day 10: why brain, why?

I touched briefly on substitutions in restaurants...you know, the typical substitute, a veggie or side salad for your starch. Alright, alright, I touched microscopically on substitutions in restaurants. It seems like everybody would most likely know that you can substitute a veggie for a starch, but it’s all about thinking of it! If you have easy tips in the back of your head, maybe they'll start popping up more and more.

I know that when I had felt especially down on myself because of my weight issues; maybe it was an unsuccessful trip to the mall or a belly full of fast food, I would seriously think about food constantly. I would think about how much I hated food, I would think about all of the things I was never going to eat again; it consumed me. But the moment I had food in front of me, as soon as I was eating delightfully awful food, every single thought that I had about food; all of the constant thoughts that would run through my head every second of the day...gone; gone as if they had never existed. That is a very difficult fight to fight with yourself. I cannot pinpoint the exact moment of change or why it happened (yet!), but writing about it in the past tense is SUPER AMAZING!

So in an attempt to brainwash you and completely change your way of thinking…Here are just a couple really easy, delicious substitutions:

Starbucks
I know so many people that say they will never give up their coffee, that’s perfectly fine, just change it up a little bit so that it works for you.
Watching your carbs?
Try a tall iced coffee with cream and sugar free vanilla. If you want something extra sweet, ask for whip cream. If you just can’t give up that latte, ask for a breve.
Watching your calories?
Go for a tall Americano with a splash of cream and sweet n low.

Breakfast
Go ahead and go for the omelet, but I would sub out the hash browns for cottage cheese and tomato slices, or fruit. It’s OK to say no toast! When it’s not in front of you…you can’t eat it. Right?

McDonald’s
I hope by now you know how I feel about fast food. Yuck! It’s just not good for you, but I know, being a mother of a 9 year old, sometimes it’s just easy.
Watching your carbs?
You can order hamburgers and chicken (not breaded) burgers with no bun. Shoot, you can even order a sausage McMuffin with no McMuffin. Say it just like that too, they love that. The salads are a good option, but try and skip the croutons or breaded chicken.
Watching your calories?
I would do a grilled chicken burger with no bun, maybe extra tomatoes. Skip the fries and go for the apple wedges.

So this is the tip of the iceberg as far as substitutions go, but it’s a start.

If your brain shuts down when food is in front of you like mine did, I say to you, “You are getting sleepy...Very sleepy...You will remember these tips when ordering food and when your food comes, your brain won't even know what hit it. You will eat your food and feel happy and satisfied!"