Dropping 50

Diet

I know I struggle with dieting and as a result I am trying to lose some extra weight. Growing up clear through High School I had an amazing metabolism and i could eat whatever i wanted whenever I wanted and i would not gain weight. Now my body is different and I need to watch what I eat very carefully. I really struggle with this and I know if I can manage this better I will start to lose the weight. My wife is usually in charge of the food around the house and I have talked to her about only buying healthy foods and helping me get the junk food out of the house. She is a great support to me and has helped a ton. I am not a calorie counter and I don’t like to look at what is in my food, but I guess if I am serious about this I better get better at finding out exactly what I am eating.

I have never been a breakfast person so I struggle with what to eat and when to eat it. I have been told that it is best to eat within 30 minutes of waking up. I have been trying to do that, but I struggle with what to eat and how much to eat. I understand the importance of getting my metabolism going, but I need to know how much food will get it triggered and running well, and how much food is too much. I typically will eat a banana on my way to the gym and drink some water or juice, depending on if we have juice made up or not. After my workout I head to work. I have been taking in Quaker Instant Oatmeal packets and eating one of them about 4 hours after my banana while at work. They are the sugar free oatmeal packets and they seem to be pretty healthy.

At lunch I usually do one of two things; I either go out with the guy’s I work with, or head home and eat with my wife. When I go to lunch with the guys it is usually to a sit  down restaurant and i know it is not healthy. I try to order salads as much as possible and endure the ridiculing that come with it. It is all in good nature, but it does get old when you are trying to eat healthy. Lately I have been trying to eat with my wife more because it has several benefits other than just healthier food. We save money by not eating out as much, I get to spend quality time with my wife and daughter in the middle of the day, and I can control what I eat and make sure it is healthy.

Dinner is the wild card and I really don’t have a typical routine. My wife is pregnant again and she has horrible pregnancies in that she pretty much returns everything she eats to the porcelain throne in our bathroom (Sorry, I didn’t know how to say that properly without making everyone sick). Our dinner usually depends on how she is feeling and what sounds good to her. Lately we have been eating out a lot and I that is not the ideal meal for losing weight, but I completely understand that she doesn’t want to prepare food while being sick. Even the wrong type of smell will send her running to the nearest bathroom. I don’t usually get home from work until late so I don’t have time to cook. I keep trying to tell her to just by me those bagged salads by Dole and I would be happy. She doesn’t feel like that is “enough food” for me, but that is a whole new post for another day. I need to come up with a better plan to make both my wife and i happy about what we are eating for dinner.

I am going to do some research he next couple days and I will post the results of what I find.

Here are my questions this week:

• What are the benefits of eating breakfast, and when is the most effective time to eat it?
• How much food is recommended for Breakfast?
• What are some quick healthy lunches that I can make?
• How can I convince my wife that i do not need a large meal?

If anyone reading this blog has experience and can share what they have found with any of these questions I would love to hear what you think. Please comment and let me know what I can do to improve in these areas.