I'm on a healthy eating kick. Why? Because I'm getting plump in the rump these days, and I think it's because I'm consuming a lot of junk. Granted, my choice of junk food would be health food to people who gulp down handfuls of potato chips and Ho-Hos. I mean, my junk food is dried fruit and nuts, Chex Mix (the dark chocolate kind is my favorite!), and pretzels or whole grain tortilla chips. But the truth is, no matter how I spin it, it's still causing me weight gain and moodiness.
I don't believe in getting rid of my favorite junk food and crunching on celery and carrot sticks the rest of my life. Granted, that would be a Best Case Scenario, but I would really miss my chocolate Chex Mix to the point where I might go off the deep end and start stuffing my face with candy bars and cereal just to get my "fix." Seventeen-hundred and twenty-three calories later I would realize a handful of Chex Mix (chocolate!) would have set me back a mere 200 calories. And a ton less fat.
Here's what you should not have in your cupboard. These items are horrid to your body and skin:
*Potato chips (greasy oily goodness, I know, but the salt alone can give you hypertension!)
*Any ready-made cookies or cakes (No more Little Debbies for you.)
*Cereals with a lot of sugar (by a lot, no more than 6 grams per serving...and I'm being lenient here.)
*High calorie bread (2 slices could add a whopping 230 calories to your sandwich. Check out this site to see where the calories fall in your favorite breads: http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-bread-ic1802)
*Doritos, Cheetos, Fritos (I'm sensing a pattern here...) All those crunchy, salty foods that taste so salty, you can't stop eating them.
A little story here, because I love telling stories. Years ago I worked with a woman my age (at that time, early thirties) who was probably a good thirty pounds heavier than I was. She used to lament about this, noting my eating habits weren't all that different from her own. (I had an occasional slice of pie or a cafeteria sandwich.) The biggest difference between us was that she didn't exercise and I did, and every day she bought herself a snack-size bag of Nacho Cheese Doritos. I'll admit...those are delicious. If you have one, you want to entire bag. But if you eat that entire bag, you will have consumed 250 calories. Imagine how that adds up when you have one every. Single. Day. (1,250 calories in a five-day workweek.)
In general, One pound of fat is equal to about 3,500 calories, according to several sites I've visited. You can imagine how eating an extra bag of Doritos every. Single. Day. can affect how much weight you add to your body.
Vincent Iannelli, M.D. notes:
"...if you eat an extra 350 calories of food a day, which is about equal to a large piece of cake or a medium milk shake, you would gain an extra pound every 10 days (350x10). Or you would gain a pound in about 20 days if you eat or drank an extra 175 calories a day (175x20)" (http://pediatrics.about.com/od/obesity/a/06_calpound_fat.htm).
If my friend had stopped eating those Doritos and kept her diet otherwise the same, eventually she's lose a few pounds over the course of a couple months. If she added exercise as well, she'd lose even more. So if you are trying to lose several pounds, consider taking away a part of your diet you don't need...like that bag of cookies you're chowing down right now. What? You think because I'm on this side of the computer I can't see what you're doing?
So take a look at your pantries, my friends. Is there anything you can stop eating today? Maybe exchange it for a handful of grapes or some apple slices with a teensy-weensy dab of fat-free caramel sauce? I challenge you to try it. And now that I've polished off seven reduced fat Ritz crackers, a decaf coffee, and a small piece of cheese, I'm good until dinner. How about you?
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