Conscious Eating

If you read my blog regularly, you know that this year I decided to commit to moving more and eating less (junk). So, I'm trying to be more conscious of what I eat. I've been logging my calories on caloriecount for a few years now, which has helped me stay at a semi-consistent weight (never fluctuating more than 10lbs), even with my PCOS.  But I always forget to log on weekends, and that's when I tend to make poor food choices. "What you don't know can't hurt you" sort of thing. Unfortunately that is not true.   It's exactly those things that are the culprit of obesity and an unhealthy body. I believe that knowledge and education on nutrition makes all the difference.

I have found that being prepared is the key to success when making healthy food choices. Some pointers (even if I fail at following them a lot):
1. Plan your meals ahead of time. You have no excuse to go through the drive-thru at McDonalds if you have a meal waiting at home for you.
2. Don't grocery shop on an empty stomach. This will cause you to impulse buy your guilty pleasures.
3. Study your menu ahead of time if you are eating out.  Check the nutrition facts online beforehand and commit to choosing the healthy foods before you get to the restaurant. Seeing the shocking calorie or fat amount will make you think twice before ordering a no-no.
4. Always keep healthy snacks on hand to curb your cravings. Strawberries or trail mix work for me.

Some shocking stats about "our" favorite foods:
Big Texas Cinnamon Roll/Danish: 460 calories, 22 Total fat, 10 cholesterol, 470 Sodium, 61 Total Carb, 33 sugars (The fat and carb count is HALF of the suggested value of a 2,000 calorie diet. Sickening).
Papa Johns Orig. Crust Pizza Slice (Pepperoni): 310 calories, 13 Total fat, 20 cholesterol, 800 Sodium, 38 Total Carb (This is not soo horrific if it was an entire meal, but we're talking ONE slice of pizza here. The sodium intake for this is 1/3 of the daily intake suggestion. Stay away from pizza if you have high blood pressure).
Mountain Dew 12oz Can: 165 calories, 46.5 carb, 46.5 sugars (This is a crazy amount of sugar)
McDonalds Double Cheeseburger: 440 calories, 23 Total fat, 80 cholesterol, 1150 Sodium, 34 Total Carb
McDonalds Small French Fries: 230 calories, 11 Total fat, 160 Sodium, 29 Total Carb
McDonalds Meal (3 listed above): 835 calories, 34 Total fat, 1310 Sodium, 110.5 Total Carb, 40 sugars (This is truly horrific for one meal. And even worse if it's super sized, eh?)

I was watching The Biggest Loser last week and they have a 500 lb man as a competitor. He said that previous to coming to the Ranch, he had a standing appointment with his local pizza place. EVERY DAY, they would actually call him up to make sure he was home so they could deliver him a LARGE pizza for dinner. EVERY SINGLE DAY.  That's what? -- 310 calories x 12 slices of pizza = 3720 calories.  Not to mention a lot of fat.  His actual age is 30 something and his age based on the health of his body is 60 something. Pretty scary. Since coming to the Ranch, He's lost 48 lbs in 3 weeks though (pretty impressive).

Anyway, I'm not try to scare anyone with my statistics and numbers.  But, the truth is, there is a lot of food available in America that is killing us one bite at a time. We need to be informed and aware of what we are consuming and feeding our bodies. I'm guilty of not always eating right, but, the more I know, the more I want to overcome the battle of the bulge.


Until next time.