When You Eat Can Make a Difference

I come from a family of overeaters. I am Italian and have understood from an early age that food is an essential part of our culture. When I am with my family, much of our time is occupied by planning what our next meal will be, how it will be prepared, and when we will eat. It’s all very organized and well thought out. Because food has been such an integral part of my upbringing, I am in school going back for another degree in Nutrition. Much like my mother, I have yo-yo dieted and tried almost every fad diet out there. Of course, these crazy diets never work. A girl can’t live on a strict diet of chicken and green beans, let alone for two weeks straight! What was I thinking? As a result of my education, I have been able to pick up some great tips along the way. I have also been inspired by some of my professors who have helped me to adopt healthy lifestyle changes. I have successfully dropped 12 pounds since last year and have been able to keep the weight off. I’ve done this by eating smaller meals throughout the day. I always eat breakfast, and usually have the same thing that consists of low-fat plain organic yogurt from Trader Joe's, organic blueberries, and Nature’s Path Organic Pumpkin and Flax Granola.

Now the biggest change I’ve made has been lunch. I eat two lunches every day. This may sound strange but I take what I would have normally eaten for lunch at one sitting and divide it in half. Usually I will have a sandwich on some kind of sprouted whole grain wheat, but instead of eating the whole thing, I will eat half at noon and the other half about 3 hours later. I also eat a fruit or vegetable at each sitting, and maybe some Garden of Eatin’ Multi Grain Organic Tortilla Chips. Before I started this new “lifestyle plan” I would be starving come 4PM so I would snack on whatever I could find without managing what I was eating. Eating a second lunch has literally made all of the difference. I still have dinner around 6:30PM and try to eat a lot of vegetables. Some of my favorite meals include "veggie night" where I might bake butternut squash in the oven with a little sugar and cinnamon, steam a Jerusalem artichoke and stuff with a tiny amount of organic whipped butter and sea salt, and sauté zucchini with a can of organic diced tomatoes. At the end of the week, I like to buy a whole wheat pizza crust at Whole Foods, organic marinara sauce from Trader Joe’s, and cut up all of the leftover vegetables I have in my fridge, and top with a little mozzarella. I also subscribe to Cooking Light and am a huge fan of their on-line recipe program. You can type in any ingredient, and they give you a whole list of healthy recipes for that particular item. I will be sure to blog about some of my favorites in the future. As we approach the holidays and travel home to celebrate with friends and family, I just want to encourage you to find ways to eat well, be satisfied, and feel your very best.