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Healthier Eating Update: 3 Weeks In

Hi guys!  Well, it's been a little more than three weeks since I decided to make some changes in how I eat so I can (hopefully) lower my cholesterol.
I tried to convince myself that these chocolate crinkles were "healthy" since they are made with canola oil instead of butter.
Here's a little update of how it's been going and what I've been doing.  I'm definitely not on a "diet" and I'm still eating some foods with cholesterol in them.  I'm just trying to eat better overall.  I've definitely had some good days and some bad days.

Here's the GOOD:

  • I eat oatmeal almost every day for breakfast.  I had been doing this couple of years and lost a bit of weight last year (but that might have been because we were working feverishly on finishing the remodeling project on our house).  I make 1/2 c. of quick oats with 1/2 c. water, 1/2 c. milk and top it with a little brown sugar, cranberries, raisins, and diced apple.  I had oatmeal at McDonald's when we were in Seattle recently and loved that it had cruncy apple in it.  
  • I've been trying to drink more water.  I've found that when I'm thirsty, I misinterpret it for a need to munch on something.
  • I've been brushing my teeth more and chewing gum to stop the snacking craving.  
  • I try to eat pretty cholesterol free for lunch.  My favorites are the quinoa and sweet potato salad that I posted yesterday.  I've seriously eaten it almost every day for three weeks.  Other favorites are egg while omelets made with lots of peppers, mushrooms and spinach.  I love natural peanut butter smeared on celery (I posted about this a few weeks ago). 
  • I've been eating less meat.  I've still been making pretty normal dinners for my family, but I've been eating less meat.
  • I've been eating less carbs.  I haven't had a piece of bread for three weeks.  I have had rolls and tortillas for sandwiches and tacos, but I've been eating less than normal.  We've been eating a lot of things in rolls and buns lately because we've had some kind of sport almost every night, and of course it's always at dinner time.
  • I've been eating a lot more fruit, especially blueberries (my favorite) for a snack.  We had some really yummy grapes the last week or so too.
  • I've been really trying to limit my butter intake.  I've had good days and bad days.  We always make a treat on Sunday and I have one, but I've been trying to only eat one instead of 4.  :)  
  • I've been eating less dairy and if I do eat dairy I try to eat options that have less than 10 mg per serving.  I'm still drinking skim milk, but sometimes I'll have water at dinner instead.  
  • I made salmon for the first time ever last week and my kids were surprised that it wasn't as bad as they thought it would be!  I grilled it and glazed it with teryaki sauce.   Looking forward to trying more recipes.  
  • When I do eat buttery sweets, the sugar and butter are almost too much for me.  I don't enjoy the buttery taste like I used to...probably because it tastes like guilt.  Ha!
  • My kids have been trying to eat better off and on.  They've all been asking me about calories and noticing serving sizes on snack foods and chip bags.  Plus, like I said...they ate salmon and didn't die or get sick like they thought they might.
Here's the BAD:
  • I lost a few pounds (when I used my calorie counter on my fitbit) and I gained a few pounds and lost them and gained them, etc..  I haven't been very careful with portion sizes and still stress snacked more than I should have.  Improvements to be made there for sure!
  • I love nuts and ate more than I should have.  Oops.
  • I stress eat a little bit more when I'm stressed (that was redundant, ha!) and when I have a lot to get done and not much time at home, which has been pretty much every day lately.  Weekends have been the hardest with everyone home and more people that need attention.  I've got to get things organized and figured out for summertime so I don't hide in the pantry and eat chocolate chips.  (They're "cholesterol free", ha!) 
  • I've found that a lot of unhealthy food don't have cholesterol in them, like chips for example.  But that doesn't mean that I should eat them.  I need to remember to look at the saturated and trans fat content too, not just cholesterol.
Anyway....so, for now, I'm working on a few things:
1.  Portion sizes.
2.  Having healthy snacks prepped.
3.  Limited sugar. I think I'm going to start making myself Crystal Light lemonade popsicles in my Zoku popsicle maker instead of going for a fudge bar out of the freezer on those hot days.  (It's supposed to be 98 on Sunday.  Help me.  I'm going to melt.)

Thanks friends for your support!  Your emails and comments have been so sweet.  And to my friends that I get to see and talk to in person, I appreciate you asking how it's going.  

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