Triggers...

There have been many times in my life that I have asked myself, "why am I fat?"
Was it because I loved food so much? YES! Was is because I wasn't brought up with healthy food or exercise? YES! Was it because food loved me back? YES! Was it because food was always there for me? YES! Was it because food didn't judge me? YES!  Was it because I was stuffing down issues that had nothing to do with food? YES! Did I eat because I was happy? YES! Did I eat because I was sad? YES! Did I eat because I was furious? YES!

Do you get the picture?

We all have reasons for eating. Those of us who struggle or struggled with obesity have reasons for taking it to the extreme. All of these reasons are different but all cause or caused the same result.
It was important for me to deal with the things that caused me to over eat because I DO NOT want to go back. I ate for all those reasons mentioned above but mostly because I was miserable. It made me feel good at the start but overall it made me feel like crap.
It's funny because it's like a catch 22...I ate because I was miserable but being overweight made me miserable.

Now, after all I learned, I have a healthy relationship with food. At the start of all this it was really hard to re-train my brain (and myself) to eat for the right reasons...because I was hungry. The emotional eating had to stop or it would eventually kill me. Sure, I still have cravings for chocolate and pizza and other not-so-good-for-you foods. I have found healthier versions of these foods that satisfy my cravings and don't make me feel guilty for eating them and I don't feel that I have sabotaged myself. 

If you are on a  weight loss journey yourself and have a hard time with emotional eating, have a conversation with yourself (not out loud, you don't want people to think you're crazy). Ask yourself "why am I eating the entire bag of chips?" Check your mood before making a rushed decision to eat a box of cookies. You may find yourself making a different decision after you answer those questions.

Happy Eating!

There's A Party In My Tummy...

The most important step in choosing a healthy lifestyle is deciding to do it. The next step is actually doing it. Many times I made the decision but wasn't successful in following through because I really didn't know what to eat. I knew, obviously, what healthy foods were but there really is only so much chicken, fish, and veggies one can injest.
One of the reasons I think we have been successful this time is because we changed our mind set. THIS ISN'T A DIET!!! This is how we will live the rest of our lives. So it's extremely important that we eat things we like and aren't starving ourselves.
It's crucial to find out how many calories you should be eating for you specifically. I eat 2100 calories a day. I mentioned in a previous blog that I eat 6 times a day, every 3 hours and make sure I eat equal amounts at each meal.
The first priority is to make sure you eat enough calories. The second priority is to make sure you are getting enough protein at each meal.  The third priority is to make sure you are getting enough carbs and the last priority is making sure you are eating the good fats and limiting the bad ones. Good fats are in nuts, olive oil, avocados, etc.

So now what??

I have a few "go to" cookbooks that I use regularly for breakfast and dinner ideas and staple snacks to keep me on track.
Cookbooks I love are Ellie Krieger "So Easy" and Ellie Krieger "The Food You Crave." I also am a huge fan of Hungry Girl. She has a new cooking show on the Cooking channel on Saturday's. She has a daily newsletter, 2 cookbook's , and she is on Facebook, so check her out.
Websites that are also helpful are http://www.sparkpeople.com/ and www.tasteofhome.com/healthy.
It's a good idea to write down everything you eat so you know exactly what you're eating and how many calories you are getting.
On the menu for this week is Pumpkin Pie Muffins, Oatmeal & Applesauce Pancakes, Oven "fried" Chicken, Four Cheese Macaroni, Hummus and Grilled Veggie Wraps, Spaghetti, Sloppy Joes, No pudge Brownies, and Yum Yum Chocolate Muffins. All of these are low in calories and fat and very delish!
Snacks that I eat are almonds, cocoa almonds, greek yogurt, hummus and veggies, cheese sticks, light babybel cheese, grapes, apples, bananas, strawberries, multigrain crackers, cottage cheese, baked tortilla chips & salsa,100 calorie popcorn, mini rice cakes, fiber one bars, protein bars,and sugar free jello and pudding. I mix and match the low cal ones to make sure I am getting 300-350 calories at each snack.
Now that we have been doing this for 5 months it has become our way of life. I never have felt like I was dieting. I am eating yummy foods and never have that starving feeling.
I have lost 44 pounds, my BMI has gone down 5%, and I have gone down 4 sizes! I average about 2 pounds a week and I am losing mostly fat while maintaining my lean mass.
I know this may be a cliche, but seriously...if I can do this so can you. This is the reason for this blog, to pay it forward and give hope. Right before I started this I was hopeless, desperate, and scared. But I did it and am continuing to do it and so can you!