Category: Food & Wine

a guest post by Debbie Brodsky. Write Debbie!
[email protected]

Start by picking the size you want to be – who says you have to be a size 0 or even 2 or a 4. What is wrong with size 6 or 8 for women?

Keep in mind that you will not be dieting! There are only a few principles to follow and you will need to be consistent with them, but there is no deprivation whatsoever on this eating plan!

Begin today! There is no need to go eat a cake or a gallon of ice cream for fear you will not be able to eat these foods. And yes, I do eat dessert everyday! This is necessary for my well being.

Eating the foods I love are essential to my happiness. Don’t believe the maxim that “you are supposed to only eat to live”. I say the opposite is true “live to eat”, but eat really delicious foods that you love and leave off the rest.

Cultivate a love for fresh vegetables and fruits, as well as fish and cheese and yogurt and pasta and anything fresh and homemade or just plain sounds good to you!

It really is not what you eat that matters so much as firmly sticking to the principle of eating only at a “meal time”. I eat three times a day. Period. That is it. Nothing in between. No snacks. You don’t need snacks. Look at snacks as fillers and killers of having an empty stomach to enjoy a really good meal! And having a good meal is really what it is all about!

Begin today! There is no need to go eat a cake or a gallon of ice cream for fear you will not be able to eat these foods. And yes, I do eat dessert everyday! This is necessary for my well being.

If you don’t know how to cook, now is a really good time to learn, because preparing a good meal is also one of life’s great pleasures, at least it is essential to my happiness and well being.

If you love dessert, then have two meals a day and count your dessert as your third meal. Maybe that sounds unorthodox, but who cares, you are eating for your energy and sense of well being, not for what the crowd is doing.

Now you know you can eat anything you want within a meal, then decide what sounds good to you and eat it for your next meal. If a hamburger sounds good, go eat a really good hamburger and enjoy it, every bite of it. Then do not put anything in your mouth caloric until your next meal. I drink hot tea in between meals. It tastes good and is good for you, being high in antioxidents, but also I enjoy the ritual of making a good cup of tea and drinking it. I really love the Tazo brand wild sweet orange tea. It is fun to go to Starbucks and buy a cup of hot tea to go and have it for the mid-morning or afternoon while you work. Or if you have some time, stay at Starbucks and enjoy your tea with or without a friend.

If you a trying to lose some weight, then eat what you are craving, but use little tricks for cutting back on intake without feeling deprived, such as leaving off the bread as a side of pasta, when it is the pasta dish you are really wanting. Eat a whole serving of whatever it is that you are craving, because wholeness leads to feeling whole and satisfied. Taking a bite of cake or of a cookie does not leave me feeling whole. Usually it will lead to eating too many cookies and then feeling bad about yourself.
This approach to eating is not fun. Having a whole piece of pie or cake or brownie and really enjoying it, really is fun and will not increase your waistline if you close your mouth and do not put anything in it calorically until your next meal. And then at your next meal, eat what you are really wanting and leave off the extras that you don’t even want. Just because a basket of bread is put in front of you does not mean you are required to eat it. Use a little discipline and push it away! Unless the bread is really good, then go for it and leave off the potatoes. Or if the potatoes are fabulous too, eat them and have a big bowl of fruit for breakfast and lunch the next day so your pants won’t be tight!

Having a whole piece of pie or cake or brownie and really enjoying it, really is fun and will not increase your waistline if you close your mouth and do not put anything in it calorically until your next meal.

You have to use your clothes as your guide. If they are not getting looser, then make some cutbacks or increase your fruit and vegetable intake. If my clothes are a little tight, I just start that very day by eating a large bowl of fruit, it will help you with water retention. But I will still eat a portion of dessert and have a glass of wine with dinner. I have to have my dessert!

So think about what you can cut back on and what you are not willing to give up and go from there.

Also getting in some form of movement everyday is essential. Notice I did not say exercise. You can exercise. I just prefer not to call it exercise! Somedays I go to a very nice gym close by my house, but the point is to move!! And do something you enjoy. I have a new puppy and she also needs to move every day for her sense of well being, so now I mostly take her out for walks and skip the gym.

This plan really works. I follow it everyday and wear a size 6, sometimes 4 clothing and I eat really well. My cholesterol and iron levels are normal and I say that because I bake alot and use sweet unsalted butter and eggs and chocolate. Yum!

Now for a sample day –

Yesterday I started the day with 2 cups of coffee with whole milk and drank a Verve* mid-morning. I skipped breakfast and had a large bowl of creamed tomato soup with asiago croutons and a hunk of whole wheat bagette at Panera
Bread. Yum! This was around 1:00 p.m. It was so good and very filling, so I had tea later in the afternoon. Around 5:00, I started cooking and baking and poured myself a small glass of red wine. Yum! I made huge chocolate cookies with M&Ms and a my own version of vegetable lasagna (I am not vegetarian, but tend to eat little meat, mostly fish and chicken, but on occasion a good steak, hamburger, barbequed ribs, or one of my favorites, osso bucco – Yum!). I ate a large, whole piece of lasagna, more wine and then a whole cookie for dessert. Yum! I was not only full, but feeling happy and satisfied.

This is the goal – feeling happy and satisfied ; having your clothes fit, well, is just “icing on the cake!”

*Verve is a vitamin, mineral and energy drink containing mangosteen, aloe vera as well as green tea extract. I drink one every day and have noticed such a boost of energy as well as rarely being sick. I had a cold a few weeks ago and I was astonished at how quickly I got better. It must be the high antioxident content of Verve.

This amazing product cannot be found in stores, but is easily ordered and shipped straight to your door. The company, as well as the product, Vemma or Verve, promote a sense of well being, which fits into my own philosophy of eating and living. Please consider adding the supplement to your daily plan. You can order the product by calling my mother, Mary Pickering at 501-416-7476. For two to three dollars a day you can increase your health and sense of well being immensely, not to mention noticing a boost of my metabolism!!! Who doesn’t want that?

Now you may be saying to yourself, “how can this plan fit my lifestyle? I don’t know how to cook, don’t have time to cook, don’t want to learn how to cook!”
Well, I do know that you have to eat, so just adapt it to your lifestyle. If you eat at fast food places everday, well then so be it. Just be sure that you eat only at one of your three meal times, then close your mouth. Then drink lots of water – adding lemon or lime helps. Try sitting down and eating and not doing anthing else, except maybe conversing. And remember to eat what really sounds good to you, which if it is a Big Mac, so be it, just leave off the fries and don’t forget to enjoy it! Also cut back on calories and fat at the next meal and you can have your ice cream sundae!

Most importantly, let me know how it is going with the plan.

I will include recipes for easy and wonderful meals soon!

Thanks,
Debbie

Questions, suggestions, personal consulting? Write Debbie!  [email protected]