That’s the big question. What the hell is consciously eating?
It’s not a quick answer.
In mid 2008, we really started to pay attention to what we were eating. We’re both over weight and we know it’s because we were eating too much of too much crap. We weren’t eating right. We weren’t getting enough fruits and vegetables. We were drinking too many sodas. Our protein portions were huge.
We decided we needed to go on a diet and we had to do it together. We didn’t like the word diet, though, so we decided to call it “consciously not eating shit”. I gave up most fried food and sodas. I allowed myself four exceptions: corn chips with salsa and queso (you can’t eat at Mexican restaurants and not eat chips and salsa and queso), fried pickles (I love them!) and tempura.
We also decided to cut out as much high fructose corn sryup as possible. I don’t care what those stupid commercials tell you. High fructose corn sryup is not natural and it’s not good for you. Yes, corn is one of the ingredients, but so are a number of chemicals that we were not meant to eat. And their claim that it’s okay in moderation? There is no such thing as moderation. We were surprised to learn how many foods it’s in the first time we went grocery shopping and started reading labels. Did you know it’s even in most common breads? We challenge you to read the labels on the foods you eat the most of and see how many of them contain high fructose corn syrup.
The quest to cut out high fructose corn syrup led us to organics. The great thing about organic eating is that if it’s certifed organic, there is no high fructose corn sryup. None. Nada. Zero. Zilch. It’s great. If it says organic, I know that I don’t have to read the label in search of those dreaded words.
That’s not the only reason we started eating organic, but that’s a big one. We also started eating organic meats. Seems a little weird to say organic meat, but that means that the animal was raised on a vegetarian diet and raised in open spaces instead of crammed into pens for their brief lives. The animals also are not pumped full of hormones and antibiotics. Healthier animals don’t require such things and healthier animals mean healthier meats.
Yes, eating organic is a little more expensive. When we first started, we were spending ridiculous amounts of money on our groceries, but it doesn’t have to be that way.
Cutting the grocery bill kind of led us into the next step. We started cutting down our protein portions and eating more veggies and fruits. Now our basket is filled with fresh fruits and vegetables and we only buy the meat that we need. For a chicken dinner, instead of buying a package of chicken breasts, we buy a half of a chicken breast, since that’s enough for both of us. If we’re going to eat steak, we buy one steak and share it. We eat at least two vegetables with every dinner to make up for the smaller meat portions.
We’re still snacking, but it’s not twinkies and ice cream. It’s baked crackers, fruit, pita chips, nuts and other things that aren’t filled with sugar, high fructose corn sryup and crap.
The results? We feel better and we’re losing weight. Neither one of us has started a serious exercise plan yet, but that’s the next step.
Does that mean we don’t eat out? Heck no! We still eat out every weekend, and we still have our cheater days when we consciously eat crap instead of consciously not eat crap. You have to cheat otherwise you set yourself up for disaster and binge eating.
This blog is dedicated to consciously eating, whether is crap or not crap. We’re thinking about the food that we put into our bodies and we challenge you to do the same. If you see something you like and we don’t post the recipe or a link to the recipe, drop us a line or leave us a comment and we’ll get you the recipe.