How are your eating habits?

Was just wondering about my fellow prairian's (I think I just made that word up lol) food choices.

Do you try to eat healthy or do you just eat whatever is available?

I am trying to eat healthy but it is hard... I think it's not because I don't like healthy food... I mean, if I had a personal chef who would prepare all the healthy meals (avoiding certain veggies ) I'd eat them!

Sometimes, junk food is easier to find and eat... if I'm in a hurry... it's easier to just stop by a drive thru and get some fast food... but I feel bad after eating it. I was doing fine for a while... I seem to have a problem with MAINTAINING or continuing to eat well! Anyway, I will keep trying.

Well, my Mama is a health nut. Her saying is "you can eat anything in moderation as long as it's real food." For drinks, we have water and milk all the time. For Supper we always have to have sweet tea. (in the south it would be unthinkable not to have sweet tea!! lol) She gets a huge box of oranges every couple weeks and makes her own orange juice. She makes lemonade alot too. (I don't like orange juice or lemonade)
Most everything she buys organic. No food die, or artificial flavors. We hardly ever eat out (one reason is it's expense). She bakes her own bread alot and makes pretty much everything from scratch. The only thing we buy frozen and pre-packaged is dinner rolls, and we only get those every once in a while. She has figured out how to hide things in food. She grinds her own wheat in an electric mill, and she has also ground beans and put them in cookies! You can't even tell they are in there! She has hidden blueberries in brownies before too. She likes being healthy. lol

I am not such a health nut as she is...lol. But when I went to Maryland for a week I ate nothing but junk, because that was all there was to eat! I felt really bad and it took me over a week to feel good again. I know it had to be because I was eating so badly. The only thing different I would do if I was out on my own buying my own food would be buy Oreo cookies at least once a month. lol

I've always been a junk food junkie, and even now, my habits are less than ideal. I don't eat enough fruits and vegetables, and my favorite drink besides tea is soda. Yeah, I could make a New Year's Resolution to change, but until I'm really ready, it won't happen. I made some progress last year, I just need to get back to it.

Farmer Girl, your mom puts me to shame, LOL! You are fortunate to have a mom who spends so much time in the kitchen.

I'm off to a solid start this year...I've started to walk again to my Leslie Sansone tapes (yes, they're old, they're tapes )...and I'm just more conscientious (Fife's gonna get me for that, I'm sure) about what I'm eating. I know that's where a lot of my weight gain has come from---mindless eating. I'm staying to a lot of the principals of South Beach, (what I had lost a lot of weight on), but I'm not following it as strictly. The pounds may come off slower, but that's better anyway. My friend, who has lost a LOT (she has been obese since childhood and has gradually lost her weight over the past two to three years and has not gained any back), is always insisting to me, "Slow and steady wins the race!" I really believe that now---I don't want it to take TOO long (and I do want to look decent for my niece's wedding in August), but the last time I lost weight I was ONLY focused on what I was eating. This time I'm actually going to combine the walking and exercise (which is what my formerly obese friend has done) and is what I need in order to be held accountable for my food intake. Basically I'm cutting way back on sugar (starting with my coffee creamer) and eating more whole foods rather than proccessed ones. I'm cutting back on carbs for sure, but not as much as I did last time around---it's just not realistic for me. But I will say, the carbs I do have are wheat based---no white enriched flours for this girl! I don't even miss those anymore. I guess for me, it's better that I make small changes rather than HUGE ones that I won't stick to for the long term.

Good luck to everyone who is 'working' on themselves! I am going to make a concerted effort to change my views on eating and exercising.

(And Cheryl---you know what got me off pop (soda)? SUGAR FREE Crystal Light and sugar free Kool aides. There are so many flavors out there now, I don't really miss my Diet Coke. I want Diet Coke with pizza---that's when I really crave it. But I'll be cutting back on pizza now too, so there ya go.

Amy wrote:

(And Cheryl---you know what got me off pop (soda)? SUGAR FREE Crystal Light and sugar free Kool aides. There are so many flavors out there now, I don't really miss my Diet Coke. I want Diet Coke with pizza---that's when I really crave it. But I'll be cutting back on pizza now too, so there ya go.

Pop? I forget that some people call it that. I've tried a few of those other drinks, but I just don't like them as much as soda. I won't drink sugar free soda as it tastes horrible. I think if I can get down to one can a day, right now I drink two sometimes three, and then get some healthier snacks in here, I will be better off right away. My work schedule also screws me up because it is just so easy to sit here and type with a can of soda and a bag of chips by my laptop. Bad mommy!

When I was tracking my diet, it made me aware of what I was eating, so maybe I need to go back to that, like Rhonda mentioned there. And Rhonda, I hope you feel better soon. You might need to make a trip to the doc if you really think you have whiplash. Take care sweetie.

I get what you're saying Rhonda, but trust me---I always considered South Beach to be a new 'lifestyle' for me, that I would never veer away from, not a 'quick fix diet'. My sister has done great on it---I think she's been on it for like five years now! But she has never had 'real' weight issues, and has never been an 'emotional eater', which is what I am. I know I have underlying issues I need to deal with in order to really get control. I'm like Oprah in a way...I know logically exactly what I need to do in order to lose weight and keep it off; I feel very well educated on the subject. It's not the 'getting there' that's the problem, it's the 'staying there', and that's true for any 'addict', whether it's alcohol, drugs, food or whatever. Here's what my favorite nutritionist has to say about it. I have been getting his newsletter for two years now and this guy really knows his stuff---I highly recommend him to anyone. I am all about getting advice from nutritionists regarding eating and not the mainstream doctor.

http://www.jonnybowden.com/email/jan10/newsletter07.html


Good luck on the Gazelle! That's one piece of equipment that I always thought looked like fun. I feel great since starting my walking yesterday...it was pretty cute---the whole daycare got in on the action! I'm sure they'll hold me accountable.

Oh, I found this online and I SO want it!! (watch the video---it's cool!)

http://www.free-pilates-exercises.com/html/tbow-exercise.htm

Too bad it's so pricey (About $150 w/ tax and shipping)---it'll have to wait. The walking tapes are free!

bethandmanly wrote:

Amy wrote:

(And Cheryl---you know what got me off pop (soda)? SUGAR FREE Crystal Light and sugar free Kool aides. There are so many flavors out there now, I don't really miss my Diet Coke. I want Diet Coke with pizza---that's when I really crave it. But I'll be cutting back on pizza now too, so there ya go.

Pop? I forget that some people call it that. I've tried a few of those other drinks, but I just don't like them as much as soda. I won't drink sugar free soda as it tastes horrible. I think if I can get down to one can a day, right now I drink two sometimes three, and then get some healthier snacks in here, I will be better off right away. My work schedule also screws me up because it is just so easy to sit here and type with a can of soda and a bag of chips by my laptop. Bad mommy!

When I was tracking my diet, it made me aware of what I was eating, so maybe I need to go back to that, like Rhonda mentioned there. And Rhonda, I hope you feel better soon. You might need to make a trip to the doc if you really think you have whiplash. Take care sweetie.

LOL Cheryl---I think most areas do call it soda! I remember someone posted sth about that one time.here. One more thing to try....BEST diet pop I've ever had, that totally tastes like sugared: DIET RITE. My hubby LOVES sugared pop (it's what his biggest downfall is when it comes to shedding his belly weight), and last year I started him on this, and even HE likes it. Unfortunately, he's back to his old habits, but he did agree that it is a GOOD pop. Our favorites were red rasberry and orange---my boys like it too and they don't like diet either.

Oh, and Rhonda, I forgot to mention, that nutritionist I mentioned is big on journaling too. I need to do that...I believe I haven't because it's scary coming face to face with what you're doing to your body, you know? Not going to be fun. But if I'm going to get real, it's what needs to be done.

Amy, I have been on the South Beach Diet and I think it is one of the best ones out there......healthier than a lot of them, so you are on the right track with that one.......

Good Luck to all of you that are working for a healthier life style......Mine actually started when I got cancer the first time....altho I had been eating healthy, I wasn't concentrating on ME, so it didn't matter how healthy I was eating.....once I realized that I needed taken care of, it all turned around for me.....

LOL, I call it "pop," too! It might be a Midwest type of thing. I'm not sure. I think I have heard people call it "soda" more out East.

I tend to make sure that my kids are eating alot of fruit, and occasionally some vegetables, but then I seem to forget about myself. It depends on the day. I wish that dinner could just magically appear every evening, complete with fruits and vegetables. I'm not a picky eater, but my kids are, so it makes it that much tougher. I wish I wasn't, but I'm the "short order cook" mom. My kids most often don't eat what my husband and I are having for dinner. It's funny because my kids love to eat the cereals Cracklin Oat Bran and Life. They rarely ask for the "sugar" cereals.

I have to check that soda...I mean pop, out Amy.

My girls are so different Teresa, and when it comes to food they are very different too. Katherine would eat sweets all day long if I let her, whereas Sarah, the youngest, brings salad to school. She likes her sweets too, but she'll just as easily take something healthy. One thing I can say about Katherine, though, is that she will try almost any food.

Teresa wrote:

I wish I wasn't, but I'm the "short order cook" mom.

I read that statement and took another look at your avatar and couldn't help but think of Percival & Nellie!

LOL, Amy!!

Amy wrote:

Teresa wrote:

I wish I wasn't, but I'm the "short order cook" mom.

I read that statement and took another look at your avatar and couldn't help but think of Percival & Nellie!

I DID TOO!!! TOO FUNNY!!!

Rhonda wrote:

I am going to get back to using my Gazelle again, ...

lol Rhonda,
I remember the summer days when you worked at the law office and had time to chat. I remember ... I think it was after you had finished walking on your Gazelle that we would chat for a little bit each day lol

Rhonda wrote:

start writing down everything you eat.

Even better, post it in the What was the last thing you ate? in the game section. Then all your prairie buddies can hold you accountable.

Lori wrote:

Rhonda wrote:

start writing down everything you eat.

Even better, post it in the What was the last thing you ate? in the game section. Then all your prairie buddies can hold you accountable.

Oh Lori, Lori, Lori. Just stop right there little missy. Let me clarify....I don't want to be that accountable.

Amy wrote:

Lori wrote:

Rhonda wrote:

start writing down everything you eat.

Even better, post it in the What was the last thing you ate? in the game section. Then all your prairie buddies can hold you accountable.

Oh Lori, Lori, Lori. Just stop right there little missy. Let me clarify....I don't want to be that accountable.

Amy and Lori

Well Since i am staying at the Hospital so often i stay there for night and everything sometimes so i hate to say this i eat lots of Junk Food well maybe not eat that much junk food but lots of Resturant Food & Donnuts lol But i mostly Drink Water and Fresca (it is Sugar Free Soda) and I LOVE it lol oh and the Hospital has a Tim Hortons so i end up drinking lots of Ice Caps. i am not sure if they are healthy probally not but when i am at home i eat mostly Homemade food some is Healthy some not so healthy but better then resturant food and i only drink Fresca and other Diet soda and Water

Oh, sorry to hear you're not eating so well Jacob. But yeah, I guess you do what you have to do when you're in a hospital setting. I hope your life can return to normal again real soon. How is John doing? I haven't checked your prayer thread since last week so I guess I'll pop on over there...

I have HORRIBLE will power...I have been trying for years to loose weight and not to eat so much, but it is so hard. A few years ago I went to a gym, lost 20 pounds, stopped going and gained 30 pounds. I have since lost about 15 pounds, but it does not want to go away now. I am going to a new gym and was hoping I'd get my will power back, but it is not working. :(