Slimming Down: A Personal Journey

Slimming Down is Always the Goal

Embarking on a journey towards healthier living often begins with a desire to slim down and reclaim vitality. In the hustle and bustle of daily life, it’s easy to stray from our wellness goals, whether due to busy schedules, tempting convenience foods, or simply the allure of indulgence. However, amidst the chaos, the path to wellness beckons, urging us to take charge of our health and make conscious choices. In this blog, we delve into our own experiences of slimming down, exploring the twists and turns of our journey towards improved well-being. Join us as we navigate the realms of real food, portion control, and culinary exploration, all in pursuit of a healthier, happier lifestyle.

First, I want to apologize for the lack of blogging lately. I want to blame it on the fact that I’ve been cooking more. I really have, and our shrinking waistlines are the proof of that. However, that really isn’t the reason. I want to blame our more active lifestyle, especially since I consider Tiger Woods for the Wii to be active. I could blame the start of school, but while I work hard, I don’t work nearly that hard. No, the lack of posts lately has been due to just good ole laziness. Not that laziness is such a bad thing.

However, this blog hasn’t totally left my mind. It just left my to-do list. In the absence of writing, I’ve been wondering what to write about. This blog actually started as one in which I learned how to cook. It then grew to more of a food blog, then a travel blog, and finally evolved into NolaNerdCouple.com. Getting our health back under control has been the thing we like to do the most lately.

We have both lost a good deal of weight since the honeymoon. Of course, people are asking what diet we are on. We aren’t dieting. We are following Michael Pollan’s advice in The Defense of Food: Eat food. Less of it. Mostly Plants.

Eat food. Less of it. Mostly Plants.

Eating less and mostly fruits and vegetables are the parts of that philosophy that are easy to understand. However, most people I talk to about this don’t really understand the “Eat food” part. Process food is still food, and for some people, it is the most affordable option. What Pollan means here, and not something I always agree with, but I see the logic behind, is to avoid processed foods. We try to shop only at farmers’ markets, side-of-the-road vegetable stands, and the walls of the supermarket. We read the ingredients. Now, this causes them to eat things that most dieters would never dream of eating. If I’m making an almandine sauce, I’m going to use butter. It’s really full of fat butter. I don’t make it that often. You won’t find margarine or something that is “not butter” (whatever in the world that is) in our fridge.

We do make some exceptions. If you don’t have some fun while slimming down   We have limited freezer space, so I usually buy some things already made, such as tomato sauce.  Also, we buy dried pasta.  Of course, we buy whole-grain pasta.  We try not to eat canned vegetables, yet we make an exception for beans since beans take so long to cook.  However, we aren’t perfect. Processed mac and cheese is a guilty pleasure for both of us.  And we aren’t apologizing for it.

As for eating less, we measure itwingh almost everything. If I can, I do this right when we get home and then freeze it. If buy meat for a pasta, I weigh the meat and freeze them as two serving sizes so we avoid the temptation to get seconds. We do the same thing with the pasta itself; we only cook the serving size using our scale one of our most used kitchen appliances. We also load it up with onions, celery, olives, mushrooms and other vegetables to make it have more volume and satisfy our hunger.  Also, I can make this happen in the time it takes me to get to Wendy’s and back and in much less time than it takes for a pizza to be delivered.

As for eating plants, it’s not hard to find beans, nuts, fruits, and vegetables that we like. Also, it’s not hard to hide vegetables. We both got the idea of putting spinach and other greens in our smoothies from two different sources. Also, there is a certain amount of fun in going to the farmers market, buying a vegetable you have never eaten before, searching for a recipe, and hoping it is good. In fact, we treat it like an adventure. In fact, when you treat slimming down as adventure, you are more often going to stick to it.

TL/DR Tips

• Prioritize Real, Whole Foods: Opt for fresh, natural ingredients sourced from farmers’ markets or the perimeter of the supermarket. By focusing on real food and avoiding processed alternatives, you can enhance the nutritional value of your meals and support your overall health.
• Practice Portion Control: Incorporate portion control techniques into your meal preparation to manage your calorie intake effectively. Use a food scale to measure and weigh ingredients, and consider freezing pre-portioned servings to avoid overeating. By controlling portion sizes, you can maintain a healthy balance and prevent unnecessary calorie consumption.
• Embrace Culinary Exploration: Explore new ingredients and recipes to keep your meals exciting and enjoyable. Visit farmers’ markets to discover unique vegetables and fruits and experiment with different cooking methods and flavor combinations. By treating cooking as an adventure, you can expand your culinary horizons and find joy in the process of creating delicious, wholesome meals.

What has worked for you on your journey? What advice would you give us?