Last September, I changed my eating style. Some may call it a diet, I call it REFRESHING! No Rice, No Bread, No Pasta - Bring on the Cardio-n-Abs! I followed my eating/workout-style very closely until the December Holidays. During the time period I lost 13 of the 28 lbs I had hoped to loose within the next year. In my book, it is progress! Even more so, I had never felt better. I didn't feel tired and groggy after eating, which was so amazing.
What really had the greatest impact was completely eliminating bread from my diet. While I am an absolute bread fanatic, I will be the first to admit that it isn't the best thing to feed our body. Just by cutting out bread, I found my body was not as bloated. I know what you are thinking: Bread? Make us bloated? Whatever! But I promise, for about 4 months I went without eating any bread except maybe once or twice and my body completely changed. I not only felt healthier, my body looked healthier and thinner. Yes Please :)
So, in honor of a new month, I propose a new me, AGAIN!
- Absolutely NO bread! While it sounds hard, after a few days, you will NOT miss it!
- Limited Rice - No more than one meal a week, eat one serving of rice. Now, I know nutritionist and doctors swear by the fact of eating brown rice in place of white. But EW! If I am gonna eat rice, I am eating the good stuff! And what better than long-grained basmati rice :)
- Limited Pasta - Once again, no more than one meal a week, eat one serving of pasta. And yes, go for the grain! It is delicious and more flavorful. I personally love the spinach pasta, it may cost a little more, but it is delicious and has great flavor.
- Veggies! Eat, eat, eat all the veggies you can. They are extremely filling, and if you make them right, YUM! I personally am a picky eater. But I have grown to love so many veggies. Green Beans, Broccoli, Corn, Eggplant, Squash, Zucchini, Tomatoes, Spinach, Potatoes (Yes I say potatoes are ok!), Sweet Potatoes...
- Fruits! In place of snack foods like crackers/snack packs/etc. go for the FRESH Fruit. While canned fruit is OK, it has lots of extra added sugar. If you can, spring for the fresh fruits. Oranges, Apples, Pears, Grapes, Bananas, Pineapple, Strawberries, Berry's, Cherry's, etc. I like to buy whatever is on special, that way it forces you to get a variety in your diet. You buy what is on special that week, each week it is typically something new :) Eat as much as you want!
- Meat, Poulty, Seafood - Yes, Yes, YES! Why not? Gotta get our protein, and you know, all that good stuff. Mix it up too. Have a piece of fish for lunch and a nice steak for dinner! Just make sure you prepare it in a healthy way. Meaning don't cover it is a thick heavy creamy-butter sauce! Bring out the natural flavors of the meat, simpler is ALWAYS better :) plus you will feel a thousand times better walking away from a meal that is fresh and simple, not overly complicated!
- Spoil yourself! Give yourself a sweet reward for all your hard work. There is no point in depriving yourself, it will only make you resent the diet! And you will fall off track. My way of treating myself: eating out once a week! But being smart about it! Just because you are eating out, do NOT go crazy! I also allow myself one small sweet a day. In my case, 1 mini cupcake!
- 5 Days of Cardio - 20-35 minutes minimum. Push yourself as much as you can, get that heart rate pumping! And change it up! If you run one day, try the bike the next, and the elliptical the next! "Confuse your muscles" is what my doctor told me :)
- 2 Days of Rest - Make sure you give yourself a break at least twice a week!
- ABS! Work those abs! Get in minimum 250 crunches a week. I love to work abs, so I aim for the sky. Before you know it, you could have 100 per workout session! That's 500 a week! Can you say hello summer? :)
So keep your eyes out for updates. I will post some delicious meals that follow these guidelines, and share with you my progress!
Have a wonderful Friday, I will see you back at my table soon :)
