Healthy Eating. Healthy Living.

Let's face it, getting back into those pre-pregnancy jeans can be a struggle.  It's also one of the most dominating thoughts in a new mother's mind.  Even if you're not a new mom, or have never given birth, your weight has probably been one of your dominating thoughts.  For this reason, I want to share with you some of my tips on healthy eating. 

Dieting is never fun! When I've looked at diets, I've noticed they all have something in common - eliminating something from your plate, or in other words - your palate. Every time I've tried to eliminate something whether it was sweets, starches, or fat I found myself craving that one thing even more. If you follow these tips below, you'll still be able to eat a diverse diet and stay in control of your health.

I've picked up these ideas from the following: Weight Watchers, Curves, Food Network, Bobby Deen, Rachael Ray, Vegetarians, etc.

Grocery Shopping

When you select ground beef, ALWAYS get 93% lean or the leanest you can find

Try substituting ground turkey instead of ground beef for a meal, it cuts the calories and fat and most of the time you can't even tell the difference!

Buy 1% or Skim Milk.  Remember you may also cook with milk, so whatever fat is in the milk is going into your mashed potatoes or soups.

If you buy less processed and canned foods - you'll eat less of processed and canned foods.  Now that I've started making my own homemade soups, I can't stand seeing, smelling, or even tasting canned soups!  No matter if they're organic, yuck!  I'll share with you some homemade soup recipes in the future.  They're amazing! 

If you have a big sweet tooth, buy the "fun size" candies and eat one or two.  If you buy a large candy bar - you will eat it!  I promise!

Buy whole grain pasta.  Yeah, yeah - we've all heard this, right?  It's true!   If you buy a pasta that says "whole grain" then you're adding more protein into your meal which is great! 

Pay special attention to breads.  Even whole grain breads are packed full of sugar!  Look on your label.  I mean, come on!  If I want to eat sugar, I'd rather have an M&M.  I don't want to eat it in my bread.  Personally, I buy Nature's Own "sugar free" Whole Wheat Bread.

Restaurants

Limit your drive thru experiences. Do not make it a daily or every other day habit. Make it a treat, not a routine.

Watch the bread as appetizers at restaurants. A lot of restaurants offer bread for free as your "appetizer" and you'll find yourself filling up on bread before your meal even arrives.

Ask for dressing on the side and dip your fork into it before each bite.  You'll still get that wonderful taste of your favorite dressing, but you'll be amazed at how many calories you'll leave behind.

Order water with lemon instead of a sugary beverage.  You'll be saving your waistline and your wallet.

Every Day Eating

Find your favorite recipes on Bobby Deen's Website and learn how to make it with less fat and calories, but still with all the flavor!

Eating soup or salad before a meal will fill your belly and make you less hungry to eat so many starches or sweets.

When cooking, replace your vegetable oil with olive oil.  It's sooo much better for you!

Stay hydrated.  You may not have to drink 8 glasses of water per day to stay hydrated, every body is different.  However, drinking tons of sugary beverages or aspartame packed beverages isn't good for your body. 

Meat does not, I repeat does NOT, have to be the center of your meal or the dominating figure on your plate. Eating large amounts of meat is hard on your digestive system, and it also adds a lot of fat into your meal.

Eat a healthy protein in the morning, like a scrambled egg. Protein gets your metabolism going and started off right for the day.

Portion control!!  Try changing your plate size. (see below) For some reason, our plates are HUGE! Possibly way too big for our bodies if you ask me.  Look at the difference in the size of these two plates.  Think for a moment... What if it were true that your stomach could only hold the amount of food on the left plate? But, you're forcing it to digest all the food on the right plate??

Trust me, I am not perfect when it comes to eating.  I don't always follow these tips 100% of the time.  I'm human!  However, I do like to follow Bobby Deen's advice.  He says, "What I try to achieve is just a balance, and I go by about an 80/20 rule. 80 percent of the time I’m really strict on myself, and 20 percent of the time, you know, you’ve gotta live. You’ve only got one life, so enjoy it!"