How are you doing with your new year's resolution to eat healthier?
It's amusing that the old saying goes "never trust a skinny chef," implying that the chef's food can't be very good if the creator of the food him/herself doesn't eat very much of it. A skinny chef, rather, should be looked upon as one who can not only control their passion for food but also knows how to make healthy food taste great. Not only am I conscious of what (and how much) I am putting into my body; we also have a home gym to help facilitate a balanced, healthy lifestyle.
Apparently, in order to lose one pound per week, we need to increase the number of calories burned by 500 per day, while keeping our diet at the current level.
This can also be interpreted as we can alternatively decrease our intake by 500 calories, while keeping our exercising (or lack thereof) at the current level, for the same effect. The increase in your exercise level, however, is the better choice of the two as it will lead to better cardiovascular health and an increase in lean muscle tissue, among many other great benefits.
A great way to reduce the number of calories you eat is to consume what are classified as negative-calorie or zero-calorie foods. Some examples of these would be celery, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, garlic and cucumbers. Of course what you put on these foods, or how you cook them, can add a lot of calories.
A good habit to get into is to read the ingredient lists of premade prepackaged foods. A recent trip to the grocery store to buy some "healthy" cereal revealed that there are a lot of choices that appear to be good for you on the outside, but reading the ingredient list revealed that many were high in sugar. One is better off buying rolled oats (not the instant variety) or 100 per cent shredded wheat and adding some fresh fruit, skim milk, and maybe a zero-calorie sweetener such as Splenda or Stevia.
I believe the main reason why "diets" don't work is because as soon as one eliminates something from their regular eating routine, they want it more. It is human nature to always yearn for something the more we can't have it. I feel that it is so important to have one splurge meal per week.
If you get a craving for something unhealthy, just say to yourself, "I am going to have that for my splurge meal this week."
The battle is mostly mental. I don't diet - my occupation can't allow for that, so what I do instead is lifestyle: making a choice to eat healthy as much as possible because chances are I will live longer and have a better quality of life.
Don't be overwhelmed by the long-term goal. Take it day by day and just focus on what counts: today.
Find out more about Chef Dez at www.chefdez.com.
