To Diet or not to Diet Take Two

Having a healthy well balanced diet and not feeling hungry is the ideal diet for me. I was so excited when I came across this website www.supertracker.usda.gov It is free and it helps with weight loss and weight management. I have just started using the website so I am going to see how it goes.

As with an update on my previous post about healthy eating. I have still been incorporating healthy meals for my family and the outcome? Life has been so much better. The kids have more energy and there is more peace in the home. Who knew that children having healthy diets could effect so many people on a day to day basis.

To Diet or not to Diet

Why should I spend money on a diet system? I have a love hate relationship with all diets, pills, fads, etc.  I have tried a Cookie Diet (yes they do exist), Nutrisystem, Slim-fast, It works body wraps, Weight Watchers, and I am sure there are more that I can't remember. What's the point of a restricted diet? I would lose weight quickly and "look good" for a month. Yay, a month. Then right when I get off a strict diet I gain back the weight just as quickly as I lost it.

With each diet I have been on I felt hungry and cranky which is not a good combination when you are a mother. Is it really that important to lose so quickly and look like those models on a magazine or on the TV? Does it matter that much to my kids that I look like a model? or Do they just want to be cared for and loved no matter the way I look?

Instead of having to lose all of my excess weight within a month and spend hundreds of dollars on another FAD I am going to try to do it on my own and I want to include my family in on this "new" diet. I call it eating healthy by making healthy choices.

Instead of thinking about all of the pessimistic thoughts on taking away all of my favorite chocolate bars, I am going to focus on adding more healthy foods to me and my families diet. Greater things come from small and simple things so for right now I just want to focus on curbing hunger. This is what I have found from researching

Curbing Appetite

-Soups, stews, cooked whole grains, and beans

-Fruits and vegetables

-Lean meats, fish, poultry, eggs

-Whole grains, like popcorn

Strategies for working those hunger-fighting foods in your diet:

-Add shredded or chopped vegetables to pasta and egg dishes, main-dish salads, and other mixed dishes, and use them to top pizzas.

-Eat whole fruits instead of fruit juices or dried fruits.

-Use a blender to whip air into fruit drinks, smoothies, or sauces.

-Choose whole-grain puffed cereals, popcorn, breads, cereals, and pasta.

-Enjoy vegetable salads or broth-based soups before meals.

-Top entree salads with lean meats, poultry, eggs, tofu, beans, nuts, or fish.

-Add fruit to salads or enjoy as dessert.

-Add beans to stews, soups, egg dishes, and casseroles.

-Have lean protein or low-fat dairy at all meals and snacks.