Food!

I often get asked what I eat everyday. Our schedule here at home is a little different from the normal family because my husband works night shift on a 3 month rotation. We don't have many sit-down dinners together as a family during his night rotation. Right now my husband is working nights, so it's often just my son and I for dinner. This makes cooking easy on me! When I was really working on my food addiction though, my husband was on days, and I had to make family dinners every night. Although my husband was completely on board with me and fully supported me and changing our eating habits, it still was hard to find things that were good for us, and tasted good. Sometimes it's hard to have both! When you go shopping, think about hitting the outer aisles of the store, because it's there where you'll find the foods that are good for you! Think produce, meats, dairy, and frozen. Almost everything in the middle is usually processed foods that will do nothing but give you empty calories.

First, go to http://www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ and determine your BMI. Here you will find out several things; if you are overweight, what your target weight should be, and health concerns related to your BMI. Do these calculations, they will benefit you! When I started out, my BMI was 39.7, which is morbidly obese (morbidly obese begins at a BMI of 35). My BMI is now at 23, which is in the "normal/healthy" range for my height, but I still want to lower that number for health reasons. It's not about WEIGHT, it's about HEALTH. These are the numbers you need to be concerned about, not the number on the scale.

They say for most women, you need to target about 1200 calories a day. BE MINDFUL of that. Count your calories. Journal them, even. If you bite it, write it. I journaled online and updated with my weigh-ins weekly all through the 6 months, and I still do this. It helps!

Breakfast:
I really think about breakfast. I workout in the morning, so I want my breakfast to help power me through my workout. Some of my go-to power foods in the morning are egg whites, turkey bacon, 100 calorie bagel thins (<--very easy when you're pressed for time!), and high-fiber oatmeal. Never, ever skip breakfast.

Lunch:
I usually eat  about an hour after I workout, since I have 2 kids to give lunch to first. For lunch, I usually have a meal replacement bar. My favorite is the Slim Fast meal bar. For a while I was into the Special K meal bars, but as far as taste goes, Slim Fast is the better option. They both have about 200 calories, so that wasn't a big deal. They both had about the same amount of protien and fiber as well, which is something you need to look at when you have a processed food. Make your food work for you! Along with my meal bar, I usually have egg whites (extra protein!), a piece of fruit, or a cup of Progresso soup (light ones only).

Snack:
I like to have my snack during the early afternoon when I start getting the "before dinner munchies". I usually have string cheese, fruit, or a Slim Fast snack bar if I'm on the run. When I have friut, I like to have apples more than anything. They are fiber-rich, and I can slice them thinly and take my time eating them, tricking my brain into thinking I'm eating more than I really am. This DOES work. Have a snack with you in your bag or purse to aviod going through a drive-thru. I would make excuses in my head to go to McDonalds because I had nothing to eat and I was starving. It's not worth the guilt you'll have afterwards.

Dinner:
Some of my favorite dinners are from kraftfoods.com! My family loves many of their healthy dishes. They have a section there just for "healthy living", filled with all kinds of great dinners! Some of our personal favorites are taco salad, beef fried rice, better than ever beef enchiladas, and skillet chicken and vegetables. You can look any (or all!) of those up on their site. Very, very good! Watch your portion sizes and you'll be fine! Many times, I would eat what I normally cook for my family and just reduce my portion size. There is nothing wrong with this, as long as you cook healthy and use common sense. Do not go overboard, but don't deprive, either. As long as you keep your portion size where it needs to be, you'll be fine. When my husband is working nights, I often just cook something simple; turkey sausage, weight watchers frozen meals, salad with grilled chicken, etc. Think about having a lean meat, vegetable, and small starch.

I have been on Weight Watchers, and their new Points Plus system. I love it, and highly recommend it to anyone who is thinking about it. I pay $14 a month for their online program, and I have an endless supply of tips, tricks and foods at my fingertips! It is great for anyone who, like me, needs structure.

Food Tip: My food staples include a wide variety of foods, but my favorites are boneless, skinless chicken breasts, mixed greens, frozen broccoli, Slim Fast bars (<--again, a lifesaver when I'm on the go!), Chobani greek yogurt, Progresso soups, and apples. Those are my staples. Changing your eating habits can be difficult, I know how hard it is. But trust me, it is worth it. You will no longer want the garbage you were eating after 3 months of eating differently.

Please, if you have any questions, ask away! I'm here to help!