So, I'm trying really hard to eat better. I was eating so well for a while and then last year, between being pregnant, renovating our house, having a baby, moving into a new city and house, my husband going through chemo and so on, I got in some bad habits. And needless to say, I gained some weight. Now, with my whole "get back on track in 2014" thing that I'm doing, I'm trying to come up with ways to easily change my bad habits. My husband is different. He is disciplined. I am not. When he says "I'm only going to only eat chicken and vegetables and drink only water", he actually does it. When I say that, we both laugh. So, now I have to be creative. I need to come up with ways to tame my sweet tooth, stop grabbing food as I walk through the kitchen, basically, be more disciplined. Here are my solutions so far.
Substitute food cravings. Like tonight, I was really craving a burrito. My solution was to put some Trader Joe's frozen brown (organic) rice, some T.J.'s refried black beans, some T.J's enchilada sauce and a touch of cheese in a bowl and heat it up. I could also add some corn, tomatoes, avocados, peppers, etc. I probably will next time, but it was good and satisfied my craving at the time. Basically, if I'm wanting something bad for me, just substitute something similar and healthier and less of it. No problem. The other option is to ignore the craving until it goes away, but we've already established that I don't have much self-control, so that could be a problem.
Detox myself. I've decided that sugar and cola's should be treated like any other addiction. Because they are addicting!! I know from past experiences that the more sugar you eat, the more you crave it and vice versa. When I was doing really well about not eating sweets, I didn't crave them. I still enjoyed them when I ate them, but I wasn't craving them after every meal. So, my plan is to cut sweets down to one a week. When I lived with my Aunt and Uncle back in college they had Friday night dessert nights. They took turns getting to pick the dessert for that week. Sounds like a good plan to me. I may even go a week or two without any sweets at first, to get it out of my system, detox. Wish me luck.
Plan meals and try new foods. As a mom of three, I know it's impossible to plan every meal and snack and stay on track 100% of the time. It's just not realistic. But, if I can try to plan most of our meals and stick to the plan as closely as possible, it will help to avoid the junk. I also need to keep trying new foods. It's easier to eat healthy when you have a wide variety of foods that you like. If you will only eat certain fruits and vegetables, they are going to get old after a while. Another problem I have is that I do not like fish, but it is so good for you. So, this year, I will learn to like some seafood. I just need to find some really good recipes. This is going to be tough, but I'm going to do it.
What are your tricks?
I don't know how you feel about fruit, I know some people prefer to eat veggies instead to avoid the sugar, but I've found that eating 1-2 clementines after lunch and dinner satisfies my sweet tooth. {And I've got a bad one, too!} It's still better than eating a bag of M&Ms!
ReplyDeleteGreat tip! I love fruit, I just try to eat it in moderation. There is a lot less guilt involved in eating fruit than eating candy though! I hope everything is going well way over there across the pond. :)
DeleteI'm excited to keep reading your blog again! I'm going gluten free this year, and I am trying to steer away from the temptation of substituting exorbitant amounts of corn, gluten-free sweets, etc. I got a GF blogger to e-mail me her tips and she highly recommends TJ frozen brown rice as well, but our closest one is 30 min one way. :( I tried GF before, but it was before I couponed or knew anything about saving, so I'm hoping I'm setting myself up to be more successful this time. I just got home from a pretty successful GF shopping trip and I'm excited! I just had one slice of Boar's Head Maple Chicken & one slice cheese on a corn thin for dinner and it was GREAT. I have a horrible sweet tooth too, but one little cup of unsweetened applesauce (goes BOGO at Publix all the time) totally satisfies me! Or one square of dark chocolate.
ReplyDeleteThanks! Good luck on the GF diet. I've never tried it. As far as Trader Joe's goes, it's worth the trip in my opinion. I would go once a month and stock up on the essentials. They can keep their prices down on most things because it is their own brand. I really like their baking aisle. The baking powder is aluminum free, the spices are a good price and taste good. Ours is 20 minutes away and I go once a month. Definitely stock up on the frozen brown rice, we use it all of the time. I could go on and on. I also do a lot of shopping at Costco because they are good about keeping organic and natural foods in stock and you can buy them in bulk (a necessity for us these days) About the sweet tooth, I'm with you on the dark chocolate. A small piece a day is good for you, no harm there! :) Good luck and let me know how it goes.
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