Real Food and More

I read recently that if your grandparents could not recognize a food item, it has no business being in your shopping cart.  I am going to assume that lard does not count.  I also found myself reaching for the mouse to google Twinkies once I heard that they will shortly be back on the shelves...were they invented in time for any of my grandparents to have known what they were?  Unfortunately for me, they were invented in 1930...which TECHNICALLY means I COULD eat them....

The point here is not about Twinkies or lard, it's about eating real food.  Staying away from overly processed  food - and items with preservatives, artificial sweeteners and other weird sounding ingredients is actually one of the easiest ways to loose weight - and to help your liver too.  Flashback story - many years ago a bunch of us were sitting around and discussing additives placed in what we ate.  Someone picked up a package of some kind of pre-made dessert cake, and the ONLY ingredient we could pronounce was water.  Not even flour and sugar were listed as "flour" and "sugar".  It was pretty disgusting.  Keep your foods real.  I've read of several folks who lost weight by making that one simple change.  Shop the perimeter of the grocery store - where the real food lies - and make your meals from the items you find there.  Better yet, head to your local farmer's market.  Not only is the food fresh, but you can keep your money local as well.  It's amazing how better vegetables taste when purchased directly from the farm.

Slowly I've been doing better, still focusing on drinking mainly water (tea and coffee allowed, but I limit the caffeine.)  I have only had 2 or 3 glasses of club soda in the last 3 weeks, and 4 lite beers and 1 glass of wine in the same time frame.  And that one tiny bit of butterscotch schnapps fireside.

I am also eating real food more and more.  Again, there have been a few sugary treats now and then (key lime cookies straight from Key West, FL being the most recent) but they have been few and far between.  I subscribe to a local farm co-op if you will, that weekly delivers a box of fresh produce to my door.  I also recently re-visited the state farmer's market and found I really enjoy purchasing items I need directly from the person who grew it.  I purchased a Nutribullet - a handy little gadget that takes leafy greens, fruit, nuts and seeds and along with water creates a very tasty beverage.  I've also cut back on all white flour products and white rice, aiming for the whole grains instead.

Now for the true test -- this week is the first holiday I will face since being diagnosed.  I will blog about that next week.  But for now...

Weight lost this week:    0.4 lbs.
Total weight lost:           6.4 lbs.