I’ve had several questions from different people asking me what I eat. (I appreciate the questions!) Well, I eat regular food. And, I still love food, even after having lost all the weight. So, for those of you who are interested in what maintenance looks like for me, here’s some of the things I ate this week.
For
Breakfast:
I admit I’m not the best breakfast eater in the world. Some weeks I’ll have oatmeal, dry cereal, or make pancakes for the kids, and other weeks I don’t eat breakfast until 10:00 or so. I think for me, listening to my body became really important while I was losing the weight, and I still try and do that. I know research shows otherwise, but it works for me. That being said, here’s what I ate for breakfast this past week (even if it wasn’t exactly at 8:00 a.m.)
- 2 pieces of whole wheat bread with less than 1 T natural peanut butter – I ate this three times, orange juice
- Frosted Mini Wheats (measured out the proper amount), juice
- Yogurt and a banana
- Pancakes (I ate two. No syrup because I don’t like it. So, I had a tablespoon of jam.)
For Lunch:
Okay, lunch is usually at 12:00 in our house. With this many kids, we do live with some structure or else we’d all go crazy! I love lunch, and it’s usually my biggest meal calorie wise. I find that if I eat a bigger lunch, then I’m not as hungry during the witching hours of 3:00 – 5:00.
- 1 whole wheat quesadilla with vegetarian refried beans & salsa, fruit, yogurt, baked chips and 1/2 of a homemade chocolate chip cookie
- Egg salad sandwich on whole wheat bread, made with just enough light mayo to hold it together. (Literally less than 1 teaspoon). I think I had chips, fruit, yogurt and a half a string cheese
- Leftover homemade pizza slice. Pizza was made using the crust recipe on the site, topped with sauce, a little bit of cheese, lots of peppers, tomatoes and mushrooms – YUM!
- Leftover chicken parisienne. This is another low fat recipe that I love a lot. I added some fruit and a salad to it, and it was delicious!
- Bean dip with homemade tortilla chips. (Don’t be impressed, I just cut flour tortillas into wedges, spritz them with spray, sprinkle them with garlic powder and put them in the oven for a few minutes. I had fruit and cheese with this.
- I had other things, but that’s all I can remember right now!
For Dinner:
I do enjoy cooking full meals for the family. When I eat dinner, this is probably my smallest meal of the day calorie wise. I load my plate up with salad, and veggies, and just have a little bit of the main course.
•Chicken Parisienne, rolls, salad, fresh green beans, watermelon- •3 bean & corn dip (same as lunch), watermelon, salsa, and brown rice
- •Homemade Pizza (like lunch)
- •Penne Marinara, whole wheat french bread, great salad, zucchini
- Grits, Omelets and Toast – we have this a lot when John is working late. Since I don’t usually cook breakfast, it’s nice to have it in the evening sometimes
- Chicken Paprika – another easy, low fat dish that my whole family loves. I served this with mixed veggies, sliced cucumbers & carrots and noodles.
I’m drawing a blank on the last thing we had this week. – I’m sure it was really good though!
For Snacks:
Here’s what I love about weight maintenance. I’ve learned how much of things I can eat without gaining weight, so I still enjoy food, and love to snack. When I was in process of losing weight, I would literally eat 5 or 6 times a day, and that worked for me! Here are some typical snacks for me throughout the week. Remember – I don’t eat all of these every day. In the past – yes. Now – no.
- popcorn
- baked chips
- cheese sticks
- graham crackers (chocolate of course)
- carrot sticks dipped in salsa
- yogurt
- fruit (apples, watermelon, banana or grapes)
- apple cinnamon rice cakes
- granola bars
- pretzel sticks
I hope that gives you an idea of what maintenance food looks like for me. Like most of you who share with me their weight loss programs, I lost weight eating real food. And because I did it that way, it certainly made the transition to maintenance much easier. Are there any favorite meals, tricks or tips that you’d like to share? I’d love to hear them! Have a great Sunday. Diane P.S. – Thanks Angie for letting me know I hadn’t linked in the pizza crust recipe - I just did!
This is so interesting. It looks like you eat whatever you want to. I can’t wait to get there!
I’m always fascinated to see what other people eat…
.-= Hanlie´s last blog ..A frightfully long meme =-.
@ Becca – I really do eat what I want, but a lot of the things I want are different than they used to be!
@ Hanlie – Thanks for the comment. My eating isn’t as green as yours, but maybe someday I’ll get there!
Diane, thanks for sharing. It is helpful to see how someone who is in long-term maintenance handles day-to-day eating.
.-= South Beach Steve´s last blog ..Week Fifty-Nine Weigh-In, Measurements, and Goals =-.
This looks so doable and delish that’s it’s really inspiring! When I get home, I want to check out your recipes–especially that pizza crust!
.-= 45andaspring´s last blog ..Day 21: San Francisco =-.
@ Steve – I think what to eat in maintenance isn’t talked about very much. Thanks for coming by!
@ 45 – I hope you do try the pizza crust recipe. Once I learned how to make it, we never order take out!
I LOVE that you are showing people they can lose & maintain weight on real food!!!! A variety as well! Great example for others.
Like you, I love that I have learned to make food choices so that I still have room for my healthier treats! I like crunch so I have had flavored rice cakes in the past, air popped popcorn & now I am on to my organic animal cookies and/or graham crackers. I just portion them out, put the rest back & only take my portion to eat.
I lost my weight the wrong way when I was young & stupid & not as much health info out there but I finally learned how you can actually eat more than you think you can & be satisfied by eating healthy be seasoned & good foods like you have shown above Diane! THX!
thanks for the info– it is refreshing to see that you eat whole, real food. i love cooking for my family as well, especially because i don’t trust most restaurants to have my best interests at heart!
i tried to find your pizza crust recipe, but when i clicked on it, it said it was not available– can you re-post it when you get a chance? thanks!
and thanks again for the inspiration. you are awesome.
@ Jody – I like animal crackers too! That’s a great idea to portion them out so that you don’t eat too many at one time. I do that too!
@ angie – I don’t trust restaurants either, especially since I used to work in a fast food restaurant while I was in college. Yuck. Thank you for the supportive comments!
I love that you shared this. I think having a glimpse into maintenance is very encouraging and informative. I’ve always thought maintenance would be the hardest part. It makes it a little less daunting to see it in action!
.-= Jo´s last blog ..Be Prepared =-.
Never tried carrot sticks with salsa. I’m heading off the try it right now…
.-= Jack Sh*t, Gettin’ Fit´s last blog ..Thinking Small =-.
@ Jo – Maintenance has actually been easier for me than losing weight. I tried for 10 years to lose, but couldn’t seem to get it together.
@ Jack – I hadn’t either, until a lady in my weight loss class swore by them. They are pretty good!
I love your food, too. Frosted Mini Wheats are one of my favorite snacks right out of the box!
I am the same as you that the foods that I want to eat now are different than what they used to be. I guess tastes can change after all!
Thanks for the post.
.-= Lori´s last blog ..What’s blooming today and Sunday eats! =-.
Very interesting and very doable. Thanks for sharing.
.-= Leah´s last blog ..Back-To-School Challenge – Week 1 =-.
This was so interesting, and I am very happy to see you lost weight eating 5-6 times a day as that is what I am currently doing
.-= A Girl Running´s last blog ..TIME TO GO =-.