Monday, May 27, 2013

Week 2- You Are What You Eat


Week 2- You Are What You Eat.

Thanks for sticking with me during week 1 of this fun series. It sure was a long hard week. Don't stop working out just because the week is over. Keep going. Make sure to surround yourself with positive people and remember what is keeping you motivated.  For me it's Hawaii.

This week we will be discussing healthy eating. I don't really like calling it a diet. I think all too often we make food the enemy. Food is good, and should be enjoyed. Only it should be enjoyed with reason. Baby steps are better than no steps. If you enjoy ice cream every night try slowly decreasing your proportions. Then move to every other night and hopefully getting to only once or twice a week. Baby steps is great for scardy cats and those just trying better eating habits for life.

I however have a specific goal in mind that is only weeks away. I have to jump right in and not look back at that yummy bowl of ice cream. I am not one to just test out the water, I like to cannon ball right in.

There are some key things to help you start out.

1- Count your calories. Annoying and time consuming I know. Unless you actually track what you eat, you won't know where to make adjustments. The first time I did this I didn't realize how many calories some foods had, and how often I ate them. After several weeks I got use to how many calories, fat and protein foods had and didn't need to track daily. Although when you get started you can't just assume, you need to know.
 

I recommend an app or program called My Fitness Pal. You can track on your phone or on your computer.  This also will help track how much fats, carbs, and proteins you eat. You can also just scan the barcode on your phone and it adds it for you. It even tracks what you had recently, so the more you use it, the faster it gets. Another bonus to counting calories is when you got to snack on a random small treat, it usually isn't worth inputting into your phone.

2- Write it down. Again time consuming I know, but it takes time to look good.
Write down what you no longer are going to eat. What are you going to replace those with? What can you eat? Write down your weekly meal plan, otherwise in a hurry you will go for those quick high carb and calorie meals.

After my 3rd child I was having a hard time loosing the weight. My big brother told me how important food is in my plan. He helped me come up with an approved after 8 pm snack list. I posted it on my fridge to help remind me. I will share the list with you, but please keep in mind, this list was designed for me. For my habits, my body type, and my lifestyle. It was my first step to getting healthy and back into pre pregnancy pants. There are some things on this list others would disagree with or even add, but here it is:


My brother recommends eating these in a smaller quantity. He says, "You shouldn't need a lot to curb the hunger. Basically anything that's low to no sugar/carbs. I usually just have a spoonful of peanut butter or a handful of almonds/pistachio's and I'm good." -Big Brother of Chaos


3- Plan and Prepare Ahead of Time. This goes hand in hand with writing it down. Plan ahead if you are going out of town, to someone's house, or just for those busy days. Pre package and proportion snacks if you know you will be out running errands. Make sure you have healthy go to foods ready to go. Meal plan and grocery shop in advance. This helps eliminate bad snacking, quick unhealthy meals, and not having what you need.



Hope fully these things will help you get started. This week we have meals, idea's and much more.



8 comments:

  1. Vegetables ;-)

    Reply Delete
  2. I've never heard of that program before. I think I might wanna try it.

    Reply Delete
  3. Correct spelling is "vegetables".

    Reply Delete
  4. Replies
    1. Yea Nesquick seems quite unhealthy to me too rebeccahuff

      Delete
  5. Spell check: Vegetables is correct spelling. Sorry it was driving me nuts. Usually spell check jumps at ya to correct it.... hmmmm
    No offense.
    Have an awesome day. 😌

    Reply Delete
  6. I am come here first time, i find the perfect article. Thanks for sharing interesting and informative post.
    things to do

    Reply Delete