FUEL for FAT LOSS

This morning I stir fried together some cabbage, mushrooms, orange pepper, onion, zucchini, asparagus tips and spinach. I put half of it in my omelet and saved the other half which I am eating right now for lunch. This is a very common meal for me. If I'm cooking, I'll usually make enough for one or two meals more.

I'll tell you now, there's not a ton of variety in my diet but I like it that way. It keeps it simple and I always enjoy my food. It's not that I'm a picky eater, I actually do like a variety of foods but maybe you can relate when I say that if I eat certain foods, there's a psychological deficit that goes along with it. I'm guilty of feeling guilty if I stray too far off the beaten path of a fat loss diet. Here's the thing: I do follow a fat loss diet, not necessarily to lose fat since I did that in a big way 7 years ago, but so I can keep it off. And besides, I feel better. Once in a while I'll give myself permission to have a box of hot and salty sweet potato fries or an ice cream cone which are my two fav go-to "day off" treats. But that's really not that often...it's more of a social outing so I can share them with a friend and chat. It's more fun that way anyway.

When I eat outside of the norm my body knows it and my energy levels drop the next day. It stands to reason that because our bodies are one continuous energy current (your heart beats on an electrical signal) that when we eat foods on the low end of the energy scale (of little nutritional value a.k.a. processed) our body energy lowers too. Intuitively, our bodies know when they are getting  fed high energy fuel, and they respond in kind. From here, the math isn't so tough: high energy foods + 30 minutes exercise = high energy and feeling great all day, every day. That's hard to beat!

I'm going shopping tomorrow. My grocery list consists of things that can be used for multiple recipes such as the kale will appear in my omelets, soup base and salad as will the turkey chops and burger because they come in larger quantities.

Groceries:
bananas
pears
apples
oranges
grapefruit
spinach
broccoli
cabbage
lettuce
collard greens
kale
zucchini
mushrooms
brussel sprouts
asparagus
sweet peas
red and orange peppers
tomatoes
carrots
celery
fresh garlic
onions
bulk chicken breasts
turkey breast
turkey breast chops
shrimp
tilapia
salmon
lean ground burger
stew meat
canned stewed tomatoes
almonds
cranberry sauce
split peas
flax milk
deli meat
part-skim mozzerela slices
eggs
cottage cheese
Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing powder


Meals:
Meat, carrot, onion and zucchini stew
Egg and veggie omelet
Salmon and asparagus
Tilapia and broccolia
Grilled turkey chops and split pea soup
Chef salad with grilled chicken and hard boiled eggs Dressing: cottage cheese creamed smooth with HV Ranch dressing packet mixed in.
Spicey green soup base with turkey bites, mushrooms, carrots, garlic and broccoli
Grilled shrimp and oven-roasted garlic brussel sprouts
Turkey and steamed sweet peas with cranberry sauce
Lemon peppered grilled chicken and zucchini spears.
Grilled chicken w/marinara sauce and grilled asparagus.
Lettuce wrapped deli meat and cheese, pickle, tomato sandwich.

There are more than two weeks worth of meals here if you count the leftovers and other combinations you can make with the remaining fish, chicken, turkey, deli meat and veggies. My point is that even though my grocery list doesn't very often stray from this (unless I toss in a rare bag of Salt and Vinegar chips cuz I'm a salt-a-holic, popcorn kernels or root beer barrels.) I can still keep variety in my diet by how I prepare the various combinations of foods. I believe in flavor so I use all kinds of spices and flavorings with the exception of mayo. I mean, a sandwich just wouldn't be a sandwich without golden mustard! And still, it remains a fat loss diet because it's dense with nutritional value, very low on carbs, (no starchy carbs...uh, well bananas are but you know...and very few grains like oatmeal and quinoa which I still have in my cupboard so they didn't make it on the list). The other key that makes this a fat loss diet is that I never allow myself to get hungry or to over stuff myself. If I'm never hungry, I always have my wits about me when I'm sitting down to eat so I'm not wolfing down my food or binging on the chips before I get real food prepared.

Ultimately the best thing you can do for yourself is eat highly nutritionally dense foods that resemble a fresh harvest.

Feel free to share any of your fat loss cooking tips in the comment box.