Healthy Eating

by Nancy Trent- Full-time Mother/Housewife
(Phoenix, Arizona )

Healthy Eating

Let me share with you my experience on how "healthy eating" was the only way I was able to shed off pounds. I grew very very fat after I gave birth to my second child. The first pregnancy was actually the start, because I never regained my original weight of 120 pounds. After the first child I stayed at 180 pounds, then the next pregnancy left me at 260 pounds.

It is not that I did not make any effort to lose weight. In fact, I was into every diet craze I encountered. My experience with dieting was losing a few pounds here and there and do a lot of exercises. Then I had to stop because my doctor said it was only making me weak and my heart was getting strained. He often advised me against these weight loss diets and just go into "healthy eating" for a change. However, I was a bit too desperate to listen, so I never really heeded his advice.

It was only when I started experiencing elevations in my blood pressure that "healthy eating" became my only choice to lose weight naturally. Now how did I lose weight just by healthy eating?

1. In "healthy eating", the first thing you should correct is eating in over abundance. When I was into regular eating, I never stopped until I felt I had my belly full. That was how I grew fat. Then I went into diets that told me to eat more of this and less of that. In some cases, I could eat all I want then stop at this particular hour because night time is for retiring. The problem with those diets is that it did not give me enough energy to exercise.

2. By "healthy eating", my doctor told me to eat "feel full foods". They were mostly fruits, vegetables, whole grains and he said I should choose those with high water contents. So if I had a bad habit of eating until I felt full, these fruits and vegetables can be eaten in large portions but with less calories.

3. The grapefruit is one of my favorites, it has a lot water content but only 18 calories. You know how water can make you feel full. So I can eat a whole grapefruit, feel full but with less calories. As soon as I feel some hunger pangs, I can eat carrots which also have plenty of water content but only 52 calories in a cup size serving. By this time, I had already burned the 18 calories I got from the grape fruit, so I can afford to take in more.

4. By the way, "healthy eating" also means eat slow. Chew your food, take time to savor it and allow it to be absorbed or broken down into nutrients.

5. Do not skip breakfast. Take some energy giving foods or anything that is not processed or has too much oil or fat. I eat two sunny side ups every morning and two toasts and a cup of tea. I occasionally engage in a cup of brewed coffee, but I find my digestive system works better with tea. I also indulge in pancakes, but I use the new kind of flour made from sweet potato because they are the organically grown type. (You see, that is the trouble with me, I often go with what the "in" thing is). The fad now is to go organic, but it really is okay though.

6. Stop eating fast foods and do your own cooking. Not only is it cost saving, it is healthy eating too.

7. Indulge in feel good foods once in a while but make it a point to exercise in order to lose the additional calories. I only started to indulge in feel good foods when I was already down to 200 pounds. In a way I was testing the sustainability of my new found diet program.

8. Do not forget or forgo the exercise routine. If you cannot go out to walk or jog, do some house chores. Clean the rooms, bend and pick up toys, reach for the clothes wire and stretch your arms. If you have a second story to your home, go up and down the stairs yourself. In fact, I think I burn more energy doing these things. Once I started losing weight, I seemed to be light enough to start moving myself around the house.

Most important thing of all about losing weight naturally through "healthy eating" is to stop thinking that you are on a diet. This way you do not have to be impatient on the weight you are trying to lose. "Healthy eating" made it possible for me to cut down my calorie intakes. Eating only healthy foods gave me enough nutrients to be active and burn the fats I had stored for years.

It took me three years of fad diets but with no significant weight loss. It took me two years of "healthy eating" and I am not only sustainably fit at 135 pounds but sustainably healthy as well.

Take my advice, stop with the fad diets and start with "healthy eating".

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