By the time I'd gotten to this stage, I had built a lot of really healthy eating habits. Daily I take a multi-vitamin, Vit C and calcium (because I don't drink milk). Coffee and protein shakes are the only liquids with calories that I drink, otherwise it's water with everything. I'm very conscious of calories and fat grams. I don't partake of the sweet treats that appear with regularity in the office. I choose healthy snacks and eat them at regular intervals throughout the day. But I still struggled with the little day to day details.
If you are just starting out, and you know your eating habits are NOT healthy, I highly recommend joining a program like Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig. The first step is changing your entire outlook on food, and you need the support and tools those programs offer to be successful. I knew I was already on the right track with my diet, and I was pretty sure with some research and minor input from local resources, I could figure it out on my own. Diets and lifestyle changes are as different and individual as each person. This is just what works for me. I'm not recommending my exact diet to anyone, but I am happy to share the low-cal recipes I've created along the way.
I focus on calories/fat/protein. If you see numbers in this format throughout my blog, that's what they refer to. My general rule of thumb per day is less than 1200 calories, less than 25g of fat, and more than 100g of protein. No, I don't always hit these markers every day. I just try to get as close as possible to them. I also take one "free" meal a week, though I try to keep it in moderation, and sometimes I just skip it and eat my normal food. Often it's sushi from my favorite place down the street. I limit myself to 5 plates of sushi and I don't count the calories or worry about what's in the sauce. But I also don't eat until I'm bursting at the seams.
I am never hungry. The only time I get hungry is if I get busy at work and forget to grab one of my snacks out of the fridge. My body is very reliable about saying, Hey, you forgot to feed me a snack at 10am. I think the amount of protein I eat must keep me full at all the right times. I make sure to eat a protein snack either an hour before, or within the hour after, a workout. I never skip breakfast. I snack on an egg white on the way to work, have a bowl of cream of wheat when I get there, and then a protein yogurt snack before I work out. These make up my breakfast.
My breakfast and snacks are pretty consistent day to day. I add a little more variety to my lunches with 2 types of chicken salad and a tuna salad once a week. And dinner is always 4 ounces of a lean meat and a huge serving of veggies. I mostly focus on salmon (my favorite), turkey polska kielbasa, and chicken for the meat portions. There are other lower fat fishes but I'm not really a fan. The chicken is lowest in fat and highest in protein, so I'll have that 3 or 4 times a week, cooked a variety of ways. I try to be very creative in the variety of fresh veggies I eat weekly. These are definitely more expensive and I do buy frozen veggies when possible (peas and broccoli mostly), but there's no substitute for fresh squash or baked sweet potatoes.
I prefer not to eat anything I can't measure and count the calories. I measure and/or weigh everything. I rely heavily on TheCalorieCounter.com and Livestrong.com for finding the calories in most things. I know nothing is perfect, but I'm happy to have a basic idea of what I'm consuming. I keep a fitness journal, which is often a mirror of what I share here, and track my calories in it at the same time. I spend Sunday putting my meals together for the rest of the week. I make all my lunches and snacks and have them ready to go. Especially on the weekends, it's much easier to make good snack choices if a baggy of apple slices or soybeans are waiting for me to grab. I also just don't keep high calories or high fat snacks in the house. The only "sweets" I have are a low-fat fruit snack pack, Special K breakfast bars, and low-fat pudding cups. The satisfy any sweet tooth craving I might have without making a serious dent in my calorie goals for the day.
As is probably obvious, I'm very passionate about my healthy diet and lifestyle. I really enjoy tracking things and coming up with new low-cal or low-fat food items and recipes. It's not always easy, and plenty of times I've grabbed a chocolate chip cookie and later regretted it. The key is not to let that ruin your day. I was weak for a moment! But I'm back on track now and dinner is looking good. :)
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