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I lost all of my baby weight after my son was born, but over time an extra five to ten pounds has crept back onto my body. According to the height-weight projections I could easily stand to lose at least fifteen pounds, possibly twenty. It turns out I had a little extra junk in the trunk before I got pregnant.
I’ve been focusing on removing needless calories from my diet. I started juicing in the morning and fixing myself some form of protein, typically scrambled eggs. I also place vegetables on the top shelf of the refrigerator and clean all of my produce when I come home. That way it’s staring at me, clean and ready to be eaten. I literally have to move them out of the way to get through the rest of the fridge.
Overall I think I’m eating really well. I’ve cleared the cupboards of processed, packaged foods. I don’t feed these to my son so I decided not to feed them to myself either. I’m not perfect. I indulged in a bag of chips at Subway this weekend and still cook recipes on occasion that require heavy cream. It’s all about moderation not deprivation anyway.
My biggest downfall right now is my love of sweets. I think I inherited that trait from my mom who can’t seem to make a bag of candy last longer than a couple of days. I crave those tasty, sweet morsels of pleasure. My favorite indulgence is a bowl of dutch chocolate ice-cream smothered in chocolate syrup, whipped cream and sprinkled with M&Ms. Oh yeah that’s where that extra ten pounds probably came from.
In an effort to cut back on sweets I did something quite counter-intuitive. I bought an expensive bag of dark chocolate covered cashews. At first I was worried that I would eat the entire bag in one sitting, but for some reason I’m able to eat just one or two and feel completely satisfied. Okay, if they are really tiny nuts I might need three or four. The deeper grade of chocolate makes the experience seem much more rich and decadent. I savor the pieces because I know they are expensive, but they are also so tasty they make me want to savor them more.
I can’t say whether or not this technique will work in the long run, but for now it’s helping to fulfill the need for something sweet. I’m not foregoing ice-cream all together but I am limiting the number of times per week that I allow myself a bowl.
I’m also spending a lot less money on sweets. While the organic, dark chocolate covered cashews are expensive I’m eating very few of them. In fact, this bag has lasted me three weeks already.
Do you have tricks for avoiding the foods you shouldn’t eat but love?
Gourmet snacks to curb your craving for sweets, that’s good stuff š I like it. Makes sense. Money can make us emotional. If we spend a lot on something then we think it’s more valuable so we believe we don’t need as much of it to be content and satiated haha. I don’t have any tricks myself. I usually just don’t buy food I know I shouldn’t eat. If it’s not in my home, I can’t eat it š
Oh yeah. I’ve tried the ‘don’t bring home food I shouldn’t eat’ trick, but for some reason I still crave it. In fact, sometimes I think I crave it more because I know I don’t have any around š
Mmm-mmm, I love chocolate covered nuts. I also have a sweet tooth and pounds to lose. After sweating it out at the gym, I know how hard it is to burn off a few hundred calories so I am very selective now about what goes into my mouth. In other words, it better be worth the amount of sweat needed to burn it off!
I love the idea of equating the time needed to sweat it out to the amount of calories I consume. I need to keep that in mind when those cravings lure me to the fridge š