Trick or Treat: Better Snacks!

I have learned that the following foods make poor snack/treat choices and are actually empty calories that should not be a part of a healthy diet (cookies, pastries, chips, crackers, candy, and ice cream). The reason these foods make such poor snack choices is that they are usually high in sugar, fat and carbs, while at the same time offering almost no fiber or protein. When you eat these snacks you do not feel full which is why these tend to be foods easy to binge on. These foods also have an addictive component, in that once you eat these foods they create cravings for more. I am learning not to eat these foods as snacks or even as treats.

A better snack is made from real food that is high in fiber and protein. When I am hungry it is better to eat some whole fruit, nuts yogurt or a sandwich than to fill up on empty calories.

An easy way to spot an empty calorie food is to see if the food is high in sugar, fat and calories while not giving you any fiber or protein.

A time and manner to treat oneself?

I am finding that first off I must have a food worthy of being a treat. A treat food would be one that I do not consider to be apart of my normal diet. One that I would eat on special occasions or sparingly. One that I can eat a single serving of and not be tempted to binge. For me I want my treat to have some sort of nutritional value as well. A treat food is not something that I would eat a snack. If  I am hungry the last thing I would want to eat is a treat food. A treat food is purely for the taste buds!

My personal treat of choice is plain cheese cake. Cheese cake does have sugar and fat, but it also has protein. I never eat more than 2 slices and can get full off one slice. It does not make me want to binge.

* cheese cake from Jack in the Box is 310 cal, 17 fat, 9 sat fat, 7 protein.

CLM

February Recap!

So at the beginning of this month I had thoughts of cleaning up my diet by cutting snacks, and I was really focused on cutting out junk food. I relied a lot on sugar-free pudding and pop-corn toward the beginning of the month. I was following a pretty strict plan of eating where I ate three meals a day, mostly veggie burgers and yogurt. I was preparing to start working with a personal trainer. About half way through the month I began working with my new personal trainer. He helped me to add in some strength training to my daily routine of walking which I love. I have made it to the 5 month mark with my walking and I love it! I will continue to be a walker for life. Although I was a little hesitant to try adding the strength training I am finding that I really love how good my body feels after a strength session. I have also heard for years about the benefits of strength training how once you build up those lovely muscles your body will just melt fat even when you are at rest. I also heard it can help you get a more slim body even if you weigh more. I am now a believer and will be doing strength training at-least twice a week. I think I was intimidated by all the fancy gym equipment, but so far I have not stepped foot in a gym, I have been doing push-up's, squats, lunges and lifting soup cans. I do like having a guide to help me and I do think that one day I may even join Curves.

Other things I learned this month include more body acceptance. My body is not losing a lot of pounds quickly and I feel honestly at this point that focusing on weight loss is a lost cause. I have noticed non scale victories such as increased energy and looser clothing. I can now fit some clothes I could not wear a few months ago. I have not dropped an entire dress size yet, but I am happy that I am fitting my current dress size better. The good news is that I have not gained weight or gone up a dress size! At the suggestion of my trainer I have added more food to my diet. I had been avoiding pasta and a lot of carbs for a while eating really low calorie meals, and now I am following a plan where I eat more whole wheat, especially pasta, use olive oil, eat at-least five times a day.

I found that I was developing an eating disorder where I was afraid to eat carbs, fat and higher calorie foods no matter what nutrients they offered. As a result of my poor eating habits my body was going into starvation mode and retaining fat! I am so happy my trainer helped inspire me to eat in a much more loving manner. I can already feel energy being restored to my body. I have decided to stop trying to diet or  restrict my calorie intake and learn to enjoy healthy foods and eat what my body really needs.

I am discovering that a gentile approach to exercise and eating right work better for me than extremes. As I approach March I am happy to have a healthier mindset. I will be posting March's goals soon. Overall I can say that my journey has definitely grown past weight loss into a journey to love myself and be healthy. I have discovered that the journey truly has no end point that eating right and taking care of myself are things I will be doing for life.

CLM

Lesson I learned: Don't focus on cuts!

I have learned the hard way that focusing on the foods I am cutting out causes me to have craving's for them later. I ate two bags of hot chips over the weekend. It is better for me to focus on those good habits I am building than focusing too much on avoiding trigger and junk food. For the rest of this month my goal will be to simply start each weekend day by eating a veggie burger and a yogurt and going for a 30 min walk. I have to remember to focus on small goals that I can do rather than big goals that are hard to achieve such as never eating junk food or trigger foods. I am still working on forgiving myself quickly when I make mistakes and finding confidence from going right back to my healthy habits. I have to remember, "Progress Not Perfection!" The most important thing is that I keep moving forward on my journey and not get to far ahead of myself.

CLM

What you gonna cut?

What you gonna cut?

When it comes to weight management you have to learn to eat healthy food and exercise, but that is not the only thing you have to do. At some point you have to suck it up and cut some thing bad out. The question of what you are going to cut out of your diet is totally up to you, as well as how you choose to cut that bad food out.

Some popular approaches are cutting out entire foods groups such as no meat, no fat or no carbs. Some people choose to eat any and every thing and cut down on portions.

The problem with the above approaches for me, is that cutting out entire foods groups makes me feel too deprived and not in the candy counts as a food group sort of way, I actually feel like I am starving my body and psychologically I just can't go on a starvation plan, even if what I am doing is starving myself of a particular nutrient, I need fat, carbs and protein to function and that is just the way it is.

As far as the eat any and every thing approach as long as you only eat a little, well all I can say is if that worked for me, then I would have never had a weight problem to begin with! Some foods cannot be eaten in moderation for me. You have heard the popular commercial for Pringles, "Once you pop, you just can't stop," well that statement could not be more true for me.

The real question is, "Why would I want to start eating a food, that I know good and well I will not be able to stop eating?" That just sound like a recipe for fat.

I have gotten to the point in my health journey were I now understand that a big part of weight loss is not only starting good behaviors and habits, but breaking or stopping bad behaviors and habits. I will say that it is much easier to start good habits like drinking water, eating a healthy breakfast or walking than to stop a bad behavior like cutting out junk foods.

So to answer the question,"What Am I Gonna Cut?"

I am gonna cut, cheese, chocolate, chips and crackers, cookies, cake, pies and other desserts besides pudding, hummus, peanut butter and jelly, salted nuts, dried fruit and all forms of candy!

CLM

February's Challenge! Giving Up The Bad Stuff!

It is now February 2013 and I feel ready to embark upon a new phase of my journey were I work on stopping the bad habits of eating harmful foods such as cheese, chocolate, candy, cookies, cake,pie, fried foods and other harmful foods that my body was addicted to. It is time to become abstinent from harmful foods. I feel ready to embark upon this leg of the journey and I am standing on the shoulders of my new healthy routine.

CLM