Frequently Asked Question: What Do You Eat Each Day to Keep the Weight Off?
Jodi Davis
| 2 min read
It happened again yesterday… someone carefully examined my grocery cart while I was shopping at the local market.
If you know me it all, you are not surprised to learn that this led to a very lengthy conversation about healthy eating, walking and my daily lifestyle. Yes, this occurs quite often and I enjoy it today just as much as I did back in 2002 when I hit my weight-loss goal. Hey, I understand that people are curious about what I (and our entire family) eats; in fact, it’s fun to see people remove the unhealthy items from their own grocery cart and make healthier choices once our conversation is over!
I thought that readers may also like to know what’s in my grocery cart. So I put together a sample day of meals consisting of breakfast, lunch, dinner and my favorite snacks.
- Morning snack (within first 5 minutes of waking up): Low-fat oatmeal raisin granola bar
- Breakfast: Two pieces whole-wheat toast with low-fat peanut butter and no-sugar blueberry preserves; coffee with artificial sweetener and skim milk
- Morning snack: A piece of fresh fruit (banana, apple, nectarine, orange, pear)
- Lunch: Salad with many fresh vegetables (tomatoes, green peppers, sliced mushrooms, green olives, bean sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower) and a few sunflower seeds; ranch dressing on the side. A half sandwich using sliced turkey and one slice flaxseed bread with deli mustard; iced tea with fresh lemon.
- Afternoon snack: A handful of soy nuts or raw almonds; tea or coffee on ice
- Dinner: Skinless chicken breast (prepared in slow-cooker) with onions, potatoes, celery and baby carrots; spray butter and low-fat sour cream on potato; ice water or green tea with dinner
- Evening snack: Low-fat microwave popcorn with tall glass of water with fresh lemon
My food intake is pretty plain and simple. I eat three healthy meals a day. During my 16- month weight-loss period, my daily food intake totaled about 1,200 calories. I didn’t journal, I didn’t count every single calorie, but I simply estimated. I listened to my conscience and I still do.
I feel that we all know which foods are good for our body and which ones are not. We also know how much of that healthy food we should be consuming and that eating too many calories per day works against weight loss, whether the food is healthy or not.
A calorie is a calorie — but obviously healthy calories are suggested.
It’s mind over matter. You can do it … and it starts with healthy eating.
What tips do you have for incorporating more healthy calories into your diet?
Photo credit: bionicteaching
