Eat Healthy, A Lifestyle…Not a Diet.
I have never liked the idea of dieting. There are hundreds
of diets out there and they all seem so radical and temporary. I have seen many diets that are so difficult
to abide by and stick to. Doesn’t it always seem like once we have lost the weight,
unless we stay on that diet for life, we are destined to gain the weight right
back? I have watched my parents throughout my teenage years try diet after diet.
It seemed like an endless cycle, get excited about a new diet, buy all the
crazy food, loose weight, get frustrated
when their weight loss slows down, find excuses to cheat, which leads to taking
a break from the diet and eventually give up on it completely. A diet to me is not something I am interested
in at all.
My personal goal is to have a healthy and fit body and to
teach my children good eating habits while they are young so that they do not
struggle with weight later in life, which will in turn provide them a longer and healthier life. This commitment to myself requires more
than just staying active at the gym and I realize that.
To ensure that I accomplish this life goal, I decided I
needed to evaluate how healthy I was eating and make some permanent changes. I have spent several hours studying various
diets, not to join in on the diet, but rather to learn the principals of what
is considered healthy and what isn’t. I found that many diets contradict themselves. I found myself lost in a sea of conflicting
facts. Could someone just tell me, without gimmicks’ or trying to sell me, what
is healthy and what isn’t? Shouldn’t this information be factual? It seemed to
me that there was not any one set of rules to go by, but I did compile a short
list of things nearly all diets had in common:
- Fresh is best- if it grows from the ground, it is generally nutritious- all diets seem to agree on this one.
- Moderation is the key: Too much of anything can be harmful, even if it is good for you.
- Portion Control: Change your mindset; you do not have to completely clear your plate after each meal. Learn to love leftovers, you are NOT wasting it, just saving it for tomorrow. I grew up in a family of 6, and if you put it on your plate, you had better eat it, because there was no room for waste. If you have been conditioned to clear your plate, then put less on it! I have raised my girls to only eat until they are full, there is no reason to stretch your stomach to “finish” it, simply save it for later- waste not. Pay attention to your stomach more than your taste buds, when you stomach is full, stop eating. End of story.
- Stay active: You have a lot more flexibility in what you eat if you work out regularly. This keeps our metabolism working the way it was intended.
This is a good start, but these things alone will not make
you healthy. The conclusion I came to was this: To create a healthy lifestyle
you should not diet. It is simply too temporary and it just sets us up to
eventually quit “the diet”. If we are going to make changes, they ought to be
changes we can live with…forever and without regret- and that is the key-for me.
**Disclaimer: I am not a nutritionist, nor do I claim that I
have it all right…everything in this blog is my opinion only; I simply
assembled a list of rules for myself/my family based on my research of what is
healthy and what I knew our limitations would be. If you want to change your
lifestyle to be healthier, I encourage you to do your own research and develop a
list for yourself that works for you.
I think that being aware of what we eat is half the battle
and as I analyzed the meals I prepare for my family, I realized I needed to
venture out of my regular meals, in search of healthier ones to replace them-
or at least minimize them. This goal
drove me to come up with a set of rules that I have no problem abiding by…forever.
My Personal healthy
eating goals to create a healthy lifestyle for me and my family:
- Eat more fresh vegetables: I expanded my reptior of vegetables from just canned cord to: Corn on the cob….that’s it …JK, I love corn! I have learned that I enjoy cucumbers, carrots, asparagus, cauliflower, bell peppers, onion, mushrooms, zucchini, sugar snap peas, green beans, sprouts, celery, artichoke, lettuce, spinach, eggplant, potatoes, black beans, navy beans, soy beans, butternut squash, pumpkin…and so on. Now time to learn how to incorporate this into meals….
- Eat less chicken/beef and even less Pork: Up until last year, after evaluating what dinners I know how to make I realized nearly 95% of what I cooked had chicken in it. This definitely needed to change. I believe protein obtained from meat is important, but in moderation. I decided I should limit our meat intake to these maximums- with the goal to spread these out even further eventually: chicken/ground turkey 2x/wk, Beef 1x week- lean only, and Pork –occasionally 1-2x/mo. This goal meant I needed to fill the other 4 days of the week with something other than meat. Which lead me to my next 2 goals:
- Learn to cook vegetarian dishes at least 1-2x/wk: I have spent countless hours pouring over vegetarian dishes…I am still learning.
- Incorporate fish into the menu 1-2x/wk: I really did not care for fish a year ago, I have made a conscious effort to try preparing it in different ways until I found ways to enjoy fish- It can be done!
- Replace your sweet tooth with fruit: Need I say more? Who doesn't love fruit! Bring variety into your fruit shelf to keep things new and exciting.
- NO CANDY-NO SODA- NO CHIPS, NO Exceptions. Soda is bad for you, there is no disputing it. I think that candy, chips and soda are the gateway foods into bad eating habits. Each is readily available to buy with ease at every checkout stand line, it is incredibly convenient and extremely addicting- taunting you every time you buy something at any given store. Don’t give in, it isn’t worth it!
- No Deep fried food, No fast food. I believe there is little to no nutritional value in either of these…fast food has it’s place in a pinch or on road trips but I avoid these as much as possible.
- Drink LOTS of Water: Water should be our constant companion, proper hydration will not only give you more energy, it will allow your body to function more efficiently, and will help to curve your appetite.
- Limit Desserts to ONE time a week- This may surprise many of you- and may not work for you at all, but I believe that you have to allow a dessert every now and then or you will end of binging and falling out of a healthy lifestyle. The key is moderation, pick a day of the week that you allow a dessert- then stick to it. Make it yourself from scratch so you know exactly what is in it (and you burn some calories in the process) then enjoy. (Don’t over-do it by eating a whole batch of cookies to yourself!)
- Pasta only 1x a week : I had to make this change because I LOVE pasta! I know that I, personally, could never give it up completely. So limiting my consumption is key. Switching to whole grain pasta is also a healthier compromise, but I have yet to make that sacrifice! It is an eventual goal.
- Learn to cook a variety of whole grains: Brown rice, quinoa, buckwheat, barley, oats- whole wheat bread
- Experiment with Tofu: Still working on this one! I have only tried 3 recipes…
- Learn to love beans: I hate beans. They are a great source of protein and a staple for most vegetarian dishes, so for me this must change. I have trained myself to enjoy black beans….sort of! It is a work in progress.
- Be extremely picky about process foods: I’d love to say I could cut out processed foods completely, but I have kids in the home. So instead I read the label, not just to see how much sugar, salt, or calories an item has, but also the ingredients in the item. I try to pick things that have healthy ingredients I can recognize, rather than a bunch of chemically altered crap spelt out in words that remain mysterious and unknown to the average consumer.
- Invest in good oils like olive oil and coconut oil: I believe good oils are good for you…in moderation.
- Research the pros and cons of artificial sweeteners: Stevia, agave, ect….
- Meal planning: based on these goals I try to plan out meals at least 2 weeks ahead. This helps with creating the groceries list and being prepared so I don’t get the “I don’t know what to make, let’s eat out”-blues. (This was my complete failure during the first 3.5mos of my pregnancy…finding 2 weeks of meals that sounded good was impossible. We did not eat well during those months!)
- Eating out- limit it to 1x/wk or less: We all need a break, Saturday is my free day. I try to be conscious of what I choose at the restaurant, and try to pick something healthy.
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