Real Food and baby steps

TGIF! Well, except for the weather which is, uh, snowing/sleeting/raining...again. Or still, it's hard to tell.
Recently, I've noticed some ads on TV for a certain national brand of mayo and they talk about 'real food' or, more precisely, getting back to eating 'real food'. I very much agree with this sentiment.
When I work with clients privately (and in my own weight loss long ago), I tell them that, while they must exercise regularly and commit to that for life, they also have to watch their nutrition and do that...for life. No one can be fit and healthy for life by going on a 'diet' or exercising for a few months and then simply going back to old habits like not exercising and eating, well, everything!
The importance of eating 'real food' comes in because, frankly, we all live in the 'real world' and, in that world, there are cheeseburgers and chocolate chip cookies and chips. Now, while I'm sure there are some 'superior' beings that can abstain from all those things for life, I cannot and, well, I don't believe most of us can! Nor should we...having those special treats you love enhances your life. You simply need to watch what you eat and, make it real food.
I have always told our clients that the bane of a woman's existence is soda (tonic, pop, whatever you call it) and salad dressing. We eat these two things way too much for our own good. When you put dressing on your salad, keep it close to 2 tablespoons. If you choose a lowfat dressing...caution! We all tend to put more of it on the salad since, well, it's lowfat, right? (Lowfat can still up your calories, especially if you end up eating more of it!) So far as tonic (soda, pop...) goes, stop drinking it. Just stop. Yes, you can do it. When I was a kid my mother used to say I was addicted to Coca Cola...I drank it A LOT. As an adult, I kept on drinking full sugar soda and that is one reason I arrived at 219lbs. by age 22. (Actually between age 18-22) One of the first things I stopped drinking was all kinds of tonic. (I am allergic to artificial sweetener and have almost been sent to the hospital because of it...so no diet tonic for me.) What do I drink? Water, milk (yes, you need to drink your milk too), orange juice and, sometimes, a Polar Seltzer. (Oh and coffee...of course)
I know it's hard to stop drinking tonic (soda-we're in New England people and I grew up saying tonic, even in S. CA where I grew up with my Boston father), but you can do it. I mean, do you really know what all that artificial sweetener is doing to you? Wouldn't you rather save that 'sugar' for dessert??
Now that we've tackled salad dressing and tonic, what about other 'real foods'? How about butter? (I can almost hear you screaming behind that screen...but wait!) I also believe in using REAL butter and not margarine...use less butter, that's all. Why? Have you ever seen Dr. Oz on the "O" show talking about what margarine does at room temperature? No? Just trust me, use butter and less of it. That margarine stuff will clog your arteries much faster!
And, we mentioned milk...and you say, "I hate milk, do I have to drink it?" Well, you could take that calcium supplement that tastes like chocolate candy but, again, we're talking REAL food here, right? How about having a glass of chocolate milk after dinner as 'dessert'? Can't drink milk because your lactose intolerant? Soy milk. I drink so much milk it's kind of obscene but, well, I like it and I don't need any supplements and I have strong bones that I'm very proud of!
Now, of course, there are many other 'real foods' we could talk about but then this entry would be 1 million words long! So, how about trying this-keep a food journal for one week. Don't show it to anyone, just keep it and read it for yourself. Start Monday and write every, single thing you put into your mouth (even that one Hershey kiss) in that journal (buy a little notebook at CVS-nothing fancy). Then, on Sunday take a look at it. Did you eats lots of veggies or fruits? Or, did you substitute cheese puffs for your dairy products and french fries for your veggies? How many times did you visit a fast food place? Eat out? Cook for yourself? Are you eating standing up? In front of the TV? In the car?
Then during the following week, try to learn from the first week's journaling and try and make healthier choices-just a couple heathier choices, nothing major. Drink 4 sodas a day? Try drinking 2. Having dessert after lunch AND dinner? Trying having it just after dinner. Working out 1x per week-try working out 2x per week. Make baby steps and you'll see a big difference in your energy and health!
One step at a time+real food=real results!
Because...it's only 42 days until Spring!
See you in class!