Every day, I am thankful I am on this health journey. My goal is for long-term fitness and wellness. One of my good friends, who also happens to be a fitness and nutrition coach, recently reminded me that sustainability is a marathon, not a sprint. What does this mean? A marathon is long lasting and often difficult, while a sprint is a set period of time in which you must complete something. Too many people fall into the trap of trying to lose weight by a sprint and then find they cannot maintain that loss. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.
Keeping this is mind; I have had several readers of my blog, as well as my Face Book page, “Chris’s Inspirations”, who have shown an interest in what my eating plan looks like. I decided that instead of answering each of them individually, I would write about it instead. In order to explain the plan, it will probably help to show what my typical day looks like. I begin each day around 7:00 am. I put the coffee pot on, drink 8 ounces of water and then do my Yoga workout for 20-30 minutes. Then I eat breakfast. My breakfast usually stays with me until lunch so I do not have a morning snack. I always eat lunch between 12:00-12:30. Even when we travel, I can keep to this timeline as we usually pack our own healthy lunch and take it with us. If I do have an afternoon snack, it usually happens around 3:30. Dinner is always between 5:30-6:00. I seldom have an evening snack. I always ride my stationary bike for 40 minutes each evening. By sticking to this schedule it keeps me grounded and focused on healthy living and has changed my relationship with food. |
I do have ten rules for eating that I adhere to each day. They are really quite simple and easy to follow. 1) I always eat breakfast, no matter what. I find that if my breakfast consists of oatmeal or cream of wheat it sticks with me until lunchtime. If we are traveling, I will usually have a hard-boiled egg and a small protein shake.
2) I eat all my meals and snacks during a 12-hour eating window each day. That way I am actually fasting for 12 hours each day. After 8 hours of not eating, my body begins to use stored fats for energy.
3) I eat all my meals and snacks slowly, while seated. This makes my eating mindful. I also do not have seconds yet never find myself hungry.
4) I include a protein with each meal. There are many low calorie proteins out there. Some examples are black beans, eggs, non-fat cottage cheese, oats, turkey breast, quinoa, guava, fish, pistachios and non-fat Greek yogurt.
5) I have six portions of fresh fruits and vegetables every day. I have really learned to love and appreciate these foods. My vegetables I eat raw, steamed and roasted. A bowl of cut up fresh fruit, along with a hard-boiled egg and a piece of lite string cheese is an easy lunch and quickly fills me up.
6) If I am hungry, I might enjoy two healthy snacks each day. However, if you are buying ones off the shelf, read the labels. Make sure the sodium and sugar content are low. Watch out for those labeled low fat. They are often high in calories and full of additives.
7) I do not eat less, I just eat smarter. Do I watch my caloric intake? Yes, I do but I am never hungry because I also watch my calorie density. Not familiar with this term? Calorie density is a “measure of the calorie content of food and is measured as calories per 3.5 ounces of food. By eating foods with a low calorie density, I eat fewer calories but can eat large and filling portions. As an example, 2 ounces of tuna in water has 50 calories. If I eat this, I have many calories left over for a 350-calorie lunch. If I were to choose to have a standard sized milk chocolate bar (1.55 ounces) for lunch instead, I am eating 220 calories, getting little nutritional value and I will still be hungry with only 130 calories to spare.
I know what you are thinking. The chocolate sure tastes better than the tuna and you are right. However, I am developing a healthy life style. The chocolate will be a treat I have some time.
I also practice balanced eating. I eat by the 80/20 rule. 80% of the foods I eat are clean, which means they are in their natural state. A potato is a potato and does not come from a box, etc. The homemade muffins I make are made from natural foods, not processed. The 20% I eat are my indulgences. Because of this, I never deprive myself of any food. I simply plan my day and know what I am going to eat each day. This way, if we have something special to attend, I figure out what I want to fit into my calorie budget. NO FOODS are off limits.
8) I have a food diary as well as my group weight loss app and I log all food I eat every day. I pay for the group I belong to but there are many free apps out there that you can use. They will help you calculate how many calories to aim for, depending on the weight you want to lose or maintain. Two that come to mind are “MyFitnessPal” and “MyPlate.” They are both easy to use.
9) I drink between 65-80+ ounces of water every day. When it is really hot and humid in the summer I drink more. It is very important to stay hydrated and a healthy life style depends on this. I begin my day with 8 ounces of water because it jump starts my metabolism. Staying hydrated promotes healthy skin and helps to build stronger bones. This is very important to someone my age. Drinking enough water also helps my mood and curbs my cravings. If I am not drinking plain water then I am drinking non-caffeinated herbal tea.
10) I practice NO FOOD at least two hours before bedtime. This fits in with rule #2. Eating too much food just before bedtime can cause heartburn, weight gain and most commonly acid reflux.
So, what does a typical day of eating look like for me? This is what I ate yesterday. To maintain my weight, my goal is to stay somewhere within a 1300-1400 calorie budget per day. If I go over my budget, I do not berate myself. I have a completely new relationship with food. Instead, I get back on track the next day and do not give up.
Breakfast: Black coffee, instant Cream of Wheat, 2 tablespoons of 2% milk, 1 homemade Black Walnut whole wheat muffin= 214 calories.
Lunch: Baked sliced yellow squash, cauliflower and cabbage with ½ cup cubed boneless chicken breast, ½ cup cottage cheese, ½ avocado, ½ banana and 10 seedless red grapes plus 24 ounces of plain water= 434 calories
Afternoon Snack: 1 homemade Banana Zucchini Whole Wheat Muffin=113 calories
Dinner: ½ baked acorn squash filled with spicy ground sausage and ½ cup lite vanilla Greek yogurt and 10 ounces of herbal tea= 553 calories. My day totaled 1314 calories.
Since being on this journey, I have changed my whole mindset about food, nutrition, movement and living. I never thought of myself as being on a diet or dieting. Instead, I have developed a wellness mindset. I see this as a lifelong life style. I do workout every day in some way or the other. Being fit has improved my quality of life and it helps curb boredom and those sudden cravings. Now I focus on fitness and nutrition. I am grateful every day that I started on this journey and am enjoying the ride.
Do I still high calorie density foods? You bet I do. The only difference is now I know about calorie density and I monitor how much I have each day.
If you would like a partial list of low calorie density, medium calorie density and high calorie density foods, drop me an email and I will send it to you.
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