So far so good on the new plan. Here is one help, one hack, and one healthful smoothie recipe.

I feel like I’ve finally found a goal worth sacrificing pizza and Danish pastries (!) and a way forward. This plan is working. I actually looked at my smaller-size clothing in the storage closet this week and felt hopeful at last.

The Help — Preplanning each day on MyFitnessPal and having some food ready in advance really works. This app is the greatest thing. I really can’t say enough about how easy it is to make a plan (including foods I like on a schedule that suits me, and a daily treat) that achieves the desired calorie and protein/fat/carbohydrate goals. It didn’t take long at all to dial in my calorie goal for good energy with weight loss. Easy.

The Hack — I’ve always been a salad eater, but the dressings I like wreck my plan. Now, I make this dressing for one salad.

• 2 ounces V-8 juice
• ½ tablespoon minced dried onion
• 1 teaspoon olive oil (omit if the rest of the day includes enough fat)
• Season to taste, I like Adobo powder
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional)
• Stir/shake and let stand until it thickens slightly.

Christopher’s Healthful Green Shake — This is super versatile and portable, and honestly doesn’t taste bad. My trainer son has recommended this and various other versions of the base recipe to his clients for years and graciously omitted the chia seeds for me. It’s a handy way to consume a lot of nutrients for a reasonable calorie count.

I use a NutriBullet and dandy little Etekcity food scale to make it, and I have it saved as a recipe in MyFitness Pal so I can tweak the ingredients as necessary when I add it to my daily food diary.

Blend until smooth:

• 100 grams spinach
• 11 grams fish oil (I use Carlson’s Cod Oil with lemon)
• 65 grams non-fat Greek yogurt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 50 grams frozen orange juice (I substitute 2 ounces raspberry ketones)
• Optional: I also add 1 teaspoon spirulina powder and the contents of 1 B-complex capsule.
• Water to cover

Add 1 full scoop protein powder – I use Gold Standard Whey Protein, vanilla flavor – and 1 envelope Emergen-C. Shake well. (If you add these to the blender, it can get pretty foamy.)

Add more water if desired. Pour into one or two shaker cups. Change it up to suit your tastes and available foods.