diet is just die with a " t "!

I have known for quite a while that I needed to get my eating on some sort of track.  I make relatively healthy choices but portion control is something I don't have a good grasp on.  I am a sucker for sugar too, as you can tell by my earlier posts and the subsequent failure to comply posts :).  My problem is I don't want to go on a "diet".  As a former fat girl the word "diet" meant eating nothing, cutting out main food groups or only eating one kind of food!


I know everyone has their own idea of what diet works... trust me, over the past 2 years of my journey I have heard that I need to do this diet or that diet, cut this out or put this back in blah blah blah!!  I am not out for a quick fix, obviously, I am looking to make my life healthier! Which means whatever nutrition plan I am choosing has to be sustainable for the rest of my life.  No injecting myself with hormones, only eating 500 calories a day, or cutting out carbs. 

I think over the past couple of weeks my google investigation skills were put to use.  Searching pro's and con's of different diet and eating plans.  Looking at research and results.  Ultimately though, there is only so much searching and investigation before you have to just make a plan and jump in.   So this weekend I made a plan, went grocery shopping and today was day 1.  In the same concept that I am on a weight loss 'journey' not an exercise plan, I chose not to call this a "diet" but more a nutrition plan. 

I currently have decided on a pretty much all natural, back to basics nutrition.  Fruits and veggies, with beans, nuts and lean meats.  No processed foods, breads or pastas and no added sugar.  I already concluded that I wanted to cut out excess sugars and I have read and heard more and more about gluten intolerance.  I am by no means an expert about any of this stuff but with having personal gastrointestinal issues myself I thought it wouldn't hurt to try.  So here goes nothing!!

I chose a 21 day nutrition plan but modified it to fit my lifestyle.  I consider myself a relatively busy person with a full time job, workouts at least 5 evenings a week and also active in my church.  I find it easier to use my weekends to power cook, cook enough food to last me the entire week, so I don't have to worry about what to eat and I have one less excuse to not go out to eat.  So instead of a 21 day nutrition plan I am converting it to 21 weeks.  That way I can purchase and cook a multiplied recipe of a meal to last the entire week instead of 42 separate meals.

So this week my meals consist of:
quinoa, blueberries and peanut butter for breakfast,
10 almonds and pear for snack,
lamb lettuce wraps with plain Greek yogurt for lunch,
10 sugar snap peas and apple for snack, 
Salad with black beans and real guacamole for dinner,
10 grapes for snack.

I survived day one... the no sugar part is really hard right now.  I didn't get coffee because I can't drink it without sugar.  I saw a commercial for caramel Hershey's kisses while eating my lunch and I felt like I wanted jump through the tv and get one.  I found out I don't like sugar snap peas.  Something about the texture and taste I don't like, but I have 50 of them left for the rest of the week so I will just suck it up and eat them. :)  So far I have enjoyed everything else. The lettuce wraps are really good, and surprisingly enough, breakfast is really tasty too! 

I can tell my portion control had been way out of whack.  I scheduled to eat my meals and snacks 2 and a half hours apart and I kept checking the clock to see if it was time to eat again!  It is nice though to have a plan I can stick with instead of just cooking a bunch of whatever and putting it in the freezer.  I know my body will soon adjust to the portion sizes and it won't be so bad.  I am going to give this nutrition plan 4 weeks then re-evaluate from there.  I am really excited to begin this next step on my journey and look forward to the rewards and benefits of filling my body with more whole nutritious foods.