How many times have you had a lifestyle change? Should the question be, how many diets have you been on? Like I said in a previous post, I don’t believe in the word “diet”. For me, it’s about living a healthier lifestyle. With a new position at work, and a new daily schedule, I can see where I need to focus when it comes to meal planning. At home, it’s about balancing all the newness and deciding what I need to prioritize for things to fall betting in place. It’s also about acquiring the proper kitchen tools in order to balance meal planning.

We get so caught up in our daily lives, it’s hard. to focus on what’s good for us and what’s not so good for us. I definitely know I am an emotional eater. When I get stressed, I tend to sit and eat. Yes, sitting and eating is a good thing to do at 5:00, 6:00 or even 7:00 at night. However, sitting and eating on the couch at 9:00, 10:00, and even 11:00 (yes, even. 11:00) at night is not a good thing, especially when we’re supposed to be getting a full nights sleep. Well, some people will say, “I work a third shift, so what does that mean for me?” “I work a second shift, so what does that mean for me?”. I totally understand; I’ve been there (yes, working all hours of the day, afternoon and evening, working two or three jobs. We’ve all been somewhere in our lives where we haven’t had the time to eat more healthy. I even go to the extent of blaming it on what I have to feed my children and/or my husband. I sometimes feel guilty if what I’m eating they don’t like, so they have to sort of “fend for themselves”. How many of you have been in that predicament?

Well, my last two lifestyle changes were with Forks & Knives and KETO. Although I did really great with both, it was a lot of planning because the KETO plan lets you eat everything except grains and pasta specifically. My husband is Italian, so the pasta wasn’t the issue, it was the extra 40 minutes to boil the water, sauté, and flavor. Forks & Knives was legumes and rice. Well, my husband doesn’t like legumes at all, so again, it was determining what else we would be having with our meal to satisfy him. Two totally different approaches. For me it’s all about compromise and adjusting for both of us, and/or all of us (the entire family – especially with adult kids still in the household). We all have different lifestyles. That’s why it’s important for me to not only think about myself, but to think about those around me too.

Timing is everything!! Isn’t that what most say. Well, time in the kitchen is sacred, but not for hours at a time. At least not when you have to work more than one job or long hours. Don’t get me wrong, I love cooking. It can can be therapy for me (just like washing the dishes). I really have to be in the mood. Also, I’m fortunate that my husband picks up some of the cooking nights, especially if I’m working late. He also empties and fills the dishwasher. This give me the opportunity to have a clean kitchen to cook in and have everything accessible to cook with.

Back to Forks & Knives and KETO. I lost weight with both, but found I had to exercise more with the Forks & Knives regime. I really did enjoy the KETO, mainly because I could eat fats and cheeses. Cheese is one of my favorite things!!

Well, now I’m on another regime (lifestyle change). I’m not going to tell you the name of it until I know it’s going to work. I am going to post my daily regime and meals on my page, so you can see what’s in store if you decide you want to hop on the bandwagon later on. I still have to think about my meal plans. I feel this is the more difficult part of changing your lifestyle, more than anything else. Like anything else with me, it’s mind over matter. I also hope that this will allow you to follow the regime (when you decide to hop on the bandwagon), so it will be easier for you to decide what to eat and when, or be able to come up with your own ideas. Isn’t that what it’s all about.

Why am I telling you this? I think it’s more, me having to convince myself that change is good and this time I’d like it to work. Not that it didn’t work the other times, there just became a point where it got easier to start eating what everyone else was eating because it was easier than having to worry about what it was I was going to cook for the week (I’m mainly talking about take out – pizza, pasta, rice bowls, etc.). I was even at one point ordering a pasta meal and just eating the broccoli and chicken. Then I got to the point where I would have just two bites of pasta, and that became more an more. I call that the source of mind over matter that doesn’t really succeed. This is something I’m still grasping, even after all these years. What is the alternative when you don’t have willpower?

I think we get into a specific mode with our eating habits. Either we condition ourselves to eat the same old/same old, or change it up so we don’t get board. Why is this so difficult? What do you do?

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