Thursday, March 4, 2010

What do YOU eat?

Many people ask me, "what do eat?". Some request a list of what i eat to imitate. Others, i believe, think that there is some secret I must of found along this journey. Well, here is my big secret- that there is no secret. Magazine after magazine, book after book, article after article, I find that the information is the same. You must eat quality, nutritional food, lower your calorie intake, watch your fat intake and voila the pounds will fall off. Period.

Exercise is the plus. It gives me a greater sense of accomplishment and a focus that strenghtens me from within.

Do I ever eat treats?... Heck yeah! I have my treats, it gives me a FEELING of excitement and danger to round off the otherwise strict routine that i have set up for myself. I endulged yesterday in some "low fat" brownies, yeah right!. I have found that the trick is SUBSTITUTIONS. You substitute a healthy, or healthier choice, rather than one that just adds fat, calories, and guilt. My favorite treat comes in a little silver wrapper has 140 calories, 2.5 grams of fat and is round, dark chocolate and filled with a peppermint filling. PEPPERMINT PATTY. yuMMY!

You have to eat foods you like and love. You learn to season your food and prepare them to look appetizing and inviting. I repeat, as I have said many times,

when you limit the amount of food you consume, you must increase the quality

Most importantly I have found that if you increase the effort in preparation and presentation, you will enjoy it so much more. On Mondays and Thursdays that I work from home, my good ole fashioned oatmeal or grits is serving on a colorful plate. Therefore, my breakfast of 150-250 calories i worthy of a 4 **** setting. Remind yourself that you are so worth any money, sacrifice, and effort you put into losing and maintaining weight loss.

I am still having problems getting my daily veggie intake and looking into the consumption of V8 and odwalla drinks to assist me in getting my DV. As with everything that I am interested in, I take the obsessive approach: purchase books, research material and surf the web for information on the subject. I need to set up a routine as much as I hate the word- I repeat i must set up a routine for cooking. My paternal grandmother, when she cooked herself years ago, use to have a weekly schedule, not something she wrote out, but if you visited her on mondays, lentils, white rice, pork chops, and a green salad would be served. Tuesday was spaghetti with a carrot and red beet salad mix. Wednesday would be "7-layer" soup, and so on. This was a routine I admired, but dreaded repeating. Now I find that there is so much wisdom with it. I must accomplish a better routine with my family and the dinner schedule. Just as my routine of gym visits and following tosca Reno's cooler plan has ensured my success in losing and maintaining my weight loss. A better routine of preparation and planning in my families dinner will share the same accomplishments with my son, daughter and husband.

NOW TO THE ORIGINAL NOTE OF DAILY MENU:
BREAKFAST- my new morning staple:
grits with a poached or hardboiled egg and hot sauce, baby!!
instant grits- quick, filling- (real filling will hold you to lunch if needed) 



                                     my mid morning or afternoon snack or treat. substitutions a small substitution as low sugar jelly CAN take off hundreds of calories a week.



                                                   this is my CELEBRATION to my  hubby- he took it upon himself to buy the FAT FREE SKIM MILK.  We have done 2% milk since the kids turned 2 years old and I have snuck in 1% with a usual -- UGH from the kids and hubby...  I ussually get a half gallon of SKIM for myself, but so excited to find he did this without my prodding.  Good job honey!!!.  The creamer is my new yummy of the a.m.  Skinny vanilla latte- FAT FREE, 1tbsp: 30 calories, 0 fat, 6 sugars. Obviously, the trick is to not add sugar when preparing coffee.  If you do a flavored creamer SKIP the sugar.  I HAVE NOT HAD REFINED WHITE SUGAR SINCE JUNE '09
                                                    this is my new evening treat, when i want to ravege the kitchen cupboard in need of some comfort food, the warmth of a hot cup of tea- does the trick.  Its filling and rewarding.  Herbal tea is no calories, filling, and relaxing.

I post this because i am seeing more and more people eat this as a so-called "healthy" addition to lunch or breakfast. This tub IS NOT HEALTHY... WITH 380 calories and 32 g  of FAT (49% of calories from FAT)  this should as all peanut butter used sparingly.  I may eat one slice of wheat toast with a teaspoon of peanut butter after a hard workout. 

the wisest suggestions I have learned and followed:

1) JOURNAL FOOD INTAKE
2) READ LABELS

With all the "low calorie" fuss nowadays- its shocking to me that these companies get through the red tape with these bogus titles.  Low calorie foods are mistaken for an invitacion to eat more of them.  Be careful.  Have you noticed the size of the 100 calorie snack?... Dear lord, you cant survive on that.  Its the same fat laden snacks but with a jip of only 4 cookies or 4 small muffins... Whatever !

Find the healthier alternative to these EXPENSIVE jips.... i love cookies... I have found i am happy with Fig newtons as an alternative.  I love reese's pieces and reese's cup.... replaced nowadays with my steal deal at WALMART DEAL of  2/ $1.00 of my  beloved pp.    

i'm outta here.

find your passions, follow it, clear your mind, be healthy, be happy.... peace !

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