Boring food.

We are in a food slump in our household. We basically eat the same thing over and over and over and I am kind of tired of it. We used to use a dry erase board and plan our meals for the week. That was a good system in theory, but it has kind of fizzled out. Even when the meals were planned I feel towards the end of the dry erase boards reign- the meals started to get boring. It was a protein, a starch and veggie. Pretty boring. It was always healthy-just started to get too boring. At the time I was probably counting calories and it was easier to just eat 4 oz. of chicken, 1/2 cup starch and 1-2 cups of veggies. No sauce and nothing else fun because I was too lazy to add up the calories! Any healthy non-boring food ideas are always welcome!
Maybe next week I will dust off the board......

Don't eat after 7 PM

Have you ever heard someone say that before?? As if it's OK to stuff your face all day long, but if you stop after 7 PM the too many calories you inhaled from 7 AM until 6:59 PM don't count!

MYTH!

For the next 6 days I will highlight a long standing myth a lot of us have heard and a lot more of us have actually fallen for when it comes to dieting. I will admit that many years ago I was told not to eat anything after a certain time of day. I lasted probably 3 days!

The above myth is exactly that. A lie! It's based on the observation ( not fact) that people that struggle with their weight overeat in the evening. Your metabolism does not automatically turn off at 7:01 PM. That would be cool though. Dinner is usually over and done with before 7 PM, so the majority of us are not eating because we are truly hungry. It's done mostly because of the main triggers- boredom, loneliness and its TV watching time--mindless eating.

It's probably a better idea to ask yourself "Am I hungry?" whenever you feel like eating in the evening. If you are then EAT! Just keep in mind that your day is coming to an end and you most likely don't need another full or heavy meal to satisfy your hunger.

If you ask yourself that question and the answer is no try to consider why you feel like eating ( IE: the triggers) and do your best to come up with an alternative activity.

Some suggestions:

Go for a walk

Chew sugar-free gum

Do a cross word

Call a friend

Organize something

Let me know if you have fallen for the Don't eat after 7 PM myth.