I know the first question in your head must be where have I been? Why has there such a lag time in blog posts? My apologies dear readers, but life happened, in a good way. A few weeks ago I graduated from Pharmacy school. Graduation, the weeklong celebration, and the out of town well wishers have come and gone. My life is returning to some sort of normalcy. My next major hurdle is preparing for my board exams. In the midst of all that hoopla, I also turned 30! For me age is really nothing but a number, I did nothing to really celebrate, as a matter of fact I actually went into work that day. The only major change I noted was a re-strengthening of my mental resolve to be more aware of what I put in my body.
One of the biggest lessons I learned in pharmacy school is that there are many major chronic conditions that are killing us today. Top among them are high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and diabetes. All these can easily be prevented by two things, proper eating and exercise. Along my weight loss journey I have picked up a few pointers on substitutions that I chose to implement in my eating habits. I am for one eating healthy, but also having great flavor in my foods. Here are a few tips you can use as you adopt a healthier lifestyle:
- Cooking with less oil. While on the HCG diet I was not allowed to use oil. Not in my lotions, my soap, and definitely not in my foods. I went online for recipes that either involved roasting, broiling, or baking my foods. In the process I discovered that a lot of the foods I ate had their oils within them, especially lean meats.
- Stop drinking sugary drinks. We are bombarded with advertisements for sugar packed drinks. Be it soda, energy drinks, and even my favorite, frappuccinos. Instead I drink more water. I have bottled water available in my fridge for when I’m on the go, I order water with my entrée at a restaurant, I drink a lot more tea and sweeten it with 1 or 2 packs of stevia instead. I also make my own fresh fruit smoothies at home. Once a month I allow myself a treat of a frappuccino.
- Quinoa is an awesome super food that has replaced the rice on my plate. Now wait, this is HUGEEEE!!! I come from a Haitian background; rice is a STAPLE of all our meals. Quinoa however is a much healthier alternative that can be cooked the same way as rice, but packs whole lot less carbs and more protein per spoonful.
These are a just a few substitutions I continue implement in my journey to a healthier me. I say journey because even after I reach my goal, I cannot and will not go back to the way I was eating before. I do have more progress to report. I am now down to a size 16, just two dress sizes away from my ultimate goal. I did not set a given weight as my goal; I just wanted to be a size healthier. For me that is a 12, which once I make it there, I will be half my original dress size. As always I like to chronicle my progress in photos, so I hope you are doing the same. Below is one of my most recent photos. How are you doing? I cannot wait to hear of your awesome progress in your journey to a healthier you.
Yours In Health,
Dr. Cynthia Jean, Pharm.D.