Back to Diet Basics

This week I realized that while I eat healthy, I allow myself a few too many cheat meals and don’t eat quite as cleanly as I should. Granted, I eat a million times better than I did before I started working on getting healthy, but there is still room for improvement.

I decided it was time to start logging my food into MyFitnessPal again and that I need to set my goals and make a check-list like I did when I first started out. I’ve noticed small things like stealing tastes of ice-cream at work, having soda at the movies and my new found love of “3rd degree burn” Doritos sneaking in here and there and THAT is not good….as a matter of fact it down right scares me.

Here are the goals I have set for now:

1) I will eat vegetables 5 times a day with every meal (assorted colored vegetables, green salads, fresh, steamed and grilled vegetables) in a  portion size of about 2 hands cupped together.

2) I will try eat complete lean protein 5 times a day with every meal (chicken breast, turkey, egg whites, low fat dairy, whey protein, lean red meat) in a portion size as big as the palm of my hand.

3) I will eat every 2-3 hours. This will require lots of  pre-planning and prepping, but I used to be great at it.

4) I will eat carbs other than veggies (oats, potatoes, pasta, whole wheat bread, legumes, etc.) for breakfast and or within 2 hours after my workout.

5) I will drink green tea with every meal and I will also drink at least 2 liters of water a day. I love to drink coffee but I will try to cut back to 1 cup a day (no cream). No soda, sugary drinks, fancy flavored coffees, etc (I’m pretty good at this but I have allowed soda while at the movies to creep back in). I will also cut back on alcohol.

I am curious to see how my body will react to this change. I am hoping for more energy and to shed a little more of the stubborn belly fat my body refuses to shed. Regardless of it all, I am happy I have maintained all of the goals I have achieved despite my slip-ups.

Also, I’m very happy to report that I am making progress in the area of accepting my body. I no longer look in the mirror and immediately look at the areas that need improvement (I eventually gravitate there, but I’m a work in progress, people!). I now see the hard work I have done, how far I have come and think I’m pretty effin awesome.