With a twist! Hopefully you haven’t forgotten about Love Handle 911 and have been using it to inspire and motivate you to keep on keepin on if you are trying to lose weight like me. I’ve added more physical activity to my life, so now it’s time to focus on the food. OH the food.
I am an emotional eater. I’ve talked about it before and it’s no secret. I love food, I love thinking about food and talking about food and eating food. It’s a full on event. SO, I decided. Why feel guilty about that? I am all for turning weaknesses into strengths, so instead of feeling bad that I have such an ongoing love affair with mealtime, I have decided to harness that power for good.
Since I am still nursing, I have to make sure I don’t cut too many calories but believe me, I have a LOT of room for cutting calories. Just wanted to get that right out of the way. I am not putting my milk supply in jeopardy. That said, I am counting calories. I’m keeping a food journal and entering what I eat and drink into Sparkpeople. I have used this site in the past to trim up before our wedding and I am hoping it will be just as helpful this time around.
But even counting calories can seem daunting so I am going to utilize some tried and true strategies to keep me honest. Here are some time-honored “tricks” that totally work on my wee little brain:
Small Plates
I have started using bread plates to eat on instead of the HUGE dinner plates that we have. I fill up my plate and can still be part of the ‘clean plate club’ guilt free! And I don’t have to run the dishwasher as often 
Open Face Meals
This one is new to me but I have a feeling it is really going to help. The meal in the above picture is a simple chicken fajita. In weeks past, I would roll up all that goodness into 2 or even 3 small tortillas (a whopping 120 calories EACH!). This time I laid one on the plate and loaded up on the “insides”. This is really helpful for many reasons. Two of which are, I am obviously taking in less useless calories from the tortilla but also I now have to eat it with a fork which takes longer and gives my stomach a chance to feel full. This morning I had an egg over one slice of toast instead of an egg sandwich and I feel very satisfied! Which brings me to the next tip.
Use a fork!
Fast food isn’t just fast to make. It’s fast to eat. I’ve found that I can down an entire double cheeseburger and fries in less than the amount of time it takes me to get home from the drive through. Not cool! Even though I just probably consumed in excess of 1000 calories, I still FEEL hungry. So I am going to employ my trusty fork (or spoon) as much as possible and slow down. So simple!
Water Water Everywhere
This one is almost too easy. I have always been what I consider lucky in that I honestly ENJOY water. I’ve never had to add anything to make it bearable. In fact, I am a compulsive water drinker if it is in front of me. However, even I can get busy and forget to fill my glass. I am much less likely to drink water if I have to say, get off my butt and walk ALL THE WAY to the kitchen to get it. SO, I am reintroducing the water bottle to my life. Done.
No Diet Food!
I have absolutely no intention of eating diet food. That never works for me. I am much better at portion control with real ingredients so I am sticking to it. The one exception to this rule is for my morning coffee. I am using artificial sweetener and low-fat half and half because that stuff will add up fast. Otherwise, I am just trying to be smart. The above meal totals at 592 calories, which was the big meal of the day for me. Even that seemed high until I remembered what I WOULD have consumed had I not been thinking about it. I cringe at the thought.
And now, since it is Meal Planning Monday, I’ll post the recipe for yesterday’s lunch. I know there are ways to make this even MORE health-conscious, but I need to use up my groceries!
Chicken Fajita Lunch:
1 8inch Flour Tortilla
4oz cooked chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
2 servings fajita mix (I used an Ortega seasoning packet for the whole batch)
Fresh Tomatoes
Fresh Green Onions
1/2 oz cheddar cheese
2 tbsp sour cream
5 multi-grain tortilla chips
1 individual applesauce
1 TALL glass of water
Total Calories= 592
These tips just scratch the surface of helpful hints. I know there are tons more. Have you tried anything like this to help keep you in line? Please share them in the comments!
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for the recipe! That looks good and I'm going to try to throw it together tonight
That sounds delicious! We did grilled fish quesadillos this weekend. We put salt/pepper/cumin on the chicken breasts, splashed some tequila on them and let them sit for about 30 minutes while we grilled corn, red peppers and onions. Then we chopped up all the peppers and onions, sliced the corn off the cob, tossed in some black beans, grilled the chicken, chopped it up, added some broccoli cole slaw and cheese and threw the quesidallas back on the grill. Delicous and healthy!
Ooops… I meant grilled chicken quesadillas but we also made seared tuna tacos… long Monday!
Oscar is adorable! Congratulations on your sweet baby boy! Saw your comment on the SITS roll call and wondered where you lived since we are also getting TOO much rain……
Your food post could be mine as well. I keep losing and regaining the same 10 lbs. I also do not diet, use small plates, etc. — And I don't eat much. My problem is I eat FAST — always have — and I must have something sweet to tell my stomach it's over. I will try to stop eating anything past 8 p.m. I am a total foodie and love recipes so thanks for these…