Eat A Green Thing
Losing weight is not an easy job sometimes. There is a lot of diet advice out there. I've been on diets for decades. But lately, I'm starting to shift my focus from "dieting" to just plain old "living healthy". I kept the things in my life that helped me and got rid of the things that didn't. And everyone is different when it comes to deciding what to keep and what to let go.
I've had a love affair with butter my whole life. But eventually we had to break up. I just can't have butter in my life anymore. Butter is the Bermuda Triangle of weight loss. It's gravitational force pulls me in and before I know it, I've eaten it all.
If butter's the Bermuda Triangle then fast food is the Titanic. Eat a few bacon cheeseburgers and go down with the ship. There is so much fun, er.... I mean fat... in fast food that I just had to walk away from that, too. "Just step away from the fries, Ma'am. Just step away."
And while I was walking away from the fast food, I decided that walking wasn't a bad thing. I have no aspirations of being an exercise diva or gym bunny. I don't want washboard abs. (Okay, if someone was handing them out, I wouldn't say no.) I just try to move more than I did the day before. Even if that means dancing to Shakira when I'm doing the dishes. Fortunately for everyone, no one ever sees me do that.
And fiber? Fiber is a good thing. It helps me feel full, and it keeps things moving. Fiber is my new best friend.
Since there's no more butter or fast food on my plate, I have lots of room for vegetables. Somebody coined the phrase, "Eat a rainbow." And it's true. There is a rainbow of vegetables out there. I try to eat as many colors as I can. Red peppers, orange carrots, yellow squash, green broccoli, purple eggplant. The only thing I haven't found is a blue vegetable, but when I find it, I'll eat that, too.
Finding out what works for me... works for me.
Comments
Im a border line diabetic, and I need some helpful hints with my eating habits.
First of all, I congratulate you on wanting to change your eating habits.
Studies show that just losing 7 to 10% of your weight can help prevent diabetes. What works for most people is a combination of things. Exercising 30 minutes a day; walking, swimming, or anything that you enjoy, and increasing the amount of fresh vegetables and fruits, and whole grain breads and cereals that you eat will help you on your way.
Many people benefit from cutting back on fat consumption. An easy way to do this is to cut down on fast food and high fat snacks. Packing a lunch for work and making dinner at night means you have control over what you eat. And substituting fruits, vegetables and other low calorie foods for chips and other packaged snacks will give you control over empty calories and unhealthy fats.
Some people join a weight loss club, but some do it on their own. Sometimes progress can seem slow, but doctors say that losing a pound or two a week is better for you and the weight tends to stay off when it’s lost slowly. For instance, it took me a year and a half to lose 40 pounds. It was slower than watching paint dry.
Good luck with your lifestyle change. Let me know how it goes.
Deb Manzella
diabetes.guide@about.com