A New Way to Eat

I mentioned in a previous post that thin is a choice and a lifestyle. I don't want to have to think about my eating choices (i.e. be on a diet) every day for the rest of my life, in order to stay at a size I feel comfortable in. I want to have healthy habits in place so I don't have to think about it. For example:

• Eat more whole grain: whole wheat bread, brown rice, oatmeal, and whole wheat pasta.
  
• Eat more fruits and veggies. I try to prepare two vegetables with every dinner. Dr. Phil's suggestion was to divide your plate: FIll half your plate with non-starchy veggies, 1/4 of your plate with a starchy carb, and 1/4 of your plate with a lean protein.
• I drink only water. I don't like milk, except on cereal (or with ooey-gooey brownies!!), and I don't think diet soda is good for you. We have juice occasionally, but I try to serve fruit instead.
• I am off sugar right now, but it's mainly so I can keep nursing Evy. (I was feeling the thrush sensations I'm all-too-familiar-with return.) My ultimate goal with sugar is to be satisfied with a small, occasional treat. I love them too much to think I could give them up completely. I used to avoid sugar all week and let myself enjoy them on the weekends. That worked for me for a while. Eliminating any sugar from your diet will benefit you and your waistline, not to mention your overall health. When I'm off sugar, my stomach feels so much happier, my brain feels clearer, and I feel more energetic.
  
• Check out the following list from Dr. Phil's book. The point of this list, in my view, is to see that the small choices we make every day can have a big impact on our long-term weight maintenance.

• Have a plan: a substitute food or activity for a weight-gaining behavior. For example, low-fat popcorn instead of chips. Brush your teeth to avoid night-time eating. Chew gum, go on a walk, take a shower, etc.
  
• Allow yourself that occasional splurge. I ate pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving. And not just one piece. If I never splurge, I get bitter and then I rebel. This is not a diet. This is my life, and I want to eat sweets. They just need to be in moderation. I'm still working on the moderation thing. And probably will be forever!
  

Most importantly, don't try to tackle it all at once. Pick one habit you want to implement, and work on that until you're pretty good at it. Then pick another one to work on. If you try to take on too much, you'll get burned out and discouraged.

Scribbit wrote a fabulous post about her healthy-lifestyle tips here.