Today I am having pizza for breakfast. No not some healthy sort of pizza. It’s a regular old $5 Little Caesar’s pizza. It’s left over from last night. I got it because it was cheap, fast, on my way home, and I had no food at home. I’ll be headed to the supermarket soon, but I really don’t know what to buy.
The first time I knew I had a weight problem I was around 12. The pediatrician told my mom I should lose weight. I remember it was spring or summer and my mom started making me cucumbers in vinaigrette she also worked out with me to some aerobics videos. However, we still continued to buy Tastekakes and snack cakes every day. My dad thought I just needed to run then I could eat whatever I wanted. Clearly we really did not know what we were doing in terms of eating healthy.
Fast forward to age 23, I started my 1st organized weight loss program. It was weight watchers at home program followed by Weight Watchers online when I got a computer. It was a success (lost 50lbs in about a year) kept it off a little while then it slowly inched back up. Since then I’ve tried, counting calories with various groups, cutting carbs, Nutrisystem, Metabolife, Herbalife, Weight Watchers several more times (with no where near the results as the 1st time), therapy, and even hypnosis for weight loss. Yet here I am back at my high weight.
In the process of all of this I feel like I have forgotten how to eat. I don’t even remember how I used to eat 11 years ago before I started actively trying to lose weight and when I was about 25lbs lighter than I am right now. I cannot help but to wonder if I would be lighter right now If I’d have never tried to lose weight??? I’ll never know.
Now I am not giving up by any means. I’m not a quitter. Plus I have a new incentive of wanting to be healthier so that I can have a baby and have a healthy pregnancy. I just feel like I don’t really know what to eat. I like my action plan of more veggies and 1 fruit a day. However, my inability to find a eating plan that is sustainable makes me feel like I have no clue what to buy. I have stopped buying a lot of things that are quick and fast and not so healthy like, pot pies, frozen pizza, pizza rolls, etc…But then, not having anything quick and fast leads me to the $5 pizza. I have thrown away so many fresh fruit and veggies over the years and as recent as 2 weeks ago when I tried to make a weeks worth of jar salads ahead of time (day 1 good, day 2 barely OK, days 3 and 4 trash) .
I know I need to eat more veggies, drink more water, and avoid sugar, white carbs, trans and saturated fats. But exactly how does this translate to my shopping list in a way where I enjoy eating my food and don’t waste a lot of money? Part of me wonders is it me, that I just don’t stick with it long enough for it to feel normal and to not feel deprived???? I hate to get into that kind of “there’s something wrong with me” kind of thinking.
Losing weight is hard. Changing your diet is hard. Being healthy is worth it.
So tell me, what’s on your shopping list? What are some of your normal go to healthy meals?
One thing that I have done is started finding recipes (healthy) that I want to cook for the week .. so I kind of meal plan ahead of time. I'm a bit of a creature of habit so I won't stray much from it..and then I keep track on my fitness pal so that I am aware of the calorie count of everything. I rely on protein shakes in the morning.. and sometimes as a snack.. I'm only on m 3rd week of doing this and have lost about 4 lbs..slow going but I'd rather lose it slowly then quickly! Try checking out the Hungry Girl Diet.. a lot of the recipes in that book and even on her website are healthy alternatives to the yummy foods we love! Now if I could only leave this liquor alone LOL..Good Luck!
I love this post. You've inspired me to put together a list of easy, healthy, budget friendly meals for my own live healthy on a budget challenge. I do buy bananas every week and always have oatmeal, peanut butter, apples and yogurt on hand. I make a salad every day for lunch and try to incorporate some type of protein – just a vegetable salad isn’t filling enough for me and guarantees I will be snacking on brownies in the lunch room at 3:00. This year I’ve added a smoothie for my morning snack, but I’m not sold on them yet- zero weight loss. Plus, too many fruits and vegetables were upsetting my stomach. So I started taking a few fiber crackers to add a little crunch and substance to my day. I also made a healthy (tasteless) fried rice last week and had a chicken salad on lettuce for dinner when I got home after a conference – also not very tasty.