Health Blog?
It's been a long time, and since then, I've made a few changes. My husband and I made the choice to live a more healthy, more active lifestyle. And I have to say, it's been a bit of a challenge. So I thought, maybe I could keep a blog to help people get a good idea on what they're missing out on (you're not missing out on cake...though I am!! ;~;). This blog is going to be used to give encouragement, and possibly post healthy recipes. Some of which will be my own creation, some will be from websites. Did I mention I'm doing this on a budget? Ah, I wish I had the time and money to come up with recipes every day! But here's a little bit of what we've changed in our lifestyle.
One of the hardest things we gave up (for the most part) is soda. Personally, it was hardest in the beginning. I had never been much of a water drinker, and consequently I suffered a lot of migraines due to dehydration. I found it was easier first starting out to use little water sweeteners. I used Mios, Crystal Light, etc. I was use to having something sweet when I drank anything, and my mind missed that. Eventually, while I was switching between flavored water and plain water, I found I needed the sweeteners less and less. Now they're more or less a little treat every now and then, when I genuinely do want something sweet.
Another one that was hard (for my husband...I more or less was okay with it) was giving up restaurants. We will go out every now and then. If it's for a special occasion, we'll splurge. We won't count calories, or make healthy decisions. I'm okay with doing that every now and then one meal. And even now, we'll go out to eat once or twice a month. But when we do, we try to make healthier decisions. Now, realistically the calorie count and fat count in any fast food is high. If you want a real meal, and not just one egg McMuffin, you've gotta be prepared for that. But there are ways to eat a little healthier. Chipotle is our favorite staple. But, instead of getting a burrito, we get a bowl. I get no meat (out of personal preference...I like rice and veggies). My burrito consists of rice, pinto beans, pico de gallo, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. The whole calorie count is 520 calories. Not horrible, but not great. However, there are 23g of fat. Yikes! But okay every now and then.
One more note, I've gotten better at portioning and substitutions. I used reduced fat or fat free cheese, skim milk, egg beaters, turkey bacon, and whole wheat at most meals. I also make sure we have vegetables at every meal, so the main course is smaller, but we still feel full. I use lean ground beef, ground turkey, and chicken more often as well. I can usually make these substitutions in non-light recipes to clean them up a bit.
So on this adventure, I started out at 241lbs, and down to 198lbs. But we're not stopping there!
One of the hardest things we gave up (for the most part) is soda. Personally, it was hardest in the beginning. I had never been much of a water drinker, and consequently I suffered a lot of migraines due to dehydration. I found it was easier first starting out to use little water sweeteners. I used Mios, Crystal Light, etc. I was use to having something sweet when I drank anything, and my mind missed that. Eventually, while I was switching between flavored water and plain water, I found I needed the sweeteners less and less. Now they're more or less a little treat every now and then, when I genuinely do want something sweet.
Another one that was hard (for my husband...I more or less was okay with it) was giving up restaurants. We will go out every now and then. If it's for a special occasion, we'll splurge. We won't count calories, or make healthy decisions. I'm okay with doing that every now and then one meal. And even now, we'll go out to eat once or twice a month. But when we do, we try to make healthier decisions. Now, realistically the calorie count and fat count in any fast food is high. If you want a real meal, and not just one egg McMuffin, you've gotta be prepared for that. But there are ways to eat a little healthier. Chipotle is our favorite staple. But, instead of getting a burrito, we get a bowl. I get no meat (out of personal preference...I like rice and veggies). My burrito consists of rice, pinto beans, pico de gallo, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole. The whole calorie count is 520 calories. Not horrible, but not great. However, there are 23g of fat. Yikes! But okay every now and then.
One more note, I've gotten better at portioning and substitutions. I used reduced fat or fat free cheese, skim milk, egg beaters, turkey bacon, and whole wheat at most meals. I also make sure we have vegetables at every meal, so the main course is smaller, but we still feel full. I use lean ground beef, ground turkey, and chicken more often as well. I can usually make these substitutions in non-light recipes to clean them up a bit.
So on this adventure, I started out at 241lbs, and down to 198lbs. But we're not stopping there!