“I’m hungry” is something that I used to say constantly being on a diet but I recently found out that being on a diet doesn’t mean I have to go hungry or stop eating my favorite foods. I just have to eat the right portions and combinations of foods (i.e. fresh fruits and vegetables).
My brother got married on July 21, 2012 and I was one of nine bridesmaids. I ordered my dress a size too small so that I would have to lose some weight in order to fit into it. I obtained a personal trainer to help whip me into shape before the big day. She had me counting calories and working out five times, sometimes, six times a week. My caloric intake was 1200/day. What a bummer! I would have around 240 calories for breakfast and then 3 hours later a snack worth about 175 calories. That’s 415 and I haven’t even made it to lunch, which was the big bite for me. Lunch would normally take up around 400-450 calories, depending on what I had. That only left me with around 335-385 calories left and I still had two snacks and dinner to cover. I could no longer eat my favorite foods, lasagna in particular. I had a long list of “can’t have this, can’t have that”.
A co-worker overheard me talking about my calorie counting and had some great suggestions for me. One hundred calorie snacks are something that was pretty satisfying. She also brought some Hungry Girl cookbooks for me to look at. Hungry Girl cookbooks! I wondered if she’d ever heard me say “I’m hungry”. What a coincidence! The books were very helpful. There was a list of ingredients that I could pick up at the grocery store to make most of the recipes in the book. I found a yummy looking recipe for some lasagna cupcakes that were less than 200 calories each. Yes, lasagna cupcakes! You would have thought I won the lottery. I was so excited that I went right out to the store, immediately, and bought the ingredients to make some that night. Let me tell you, those lasagna cupcakes were to die for.
The recipes in the Hungry Girl cook books are low in calories, delicious, satisfying and simple to prepare. Being on a diet doesn’t mean that you have to give up your favorite foods or go hungry. It’s all about making healthier choices. Instead of using ground beef in a recipe, try ground turkey. I found that the Italian ground turkey worked really well with the lasagna cupcakes. Have healthy snacks in between meals to keep you from feeling hungry and drink plenty of water.
Well, I did it! I lost a total of 14 pounds and the dress fit perfect.
About LaTausha: I’ve worked at PRIER Products for four years and have held several positions during this time. I have four children and four grandchildren. I love spending time with my family on weekends and holidays. I love food so I watch a lot of cooking shows and I am always trying something new with recipes. I love to go fishing with my youngest son and he is really good at it. He was catching fish the first day we got our license. Not me! It took me two months before I finally pulled this little guy out of the water. Before that I was just feeding them. I was excited and disappointed at the same time. He was the first fish I caught and he had to go back. If anyone has any suggestions on how I can increase my number of catches, please feel free to comment with your suggestions.
