Back to Basics: Eating Well with Balance

[Ginger]

For about the last year, my eating habits have deteriorated. I know in my head the "right" things to do, but haven't done them. The last couple of months I've worked seriously to lose weight, gain consistency in the exercise area again and greatly improve my diet. (I'm down about 10 pounds and doing pretty good at exercising again. :D )

So, while I'm sure most of you know these things, I'm going to post some of the things I've been reminded as I've gone along. If there is anyone else out there who has need of a bit of encouragement, I'm hoping it'll help you.

What I've done or am trying to do consistently:

Minimize or eliminate white sugar and white flour. I have not eliminated these, but have reduced them a lot.

Eat fresh fruits and vegies. Prepping and having chopped vegies ready to throw in salads has helped me to have lunch and dinner ready pretty quickly...before I grab for something else.

Label reading and portion control have had an amazing impact! I'd really been taking that for granted. I've read labels, looked at fat grams and calorie content and yes, even measured the portions for a couple weeks to get used to the "feel" of a portion again.

I've been really trying to wait for hunger to eat and stop before the "full" feeling sets in...not just go by the clock or a schedule. It is ok to wait 20 minutes after eating some food to see if I'm satisfied or not. I can have more if needed or save whatever is left for later or throw it away.

I've paid attention to what I put in my mouth. That may sound silly, but I realized how much snacking I've been doing both through the day and while prepping meals. A bit of this and a bite of that all adds up!

And speaking of things that add up, drinks...I've started drinking more water again and cut out soda. I didn't drink much of this before, but 1 can a day adds unnecessary calories. (...and doesn't running to the bathroom count as exercise?)

I'm also working on consistently carrying a survival kit. Yep, healthful snacks...a few chocolate covered raisins (...as I said, I haven't eliminated sugar, but I do keep this to only about 5), carrots, apples, nuts, hard boiled egg...whatever works for the day and a bottle of water. This is helping me to prevent disaster later in the day.

Treats are ok in small portions when I'm hungry as long as I remember the reason they are called treats is because they are not for everyday or every meal.

The Benefits:

Feeling well and energized.

Hearing the words "You've lost weight. I can see it in your hips and butt."

...almost getting into "the perfect pair of jeans." (I'm close!)

Uh, summer is coming. Need I say more?

...realizing the final goal is doable as one reaches each step of the it!

...anyway, these are things I've noticed to be helpful. I hope this encourages someone. If you have a tip to share, I'd love to read it!

[genevar]

let me see what I do. take food with me everywhere. if hungry at night have a protein shake with a handful of nuts. before going out to eat with people will have protein shake with nuts, really fills me up, and I don't want to eat.

[Judy]

Thanks, Ginger. I need all the encouragement I can get! It's also nice to be reminded of those things by someone besides that "little voice in my head" . You know, the one we all have but usually don't listen to!
Thanks!
Judy

[shsiang]

Thanks for sharing your plan, Ginger! I think portion control is a major issue for most of us. I measured everything for a couple of weeks as well, and while it felt a little obsessive at first, it was good to get an idea of how big (or small) a serving is. There is a great tool on the NIH website, showing the gross distortion of portion sizes over the past 20 years. They show a number of foods, like a standard-size bottle of Coke or a hamburger. The amounts served have ballooned tremendously! The site shows how many more calories are added and how much activity you have to do to burn them off. This is a major culprit in the problem of American obesity--if you serve it, we will likely eat it, and all of it! I can't remember the site address, but if you google it, it should come up. I think it was called 'portion distortion'.

It's also so basic, yet so important, to eat when you're hungry and stop when you're satisfied!! I've been spending my whole life eating at noon--hungry or not--because it was 'lunchtime.' My parents, who are both very overweight, act as though not eating 3 squares a day will result in malnutrition! I'm finding that half a sandwich (on small bread) is usually enough to satsify me. I'm now trying to retrain my brain.

Congratulations on your ten pounds!

Stephanie

[isulong seoph]

Thanks so much Ginger for this informative post. I've been lurking around the forums searching for this posts. Just great! Looking for more tips :)

[makingthebest08]

Yeah I agree that sometimes it really hard to motivate yourself from the things you want to do in your mind, sometimes we need a wake-up call in order to move and these are one of those things. thanks for sharing.


Making The Best Result (http://www.makingthebest.com/?page_id=924)

[chipper7777]

Is this true?

Here is the cycle. If you want to burn fats, you need muscles. If you want to build muscles, you need to work out. If you want your work out to be effective, you need to eat. Again, there is no short cut. Now, eating isn’t only about stuffing food in your mouth. There are basic principles you need to follow and quite honestly, we learned it all in grade school:
• You need carbo because it gives you energy. You need the energy to work out.
• You need protein to build muscles and feed your brain.
• You need vitamins and minerals for your skin, eyesight, and other senses.
• Salt preserves everything, including fats. If your take in a lot of salt, you preserve your fats and water.
• Preservatives has a lot of fats.

The bottomline, the more natural you go on your diet, the better it will work.