You Don't Win Friends with Salad

I had a friend ask me today what I normally eat. She said she hates salad and it's so easy to get around that! I hardly ever feel like eating salad (I force myself at work sometimes) so I made a list of good stuff! Some of this came from my wonderful trainer, Amy. The rest is stuff that I found on my own that works for me and have been doing since the beginning. The main thing to keep in mind is portion control. I'm horrible at keeping my portions small, but the best thing to do is a handfull of food every two hours or so. I'm realistic, so I try to eat 3 small meals and 3 snacks a day. It's not easy but if I really try I can stick to it.

Awesome foods:
avocado (in moderation)
unsalted almonds
Smuckers All Natural Peanut Butter
Smuckers sugar free jelly
Carb control whole wheat tortillas (instead of bread)
whole grain bread (low sugar, in moderation. The bigger the chunks of grains, the better it is)
turkey
grilled chicken
Ken's Lite Honey Mustard dressing
blueberries
strawberries
Jello sugar free, fat free pudding (made with skim milk)
sugar free Jello
Muscle Milk Light (I mix it with flaxseed, berries, banana and almond milk)
Almond Milk (unsweetened)
Special K (one handful with skim milk)
Goldfish crackers
bananas
low fat cottage cheese
low fat, low sugar yogurt
pretty much any vegetables (potatoes in moderation)
whole grain pasta (one handful a few times a week max)
olive oil and garlic (instead of pasta sauce)
pizza sauce (lower sugar than marinara)
veggie dogs
veggie burgers (Boca are fine)
low fat cheese
Miracle Whip Light
Cool Whip Light (with strawberries or pudding)
watermelon (in moderation)
Propel Zero (if you don't like water by itself)


That's not a complete list, but you get the idea. If I can't fit in a meal I try to have a protein shake. The goal is to keep yourself full, but not stuff yourself. Keep snacking and try not to let yourself get hungry. My problem is that this makes me ravenous and I tend to eat everything in sight the first few days of a hardcore cycle. I let myself cheat once a week and I find that I use that day as my carrot on a stick. The whole week is spent looking forward to it and I really enjoy that meal more than I would without the diet. I also find myself eating less of the bad food on that day and craving good stuff. The key thing to remember is that even if you mess up, you can ALWAYS get back on track with your next meal!