*****DISCLAIMER****
I am not a nutrionist...I am not a dietician....I am just a person who has been on a lot of diets and in the process of a lifestyle overhaul who is sharing so tried and true things that I have noticed in my last 10 years of the diet/gain/diet/gain cycle that I have been on a journey to break these last few years of writing. Take what I say with a grain of salt and like always what may work for me won't work for you...and vice versa. With that said....
As a new healthy eater I would wander the grocery store and I would scour pinterest and the internet looking for what can I eat and what can't I eat. Most sites and people recommended cutting everything and replace everything with organic and all natural and the fat girl in me read blah, blah, cardboard, blah, blah, tasteless, and expensive. So I said okay I will give this a go and it stuck for about a few weeks and then I went out to lunch with friends...yup out the window and I binged on a lot of stuff and all the weight I had lost in a few weeks....right back on. Then I was told about clean eating and I drug my feet till I finally went for it....now roughly once a month I participate in a Clean eating challenge where the meal plans are made for me and the grocery lists are done and I seen where it kick started the weight loss and by doing this once a month it helps clean out what I do eat in small moderation...I am human and I am mom and sometimes MacDonald's is the only option. But this is a year in the making.
In order for this to stick and to really make a difference in your life and to break the cycle of dieting....start slow. Do not clean all the junk out of your cabinets, ban pizza delivery from your house, and swear that another cupcake will never cross your lips....you are setting yourself up for failure. I mean seriously it took me 5 months to say I am truly coffee creamer free and to cut back from 6 cups to 2-3 a day. I am 28 days free of energy drinks...but like a recovering addict I will not say at this point I am free of them...I may slip up and that is okay...I just know I have to start over the next day at 1. Pick one thing and work on that at a time...if cupcakes is your weakness then start with cutting them and substituting in something else that is healthy but at the end of a few month run without them...you reward yourself with something fun that you do with the money you saved from not buying cupcakes....go get a massage, go buy a new pair of jeans, do something for you anything but buying a cupcake...we are not animals do not reward yourself with food.
Yes we all would like to say I got up today and I don't want the junk anymore...reality is the more we don't eat the junk the more our brain says we want it. I am not just in the middle of a lifestyle overhaul...I am also recovering from an eating disorder...I was a binge eater and I know for me and my brain to work together and make this work I have to give in once in awhile...so far this time it is working....I have lost and kept off 31 pounds since January. By giving in I don't mean a half pint of Cherry Garcia...I mean one of the Cherry Garcia mini pints or ice cream bar. I also attribute it to watching portion sizes....use a smaller plate and bowl then usual and you trick your head into thinking it is full when the plate/bowl is empty. Drink lots of water and never beat yourself up for a hiccup. They will happen and all we can do is say tomorrow will be better and I will be successful.
So what do I eat....pretty much anything I want. I just have learned that just because an order comes with 5 doesn't mean I have to eat all 5....I have learned that if I eat a salad with my pizza...one slice is enough....I have learned that if I want to go get ice cream I need to skip that big lunch and eat a salad to balance out my calories....or do an extra 20 minutes of Zumba.
So to wrap this up....Yes more veggies and less cupcakes....but live a little and every once in awhile grab a cupcake and take a few bites and toss the rest. This is all about a balance of good and bad and at the end of the day....only you can decide what calories you are willing to splurge on and what calories you are willing to sacrifice.
Happy Dieting!
