I haven’t been writing because I have added duties at home – my husband is out of town working, and it’s been just me and the kid at home for nearly a month now. This shift has rendered every free moment in the day either dedicated to working for my job that pays the bills, or working around the house for my job of mom. So I haven’t been cooking like usual, opting instead for the more expedient options of take out, pre-made frozen meals, and things that come out of a box.
In an effort to get serious about dropping some of this baby weight, I must get back on track. I am not one to diet per se. I am more of the mindset that I can eat whatever I want, but in moderation. I love all the carbs – bread, rice, potatoes and have always lost weight with never cutting them out. I eat relatively healthy, but do have a serious weakness for fried and salty things. I generally exercise regularly, but since my husband has been gone, I have failed to even once, outside of walks with SoulBaby, which are more a mode of transportation to the park than exercise.
I have always been able to lose weight if I follow my own criteria:
- Do not keep any junk food in the house – being that my weakness is salty things, I never buy them, because I know I will eat them all in one sitting when I am starving. I have no problem resisting sweets like ice cream, so I keep that stocked for my husband and rarely feel it necessary to eat any. Do what works for you to avoid temptation.
- Keep healthy snacks on hand – most of my junk food eating happens at times when I am in a pinch and need something satisfying fast. I literally have a McDonald’s in my backyard, and its lingering French fry odor has rendered me defenseless many times when I have waited to long to eat. If I stock plenty of nutritious snacks like fresh veggies, cheese and crackers, and fruit, and eat them on demand, then I am less likely to eat something indulgent because I am already full.
- Cut out all unnecessary sugars – I used to love Coca Cola. We had a long affair that lasted many, many years. The dentist identifying the discoloring on my teeth to be a direct result of the beverage could not break us apart. I could easily drink 6 ice cold cans of this stuff a day. That is until I realized the direct relationship with this and my inability to lose that extra 5-10 pounds I wanted. I cut the Coke out, and like magic, lost weight.
- Drink lots of water. I drink nearly a gallon a day. I rarely ever drink anything other than water (except for my daily cup of coffee and, of course, wine) and it is in my opinion imperative to do this if you are going to lose weight and maintain it. It keeps you feeling good and gives you more energy than you think.
- Cook from scratch as best you can. When I first got serious about cooking, it was because I just love to eat. I soon learned though that in addition to being able to have delicious meals everyday that I could never afford in a restaurant, I could also see what goes in everything that I eat. This allows me to better monitor my overall nutrition.
So in light of trying to cook everyday again, I made my favorite Indian veg dish tonight – Aloo Gobi, or curried cauliflower and potatoes. Delicious. I ate it with white rice and steamed beet greens.
