I am amazed that at the end of the day, a 2000-calorie lifestyle is satisfying, sufficient and perfectly tasty. This coming from a man who could easily consume 3500+ calories in a day, back in the day.
There were many days—sometimes consecutive—when I would eat McDonald’s drive-thru for breakfast (2 sausage biscuits, no egg, hash brown, and a sugar-Coke), Burger King drive-thru for lunch (bacon double cheeseburger, large fries, sugar-Coke) and Taco Bell—drive thru, of course—for dinner (6-pack of crunchy tacos, a Mexi-melt and a sugar-Pepsi). Seriously. And I won't mention the DQ drive-thru!
But those days are history for me—52 pounds ago—and I haven’t tasted fast food in months. The closest I come to FF is Chipotle’s barbacoa bowl with extra lettuce, half-the-rice, pinto beans and cheese. And extra hot salsa. We’re talking fancy taco salad with 525 calories. It’s not petite, but it’s better than a 980-calorie cheeseburger, without fries! And it has healthy beans, lettuce, beef and a touch of cayenne-heat to stoke the metabolism up.
A more typical day consists of a breakfast stir-fry of sliced sausage link (Andouille is my favorite), low-cholesterol egg beaters (1/2 cup = 2 eggs), a handful of chopped up arugula lettuce, a sprinkle of cheese and salsa or pico de gallo. And I try to have this AFTER my morning run on the treadmill—research shows that you jump right into fat-burning mode when you exercise on an empty stomach.
A banana with low-fat yogurt makes for a great mid-morning snack. For lunch I'll have a LARGE salad with chopped-up meat—chicken Caesar salad is good with low-fat dressing and a squeeze of lemon juice. I’ve also had a salad with Indian-spiced chicken. And almonds!
One vital ingredient for salads for this former-burger-muncher: Quinoa. Pronounced KEEN-wah, this tiny grain-like seed boils up like rice with lots of flavor—and lots of protein and fiber, unlike rice. It has a nutty, earthy flavor and adds a whole new level of flavor to the salad. And lots of protein and fiber!
Dinner at home can be BIG. Curried chicken on quinoa and turmeric-fennel cabbage. Steak, salad and steamed veggies with a slice of homemade (bread machine) whole wheat bread. On the nights that I work, I usually take a meat-infused salad, yogurt and lots of fruit to lure me away from the snack machine int he break room.
Looking at my food diary, the last few days have ranged from 1918 to 2104 calories. I’m sure that’s a conservative number—I tend to look askance when I measure (or don’t measure) my portions. I usually mentally add 10% to my calorie count. But I know for certain I am well under 3500 calories. And most if not all of my menu is healthy and balanced (I tried the low-carb route once upon a time and it worked – until I grew sick of it and went back to eating like a human! I'm reserving that plan for when I hit my "last 10-pound plateau").
If anything, I could probably cut down on fruits and up the veggies and fiber intake. But I’m not in a race to lose this weight. I have given myself until October 1 to reach goal weight AND change my eating habits. I’m well on my way to both goals with 35-ish pounds left to go and a newfound love of healthy eating. And quinoa. And occasional “bad days”. But no Fast Food!
