People are always talking to me about food. While this may not be that much of a surprise, I am always amazed that total strangers seek me out and strike up conversations quite often. At our yard sale yesterday a little old lady (whom I've never met before) asked me all sorts of questions relating to high fiber foods for her husband, who seems to be having some...um... issues with fiber related functions. Why me?! And then, at dinner later that evening, a friend of my mother in law's asked me all about our diet and how we eat because she wants to lose some weight.
Actually, a lot of people who know how I cook must think I'm some sort of expert on nutrition. For the record, I have never gone to culinary school, and I never studied any sort of dietary course in college...in fact, I never even finished college! I do a lot of reading, I try to follow some common sense approaches, I remember the things I was taught while growing up, and I practice moderation.
A lot of women ask me about weight loss techniques. If you don't know me personally, I am not super thin, but I am 5'7" and about 120 lbs, a healthy weight. I think I must have a really good set of genes and am blessed with a high metabolism because I have always been a "normal" weight. But I also have some habits that (I think) I can credit with helping me keep my shape, and I'll share those here.
I have never eaten that much, with the exception of my two pregnancies. Then I was hungry! But I was able to maintain some discipline just the same, ate quality foods, and nursed the babies. The weight I did gain melted right off.
I don't eat salad dressing, unless it's a special type of gourmet salad that calls for it. Mostly, this is just because I'm weird, but it's also because I like the veggies plain (no lemon, no salt and pepper, etc).
I bake a lot, but I give most of it away. Why? I like to share, I get bored with the dessert after having it once, maybe twice, and I want the excuse to make something else. I use the best quality ingredients I can (you are what you eat).
We eat a lot of produce, and much of it is organic. We often have fruit at breakfast, I always serve veggies at lunch (and fruit too if it wasn't at breakfast or if we have a lot of it), and dinner consists of at least one pile of vegetables and a fruit as well.
We limit juice to being 6-8 ounces of 100% fruit juice, once per day. I know all the hype about this "sugary" stuff, but we like it and so it's limited! We don't drink soda (even the diet kind). Rarely we'll have lemonade or something similar, and during the summer I try to keep unsweetened herbal iced tea on hand for the kiddos and myself (Stash Mango Passionfruit is a big hit). My husband likes his coffee.
I don't have any addictions. I fact, I can't stand it when I do start to get addicted to a substance (like caffeine), and I quit when I feel that. Maybe that's a control issue...? I only have my nonfat caramel latte when I really need it, like if I'm driving home after a long trip and need a pick-me-up...but more often I'll choose black iced tea instead.
We eat a lot of whole grains, and really limit the refined flour. Refined (white) flour is saved for desserts instead. We have whole grains at breakfast, whole wheat bread for our sandwiches at lunchtime, and polenta made from stone-ground cornmeal, brown rice, quinoa, etc for a side with our dinner. It's healthier, sure, but it also keeps us more full for a lot longer after eating, and we consistently eat less because we get full faster. My husband can eat half of a large pizza from a restaurant, but with a homemade whole wheat crust he'll be lucky if he can stuff in three pieces. Same goes for pasta.
We limit our sugar consumption. We don't eat artificial sweeteners; we just reduce our overall intake of sweets. I love my desserts, obviously, but we have one piece or one serving, after dinner. The rest of the day we've planned for that treat. This includes thinking of extra added sugars in products (like ketchup or sauces, or in that morning's muffins). It's all about balance.
We limit our intake of processed foods, relying on whole foods as much as possible. If we're going to have cereal it's once or twice per week. We rarely have crackers around, and if the kids need a snack they're pointed to produce, nuts, or a string cheese.
I keep myself on a meal schedule. Well, mostly that's for the kids and to avoid crankiness, but I do get a little difficult myself if my blood sugar gets too low. I do best with three meals, and we don't eat a lot of snacks at my house. I have found that eating an earlier dinner works very well for me, personally. If I eat later than 6:30 I will eat twice as much as I would have before then! And I never eat anything after 8 or 8:30 PM, even if I feel hungry, because I'll get a stomachache and may not sleep as well.
We stay active as a family. My husband does Crossfit, and he often takes the kids to the gym. They love it there, and he lines them out with a mini-workout too. We go for family walks, we try to limit the video watching to one per day (we don't have cable or any channels, by choice), and we just try to do what we can to burn off energy. My hope is that we're teaching our kids the basics of living a healthy lifestyle, and when they're on their own some day they'll fall back on that (after they rebel in the face of the college all-you-can-eat-cafeteria phase, of course).
These are guidelines that have worked for me...so far. Who knows what the future will bring, although I'm hoping that I'm making the healthiest choices I can now so I won't have to adjust too much as I get older and my metabolism slows down. The bottom line is, is that everyone's different, and everyone's body reacts differently to different types of foods. I think if you're eating well and not eating too much of any one thing (with the exception of whole fruits and veggies...you can never eat enough of those) then your body will be healthier too. But that's often easier said than done! Now I've laid it out there, and hopefully future family BBQs or other fun events can steer clear from diet-related topics....
No comments:
Post a Comment