In my last post I mentioned several reasons that helped me lose over 50 pounds back in the day, but today I wanted to go into a little more detail on the eating side of things.
First, I like to refer to it "changing your eating habits" rather than "going on a diet."
Most people think of a diet as doing something extreme for 30 days or so, then going back to their old ways. You'll certainly lose weight by drinking only green tea and eating steamed raisin skins or whatever, but once the diet is over, you'll probably gain most of it back because you can't survive the rest of your life doing that, even if you did have the willpower. Also, most diets involve depriving yourself of so many types of foods that your body really isn't getting the nutrients it needs to stay healthy, and thus are not sustainable for the long haul.
So here's a quick, generalized list of some things I used to eat regularly, and what I changed to.
Breakfast (Before): Sugar filled granola bars, pancakes with syrup, biscuits and gravy, eggs, white toast, sausage, bacon, cappacino's, latte's, coffee (with plenty of sugar)
Breakfast (After): Steel cut oats with sliced strawberries and a drizzle of honey, 4 eggs and 2 pieces of bacon, the occasional piece of whole wheat Ezekiel bread with a little honey, a scoop of protein, milk, coffee (black or with a little Sugar in the Raw)
Mid Morning snack (Before): candy bar, honey bun, donut, soft drinks, chips
Mid Morning Snack (After): nuts, scoop of protein, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, peanut butter and celery
Lunch (Before): Fast food (a staple of mine was the Steak Quesadilla from Taco Bell, or sacks full of JR Bacon Cheeseburgers from Wendy's), fries, soft drinks, multiple sandwiches
Lunch (After): eggs, bacon, pulled pork, salads with meat on top, grilled chicken, fish, red meat (without any sides besides veggies)
Mid Afternoon Snack (Before): same as mid morning snack (before)
Mid Afternoon Snack (After): same as mid morning snack (after)
Supper (Before): meat with all the sides, soft drinks, fried chicken, pasta, pizza, fast food, anything that comes with fries or onion rings
Supper (After): any kind of meat and veggies, salads with any kind of meat on top
Late night snack (Before): Totino's pizza, ice cream, wings and fries
Late night snack (After): eggs, protein, low fat cottage cheese
If you'll notice, I basically kept alot of the meat, added more veggies, and cut out alot of the breads and sugars, etc. Also, these changes are sustainable for the long haul (I still eat like this 5 years later).
Finally, a fun "cheat meal" per week is a good way to have something to look forward to and even building up for energy reserves for the week ahead!
Changing your eating habits doesn't mean you necessarily have to forsake all the foods you love for the rest of your life. Rather, its just a matter of cutting back on some of the unhealthy ones and saving them only for special occasions.
