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Monday, May 7, 2012

Changes that helped me drop pounds: Breakfast


Please keep in mind that all the changes I will discuss were made over the course of years.  I think it would have been impossible for me to make all these changes at once.  For me, that would be a recipe for failure.  Rather I baby stepped my way through these changes, one at a time and didn’t’ make another new change until I was totally comfortable with the previous change.  For example, I was eating whole wheat pasta long before I made the switch to whole wheat couscous.  Our bodies crave comfort and familiarity and maintaining some of those comforts gave me the strength to succeed with each new change.  Some of these changes were tiny and easy to make, others were very difficult and took a long time to accept and absorb into my ‘normal’ life.  However, with each change I felt healthier, had more energy, and the pounds were coming off, albeit slowly, but this validated my efforts and motivated me to continue on my journey.


Breakfast changes:
The first and most painful change I made when I wanted to start eating healthy and lose some pounds was I stopped eating a plain bagel with cream cheese for breakfast every single day.  It was a hard change, but I knew I had to start somewhere and I knew that bagel and cream cheese was not a healthy way to start the day (even though it was so delicious!)  So I switched to eating cereal.  Then I switched to eating healthier cereal, then to high fiber cereal, then to flavored oatmeal in water, then to plain oatmeal in milk with maple syrup and walnuts, then to plain oatmeal, no syrup, cinnamon and walnuts.  Then I reduced the amount of OJ I was drinking to 5oz.  This is working so I’m in a holding pattern with it.  But I like it, it fills me up and provides me with whole grains, protein and the complex carbs needed first thing in the morning to get going and fuel my day!

Here is a brief summary of how awesome oatmeal is for you:



The above is the first in a series which will outline different types of changes that I have made to my eating habits, my lifestyle and even my home that have helped me drop weight through the years.  Future topics include, changes to: eating grains, snacking, beverages, portions, exercise and meal planning, among others.

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