So, I am still right around the same amount of weight loss as I have been. I have been walking, so that's great. But I felt like I had to take my weight loss and diet to the next level.
A friend of mine at church has noticeably lost weight and I asked her what she was doing differently. She told me she had lost 40 pounds in 11 weeks after she bought the book "Magic Foods for Better Blood Sugar" and started walking. Walking, I had down. But if she had this book and it helped her lose that much weight, I had to get it too.
My copy came in a few days ago, and I have begun reading it. You think you know about good nutrition, but I realized, I didn't know nearly as much as I thought I did. I have always been a person who didn't really venture out with different types of foods, nor did I have any idea how to cook anything, even if I did. This book talks a lot about blood sugar and its' effect on our bodies. I know a lot of my problem isn't because I eat terribly anymore, I've certainly cut down on the sugar in the last few weeks. But I just need to do better about cooking nutritious meals and having good snacks, armed with the knowledge of what are good foods and what are bad foods, and how to cook them.
This book describes all of the foods that are "magic," or those that work well with your body to lower blood sugar and help you reduce risks of later diseases and lose weight in the process. There are tons of magic foods that run the gamut of fruits and veggies, meats, lots of beans, cheeses, oats and grains. I mean, it's pretty basic. But it explains why each of these things are great and what you can replace in your current diet that leaves you just as satisfied (probably more so) that don't make you feel like you are sacrificing. It really helped me figure out a good starting point for grocery shopping today.
I put together a list and after all was said and done, I got out of shopping at about $120 for the whole week. This included spices and bottles of olive oil, flour, stuff that I won't have to get every week. I thought $120 was excellent, actually, it was about what I already spend every week, but without all of the processed freezer foods I normally buy.
I shopped at Aldi first because I get everything I can at Aldi, since it is cheaper than most all grocery stores. They have stuff like feta cheese for half of what it normally is, tons of fruits and veggies, good meats, and milk and dairy that is normally much cheaper. They aren't going to have things like flaxseed and whole wheat flour, so for that, I had to finish my shopping at Kroger.
Part of my problem with buying fruits and veggies is that I don't spend time to get them ready, and they usually go bad. By that, I mean, cutting up strawberries, stuff like that. I also leave them in their original container and they end up getting pushed back into the crisper or back into the fridge, and they are wasted. I spent about an hour cutting carrot sticks and celery sticks, cutting up heads of cauliflower and broccoli, slices up tomatoes for sandwiches, etc.
I am definitely going to need more sandwich bags or Tupperware, but this is what it looked like when I was done...
I used half of the bananas, strawberries and blueberries and put them in the freezer for smoothies.
Wha? How did that get in there. I am so embarrassed.
I have plenty of good cheeses...
I even hard-boiled a dozen eggs for an easy, high protein snack or addition to tuna salad.
Seriously, where did these come from? Oh, I know, my hubby. Darn you, $1 deals at Kroger!
These are two things I bought that I have never cooked with before, I am really looking forward to trying out these recipes!!
Loaded up on good spices...
And bought some good nuts and whole grain bread.
I am really excited about trying out some good recipes this week! Especially for the kids. I am really tired of just feeding them junk. They are so used to eating badly that I practically had to force-feed chicken salad down their throats today. But, I know if I keep at it, they will just get used to us eating healthier, and they will feel better too. Not sure if this had anything to do with it, but Sophia is napping as we speak. She definitely stayed up late last night, but usually, she has large amounts of white bread and processed foods for lunch, which I think gives her lots of energy but she crashes. Today, at lunch, she had chicken salad on whole wheat bread, cherries, carrot sticks, and blueberries for lunch. I think instead of all of that sugar keeping her body going, her body actually allowed her to lay down and rest. I am seeing this is going to be good for us, already.
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