This week, the Go Red bloggers are focusing on eating well for women’s heart health. Rather than talking about what to eat, I thought I’d share the how of healthy eating that has worked for me lately. I mean, no matter which diet or eating plan you choose for heart health, it won’t do a damn thing for your heart if you can’t stick with it, you know?
Last year, I wasn’t always great about eating healthy. Overall, I felt like I was doing OK, but my healthy-to-crappy food ratio went from 80/20 to more like….60/40. I was just eating too many meals out, especially on weekends, and I wasn’t eating nearly enough veggies or high-quality foods. It wasn’t a problem every day or even every week, and I still was mindful with my eating, but I wasn’t thrilled about this change. It wasn’t good for my bank account, my overall energy levels, or my heart. Meanwhile, Eric was trying to lose some weight he’d gained after we started dating and he got a new (and stressful) job, and he wasn’t happy with his progress either.
Here are the changes we slowly implemented to clean up our eating habits:
First, we made a rule that we could only eat out twice a week (one breakfast and one other meal). This was mostly to save money on eating out, and it worked really well for a while, but then we kind of fell off the wagon, mainly because we weren’t accounting for all the weekend meals with our meal planning, and leftovers weren’t going as far as we thought they would.
So then we made 7-day-a-week meal planning A Thing, which has honestly has been the best thing I’ve done for my eating habits in a long time. Because these days, when it comes to food, I don’t really want to have to think too hard about it. I realized last summer that I was happy to eat whatever was in front of me. If nothing good was in front of me, I would either eat out or eat something like ramen noodles and a scoop of peanut butter; neither option was particularly good for my heart. But now that we’ve started meal planning more carefully, we can think about it once a week and then know that something good will be there for us every day. I really don’t seek out junk food if it’s not there (and something else good is) so my eating has gotten much healthier as a result. I’m eating more veggies, trying more new recipes, and eating a bigger variety of foods.
Eric also proposed a new rule for us at the end of 2012: if we wanted to get McDonald’s breakfast (which we did probably once a week), we had to walk there. It’s not that far, but — surprise, surprise! — we haven’t had McDonald’s breakfast since. It’s not even that we don’t want to walk, it’s just that we usually wake up hungry and don’t feel like making a 15-minute walk before we can even eat.
Now that we’ve put these new techniques in place, both of us are feeling really good; I definitely feel healthier overall and Eric has said the same thing. And once you get started with one good habit, that momentum can help you make other good choices. We’re both sticking to regular workout schedules and just being more active in general, and I really feel like it started with our meal plan. Having a fully-stocked kitchen all week is a really good feeling.
How do you stick with your heart-healthy eating plan?
Don’t forget, you can head on over to the fitbook by fitlosophy facebook page today and enter a drawing to win a little red food scale from fitlosophy! And bloggers, please consider joining in BLOG YOUR HEART OUT day on Feb. 22 — more info here!
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For me, the 7-day meal plan is key to keeping up with a heart and self-healthy meal plan. I try to plan for breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, and make sure I have adequate produce, whole grains, and protein to mix and match throughout the week. It helps knowing we have a set budget and eating out isn’t really part of that plan. Last year I was more 50/50 on healthy v. not and this year (meaning, since like, November), I’ve been trying to get back to a more 80/20 plan.
Planning for a Friday treat at the office or planning what I am going to do to NOT have a Friday treat at the office and to have fruit instead is also a big one for me.
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The 7-day meal plan is key! I also make it a priority to keep our fridge well-stocked with veggies and fruit. No excuses to have a healthy snack or meal!
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For me, I think what works best is not necessarily 7 Day meal planning (because I tend to forget to thaw food or misgudge how much time I actually have) but just writing out my grocery list and sticking to it. I have a list on my phone of my staple items, and I try to choose one crock pot meal and lunch food for the week – I usually make mini-meatloafs to take to work, and bags of carrots. When I do bring a list and stick to it, I rarely buy snack or sweets. When I’m aimless, I somehow end up down those aisles. I attempt to eat more paleo-like, which makes eating out a little easier because I have a rule – stick to meat and veggies heavy dishes.
I still splurge and treat myself, but I do my best not to keep it in the house. Similar to your McDonald’s rule, if I want it, I have to leave to get it. That usually lets the craving pass.
I would lose my mind without meal planning, but I’m an over-planner. I love knowing I’ve purchased all the food for the week (usually) and that I’ve got yummy meals to look forward to every night.
We don’t have a hard and fast rule about walking for fast food, but we definitely do it from time to time. For me, knowing there’s some french fries at the midpoint of a stroll makes me all the more eager. At the moment, this line of conversation is making me a little sad because I’m not going to walk for food in the snow that’s currently pounding New England. On second thought, that’s probably a good thing.
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I have really started to plan meals for the week – usually only one thing for dinner and lunch that last’s nearly the whole week and some staples (quinoa – cook a bunch over the weekend, beans, salad stuff) for other times. One thing I’ve tried to commit to is only eating out if it’s actually a planned thing – like when we go with friends, or a date night, or if coworkers are getting lunch – rather than because we’re tired and don’t feel like cooking or because it sounds more delicious (usually more unhealthy) than what we have at home. This week has been an exception because R has been sick AND studying for her last licensure exam (tomorrow!) AND I’ve worked late more than usual. She’s been craving food from a restaurant at the end of our street and we’ve gotten it more than we usually would if it was just a regular week.
Also, having snacks for every craving helps – we make homemade popcorn for salty and crunchy cravings and we have frozen grapes, regular fruit, and dried dates for sweet cravings.
Ooh these are really good tips! The only times I really go off our plan is if I’m not feeling well…sometimes stress can have me just wanting ramen for dinner lately, or wanting something specific from a restaurant (like a sandwich from Potbelly). I also like your rule for only eating out when it’s planned in advance!
It’s funny how many of us have been on this same journey! I had to limit my eating out for financial reasons, but being busy, it’s just so easy to give in–unless I have something planned and almost ready to go at home. Plus, meal planning means I usually have the food at home and HAVE to eat it or throw it out. Spontaneous eating out doesn’t work with a fully stocked fridge.
The other thing that’s helped is getting a CSA box, which forces me to focus on planning and eat in, in order to not waste money, and it’s forced me to eat a lot more produce.
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