It’s no secret to anyone that I’d like to lose a few pounds. 😉 You all came with me through my INSANITY journey and various other experiments. I’m a work in progress, but the great thing is that I’m learning very valuable lessons through all of this. With INSANITY I learned that I really can be disciplined enough to do a workout that intense and enjoy it. Not that I’m currently availing myself of that discipline, but I know that it’s possible. 😉 With the “slow-carb” diet, I learned that if I really want to make a dent in the muffin top, that’s how to do it.
Not everyone is going to be the same, but for me cutting out refined carbs has been the best way for me to see progress in that area. And it doesn’t always make the scale move, but it does cut down on the flab/bloat or whatever it is so that my clothes fit nicer.
So I’m doing that again. And the thing is, it’s not as difficult now as it was when I started. The first time I tried low-carb, I just about went nutso craving bread and sweets and pretty much anything that I wasn’t “allowed” to eat. I have made some modifications because I allow myself to eat fruit and that’s a serious no-no for die-hard low carbers. But I can’t get behind the thinking that fruit is “bad” so I’m going to enjoy it. And that has seriously cut down on my desire for any other kind of sweets. And that is seriously good!! 🙂
I don’t crave bread anymore. I have it sometimes, of course, but it’s not something that consumes my thoughts. I don’t force myself to eat a huge protein breakfast. I do avoid cereals though. Those make me feel simply awful!! But some days I’ll eat my homemade yogurt for breakfast, some days fruit, some days eggs, and some days *gasp* I skip cause I don’t feel like eating anything. 😉
But the biggest thing that I have found to be of help recently is my snacks. When I plan ahead and have things on hand like the coconut oil chocolates for when the chocolate craving is too intense, or even the no bake energy bites, I find that I’m much better prepared to handle those moments of “I HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING SWEET BEORE ME OR SOMEONE ELSE IS SERIOUSLY INJURED!” Ha ha! 😉
Beyond that though I’ve been reconsidering how I eat my other snacks like apples. Apples are an amazing food. You need to eat apples! 😉 My favorite “brand” is Honeycrisp apples! Oh my! They had some when I went shopping last weekend, and even at $2.49 a pound I couldn’t resist them! They’re the best tasting apple EVER! But I’m hoarding them and letting the kids eat lesser apples. 😉 Anyway, as much as I love apples, eating them the “normal” way is kinda boring, and lets face it, they just don’t stick with you as well. So one day when I was going to have an apple for a snack I got to thinking about how to make it less boring. Originally I was going to slice it and dip it in almond butter. That would have been good! But then another idea hit me and I ended up slicing and then cutting up my apple into a bowl where I added some chopped nuts and a dollop of yogurt. Voila! Fruit salad without the not-good-for-you whipped topping! (What IS that stuff anyway? It’s not whipped cream cause it’s non-dairy, but then what is it?? Not sure I want to know) And I love fruit salad with lots of crunch nuts! Even though it was only one apple it completely filled the bowl I was using and felt like a much more substantial snack, plus the yogurt and nuts gave it staying power.
So all of that to say, if you’re having a difficult time getting in your fruits/veggies each day, and btw the daily recommended servings is now 7, try something new with it. Add spinach to your smoothies, make a fruit salad out of your apple, freeze bananas and make “ice cream” out of them. 🙂 Get creative, and you’ll enjoy it more.
It’s working for me! Last night while I was browsing pinterest I was just DYING to try some of yum-yummy recipes that I kept seeing. But I had already told myself that I’d have a honeycrisp with nuts and yogurt after the kids went to bed (so I wouldn’t have to share, ha ha!). And even though the cravings were bad, and I really wanted something gooey and chocolatey, I had enough will power to wait for my wholesome and delicious snack. 🙂
But for the record, I don’t recommend surfing dessert recipes on pinterest when you’re trying to be good about your diet. 😉