Food for Thought
For those of you who struggle as much as I do deciding what to eat and how to eat, I decided to post a "food for thought"article I read on runners world.com A lot of times we don't know what to eat and when we do eat something we aren't sure what it's going to do to our bodies. I constantly struggle with staying away from sweets. Something I do to not deprive myself from sweets is I will cut up my favorite piece of pastry and divide it into 5 pieces; that way I can have a piece every day of the week...Yet I didn't indulge or over eat. I find this to have helped me.
For example, at the convention I saw women who looked insanely great. I mean no giggly fat moving anywhere and I wondered what they fed themselves? Do they ever eat anything fatty or sweet? Do they make themselves throw up or what? How do these women do it? Well I've decided that I don't want to deprive myself from anything I WANT to eat BUT...key word BUT, I will eat what I want in portions. Which is super important when you're trying to lose weight and maintain. I'm short, so for me it seems if I smell anything fatty I start gaining weight. I'm a food lover and it's hard to stay away at times but I can't express enough how important it is to have portion control. I've learned that the hard way.
For those of you who started with me in my Zumba class know that I was bigger(my blog picture is from when I was heavier). I have come along way but I'm still not where I want to be. I remember being 21 and eating whatever I wanted. A co-worker saw me eating all sorts of fast food and said to me(of course an older woman w/knowledge) "Oh honey, you better watch what you eat now because you're cute and small now but wait until you get older. You will not be able to eat that way". In my arrogant voice I said, "Oh but I work out everyday, there is no way I can gain weight". Boy do I wish I could see that woman again because 9 years later I am struggling with trying to get to my goal weight. I never realized that getting older would slow ANYTHING down. Was I wrong!! It can be done but I will admit it takes a lot of discipline and its not always easy. When I go out to eat with friends I have to remember I have to look in the "healthy" section of the menu. If there isn't anything healthy then I will ask my friends if we can share a plate. However, when I'm with family it gets hard. Family encourages fatty foods and if your family is anything like mine.... then sweets is for sure on the menu. How could I ever say no to that? (Or to make guilt go away I tell myself, I couldn't say "no" to family)..lol
I'm not sure if it ever gets easy. However, anytime I put something in my mouth I think about the amount of workout I will have to do later to burn it off. Is it really worth it??....Ok so sometimes it is but we have to learn to fight the urge..lol If you don't have the support system at home then my blog will hopefully be what you are looking for. I too struggle with the same things some of you do so let's work together in motivating one another. Let's support one another. Besides, isn't that why we chose Curves? It's an all womens gym where we can relate to one another and work together to shed pounds. Can I get a wooohoo?? I can't hear you!...????
I hope you all enjoy the article. Now let's Zummbbaaaaa!
xoxo
Marisol
Eat more There are many varieties of lentils, but red and yellow cook fastest (in about 15 to 20 minutes). Add cooked lentils to pasta sauce for a heartier dish, Zuckerbrot suggests. "Their mild flavor blends right in, and because they're high in protein, you can skip meat altogether."
* Recipe for lentil soup:Add or remove items of your choice.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
- 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed
- 1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes
- 2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground toasted cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise
Directions
Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart Dutch oven and set over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin and grains of paradise and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency. Serve immediately.
This is just one thing for you all to try. I know we've been working on eating the "Sacred heart soup" but I wanted to throw other ideas out there. Remember the diet that may have worked for your friend, may not work for you(and vise versa). Everyone's body is different. I hate when I hear that we need to do this and that yet we all have different body types. You have to do what works for YOU! Don't you all agree?? But don't take my word for it. Log onto: www.self.com for more tips on fat-melting super foods. There is all sorts of great information on this site for all of us to read and learn. So log on and check it out for yourselves.
Have a great and happy Memorial Day weekend. I will see you all on Thursday!!
xoxo
Marisol