variety of them at least for the short term. Now, let me tell you what works, makes the most sense and, best of all, it's SIMPLE and doesn't require going to specialty stores or spending ridiculous amounts of time in the kitchen - yay!
Michael Pollan wrote a book titled Food Rules and I highly recommend it. It's premises is based on 3 simple principles.
Eat FOOD.
MOSTLY PLANTS.
Eat LESS.
How refreshing!
He contends that we shouldn't eat anything our great grandmother wouldn't recognize as FOOD. He uses go-gurt in a tube as an example lol~! We all know all this processed, packaged food with an eternal shelf life is killing us, don't we?
As a general rule, eat foods with 5 or less ingredients, ones you recognize and would use in your kitchen. Honey would be a rare exception as it has a long shelf life but is a great way to satisfy your sweet craving when you need it! Most foods should have an expiration date at some point!
Eat when you are hungry and stop eating when you are no longer hungry but are not completely full, between 65-80%.
Make a treat just that - a treat. Not your regular way of eating.
Occasionally, break the rules!
Now let's see what an example looks like in real terms on a typical day for me.
Start the morning off with 20 oz. water with my workout (after if I'm running). Coffee on my way to work and once I get settled in, I start on my next water and have a 1/2 banana with half of the 1/4 cup of raw almonds I brought for the day. could also be eggs or steel cut oatmeal(no sugar - honey, berries and a few slivered almonds).
I have found that halving everything is a great way to lessen my calorie intake and have more snacks throughout the day - I can eat the other half of the banana and nuts if I get hungry in an hour or two. If you like, go ahead and eat the whole serving at one time according to your preference. I also like to cut up my banana and nuts in pieces on a plate and slightly drizzle it with local, raw honey and cinnamon. when I have time, such as weekends,I'll likely have a large helping of egg whites (6) or 2 whole eggs or I may have oatmeal with banana, honey and cinnamon. I normally limit my bread intake to a weekend treat and then keep it minimal Hamburger? Eat 1/2 bun; Sandwich? Just 1 slice of bread and so on.
For snacking, limit yourself to fruit, vegetables and nuts. You will grow accustomed to enjoying these natural snacks and the cravings for processed foods will soon disappear. If you like having a bar, choose larabars, which are the most natural, having only a few real food ingredients rather than a long list of chemicals.
For lunch it could be a large salad with olives, corn salsa,and grilled chicken or salmon. Drizzle with a little olive oil, rice vinegar and lemon. Yum! For an afternoon snack, choose a piece of fruit and a few nuts or your larabar. Dinner can be any 4 oz. piece of lean meat, grilled, a green veggie and a baked sweet potato with a thin slice of butter. Oh I also like to put a little Tony Cacheres on mine! Sweet and salty - so good! *Don't eat margarine or butter substitute to save calories- it's a chemical! Evening snack - if you must, keep it light and a small portion such as some berries or other 1/2 piece of fruit. Hope this helps a little bit! Check out the book for more tips! I keep it handy as a great reminder. Still Climbing, Cher
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