I like food, but...

I have realized that I really can't practically fit more exercise into my life. Well, I probably could but I need to get at least a few hours of sleep at night. So, I have had to ask myself what I else I can do to lose more weight. Obviously it would be to modify my diet. That is a hard one. I like to eat. I love pie, pizza, cookies, you know, all the "bad" stuff. I have never been a big fan of veggies until fairly recently. I still can't stand cooked spinich, brussel sprouts, beets, or turnips amoung a few others but I have learned to really enjoy broccoli and asperagus. The key for me has been to learn that there are more ways to cook vegetables than to simply steam them and put salt and butter on them (nothing like taking a good-for-you food and making it a not-so-good-for-you food). Learning to use the spices in my cupboard has gone a long way to making greens taste good. As I have written in our cooking blog, I love asian food. Real asian food is stuffed with vegetables that are stir-fried or steamed in the presence of different flavors. Steamed broccoli with a splash of teriaki sauce is very good for example. Eating more vegetables not only helps me to lose weight but I get more fiber and vitamins and minerals than I would eating a hamburger and fries (which I still enjoy occasionally).

Another trick I am finding that helps is to cut out fat where I don't need it. For example, we switched to skim milk a number of years ago. Also, we try to purchase reduced fat products (sour cream, yogurt, miracle whip, etc...) instead of their full flavored siblings. Every little bit helps.

The hardest thing for me is controlling my portion size. Michelle is very good about taking just enough but I like my food. I am slowly learning that there will be more food later on and that I don't need to stuff myself just in case. Of course that might change in the next year or two as the number of teenage boys in my house swells. There are no short cuts to good health. Desire and discipline are the keys.