uncomplicated

I get emails. I get lots of emails. I get lots of different questions. But, I have to say that one of the more frequent emails I get is about diets and protein drinks. What diet do I think is best? What protein powder is better than others? Swim suit season is almost upon us. To many of us, this is horrifying. In any group of women right now, the topic seems to go to dieting, exercise, swim suits. But, the crazy thing to me is how we complicate the whole process of losing weight. We may pay a company $500 to get a certain powdered drink or $100 for a magic pill. We buy exercise equipment promising us to get ripped abs in only 5 minutes a day! What a deal! If we want to look like Carmen Electra, all we have to do is lap dances for our husbands each night. We can drink 2 slim fasts a day and get into our skinny jeans. So many promises, so much money. However, if you read the fine print on any of the diet and exercise gimmics, it will tell you that you need to also eat low cal foods and get moderate exercise. Why make it so complicated? Why pay so much money when the bottom line is the same? Exercise and eat right. That's it. Simple.

The pills, the protein drinks, the shakes are ALL heavy laden with junk. They are not real. You may loose some weight but without a lifestyle change, the results may not last and you are jeopardizing your health in the meantime. You can lose weight and have some chocolate. You can lose weight and eat a normal dinner with your family. When I go out to eat, I am amazed at the quantity of food on peoples plates. We eat too much. You can have good food, just cut it down. Fill up on the fresh produce first then dive into the other part. Have your deserts but save them for the weekend. It works. When I finally get motivated to loose a few pounds, I am always amazed at how quickly it comes off if I follow a few basic rules: A good whole grain breakfast; maybe a pancake but loaded with fresh fruit and a little whipped cream, or, an omelet with lots of salsa and a little cheese but made with egg whites. Lunch and snacks consist of fresh fruit and veggies, maybe some hummus on carrots or whole grain pretzels, a little lunch meat on one piece of bread with lots of veggies and some pesto or some tuna. Then, Dinner. Whatever I am feeding my family but smaller portion than I would normally eat. No white flours. Nothing fried. But, lots of taste. Even pizza on whole grain crust can work just load up one slice with lots of veggies and spices. If I am still hungry, I eat more fruit. If I really need something sweet, about 10 chocolate chips, dark, Giardellis. The good stuff. If you eat a little less, you will shrink your stomach and in turn, you will get full quicker.Stay away from juices and sodas. They are too many calories.

The grapefruit diet, the protein diet, cabbage soup diet. All crazy. They can work but only because they are lower calorie. But, once you go off them , you are back to your regular diet. Eat the foods you would normally eat, just less. Just smarter. If you really want a chocolate chip cookie, about 100 calories, make sure your other portions that day compensate for it. I just know that if I deprive myself of good food, I will end up binge eating. I don't want to live on ice burg salad and shakes. Yuck. If you need protein, go for eggs and nuts. Why spend $40 on protein powder. It is so full of synthetic material that you are paying for. Have some hard boiled eggs in the fridge and nuts ready. Put some real peanut butter on an apple. Real protein for real people.

Of course, exercise is also really important but I have found that even if I exercise a couple hours a day, if I don't also watch my food, I won't loose weight. I love to watch Biggest Loser and always love when they say that they never imagined that loosing weight was so easy and so attainable. They feel horrible that they never did it before. Keep it simple. Keep it real. Keep the junk out of your house so your options are clear. You eat what you have.

One example was the teenage rockers at my home this weekend. My house was full of 15 year old-ish boys rocking on their instruments. We went out on a date night and they were left hungry to fend for themselves. Comments were made to the effect that "all you have is organic crap. No real food." But, guess what, when I came home, they had eaten all of my organic apples and tangerines. You can bet that if I had bags of Doritos and M & M's that the fruit would have been untouched. They eat what is here. One of the boys commented to me when I returned that "those were the best apples that I have ever had." He probably hasn't had an apple for quite some time. Keep on hand what we should be eating. If I had chocolate and Doritos in my home, I would eat those also in quiet moments when no one is looking.

Keep it simple. It works. You will feel better too. Eat for your health, not for the skinny jeans.