To change your body, you must change what you eat!

I know that we have all heard that "you are what you eat" since we were children, but once you have eaten too much and then decided it's time to take off the excess poundage, the message finally starts to sink in. I may have mentioned before, that I LOVE TO EAT! My weakness is cookies and ice cream… my rationale is that "just a little bit won't hurt". The funny thing is that it does matter! No wonder I have a hard time losing that "little bit"!

So here's what I have learned: if you want to BE LEAN you need to EAT LEAN. My chef-coach-boyfriend, always reminds me that there are really only three things we eat:

1. Protein (chicken, beef, pork, fish, eggs etc)
   
2. Carbs (bread, pasta, cereal, fruit, veggies, candy. etc)
   
3. Fat (oil, butter, cream, cheese, milk, hard fats from meats, etc)
   

So, we should watch what we eat, and of course that is easier said than done. It first requires changing your relationship to food, food is fuel… what are you fueling? Are you fueling the fat or the muscle? Changing your diet also requires a commitment to changing your lifestyle. Our shopping, cooking and "drive through" habits all contribute to the development of our mid-section. As a single mom, I used to purchase primarily the processed foods you find in the freezer section. Processed foods are easy, and don't take much time to prepare, but if you stop to read the labels, they are notorious for being high in fat and carbs. The fast and easy mentality does not serve a healthy diet very well.

I was talking with some friends a few weeks ago, and we were talking about health and fitness, and my workout schedule. I had mentioned my journey to fitness and how I had begun to transform my body from fat to muscule. They wanted to know what I eat in the typical day, so here you go:

Previous diet:

Breakfast: Cereal & toast, OJ & coffee (carb heavy)

Snack: Snickers bar or other junk food (more carbs)

Lunch: Sandwich or burger & fries, dessert (carbs, fat & a bit of protein)

Snack: Snickers bar or other junk food (more carbs)

Dinner: Pasta or fried foods, bread, side veggie - mostly processed foods from the freezer (carbs, fat & a bit of protein if I was lucky)

Late night snack: ice cream, cookies or toast (more carbs)

 

Here's what I try to eat now:

Breakfast: Breakfast Burrito (with eggs and roast beef, or other kind of meat)

Snack: Protein Bar or nuts

Lunch: Roast beef, chicken, pork or fish (roughly 4oz), if I have a side it's usually veggies or a small amount of rice or potatoes

Snack: Protein Bar or nuts

Dinner: Roast beef, chicken, pork or fish (roughly 4oz), if I have a side it's usually veggies or a small amount of rice or potatoes

Late night snack: Try not to… but if I do, make it a light snack high in protein

 

Now I am not perfect, it is tough not to cheat, and sometimes a Starbucks mocha or bowl of Rocky Road ice cream just call out to me. But as in sit at Starbucks drinking Iced Tea, I realize that at 380 calories, a venti mocha is lunch… not coffee!