Let's talk food...

Food.  It's the hardest part of a lifestyle change (I really dislike the word diet).  Before I got sick, I was on a roll.  I was eating the healthiest I ever had in my life.  While I was having chemo and my transplant, most days I could eat anything I wanted (when I wasn't nauseated) and I didn't gain any weight. It was like the most awesome side effect ever ;)  My body shifted though...all the muscle I had built up in my workouts just disappeared.  Between the chemo and steroids, I lost all of my strength. Do you know how frustrating it is to have people tell you "Oh your muscles will come back..."  Umm no...they won't (and haven't) just ome back...it took a LOT of work to get them in the first place, so it will take a lot of work again!

Anyway...I got off track. I do not love very many veggies.  I am working very hard to change that, but it's not easy.  Maybe I need to try smoothies or something to incorporate more.  Fruit is much easier for me...I have SUCH a sweet tooth!  Another thing I have to work on is leftovers...I don't love them, but I am trying hard to eat them.  I am not one to cook something on Sunday and it the same thing every night.  For some reason, I can eat the same breakfast and lunch every day and it doesn't bother me, but I have to switch up supper and do different things.

As of right now, I have a small bowl of Special K either Cinnamon Pecan or Vanilla Almond cereal and orange juice for breakfast, a banana midmorning and a salad at lunch time. I try to stick with romaine lettuce and green/red leaf lettuce (I hear the darker the leaves, the better for you they are), croutons, red onion, just a touch of cheese and salad dressing.  This is what I am hooked on these days...it's REALLY good!

 

Add a few grapes and some jello with lite cool whip and that's lunch :)  I usually have an apple or orange mid afternoon (I found little honey crisp apples at the grocery store that are delicious!)  Supper is the challenging meal for me.  I am usually starving by the time I get home after the gym after work, so I don't want to wait too long for supper to cook.  Another challenge I face is cooking for just one person.  It's tricky to not end up with a ton of leftovers.  I have no desire to give up meat at this point, so I usually have some sort of chicken, pork, or seafood and one or two veggies.  I am trying to cut out pasta and potatoes for the most part.  I love them more than just about anything, so it's definitely not easy!

The very bad habit mom and I got into while we were in Houston was dessert.  We had some sort of yummy dessert every night!  I have a terrible sweet tooth that is hard to ignore.  When I came home from Houston, I sort of felt like everything I had gone through, I had earned the right to eat dessert every night :) Which is very much the truth, but i just have to keep it in moderation. This is what I am having these days... chocolate grahamwiches.  They are delicious!  And only 112 calories :)  In addition to the food changes, I have cut out all soft drinks...I have orange juice in the morning with breakfast and then I drink almost a gallon of water every day.

The most important meal of the week for me is my cheat meal!  I would go nuts if I didn't chat every now and then :)  The important thing to remember is to not get sucked into the cheat mode!

Ok...I have rambled on long enough for tonight.  I hope you have a great week!  I'll beback soon with a weight loss update :)

~Jodi