Eating Healthy Can Be Done

I didn't know what it meant to "eat healthy" for most of my life. My wife would say that in the past I lived to eat and she would eat to live. I guess she was more right than she was wrong. But, today I eat to live. Let me tell you how I did it with some tips to get you there if needed.

I always thought a person needed dessert as part of the primary meal of the day. I thought potatoes or rice was a staple with vegetables and bread----bread was the greatest from garlic toast to biscuits to cornbread. I didn't know what smaller quantities meant. I must have consumed 3,000 calories a day on my best days.

Then I got a handle on it in September of 2011. I went on Weight Watchers Online for Men and that helped shape what I would eat. I began dropping 1-1.5 pounds per week and had plenty to eat. After about six months I stopped and began gaining weight again. This went on for about a year. Then I got back on it seriously.

I cut out dessert almost completely and it doesn't bother me to see anyone else down a hot doughnut,  fancy piece of pie, or one of those homemade desserts that everybody's mouth waters over. I do eat a No Added Sugar Klondike Bar as a treat.

Then I drastically cut back on starches. I might have potatoes once a week. White rice has gone by the wayside. Mac & Cheese is a thing of the past. Casseroles have disappeared from my menu.  I have also cut out bread products after noon.

This morning I had cereal/milk, 1/2 an English muffin, 1/2 teaspoon of butter, and coffee. At lunch I had a salad with grilled chicken and a diet Pepsi. Tonight I plan on having a small salad, fish, and a vegetable. My protein comes from mostly fish and chicken, but occasionally I will have beef or pork. I usually weigh it when I am eating at home. The Klondike Bar usually comes into play after dinner (a throwback to my old days) and coffee. I know that I get plenty to eat and am satisfied.

What I have described has taken a while to put into place, but it is one of the best disciplines I have ever enacted. The other would be the exercise that I do. Together, they are making a stronger and leaner Mike.

This morning I did the treadmill for 40 minutes at 15 degrees at 3.0-3.7 mph. I also did an upper body workout for 45 minutes. I plan to go back to the gym tonight and do another 48 minutes on the treadmill. Sixty minutes on the treadmill and the body workout is a minimum for me. You have to custom design a regiment for yourself that will take you where you want to go. Don't be afraid to experiment.

I will wait until the next installment to talk about 'Tips on Healthy Eating" I rambled on too much as I got into this one. Start doing something for yourself this weekend. There has to be s starting point!