Food for Fuel

When I began to focus on getting healthy and fit, I examined the foods I ate. Hmmm, Snickers candy bars, fresh potato rolls and chocolate cake are not nutritious fare – delicious, yes, nutritious, no! Darn it! Instead of looking at food as the foe that I had to deny myself – the enemy that I had to defeat – I began to look at food as my ally. Correct food would fuel my body in a way that would maximize my fat loss and give me the energy to pursue increased physical activity – which would be required to reshape my body.

Now when I plan my snacks or my meals, I do so with nutrition in mind. I stay away from “empty” calories (foods that have no or little nutritional benefits for my body – sodas, sweets, chips, packaged and processed foods) and instead try to choose foods chockfull of nutrients. Am I successful all the time? No. But I definitely strive to make conscious decisions about my food before it goes into my gaping mouth!

Here are some of my favorites I eat to fuel my body:

Stonyfield Farm yogurt with a handful of walnuts stirred in.
A handful of almonds.
A whole-wheat tortilla, filled with beans and cheese, and warmed till cheese melts.
Bran flakes cereal with a handful of walnuts and skim milk.
Fresh fruit.
Fresh veggies.
Whole-wheat toast topped with some peanut butter.
Whole-wheat pita bread stuffed with tuna fish salad (made with a little light mayo) and veggies such as lettuce, bean sprouts, celery and cucumbers.
Water, water, water.

These are just a few of the items that fuel my body. I love looking at recipes and other people’s ideas for healthy foods. Have any healthy snack and food ideas?

You Have Healthy Food Choices - Even at McDonald's!

Okay, I ate a healthy breakfast this morning, but was running late for work, therefore, I didn't get a chance to pack anything for lunch. So I reached in my fruit bin and pulled out an orange. As I'm typing this, it's almost 2:00 in the afternoon...and that was my lunch.

Lest you misunderstand me, that's NOT a good thing! Preparing what you will eat for the day is VITAL to staying on a healthy eating plan. You know, "proper planning prevents poor performance!"

I have to run my children around all afternoon and so I will not be walking in my door until 6:30 tonight. You've been there - some days are crazier than others! What to do?

To starve myself is stupid. But I don't have time to eat at a restaurant and order something "healthy" tonight....this means fast food. Before you act shocked that I would eat at McDonald's, hear me out.

First, I don't make it a habit to eat at fast food places. Second, as much as I'm famished at the moment and want to inhale a Big Mac, large fries, and a Diet Coke (yes, I know the irony), I will order the Asian chicken Salad. Yummy. A MUCH better choice....I will not use the dressing and I will ask for the chicken to be baked. That will give me something nutritious while meeting my hunger pangs...and tide me over until I get home. Once I'm home, I will fill in with a fruit and maybe a slice of whole wheat toast. Perfect.

How do you make healthy food choices when you've let yourself get too hungry?

Are Your Pants Too Tight?

I was thinking today how easy it is for 10 pounds to creep up on me. That's how I ended up 30 pounds heavier after six children! I woke up one day and thought, "Who is that fat lady in the mirror?!"

Yep, it was me all right. Same face, albeit much rounder and fuller. Same hands, but fingers more like sausages. It was me for sure.

Now having lost 30 pounds, I KNOW to watch for little upward increments in weight. I'm not obsessed by it - I don't let it control me. But I keep a wary eye on how my pants fit - and on the scale. People who've lost weight always say that maintenance is actually the hardest part of the process.

It's been 1 1/2 years since I slimmed down and over two years since I determined to live a healthy and fit life. Now, I KNOW to nip a 3-5 pound weight gain in the bud early...to avoid a repeat of my "fat lady" days. I increase my exercise or moderate my food choices when I notice the scale inching upwards.

Don't obsess over every pound. But by all means, keep a watchful eye on your body. It reflects how you treat it! An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure...you know what I mean! :-)
How do YOU maintain your weight/fitness goals?

How to Get the Results You Want

I once heard the definition of stupidity as doing the same thing over and over and over, yet expecting a different result.

Boy have I done that numerous times in my life! Think about that... It's soooo true. Why do we expect to lose weight, or get fit, trying the same old, same old, just in different packaging? We try this latest fad diet, or that latest fad diet, expecting a miracle food plan...all while hoping to not have to give up our gluttonous and sedentary lifestyles long term! We hope that by eating a particular food combination, or eliminating something, we can even lose weight while not having to get off our couch and lift a finger in exercise. We want a quick fix, not an overhaul. Believe me, I've been there!

Achieving success, or changing your life, means doing things the way you've never done them before.

It requires more than just hard work! We are human beings - we form habits because they give us comfort and security; we know what to expect. So to break our patterns of behavior - our habits - requires an overhaul in our resolve and mindset:

RESOLVE: (Click here to see my Dec. 27, 2007 post) Determine what your new course of action will be - complete with a game plan and goals. Determine why you want success. Determine your purpose, the benefits of your success. And it doesn't have to be complicated - just a simple list of the few things you will need to do from this day forth to reach your goal. Resolve yourself to what it is you truly want.

CHANGE YOUR MINDSET: Keeping your same mindset about your weight or fitness will NOT lead to change. To achieve your new goals, you're going to have to think differently about nutrition, about exercise, about your priorities, about your future. In the past, I WANTED to lose weight, I wanted to get fit, but I never acheived it because I wasn't willing to change my mindset from the temporary to the permanent.

So as we pursue adding exercise, or increasing the intensity of our exercise, let's understand that this is for life. Long term. From this day forth, exercise WILL be a part of your everyday life - even after you've lost weight. Begin to go about pursuing better health in a way you've never done before..both in determination and mindset.

I, for one, don't want to be "stupid!"