A year ago our daughter posted a picture of me on Facebook. I was shocked by how overweight I had become. My back was giving me so much trouble that I had made an appointment with a neck and spine specialist. When I showed my wife the picture, the only thing she noticed was her picture. We immediately began examining our eating habits and started making changes. We have both dropped weight, blood pressure is lower, and I am no longer contemplating surgery on my back. Almost 50 pounds later and the pain is non existent most days. How did we do it?
One of our challenges is our work schedule. We both work 2nd shift and don’t get home until nearly midnight. You just don’t sleep as well on an off shift as when you work days, so we are usually pretty tired when we get home. And it was just too easy to hit the vending machines at work and the fast food joints after work. Steps we took:
- No more vending machine lunches!!!!
- Fast food cut down from 3 or 4 times a week to twice a month
- No buffet restaurants
- Less eating out in general (this went hand in hand with paying down debt)
- Healthier eating – lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grain carbs in small amounts
We take a salad with grilled chicken for dinner at work with a snack of 14 almonds or fruit. No more sodas, either black coffee, unsweetened tear, or water. At home we eat mostly chicken and salmon. We eat red meat or pork once or twice a month (good for both of us because of our diverticulitis), and switch out shrimp, tuna steaks, or halibut for the salmon at least once a month. Boring? Time consuming? Not if you use a few basic seasonings and some creativity. Eating healthy can be delicious and quick. Enjoy the recipes we share, and don’t be afraid to experiment.
Bob and Deb
We are Bob and Deb, a slightly past middle aged couple turned