I recently went for a check up to my
doctor and not to my surprise I had gained a substantial amount of
weight. However, it was much more than I had anticipated. According to others and self I did
not look as if I weighed as much as I did. Since I
did not look overweight I did not dwell on the fact that I had gained
weight. Instead I focused on what I could do to ( I started last year)
continue to drop a few pounds. This month at my next check up
I was happy to find out I had lost three pounds! In the past I would
not have been happy about three little pounds, but this time I was
satisfied because I had not previously given myself a goal of losing a
particular amount of weight. As my body has been changing with age it seems to
have distributed the weight throughout my body so that it doesn't all
show in one place.
I now want to share how I plan to work on one of the agreements I made
with myself and the love hate relationship I have with food, weight and
body image.
First:
I've decided not to weight myself for a while or at least until my next
doctor's appointment next month. I think a monthly weigh-in is good to
start off with because at least you're giving yourself a reasonable
amount of time to show progress. Unless you really believe you are going
to lose two or three pounds a day, weighing yourself daily or even
weekly is only going to discourage you because once you step on the
scale you expect to see the numbers go down. If the numbers stay the
same or go up a pound, you will feel like you are failing but it's too
soon to tell.
Second: I am going to start training my body to do the work itself. I know this is going to begin with what, when and how I eat.
We may not all be a fan of vegetables but everyone usually likes some type of vegetable. I happen to love vegetables---not all, but most. I've chosen
salad as a meal to eat that can include any type of vegetable you like. Nowadays you can purchase fresh bagged salads, but they can be costly. They are mostly bags of various types of lettuce. Use them if you have no time to prepare your own or if a kitchen is not available. Consider buying your own lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers etc. You will soon discover that it cost less, and you get more salads made. You also will enjoy inventing your own salad combinations when you prepare them yourself. A salad can be quite filling but remember
NOT to overload with the toppings such as croutons, crispy noodles, bacon bits or shredded cheese. Do use them to add flavor, Grilled chicken, turkey or pork can be added as well as shrimp or fish.
Next of course are the salad dressings. Don't overload on them. Blue cheese is my favorite but it's the most fattening. Try seasoning your salad with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Use a little olive oil and vinegar. I have to watch my blood pressure so I use lemon pepper in place of salt. Lemon juice is also good on vegetables.
***STOP!***
NEVER go SHOPPING when you are HUNGRY.
When you are hungry for a snack, fill a bowl with some baby carrots. They are great way to cure your sweet tooth and a great source of vitamin A. It's cold outside and what better meal to eat than homemade vegetable soup or stew. this is an excellent way to use any old vegetables. Just remember that vegetables lose most of their vitamins when they are cooked.
Vegetables help to regulate your digestive system. When your body releases waste it is slowing getting rid of the pounds hence the more you
'go', the more you lose.
If you have any comments, suggestions or recipes for a healthy and delicious meal, I would love for you to share them.
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