changing eatting habits

[lph]

We usually have this problem in summer, when the sun just doesn't go down and there's no way we want to go home to cook food.

These are a few of our solutions, you'll need a supply of leak-proof plastic containers:
Yoghurt with musli, chopped nuts and sliced banana.
Mediterranean style lunch: cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, sliced ham, rolls, small bottle of olive oil etc.
Packed salad, make sure it has enough protein eg. hard-boiled eggs, chick peas, beans.
And actually - dinner leftovers aren't necessarily gross when eaten cold. When I cook I often make fast wok-type dinners: strips of chicken or beef, lots of vegetables (carrots, onions, red peppers, green apple, broccoli), spices, fried in oil and served with boiled rice. I find myself eating cold leftovers of this quite happily when I come home late a few days later

[Bikingmomof3]

There have been wonderful suggestions. Everyone is different good thing there are so many food options.

I eat six small meals a day. My favourite book is Body For Life For Women. I need to keep my blood sugar happy and once I decided to actually listen to my doctor and do this, plus add in exercise, I dropped 60+ overall inches (fat, fat, fat), gained muscle (yay) and shed almost 70 pounds. (YAY ME!) It took me a year and a half, no quick fixes. Now I am healthier than I have ever been and loving every minute of it!

Now I just work on maintaining my weight and increasing my lean muscle mass.

I went from a size 20 to a size 6! I am extra proud, since I did it by myself.

FWIW-I did not overeat when I was big. Quite the opposite. I was never hungry. I would not eat until about 1pm or so after being up almost 8 hours! My metabolism had completely shut down, and it was a bugger to get it jump started again.

Now I am happily running, hopefully cycling outdoors as soon as I get the all clear from my neurologist and looking forward to my TNT training AND my goal to partcipate in a Tri before I am 40!

[xeney]

I have found that one of the best things I can do regarding healthy eating is to manage my breakfasts, because it is easy for me to eat a very healthy meal at that time of day. I eat the same thing most days: two slices of toasted Alvarado Street bread (weird nutty texture, but very high fiber and protein, and it's actually low carb although I don't really watch carbs) with about a tablespoon of no-added-sugar peanut butter and a little bit of low sugar jam. (Not the kind with aspartame, just the kind that isn't as sweet.) That has something like 14 grams of protein and some fat, but it's more filling than cereal and won't make me sugar crash like a pop tart! If I exercise in the morning or if I am hungry again, I have some combination of a banana, a small glass of skim milk, or a container of yogurt around 10 or so.

My rule with lunch is that I just try not to overeat, but I tend to be starving mid-day no matter what I did at breakfast, and I am often eating out, so I don't worry very much about lunch. I generally eat healthy leftovers or choose the healthiest menu option that doesn't sound revolting, but if someone invites me out for Mexican food I am not going to pick at a plate of plain beans and rice. But I do try to get three servings of vegetables in at lunch time.

For dinner we almost always cook something healthy, even when we have been out for a ride and don't get home until it's dark and we are already starving. The secret: garden or Boca burgers. We aren't vegetarians but we keep those in the freezer, along with whole grain buns. They aren't high calorie but they have a lot of protein, and they cook in about five minutes. Back in the days when it was safe to eat salad we usually had a Boca burger with a big salad after our Wednesday night date night (which usually means biking or canoeing).

Another thing that makes quick healthy meals easier is that Barilla Plus pasta, the stuff in the yellow box. It's not weird tasting like whole wheat pasta, but again, it's high fiber and high protein. (It's made with lentils or something weird like that, but it just tastes like pasta.) We eat that with sauteed vegetables, or a sauce made of roasted winter squash, or occasionally with low fat chicken sausage.

[Pedal Wench]

....The secret: garden or Boca burgers. .....


Another thing that makes quick healthy meals easier is that Barilla Plus pasta, the stuff in the yellow box. ... or occasionally with low fat chicken sausage.

Have you tried Boca's Italian sausage? It's really, really good - I had some pasta sauce and hearty wheat bread left over after my BF's visit, so I've been making sausage sandwiches with this - wonderful, and I don't feel guilty eating it.

[xeney]

My confession: I kind of hate soy "meats." I can eat a Boca burger if I put a lot of other stuff on it (salsa, good tomatoes, maybe some cheese) but I'd rather have a Gardenburger. My husband likes Boca burgers so we usually do one of each. He loves the Boca sausages but I always wind up giving my share to the dogs. (Our dogs like Boca stuff more than they like actual meat.)

I am a big Quorn fan, though. We use the ground Quorn (unfortunately hard to find) for things like tacos, and I can add some seasoning and fool myself into thinking it's Italian sausage, too. Mostly we use the version that looks like chicken breasts ... low calorie, high protein, and much faster/easier than actual chicken (which grosses me out a little so I stopped cooking it at home).

[KSH]

My confession: I kind of hate soy "meats." I can eat a Boca burger if I put a lot of other stuff on it (salsa, good tomatoes, maybe some cheese) but I'd rather have a Gardenburger.

I'm a vegetarian... and Boca burgers so so nasty!

Morning Star Farms makes a yummy black bean burger (140 calories?). They also make this delicious breaded "chicken" patty... 170 calories and GOOD!

[Geonz]

I lost six pounds recently by simply misplacing my wallet for about five weeks. I *really* didn't want to ask friends to cash checks, so I simply stopped feeding the cafeteria and the vending machines. (I found it last Friday. ) No poptarts!!
Those little packets of instant oatmeal are my favorite, even though they've got a fair amount of extra sugar in 'em when I have the apples & cinnamon. (I'll mix an apple & plain one sometimes.) We have a microwave but we also have an instant hot water spout coming out of the coffee machine, and that makes the oatmeal really quickly.
I'll also go for straight carbs - leftover rice from the CHinese - 'cause that fills me up, but then I have to be sure to toss in veggies somehow.
Of course, fruits and especially juices have tons of calories (especially those funky, expensive blends the cafeteria sells - geez, now V-8 is fattening!). I take extreme pleasure in throwing a 2-cent teabag (or even two if I really want a jolt ) in that cup and walking by the $1.25 "iced tea" to fill it with the hot water. Four cents, no calories.
Good old fashioned sandwiches work, too. For me, it helps to munch 'em a little slowly, too, or to put that oatmeal off for another hour.
And then of course there's portion control.

[spokewench]

It is really hard to tell you that I eat something everyday - cause I don't I think it is really important to mix it up some - first for nutrition sake and second for taste's sake

I had a piece of toast, coffee with 1/2&1/2 and juice for breakfast.

Had a banana for a snack.

Had leftover mashed potatoes and mushrooms/onions/tomato curry for lunch.

Had coconut thai shrimp with butternut squash, red peppers and brown rice for dinner. Full fat coconut milk (Yum) and a beer!

Drank water throughout the day and one glass of lemonade

Today I had so far one egg and one piece of bacon on toast with coffee (no oj, we were out?)

This is pretty regular diet for me. I don't totally scrimp on fats, I eat lots of veges, I drink beer (tho I have to watch my intake); I up my intake when I'm riding or working out a lot. Usually, just by adding healthy snacks like more fruits, more lemonade, fig newtons, yogurt, ice cream sometimes as a treat!

[KnottedYet]

B'fast: brown rice, spam, walnuts

Lunch: brown rice, beans, cheese, salsa, Larabar

Dinner: m+m's

Today was not a stellar nutritional day for me!

[Dogmama]

B'fast: brown rice, spam, walnuts

Lunch: brown rice, beans, cheese, salsa, Larabar

Dinner: m+m's

Today was not a stellar nutritional day for me!

Please - NO SPAM SONG!

Regarding your nutrition - at least you got all of your "colors" in at dinner time!

[ClockworkOrange]

There have been wonderful suggestions. Everyone is different good thing there are so many food options.

I eat six small meals a day. My favourite book is Body For Life For Women. I need to keep my blood sugar happy and once I decided to actually listen to my doctor and do this, plus add in exercise, I dropped 60+ overall inches (fat, fat, fat), gained muscle (yay) and shed almost 70 pounds. (YAY ME!) It took me a year and a half, no quick fixes. Now I am healthier than I have ever been and loving every minute of it!

Now I just work on maintaining my weight and increasing my lean muscle mass.

I went from a size 20 to a size 6! I am extra proud, since I did it by myself.

FWIW-I did not overeat when I was big. Quite the opposite. I was never hungry. I would not eat until about 1pm or so after being up almost 8 hours! My metabolism had completely shut down, and it was a bugger to get it jump started again.

Now I am happily running, hopefully cycling outdoors as soon as I get the all clear from my neurologist and looking forward to my TNT training AND my goal to partcipate in a Tri before I am 40!

Wow, that is so impressive, well done you!

Just happened to look on ebay, and guess what, I just managed to get a copy of Body For Life For Women for $13 including p&p.

I lost around 3 stone when I first met my partner, got cycling to also thank for that but about a stone has crept on, so, going to give it a real good go.

Good thread, well worth reading.

Sally

[tygab]

For snacks:
-Dried berries/fruit (I'm partial to cranberries, blueberries, cherries - high antioxidants too)
-Reduced fat string or cheddar cheese blocks (Cabot makes some good ones)
-Wasabi peas - great for eating or adding to salads!
-Multigrain cereals without sugar coatings

For dinners, my husband and I have recently been challenging each other to make healthful meals for $10 or less. I don't cook much (he's a very good cook and enjoys it) so I sort of started it to see what I could do. He decided to start playing tonight. The meals we've had so far have been very tasty! I made marinaded catfish with long grain rice and peas last week. My turn's tomorrow & I'm plotting it now...

For dessert:
One square of organic dark chocolate - I am not a big chocolate fan, but read that dark chocolate's pretty good for you (in small quantities and not consumed with milk). It has a lot of antioxidants and in some studies has lowered chloresterol I think. It also has a lot of flavinoids which I don't know what they are but apparantly they're good for you I read about this in a running mag not too long ago.

Anyway, it's growing on me (I mean the taste) and it's nice to have an option that makes me feel like I am eating something 'fancy' but not damaging. We keep a bar in the fridge and one square is a nice treat. The articles note that white chocolate and milk chocolate do not give the positive benefits of dark chocolate.

Other: Drink more water! Apparantly a lot of times we feel hungry they are actually thirsty, and we don't know the difference. So have a glass water first, and if you're still hungry, then have a snack. Most of us don't drink enough water anyway. I know I have this problem.

[KSH]

Other: Drink more water! Apparantly a lot of times we feel hungry they are actually thirsty, and we don't know the difference. So have a glass water first, and if you're still hungry, then have a snack. Most of us don't drink enough water anyway. I know I have this problem.

Well, when my tummy is growling... I know it's from lack of food... but a huge glass of water fills it up and makes it stop growling.

[Bikingmomof3]

Wow, that is so impressive, well done you!

Just happened to look on ebay, and guess what, I just managed to get a copy of Body For Life For Women for $13 including p&p.

I lost around 3 stone when I first met my partner, got cycling to also thank for that but about a stone has crept on, so, going to give it a real good go.

Good thread, well worth reading.

Sally

Thank you. I ma glad you found the book and at such an awesome price. She also has an online newsletter. Enjoy!

[cherinyc]

I recently found, at Costco, a bag of frozen, pre-portioned Mahi Mahi filets. Figured I would give it a try. The filets must be frozen individually, so they are not all stuck together (which is what happens when I buy fresh fish by the pound and try to portion a meal for 2's worth and then freeze).
Few days ago, I opened the resealable bag and picked out 3 nice filets (1 for me, 2 for BF) and stuck in a ziploc to defrost in fridge overnight.
I found a recipe online for a quick sauce (a little butter, garlic, honey, dijon mustard - all cooked on stove, then add lemon juice last and cool for 10 min in fridge) and cut the fish into 2 oz portions. Spooned sauce on fish and baked for ~12 min in 450 deg oven.
Frozen organic asparagas in microwave for 2-3 minutes, and voila.

I prefer fresh as much as possible, but having some good quality frozen stuff will keep you from ordering Dominoes when your fridge is bare.