November 20th I mentioned here about changes I have to make to my diet for the best of my health.
So far, so good.
I think it's easier to go cold turkey cos you HAVE TOO, rather than opting not to ingest something by choice. I'm making better decisions. I thought I was going to be missing out on taste. Not a friggin chance!
If anything I'm gaining a better trained pallet. :)
In the morning I usually have a black coffee with a hot chocolate pack in it. (work coffee sucks donkey ass)
A few times a week, about 2pm, I'd have a pop. I don't drink it at home, only when I'm out and about or at work. Breakfast, was non existent.
Lunches are left over of whatever I had the night before or a quick zip through the drive thru with the work wife. My dinners have consisted of easy to make, convenient dinners. lots of frozen, easy to pop in to the oven dinners. I'm surprised just how much ready to eat dinners are available out.
Now that I have to make these changes, I've been looking at the labels.
Holy crap is there a lot of sugar and sodium in prepackaged foods!!! Boooo, fail.
Baby steps. I'm making changes.
I do not keep salt in the house. Never really have, cos if it's available to me, I'll find a way to put it on anything! My thyroid meds are a sodium base, so I dropped salt from my diet about 13 years ago.
I've stopped having a hot chocolate pack in my coffee, and still sans sugar, I'm drinking my coffee black. It's not really that bad. I've been bringing my breakfast. Cream of Wheat with a banana. Not bad. Sans milk/cream. Although I have to find an easy way to transport breakfast to work if I plan on changing it up etc. Lunches are still left overs of the dinner the night before, but dinners have changed.
I've made the following dishes in the last week: (all small portions as my appetite has diminished and never returned...not a bad thing I guess)
*Salmon steaks with asparagus and quinoa.(type of protein rice)
*Tuna fish casserole. (includes celery, green olives, tuna/salmon, macaroni and baked cheese)
*3 oz steak with rustic potatoes - no butter oil or salt.
*Pizza - I caved one night.....
*Chili with dinner bun, no butter, cheese or sour cream.
*Lemon/basal chicken and baked yams. (YUM in love with Yams!!)
*Dinner party consisted of
-Tequila ribs (no sauce) and asparagus with rustic potato's (no butter, salt, oils used)
- Brochinni & tomato salad - wasn't a fan, tasted like tofu. very bland.
-Creme Brule. and a few glasses of wine.
I've upped my water intake to 6- 8oz glasses of hot water while at work... I don't keep track when I'm at home. So I could actually be exceeding the recommended water intake.
Giving up sugar really wasn't that hard. I did cave last Thursday and had a caffeine/sugar free diet coke. (barf)... it did not fill the craving I was having and to boot it made me gassy! not cool cola, not cool.
I need more meal suggestions.
I'm not afraid of much and will eat almost anything.
I've eaten a very wide variety of game, tongue, haggis... so bring on your suggestions.
As long as they are reasonably easy to make.
I fell in love with cooking again. :) and I feel good....so far.
I figure as long as I give myself permission to be bad one a month then I can do this.
Hoping to introduce exercise into the regiment shortly. I want my eating habits to be like breathing before I move forward. Therefore I'm not overwhelmed with change.
I'm learning about good/bad starches. I'm afraid I can not mix quinoa with rustic potatoes or yams. etc
Please submit your suggestions and help educate me.
I am terrible at dieting...I love food...I go to the gym when I get my lazy but out of bed which I did today! So very proud of you for making the effort to better yourself! Sounds like your doing a great job!
ReplyDeleteSSW - Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love food too and I refuse to d-i-e-t.
I'm just making better choices than I was before. Nothing is off limits persae, I just won't turn to the easy convenient foods first.
I love cooking and always made the excuse how cooking for one was a pain. It still is, but I can not express just how friggin easy it is to cook with real foods.
I spent $30, 10 days ago on grociers and aside from the pizza I splurged on, I'm still eating that food, where as before, $30 would last two days.
I don't personally believe that there is such a thing as bad or good carbs - there are carbs you should eat less of.
ReplyDeleteFrom a science view - there are simple sugars/carbs and complex carbs. Simple ones lead to the spikes in blood sugar and the complex are slower release.
From there I normally use the food pyramid as a good guideline - choosing as many whole food (ie. not processed) and high fiber or what is called nutrient or calorie dense foods. What I mean by that is a glass of skim milk is 100 calories and a can of Coke is 100 calories - which is better for you? The milk would be considered calorie dense - you get bang for your buck verses the Coke.
So anyways - I would give you this as a rough meal plan:
1. Breakfast - Starbucks Oatmeal with Fruit and Nuts and a Skim Latte sans sweetener is a good option, you can add some ground flax seeds for your omega fats and fiber. This is good because you get healthy fats (the ones in the nuts), fiber from the fruit and the oatmeal - helps you feel full longer, and you get protein from the oatmeal, milk in the latte and the nuts.
2. Snack - Veggies and Hummus or Apple and a Babybell cheese - portioned cheeses help make sure you don't splurge
3. Lunch - Leftovers - you know if you are totally desperate - Can of Fish with a Salad, or a rotisserie chicken - skinned of course over salad.
4. Snack - A yogurt with some flax seeds - just check to see what they have in them - less is more. Or you can do what I opt for by unsweetened yogurt and portion out a 1/2-cup, add fresh or frozen fruit/berries and a drizzle of honey or agave or maple syrup. They are sweeteners but their structure is less likely make you swing up and crash
5. Dinner - You've got this right. Normally I look at it this way on my plate - 1/2 veg, 1/4 protein 1/4 starch.
Veg = salad, asparagus, kale, cauliflower etc - the brighter the color the better
Starch - quinoa, yams, potatoes, brown rice (which freezes amazing - make a huge batch and freeze it - zap it when you need it), pasta etc
Protein - Fish, Chicken etc or alternative like beans.
Finish w/fruit
I will say in closing the more meals you can make with beans the better - they are high in fiber, low in calories and will make you feel full - just make sure to buy the organic canned versions without the chemicals added and rinse really well - gets rid of the funky stuff that will really make you gassy
This recipe is one of my go to - I make the chickpeas and combine with white corn tortillas and tones of veggies and avocado – not guacamole – unless you just make it with salt, lime, a little agave (that’s my recipe) – it is a healthy fat
http://vegandad.blogspot.com/2008/03/chickpea-tostados.html
In the end I would say just watch the sneaky calories - cheese, alcohol and sweets - are good in tiny amounts, but for most of us, especially me, tiny is never enough
S&P - I just fell in love with you.
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly the kind of help I"m looking for. I can not eat lettuce, so salads are becoming creative. :)
I'm also not a huge yogurt fan, but I'll experiment for sure.
Thank you!! xo
To add - you've got it right, small changes, those will be the life long changes for you.
ReplyDeleteAnd since you seem time crunched - consider investing in a good slow cooker - makes cheaper cuts like boneless chicken thighs good - also makes a good stew, chili or pasta sauce etc
For meal ideas - 101Cookbooks.com, glutenfreegoddess.blogspot.com, www.sproutedkitchen.com, even GOOP has some good ideas - I know be skeptical but she does. That or just walk around Whole Foods, I find they always inspire me.
I just saw no lettuce fair enough - try sandwiches with a good hearty bread - like Ezekiel brand, Greek salad - I usually just do balsamic vinegar and a little oil - no cheese (can't have the dairy)
ReplyDeleteFair enough on the yogurt - you could do peanut butter and apple or 10 almonds and some other kind of fruit....
Will you be my best friend? lol
ReplyDeleteI'll buy a slow cooker mid month!! Never thought of that, I can prep it all the night before and have dinner/lunch ready when I get home.
As it is right now, I'm not home til 6-630, shower and chores bring me to 730 ish.. there are times when I can let something cook while I multi-task but that is not always an option.
I am happy to help just keep posting your dilemmas and I'll keep offering suggestions. I used to do cooking classes out of my tiny kitchen - I am happy to help out in whatever way I can to demystify or get people excited about cooking - it can and should be be super easy and fun.
ReplyDelete