The 31 Habits!!!

Special favors come in 31 flavors… I’m out of mints, pass the LifeSavers!! Recognize that line?? If you went to high school in the 80’s you do!

Well, lets see, these are not as much fun as the 31 flavors, but I promise you will be better off.

By the way, did you know where the 31 flavors idea came from?? It comes from the days of the month… you know, a new flavor for every day. I had never heard that until very recently and it makes PERFECT sense. I mean, I would have no problem giving that a try.

O.K. – let’s stay on subject here. Keep our head in the game so to speak. I have developed a list… a list of habits that I think are good for weight loss and just over all good health. Because, remember, we are not on a diet, we are CHANGING our lives. I don’t WANT to stop eating ice cream. I love ice cream and it is just going to make me miserable if I can’t eat it and I don’t want to go on living!!!

O.K. – here they are- the habits:

1. Drink low-fat or better yet skim milk- try it for a week, you’ll get used to it. Move on.
2. Use a small glass for your o.j. in the morning and really for anything that has a lot of calories. You will drink less. Use a small plate for your food… it will look like you are eating more and you can trick yourself.
3. DRINK DIET SODA!!!! Once again… get used to it.
4. When you are looking at a food label, look at the serving size. If a serving size of something is 4 and there are 79 in the bag… this is most likely NOT a good thing.
5. Eat light or no sugar or no fat ice cream. I like the light the best. As a matter of fact, with Blue Belle- I can’t tell the difference between light and regular. And don’t have a cone… I know, the cones are good, but they are not the best part… if you will eat it without the cone, then you’ll save calories.
6. Light yogurt with Splenda is a good ice cream substitute.
7. While I’m on the subject, use Splenda or Equal in your tea and coffee. Also, use fat-free something in your coffee. You will save so many calories and you will get used to it. For God’s sake don’t use half and half like my Mother does (however, she does weigh like a buck ten sopping wet)
8. Fill up your omelets with vegetables instead of meat and cheese. Stack vegetables on your pizza instead of meat.
9. Switch to whole wheat bread. Watch out for anything that has enriched wheat flour or corn syrup in it… IT’S BAD!!
10. Use turkey instead of beef in spaghetti and other dishes calling   for beef. You have to watch it though… sometimes ground turkey can have a lot of fat and you will defeat the purpose.
11. Use light or low fat mayo on things. And use mustard instead of mayo to really cut down on calories. I almost always order sandwiches from restaurants without mayo because they often don’t have light options.
12. Every time you eat… leave one bite on your plate and remove it as soon as you are done. (The plate I mean).
13. Skip the croutons on salads. Either ask for them to be left off or push them to the side. They are like little dressing bombs… little calorie bombs that I can do without.
14. I know that this is a tough one, especially if you live anywhere near me in The South (notice the capitalization)- but just don’t eat fried food. Grill it, poach it, boil it, bake it… anything it but DON’T fry it. I let myself have fried food occasionally… and it is usually about 4 times a year… when I go to New Orleans…I like to get a fried shrimp and oyster po’ boy. I can live with that.
15. Drink Light Beer. I know, this can be a problem for some. But I have found that I have gotten used to it. I especially like Sam Adams Light.
16. Girls- drink wine instead of fruit drinks.
17. If you are going to have a Snickers bar- have a fun size. This is about one third the calories of the big one… and for the love of God don’t have the KING sized bar. Also, the almond version has fewer calories… not sure if you can get these in fun size.
18. Try baked chips instead of regular. I can not tell the difference between regular and baked Cheetos. Chester Cheetah should be proud of his product.
19. Use lemon on your fish instead of tartar sauce.
20. Share deserts at restaurants with somebody else. I mean someone at your table.
21. Cut down on the amount of butter and cheese in recipes. I can’t tell you how many times Beth has told me that she put about half as much butter in something than it calls for… and once again, I really can’t tell much difference.
22. Speaking of butter, trade it out for margarine or whipped butter that is lower in fat and calories.  In many cases olive oil will add flavor and is a more healthy choice.
23. Spice it up!! Sometimes when you remove fat and calories, you also remove taste. Use spices to replace some of that… think blackened red fish instead of grilled red fish.
24. Take off the skin. Even more important if it is fried chicken. Better yet, buy skinless chicken.
25. I know that this goes without saying, but skip the supersize stuff. Go rent the movie “Supersize Me”- you will have a whole new outlook on life.
26. If you are going to have soups… make it a broth-based soup, not a cream soup.
27. Eat breakfast!! You need to get your metabolism going in the morning and this is the best way. Let’s face it, sometimes having something to eat is the only reason to get up.
28. DON’T eat from the bag.
29. Have a sweet potato instead of a regular potato
30. Snack- make sure to eat something healthy between meals so that you don’t go nuts when you finally do get something to eat.
31. Exercise!!!! Last but not least. You have to do something… even if it is just walking. Get some friends and make it happen.

Well, there is the list. Use it well.

This entry was posted on Friday, October 1st, 2010 at 4:07 pm and is filed under WDS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “The 31 Habits!!!”

honi Says:
October 1st, 2010 at 9:33 pm

Thanks for the great list there are some very good tips and ideas there..

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