Friday, July 24, 2015

Sandwiches are okay



Have you ever sat in a room full of ladies that were on a diet?   Everyone around you in the office is munching on various green leaves or some other form of rabbit food.  Slowly, almost timidly - hoping no one is looking your way - you slide out your....SANDWICH!!  G A S P!  She is eating bread?!?!  Doesn't she know that bread has carbs in it?  Doesn't she know that bread will make her fat?  Doesn't she know that if she WANTS to lose weight, then she can't eat that?!?!

Or maybe you DID bring the green leafy goodness and you left the bread  to consume in the privacy of your own home.  You open the lid of your salad and "feel the gaze" turning towards your salad.  Where is the MEAT?  No wonder she is 432 pounds.  (I am not FYI.)   She doesn't eat enough protein!!!

The moral of these stories?  Do what's best for you and for your lifestyle.   I think the important thing is  to understand who you are and what you can do to KEEP it off forever.   Losing weight and staying fit and healthy will always be a battle between carrots and turtle cheesecake.   There will always be war and some days and seasons will be easier than others.  But realize this - once you fight the addiction of food, that battle will never be far way from you.   Once you can realize that, you can slide in  for the long haul and understand that this is a journey and not so much just about the destination of "goal weight."

For me,  I have decided that I am simply going to exercise more and eat less.  The reason that I am doing this is because I feel like I can do that forever.   If I choose something that I can't stick with forever,  then I am setting myself up for failure and tears over pounds coming back far too quickly and easily.   I already run the risk of crashing - but if I take bread  (or another food group) out of the equation and decide that's how I am going to lose weight, the risk is higher.   I want to minimalize my risk.    I want to make it as easy as possible for me to keep that weight off and keep myself healthy because lets' face it,  I really like easy.  I like easy much more than difficult.

But if you are up for a certain diet,  a certain fad,  I have known lots of people that have gone that route and have been super successful.   I have known people that have had operations and it's worked for them, big time.

Again, the idea is this: to know YOU;  to know YOUR body; to know the way YOU tick.    And then stick to it.  Make a decision and stick to it.   Don't get pulled into the latest fad or the latest book or the latest shake JUST because everyone else is doing it.  Do it because its right for YOU.    The reason anything works really is because we are just aware (no matter what kind of system that we are on) of what we are consuming and we are intentionally doing something different to get different results in our body.  What you choose to do in order to see those same results (health and weight loss) is entirely up to you.  Be comfortable with what you choose.

Once you have decided what you are going to do, you can hold your head high when you unearth your sandwich from your lunch kit or bring your salad with only a few scrapings of humble and measly tuna fish .  You can smile knowing that you are within your calorie range, or your point range or your nutrition range and you have a plan.  You have a goal and you are sticking to it.


Thai Lettuce Wraps

I fried onion and garlic and then two chicken breasts.  Then I grated carrots and added finely chopped cabbage to the chicken.  I fried them until they were very soft.  (My throat has been hurting and I have been having problems with my jaw so I wanted something soft.)  I then added a sauce that consisted of peanut butter, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce and crushed red peppers.   I also added cilantro and let that simmer until it was even more soft.  We scooped it up into big leaves of romaine lettuce and it was yum!! 

Enjoy!

2 comments:

  1. Very good Faith! You have to eat the way you normally do but less along with exercise. I eat what I want to but I count calories too and this helps me keep in line.

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    1. That's awesome! Thanks for your encouragement!

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