I get a lot of questions about nutrition and what I eat to both
maintain and lose weight. For those of
you that follow me, you know that I’m all about moderation. I eat clean 80% of the time and leave the
other 20% for those things that I should not be eating or drinking everyday
(ie. alcohol, pizza, desserts). It helps
to keep me on track because I know when I eat healthy all week, I don’t have to
worry about indulging a bit on the weekends.
I haven’t always eaten healthy. I went through a period where I was all about
convenience and fad diets. I’ve done it
all – frozen diet dinners (yuck), the no fat diet (Anyone remember that
one? Why did we ever think a carb
filled, refined bagel was better than eggs, cheese or nuts?), the no carb diet, the cabbage soup diet
(yeah, that one was lovely)... The list
could go on and on. The one thing that each and every one of these diets had in
common is that they didn’t work and they were not healthy. Yeah, maybe I lost a few pounds, but I put
the weight back on as quickly as I lost it.
I couldn’t keep the weight off for the long term. It wasn’t until I started eating good,
healthy food in normal portions that the weight started to come off. I’m proud to say I’ve been at a healthy and
consistent weight that I’m happy with, for several years.
When it comes to your diet, the first thing I always suggest
is getting on My Fitness Pal (www.myfitnesspal.com). It is a website/app where you track
everything you eat during the day. It
tracks everything from calories to macronutrients (Protein, Carbs, Fat) all the
way down to the micronutrients (all your vitamins and minerals). This will allow you to assess exactly what
you are putting in your mouth, and make choices based on the calories and
macronutrient percentages you are aiming for.
Now for the groceries.
I tend to only shop on the perimeter of the supermarket, because that is
where all the healthy stuff is. Stick to
real, whole food and you will be off to a great start.
Shannon’s Simple Sample
Grocery List:
- Lean Meats (ie, Chicken, Pork, beef, turkey
- Seafood (ie, shrimp, salmon, canned tuna)
- Whole Eggs & Egg Whites - I will usually eat 1 whole with yolks and 2 whites. Don’t be afraid of the yolk, there is good stuff in there. But you also don’t want to overdo it.
- Light Cheese – I buy low fat cheddar cheese or Baby Bell light to snack on during the day. Great source of calcium and protein.
- 1% Cottage cheese – Another great source of protein. My favorite brand is Friendship, in the pink container (plain mall curd).
- Vegetables – Can’t really go wrong here. If you are trying to lose fat, just watch portions on veggies that are high in carbs like potatoes. I recommend sweet potato over white. Corn and peas are also higher in carbs. Yellow &Green squash are low in carbs and taste when grilled up. Spinach, Green Beans, asparagus, Brussel sprouts are also some of our favorites. Just about anything green is good.
- Fruit – Again, fruit is a great part of any diet. My only suggestion is to limit consumption or serving size of fruits that are really high in sugar. For example, I wouldn’t eat more than one banana a day, and sometimes I will just have a half serving. Here is a good overview of the sugar content in fruit: http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/whattoeat/a/whatfruit.htm. Best to stick with the fruits that are low to medium in sugar content.
- Whole Grains: (ie brown rice, quinoa, sprouted breads, oatmeal etc.). When you are eating carbs, make sure you are eating the good carbs. I try and stay away from refined carbs that are digested quickly (think processed) and stick to unrefined whole grains which your body digests slower. Here is a good article on good carbs: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/carbohydrates/ I wanted to make sure I mentioned Ezekiel Sprouted Breads/ Sprouted grains are said to offer more nutrition. I buy bread when I want to make a sandwich or have toast for breakfast. Ezekiel also has English muffins, and the Cinnamon Raisin ones are my fav. Here is some information on sprouted grains: http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/sprouted-whole-grains.
- Beans (ie, chick peas, lentils, kidney beans). Beans are high in both fiber and protein and good for you. Hummus (made from chick peas) is a great dip with veggies or whole grain pita, and also great as a spread on a sandwich or wrap. Just watch the serving size.
- Coconut Oil – I do most of my cooking with coconut oil. I’m allergic to coconut, so I was surprised to learn that I could use refined coconut oil. The allergens are removed during the refining process. Talk to you doctor first if you do have an allergy. Here is some information on coconut oil: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/surprising-health-benefits-coconut-oil. I started to use it when I read about the harmful effects from other types of oil.
- Greek Yogurt – I get plain 0% fat free and add honey or fruit. My favorite brand is Fage. I don’t like the flavored yogurts because many of them contain chemicals and additives, and have a lot of added sugar (approx. 20g per serving)
- Organic Low fat milk (1% or 2%)
- Organic Butter – I have the real thing and just watch the servings. There is no “I Can’t Believe it’s not butter” at my house.
- Sugar in the Raw – I used to consume A LOT of sugar substitutes (also known as chemicals) and I swear it started making me sick. Now I only use the real thing in small quantities (ie. 1 teaspoon in my morning coffee). The brown Sugar in the Raw is my favorite.
- Seltzer Water – I cut out soda because I was drinking diet (Coke Zero). For me seltzer was a great alternative. I still got the carbonation that I liked, but without the chemicals.
There are obviously other things I buy, but these are the
staples you can find in my cart. I hope
it helps you next time you are at the grocery store!
I want to mention that I am not a nutritionist or a
dietitian. I know a lot about food (from
years of personal experience), but I just want to be upfront about that.
I’m just letting you know what has worked for me and hopefully help you
make better choices next time you are buying food.
Great! This is how I basically eat now.. I've had a hard time switching from white to brown rice tough. Also I struggle with my carb consumptiona sometimes, since Nicaraguan dishes are high on carbs: for example our traditional dish is rice and beans ("gallopinto", usually had for breakfast) both carbs and we accompain it with corn tortilla, another carb so if i have that for breakfast I have it in small portions and I try not no eat any more carbs through out the day.
ReplyDeleteI love your tip of shopping on the outside of the grocery store, I never realized that but how true!!
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