I have long battled the want vs. need internal conversation, especially when it comes to food. I want a soy latte, I need a glass of water. I want a bagel, I need healthy protein, maybe rice protein? There is an article I can check out about it (you can view it now if you want). I want a 1/2 gallon of Dreyer’s Peppermint Ice Cream, I need to take a run.
The 5-6 small meals scheduled for this Body for Life plan leave me little time to think about the wants. I am getting plenty to eat, even though if I count up my calories, I am eating less than before. Huh. Maybe there is something to this? Perhaps all those before and after shots are real!
I’ve been cooking lots of chicken and veggies and fish and veggies and drinking an ocean’s worth of water — or so it seems. I’ve found a couple ingredients worth mentioning that seem to spice up this uber healthy cuisine:
Throw your veggies in a skillet and cover them with a bit of chicken broth. All the flavor, none of the fat.
And chili marinades are fantastic too. A coworker bought me this aji chili paste from Peru and it is out of this world. Spicy but with a smoky flavor. We ate a ton of yellow aji in Bolivia, so this was a treat to make at home. I’ve got to check out the international market for more choices.
The one downside with trying to eat healthy this time of year is that I’m baking like mad for a variety of celebrations. Today I am handing out sweet potato peanut butter cookies. I only ate one — a teeny one — and it was worth every calorie.
A Body for Life dessert?
Protein powder, flax seed, skim milk and ice — and it tasted considerably better than it looks.
This plan is going well so far. I’m pretty much always sore from lifting weights, but I am sleeping really well. I feel good and I’m guessing progress is being made. My body fat percentage test on Monday wasn’t nearly as dramatic as I thought it was going to be.
And I even managed to talk one of my girlfriends into doing this with me and she’s met me at the gym the last three mornings. It is so much more fun to workout when you have company.
~K
P.S. I draw the line at margaritas. When I splurge, I’m not going this route. Gimme triple sec in all its sugary glory with a scoop of Minute Maid limeade and Corona galore! See? Want vs. need… oy.