Several of you have emailed me asking me to share my diet and workout regime. Wondering how I can eat the foods I do and still stay thin. I hesitated about writing a post on this because I am not an expert by any means and different things work for different people. That being said I always love hearing what other people eat and what they do for exercise to get new ideas for myself. So I will share with you what I eat and how I exercise. It is what works me.
In College I was 30lbs heavier than what I weigh now- sad but when I delivered Sterling I was pretty darn close to what I weighed in College! I was a girl that liked to booze and eat way too much! At Chick Fila in college I would order a sandwich and nuggets as my meal- way too much food. Then I would drink copious amounts of booze at fraternity parties and I ballooned quickly! Funny thing is I never thought I was overweight til after college. I slowly lost the weight post college and promised myself I will never weigh that again. Now I weigh myself almost everyday. I don't believe in not using a scale and "feeling my body". I need to see numbers and I find by checking frequently my weight never gets out of control. I have a target weight I never want to get above so if I am higher one day I just cut back and chug lots of water and exercise to get back on track.
DIET
Let me start by saying I am not a dieter. Never have been and never will. I love food way too much to diet. Food makes me happy so I like to eat what I want. I believe strongly in moderation. During the week I try to eat fairly healthy. I have a few standard breakfasts and lunches that I rotate and will share with you. Dinner is always a wild card for me because the hubby typically doesn't like the same healthy foods that I do. So I try to eat a good breakfast and lunch so I can indulge in say tacos or pasta with him later. The weekends I never diet I eat what I want and then get back to my healthy meals on Mondays.
Breakfast:I always start my day with my fresh pressed green juice(kale, spinach, lemon, green apple, ginger and cucumber). Get a juicer, it will change your life!
then I usually have one of these options:
Fage Greek Yogurt
Kashi or Nature's Path Cereal
2 pieces toast with Peanut Butter and half a grapefruit
I boiled egg and 1 Morningstar Patty
In between breakfast and lunch I usually drink lemon water, sparkling water and/or a coconut water to fill me up. One biggy for me is I don't drink juice, sodas, or sweet tea. I think drinks are empty calories (unless of course it's my wine or vodka:)). I would rather eat the calories than drink them. I do drink alot of green tea. I make pitchers of it unsweetened or get an unsweetened one at Starbucks. Some say green tea ups your metabolism.
If I am hungry for a snack I usually just eat nuts. Planters makes individual bags of these Energy Mix Nuts that I love. They are easy to throw in your purse on the go. I also love Pirates Booty and PopChips. Sterling loves them as well so we both frequently eat them in the afternoon.
For lunch I almost always eat a salad. Deli meat can really gross me out so I rarely make sandwiches. My two current go to salads are my Chopped Greek Salad and Tuscan Kale Salad.
Often times I will also make asparagus toast. With canned or fresh asparagus on whole wheat bread or an english muffin. I cover with cheese and bake in the oven. This is ridiculously good if you add a fried egg and truffle oil.
Those are most often my 3 go to lunches.
Dinner is more of a wild card. I cook alot of casseroles, tacos, etc that are not as healthy but what the hubs love. If we have tacos I just eat one, same with the casserole I just make mine in a small bowl. I will say I never buy or cook frozen meals. I find that they never taste good and I can whip up something healthier and tastier on my own. I don't even buy frozen pizzas anymore. I either order one or make it on Nann bread. About once a week I cook Salmon Cakes- see recipe
here. This is a super cheap, healthy and easy meal. I usually serve them with steamed cabbage, beans or asparagus.
Several of you also asked me when I have time to cook. If it is something that can be made ahead I cook while Sterling naps. Otherwise from about 5 to 5:30 I let Sterling watch a tv show while I cook his dinner and at least get ours started. We usually don't eat til 8 because Matt never gets home til 7. Once he gets home he spends time with Sterling and I finish cooking. I love to cook and never consider this a chore. I always look forward to cooking. It is my downtime to sip my wine and be creative in the kitchen.
One big indulgence for me is alcohol, primarily wine.
I have a drink almost everyday. It keeps me sane ladies! I am super weird about taking medicine (don't even like to take Tylenol) so I have never been a pill popper but wine sure helps me relax after a long day. I eat less and workout so I can afford the calories from alcohol. 5-7 is the longest part of the day for me trying to get Sterling fed, cook our dinner, and bath him all before Matt gets home from work. So I usually pour a glass and start sipping at bath time. Sterling plays and I get some time to just zone out and relax! If I don't drink wine I have vodka with a splash of water and fresh lemon, but I usually save that drink for the weekend. It is a great low calorie drink option. I never drink mixed drinks mixed with sugary mixers. Like for instance I would never order a margarita at a restaurant I would just sip straight tequila instead (slowly). Too many calories plus the hangover is way worse from mixed drinks!
If you read this whole post bravo. Frankly I am tired just from writing it but I wanted to respond to questions some of ya'll had. Like I said I am no expert, this is just what works for me. If you are still interested in my exercise routine I will try and share that next week.
