Every day isn't easy.

I decide that I should slow down on the postings. Believe it or not (which may be hard to do for those of you who actually know me) I don't have something new to say everyday. So I decided that it would be better to write fewer blogs that have more substance than writing a blog everyday and not having anything to say. You can expect a blog at least every week unless I am on vacation or something.

Some days its harder to stick to my guns than others. Yesterday was a very hard day. For some reason all day I was starving. No matter what I ate it didn't seem to stick for longer than an hour or so. But I am a firm believer in if you are truly hungry eat something. Do not under any circumstance starve yourself because I know from first hand experience that as soon as you eat something its going to turn into fat. Anyway all day yesterday I was stuffing my face but it was with good stuff, well mainly good stuff, I ate apples and oranges, salads and string cheese, but I also at ice cream and chips (Skinny Cow ice cream sandwiches and Baked Lay's). I was afraid of the damage I had done so, even though it is irrational, this morning I got on the scale and to my surprise I dropped another pound! Today on the other hand I couldn't even finish my lunch, which consisted a Turkey-ham and mozzarella cheese sandwich on a Nature's Own Whole Wheat Sandwich Round and 15 Baked Lay's chips, so Jared helped me.

A friend of mine wanted to know what my calorie intake was per day. Normally it is around 1000 calories ( I know that is below recommended levels but, like today, most days I just can't eat another bite). But there are days like yesterday where I can't stop eating and I consume closer to 1500 calories.

The keys are what you are eating and portion control. I know everyone hates that phrase, portion control, it just sounds so daunting and clinical but it really is important. Most people have a very poor sense of what a portion is and so like myself have to be retrained to be able to judge a true portion. Believe it or not most of the time when you go out to eat and you get an entry it is at least double the size of a true portion. Once you start controlling your portion size you will notice that it becomes easier to judge what a portion of something is.

Back to what you eat. Stay away from processed foods. Fresh is key, and when I say fresh I don't mean Pillsbury fresh from the oven, I mean fresh fruits and veggies. Eat them by themselves, in salads, steamed, baked, grilled, or stir-fried (try to stay away from boiling, you lose a lot of nutrients in the water when you do). Also if the skin of a fruit or veggie is editable then eat it because most of the time that is where the nutrients are. That goes for potatoes (of which your consumption should be limited), carrots, apples, cucumbers, zucchini and many more.

Another biggie is don't get stuck in a rut. Try something new be it some item you've never eaten before, a new style of cuisine, or even a new recipe. Since you are reading this I know that you have access to the internet look up a new recipe. A little trick of mine if you are not sure of how to make something, even with a recipe, look for a video of someone cooking it (there are a plethora of them on YouTube).  Heck make themed meals, have a Lebanese, Thai, Indian, or French night. The point is keep it interesting because if it isn't interesting you will get bored and when something becomes boring you lose interest and ultimately you give up.

I hope this helps. Now everyone go out and try something new. The worst that can happen is that you find out that you don't like it.