Top ten things I highly recommend you eat WEEKLY at most, not daily/every other day/on the full moon or in any other denomination:
1. Bacon -might as well sprinkle salt and some nitrites on a pat of butter and eat that instead
2. Sausage -a wise man once wrote that if you enjoy either sausage or the law, you should not watch either being made. This is not because it’s just such a pretty sight
3. Sweet drinks- if I gave you a blind taste-test, there would be at least one artificial sweetener out there that you couldn’t distinguish from real sugar. Calories you drink don’t fill you up and cause your insulin levels to rise, so an hour or so later, your blood sugar will fall. Then you’ll be hungry again
4. Alcohol(+) – what I mean is that more than a glass of wine at a time does two things: first, it’s 300 or more calories that won’t fill you up (see above). Second, it lowers your inhibitions against eating junk food and large portions. One glass, on occasion, is not a big deal. One Keg a night is the fast-track to Homer Simpson’s silhouette.
5. Fried Anything – too much fat, too many calories in too small a space. The black hole of diets.
6. Your own dessert – As Betty says, you never taste more than the first bite of anything anyway. So why not share dessert with somebody else? Then ask yourself an hour later if you really miss that other half.
7. Seconds – wait at least 30 minutes to see if you have “head” hunger or true “stomach” hunger. Chances are, you’ll get distracted and won’t miss that additional portion when you’re not focused on it.
8. Gravy – biscuits have more fat than you think they do (look at the nutrition label) – why add more? Sugar free jelly is a better choice, as are fruit based sauces for turkey, chicken, etc.
9. Melted cheese – ¼ cup of melted cheese has almost 200 calories and GOBS of fat. The average enchiladas have about ¾ of a cup on top, and that ain’t including the chips you ate before the enchiladas came to the table. With queso.
10. Fast Food – yes, you can get salads at most drive-throughs. But that’s not what I’m talking about. While chicken nuggets are the best of a bunch of lousy choices, they are still an “only on occasion” thing, not an everyday choice. Pack your own lunch – it’s cheaper and radically healthier.
11. January 2009 at 8:22 pm
Thanks for the top ten! I have discovered that the more water I drink… the more I crave it! That is exciting for this former “non-water” drinker. I am also using the daily plate site that Betty gave us at our meeting in Mt. Pleasant. It is a great tool for keeping up with what I do put into my mouth, not to mention tracking my 64 ounces of water! Great accountability tool!
13. January 2009 at 8:46 am
I agree on both points: drinking and journaling. We often mistake thirst for hunger so staying well hydrated can really cut the edge off of feeling hungry. Journaling is priceless, so I guess I’ll blog about that soon
28. January 2009 at 10:26 pm
What is the daily plate site?
29. January 2009 at 10:27 am
There are actually a lot of different sites out there and you should check out several before you commit to see which one suits you best. If you type in “calorie counter” into Google or another search engine it will bring up many different choices. For less internet-oriented people, we’ve got calorie counter checkbooks in the office that you can easily fit into a pocket or purse. http://www.TheDailyPlate.com is the specific site of the daily pate. I’ve used http://www.my-calorie-counter.com before and liked it, although it’s a little slow to load sometimes. Hope that helps!
1. February 2009 at 5:10 pm
The Daily Plate website has changed now to http://www.livestrong.com. The basic service is free, but you may also become a gold member for other perks (I opted for the free). Betty gave us the site at our Jan. group meeting. It is also great b/c you can print out your food diary and look back at what you did right or wrong… and remind yourself of those food choices. You can also track your exercise. Good luck and hope it works as well for you as it has for me.