium beans · S&W/Kirkland organic 8-pk	Cub / COSTCO	~$1.20–1.50/can · ~$8–9	Always the low-sodium kind
Quaker rolled oats 2×5 lb · Kirkland chia 1.5 lb	COSTCO	~$11 · ~$9	One-ingredient breakfasts for months
Purely Elizabeth granola (topping only)	COSTCO	~$11/34 oz	Low sugar for a granola — 2 spoonfuls, not a bowl
Banza chickpea pasta	COSTCO	~$5–10	Twice the protein and fiber of regular pasta; grab the $4.97 deals
Lundberg brown/wild rice · Mission Carb Balance tortillas · Stonefire mini naan	Cub / COSTCO	~$4–7 each	Mini naan = portion control built in
Kirkland organic olive oil 2L · Chosen Foods avocado oil 2L	COSTCO	~$21 · ~$26	The only two cooking oils the plan uses
Rao's marinara 2-pk · Kirkland organic salsa · Siete taco seasoning	COSTCO / Lunds	~$13 · ~$6 · ~$2–3	No-sugar-added sauces; Primal Kitchen dressings on clearance

Vegetables

Product	Where	~Price	Notes
Kirkland frozen organic veggie blends 5.5 lb	COSTCO	~$8–10	One ingredient: vegetables — unlimited category
Taylor Farms salad kits · fresh produce	COSTCO / Cub	~$4–6/kit	Use half the dressing packet

Snacks & dessert — the amber shelf (yes, it's approved)

Product	Where	~Price	Notes
Yasso Greek yogurt bars 15 ct	COSTCO	often ~$9 on deal	~100 cal, 5g protein a bar
SmartSweets 10-pk	COSTCO	grab at $9.97	The gummy fix: 3g sugar vs ~30g in regular candy
Lily's dark chocolate chips 24 oz · 85% dark bars	COSTCO / Cub	~$12	For cheesecake cups + chocolate nights
Spindrift 24-pk · Kirkland sparkling 32 ct	COSTCO	~$11–15 · ~$9	House drinks, unlimited (Halo Top pints on Cub sales also fine)

Not on this list? Check the label — short ingredient list, low added sugar — or text Matthew a photo. When in doubt, it waits a week.