substitution..... the bad stuff for something good!

[Duffpic]

So I've spent the past several days (1 week into my fitbit present!) really looking at what I eat.  The sabotage foods:

Red Wine;  I was probably drinking 15 ounces a night with dinner. Yesterday I only had 1 lite beer and are now drinking 99 calories verses 375!  Still enjoy having a drink with my husband, but the positives of this change are striking - lost 2 pounds in 2 days.

Bread:  this is the tough one - I grew up in a big family and we always had bread at each meal to fill us up and use as a "pusher".  I'm substituting healthy breads with lower carbs and more grains.

Having just lunch with no "snacks"... (i.e., popcorn, chips,etc.)  This is also a tough one (admittedly), but yesterday instead of popcorn I had a small orange. Actually enjoyed it!

So these are the 3 changes I'm going to stick to over the next few weeks - they are "big" in my book, and I hope to see the scale reflect.

I'm also weighing to determine "true" portions and logging in my foods - it's so easy on Fitbit!!

Good luck to all - I think the most important thing is to take an honest good look at what you are eating and how much.  Making some little changes at a time will help in my journey - I hope it does yours!!  

Honora

[koolavocado2 · Accepted solution]

Congrats for making a change!

Its all about portion control and eating a variety if foods.

Don't cut bread all together, instead, opt for 100% whole wheat version, and you don't have to eat it with every meal.

For snacks, opt for unsalted nuts. They are filled with fiber and protein, and tons of mono and poly unsaturated fat and contain a good helping of essential vitamins and minerals. My personal favorite are almonds and pecans. Just make sure to keep the serving small, nuts are calorie-dense, but very filling.

[SunsetRunner]

Red wine isn't actually all bad! Make sure you are not "overdrinking" it and from time to time it's even beneficial for your health ( in limited amounts of course 🙂 ).

In my culture, the bread also is a part of almost every meal. You eat bread with soup, with some stews etc. However, I somehow stopped eating bread a long time ago almost altogether and don't miss it. Whenever I bought it the majority was wasted as regular bread is just too big for somebody who eats bread only from time to time as I do. So I just stopped buying it at all. Now, however, I found out that there are certain bread-like foods are easy to make at home. For example check this one out: 10 minutes flatbreads. Literally, it takes just 10 minutes make it. Additionally, I slice it and drop into the toaster to add finishing "toasty" punch 🙂 This way I know what my bread is made of, almost exact amount of calories I consume and well... nothing tastes better than homemade bread in the morning 🙂

Snacks in most of the cases are not about eating but about having your hands occupied. You will find at some point good replacement which not necessary will be food. Also, snacking on carrots or, like me, pepper radish ( I just love them! ) and fruits is a nice replacement. For sure healthier. Although, if you need to keep your hands and mouth ( don't know how to phrase it not to sound weird, sorry 🙂 ) occupied then buy a juicer and make juices to sip after your meal. Slowly sipping a juice you will consume a limited amount of calories, lots of nutrients and fill your stomach. To be honest, if I knew when I was on my weight-loss diet what I know now I would probably get juicer couple of months ago! Watching film? Make own popcorn. Popcorn isn't all bad! just get plain popcorn, not quick microwaveable, put it on the hot pan and wait till it "pops" out, done. It contains lots of the dietary fibre. Also some magnesium and iron. 50g of raw corn before popping makes quite a lot of popcorn 😉 Additionally, make a juice. Don't throw away the pulp - blend it and add to the juice making a nice smoothie. And here it goes healthy movie evening! 🙂

What I learned through my weight-loss and now, simply maintaining, is that I cannot look at food as bad or good. Everything may be both bad and good for your health. It's all about quantities and what your diet looks like in the big picture. Don't treat food as your enemy. Befriend with food, learn about it and eat responsibly and you won't really have to give up on anything you love.

[Duffpic]

Thanks for your great tips!!

We also eat popcorn for lunch - found a microwave bowl (silicone) that works great. My husband has type one diabetes and has to watch his sugars/carbs, and also salt, so popcorn is a great way for him to snack!

I'm going to save the wine as a "treat" for the weekend or special occasion.  I found I was drinking too much - now that I have not had any for 5 days (only 1 lite beer a day), I feel so much better!  Amazing how you can get addicted to the sugar .....

I'm also having what I want but trying to eat "half".  Like this morning I had 1/2 a whole grain english muffin, non-fat 0% greek yogurt with honey drizzled on it, and 1/2 a large apple.  I was so full!

Before I would eat the whole muffin, butter and jelly, the yogurt/honey but with nuts all over it, and the whole apple.  So I'm hoping this approach of being mindful of portions and leaving out some unnecessary foods will be a new lifestyle!

My best to you .... if you need support just write!!

Honora