When you’re trying to maintain a healthy diet, a lot of people try counting calories, avoiding alcohol, and passing up all junk food.
It seems simple to lose weight, if you can stick to a super strict diet, right?
That used to be me, until I started working in the food industry. As a food blogger (find me at RavenousLibby.com!) and a marketing manager for a fabulous catering company in New York City, I could argue that it has become my job to EAT. And trust me, it is impossible to count calories when someone is asking you to try a bite of truffled lobster macaroni and cheese (or parmesan pudding, see above) before 10 am. But it is not impossible to maintain a healthy weight and waistline while at the same time enjoying your food. It doesn’t all have to be grilled fish and undressed greens—you can be a foodie without being a fatty, just don’t overdo it.
I taste rich, delicious food all day long and instead of driving myself crazy focusing on what I can’t or shouldn’t eat, I focus on what I can. When I am in control of my meals, I make healthy choices and use portion control—that way when a small handful of maple bacon popcorn (I’m not kidding! It’s awesome!) comes near my mouth there’s no need to panic—and very little chance it will have a negative effect. I find that the same concept works well for dieting and eating healthy in general.
Don’t deprive yourself—reward yourself by eating foods that keep you healthy, full and energized. These are a few of the easiest ways for me to stay on track:
Eat a breakfast that’s fit for a king.
Make a big bowl of oatmeal, fresh fruit and honey, or egg whites, avocado and whole grain toast. Fill yourself up with nutritious food so you can focus on hundreds of emails and meetings throughout the day instead of your rumbling stomach.
Make time for tea.
Swap coffee and cream (or, ahem, that mocha frap you’ve been treating yourself to) for flavored green tea. It tastes good, it’s loaded with antioxidants and Vitamin C, and it won’t leave you with the pain of caffeine withdrawals.
Toss the box.
Eliminate processed food all together. If the idea of calorie counting is too daunting, just get rid of everything processed. Eat when you’re hungry, but make sure you pick real foods like whole fruit, vegetables, hummus, or cottage cheese.
Start snacking.
Don’t ignore the afternoon snack slump (see above) or you’ll just end up binging. Embrace the fact that you’ll want something to nosh on around 3pm and plan ahead so you don’t hit the vending machine (or the in-house gourmet kitchen on the ground floor, if you can be so lucky).
Make dinner an event.
For dinner, make a meat-free, hearty winter salad with ingredients like arugula, quinoa, butternut squash, pumpkin seeds, and Gorgonzola. Meals that feature root vegetables and grains as the ‘main event’ will fill you up without any guilt.
If you are counting calories, and you find yourself cheating by having bites of things that “don’t count,” you should estimate every bite of your colleague’s doughnut or your boyfriend’s burger to be about 50 calories. This is probably overestimating, but it will make you think twice about taking “just one bite.”
Happy Eating!
Libby Andrews
Source: Women’s Health
