It’s been an eye-opening week. I’ve been tracking as much as possible and what I have found was a bit of a shock. Ok, I shouldn’t say “shock” because it really wasn’t. I think surprising is more like it. I found that foods that I usually consider “good for me” are actually costing me a lot of calories. It’s not that the foods I’m eating are unhealthy, it’s just when you add them up into your daily intake, it adds up pretty quick. For example, I have been snacking on Greek yogurt. I consider yogurt pretty healthy and I want the calcium. But, the yogurt I was eating was 200 calories! That’s a pretty high caloric snack! Another example is my caffeine intake. I LOVE my Keurig coffee maker! LOVE IT! The k-cups come in different, lovely flavors and I can’t seem to get enough of vanilla cappuccino or mocha. But at 80 calories per cup, is it worth it? As you all know, I’m also an emotional snacker. If I have a bad phone call from a customer (and being in auto claims the calls can get pretty bad) or just a rough day, I reach for something, anything, sweet. That’s not good.
Last week I also had a bout of kidney stones which made me re-think my water intake. Not fun.
So, I took a look at my daily caloric intake and thought about what I could whittle down, trade for, or just plain cut out of my diet. I switched the high calorie Greek yogurt with 80 calories Greek yogurt. I gave up my cappuccino and mocha for flavored coffees (5 calories per cup) and fat-free creamer (10 calories per TBSP). Reaching back to my former vegetarian lifestyle, I traded my sweet treats for bananas and strawberries or whatever fruit is in season. Now some of you may say “but fruit has a lot of sugar and calories!” Look, we need to get off of the “fruit is bad” craze that came around 10yrs ago. It is a dangerous and sad fad diet, and I think you all know which diet I’m talking about. Yes, fruit has sugar and calories. It also has tons of vitamins, minerals and fiber that YOUR BODY NEEDS!!! If I’m going to snack on something sweet, I would rather is be a gorgeous orange instead of a piece of candy.
And thanks to nature’s little reminder to me about the importance of water, I upped my H2O intake quite a bit. The only downside? I’m peeing a heck of a lot more. But I feel much better. 🙂
These may seem like “no brainer” changes, but sometimes we need to reflect and realize that we forget about their importance. We need to remind ourselves of things we already know. And sometimes, Mother Nature, will do the reminding for us.
Liz
Taking Back My Inner Pin-up 
Good for you, Liz. Healthy doesn’t equal low calorie, and it takes some people a lot longer than you took to realize that. Avocados, olives, nuts, greek yogurt – all are healthy, but they also are “high energy density”, meaning for the volume that is filling, you also get to much energy – what is not burned is stored, healthy or not.
The only people I hear saying fruit is bad are the fad diet followers, many of whom hang out at the gym, both as members and trainers. “Fitness happens at the gym, weight loss happens in the kitchen”. If you need to rid yourself of excess body fat, start in the kitchen. Fruit, while higher in energy density than lower-starch vegetables, are still low energy density foods. Enjoy them in moderation, avoiding juicing and dehydrating, and you’ll feel fuller and more satisfied. Eat well, stay fit, and remember what I always say: Life is Good!
Here, here, David!!! Thank you!