Shinyidol
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Diet Changes

Part of losing weight is changing your diet and I needed to shake things up with mine. I love food and I eat when I get bored, which is common. What I needed to do was control the things that are bad for me and add more healthy options at home. I don’t mind cooking, I actually enjoy it, so I just needed to get rid of most of the snack foods in the house. So what is out?

Soda. I love soda. In my younger years, which probably contributed to my weight increase, I could drink four to six cans a day. Not anymore. No soda in the house at all. I still drink a Diet Mt Dew with my lunch, but that typically lasts from lunch to when I leave work. While at home I now drink Gatorade G2, which has 20 calories for 8 fluid ounces, compare that to a 12 ounce soda which is 150. I have been drinking more water, but still need some flavor. I’d probably drink more if my ice maker in my fridge worked. Perhaps at the new place.

Red Meat. This makes me sad. Red meat has always been part of my diet. I love steaks. I love cheeseburgers. The price is reasonable. You can make all types of stuff with it, but really isn’t that great for you if it is a major part of your diet. I have just gone cold turkey from red meat. It wasn’t that difficult.

Cheese. This one breaks my heart. I love cheese. When I moved to Boston it killed me that it wasn’t a cheese town. After returning to Seattle and being able to buy all that tasty Tillamook Cheese again and gaining some weight as quick as I could eat it, I knew I had to stop. I’ll miss you cheese. Perhaps I’ll treat myself once in a while with some tasty extra sharp.

Snacks. As I said above I tend to eat when I get bored and living in Bothell can make a person really bored. To get around this I have ditched many of my favorite snacks and replaced them with Dill Pickles, which are a favorite of mine. I’d always have some type of snacks in the house. Cookies, buttered microwave popcorn, chips and salsa, and cheese. Not all together, but these were the things that were just a few steps away in the kitchen. Bored during a commercial, grab some chips. Ready to start a movie, pop some popcorn. It was easy, but if it isn’t here I can’t eat it.

With all these changes, what has taken its place? Well I have made an effort to eat more fish. Living in the Seattle area, it is easy to find fish at every store I shop at, and if you keep your eyes open you can find some great deals. I was at Fred Meyers today and they were selling fresh half/whole wild caught Coho salmon for $5.99 a pound. The fish weren’t cut, but you could ask the butcher to cut it into fillets and remove the bones. A great deal for $5.99. They also had Alaskan Cod for $4.99 a pound. I’m hoping when I move downtown, I’ll be able to make it down to Pikes Place Market and actually shop down there.

Portion Control. While this isn’t really something to replace, I have started to pay attention to how much I eat when I cook at home. I started eating on my small plates more often. I attempt to size out my meals with greater detail now. It is amazing when you actually portion your meals you see really how much you have been overeating.

Well these are just some of the changes to reach my goal by the end of the year. Now I just need to keep at it.