New Year, New You, New Food Guide?
In light of the new Canada Food Guide, I thought I would re-share some tips from my experience.
Most everyone knows that I lost some weight… ok, I lost a lot of weight – over 120 pounds. Tons of people ask me how I did it and that’s a very long answer. Today I am just going to share with you some tips of how I did it and have maintained (+/- 10 lbs) for over 5 years.
First off, I’m sure you have heard it a hundred times and have read it on a million blogs – but drink more water! For a girl that loves soda and juice, this was probably the hardest thing I had to do. I tried to cut out as much as possible of sugary drinks. I don’t drink coffee, I am more of a tea drinker but Starbucks is my biggest weakness, to continue to enjoy it I looked for the lowest calorie drink on the menu that I liked – my drink of choice was a Venti Cool Lime Refresher with light ice (only 90 calories). They have since discontinued it, so if you have a suggestion let me know. Right now I’m drinking sugar-free Strawberry Infused Green Tea. Anyways…. I felt like I could still go for a “coffee” with my friends without guilt.
Second, is portions. When I was considerably overweight I could sit down and plow through an entire large pizza. Don’t get me wrong, I still want to, but I don’t! Now I am conscious of how much I’m eating, when you start to think about how big your stomach is and how much food you are putting into it. Few tips from me… I only use side plates, I no longer use full dinner plates. The other trick that I did was I started putting away the leftovers before I even sat down to eat. Recipes typically cater to families, so putting away the extra helped so that I wasn’t temped to have seconds and had meals for later in the week.
Third is choice! I am a big believer in menu planning, it helped me know what I was going to be eating throughout the week and even get control of some of my cravings. That way I wasn’t out and about running errands thinking there is nothing in the house and just stopping for Taco Time. I was already prepped and knew I was making good food choices if I stuck to the plan.
Final tip from me would be exercise! At the peak of my weight loss journey I was doing a lot of bootcamps, not so much anymore now that I am maintaining. I still remain active, right now I’m doing yoga at home. Golf is a big one in the summer and I try to get out and do a little something everyday.
Other tips from people that I unfortunately have never been able to master but they seem important:
Eat Breakfast – ughh, I really don’t like breakfast. Ok maybe bacon and eggs but a girl can’t do that every day. I will do smoothies or take a handful of nuts and raisins as I’m headed out the door.
Salad / Vegetables – it’s green and gets on my plate (my dad says that all the time and I tend to agree). I obviously eat vegetables but salad baffles me – it’s just lettuce. People that order it on menu because it’s the healthy choice… beware, all the toppings and dressings can quickly make it the most high calorie and fat item on the menu. Do your research!
To make sure you are successful give yourself a break. A cheat meal, a lazy day or $5 in 10 cent candies! It’s all natural and just remember it’s a journey – so keep moving forward and don’t give up. Just start all over again with your next choice. I am not skinny or super fit but those are my ways of maintaining my weight loss and keeping a balance in my life. I can still go out with friends (and eat fish tacos with a gin and tonic – am I right??) and enjoy everyday loving myself and feeling comfortable in my skin.