Article: Eating Cereal for Healthy Weight Loss and Control
by Roslyn Franken
 When
people think of preparing healthy meals, they often think that it’s just too much
work. Instead, they opt for the fast, easy and convenient options that line the
supermarket shelves or what is already in stock in their freezers or pantries.
They’re often too tired or too lazy at the end of the day to even think of cooking
from scratch. Does any of what I just described ring true for you?
The truth is that there are so many more choices of
prepackaged meals available than there were years ago. Many people think that why would
anyone want to prepare a meal from scratch when you can just throw something in the
microwave or oven and not have to do all that work? Or, better yet, why not just eat out
or order in? That’s even easier and hey, you can save time and energy on washing
dishes too by eating right out of the cardboard box. How about that?
Well, as easy as that may sound, especially when
you’re overtired, many of the people who make this part of their regular eating
habits may also be the same ones struggling with their weight and experiencing more weight
related health issues. This is because of all the excess saturated fats, sodium, sugar and
calories found in most of thee store bought, processed and fast foods. It’s certainly
an understandable option because preparing a meal from scratch does require some time,
planning and effort and after a challenging day, it is certainly tempting to just take the
easy way out. However, if you’re unhappy with your weight and lifestyle, and your
eating habits are not supporting good health and how you feel about yourself, then this
article will help you gain some new insights and help you see what you can do to start
shifting your attitudes toward healthy meal preparation.
I want to start by saying that people who plan and prepare
healthy meals on a regular basis do not have any more hours in a day than those of you who
don’t. So the excuse that there just isn’t enough time will not cut it. It
really comes down to how you choose to spend the time you DO have WHEN you have it.
It’s about deciding what your priorities are and then making the time for what is
truly important and meaningful to you. Preparing healthy meals doesn’t have to be
overly difficult and have you slaving in the kitchen for hours every night, if you simply
get better organized for it and learn to plan better. Here are some tips.
Let’s start with making healthy dinners fast, tasty
and easy. That is the meal most people struggle with because it is the last meal of the
day when you may have little energy to get started in the kitchen. Here are some hints for
healthy, fast and tasty dinners:
1. f you’re really in a hurry, avoid turning to fast
food, ordering in or popping a store-bought frozen dinner into the microwave. Remember,
these choices are typically way too high in calories, fat, sodium, sugar, chemicals and
preservatives. Instead, take a quick trip to the supermarket and pick up the following:
- A hot fresh rotisserie chicken. These chickens are low in
fat, pre-seasoned and it’s hot and ready to go so all you have to do is bring it home
and serve. Just be sure to remove the skin as the skin contains too much unhealthy fat and
calories.
- Salad greens and pre-cut vegetables that you can quickly
toss into a salad.
- Frozen vegetables that you can quickly steam.
- Couscous that takes only 5 minutes to cook.
2. When you’re in less of a hurry and have more
energy, especially over a weekend, take a few hours and prepare a series of healthy
recipes that are highly nutritious, tasty and low in calories so you can enjoy your food
and feel satisfied without the guilt. Find recipes in books or on the internet that use
lean meats, poultry or fish and lots of legumes, whole grains and vegetables. Then store
them in meal size containers, label them and put them in the freezer so that you have a
series of healthy meals that you can easily and quickly heat up when you don’t have
time or energy to cook during the week. You can take them out of the freezer the day
before and even bring leftovers for lunch the next day so it also makes your lunch meals
fast and easy.
The bottom line is that you need to become your own
Personal Chef. You need to take responsibility for your own healthy meal preparation. You
need to look at creative ways that you can cut down on the preparation time by being more
strategic in your planning and organizing and maximizing your trips to the supermarket.
Do what it takes to plan and prepare your healthy meals. It
will be so worth your time and effort. You will feel so much better and by eating better,
which means eating less pre-packaged store bought foods and fast foods, you will also have
more energy. When you feel better and have more energy, this will in turn give you more
energy to keep up this healthy habit. When you eat better and feel better you’ll also
be more motivated to tackle other areas in your life where you could be improving your
healthy lifestyle habits.
Roslyn
Franken is a proud cancer survivor who has also overcome her battles with food, weight and
healthy lifestyle obstacles. She provides Motivational Speaking and Weight Loss Coaching
programs to teach and promote the principles in her ground breaking book, The A List: 9
Guiding Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living. For more information and to
join Roslyn's mailing list for healthy tips, recipes and special anouncements, visit RoslynFranken.com
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complete statement with it:
Roslyn
Franken is author of The A List: 9 Guiding
Principles for Healthy Eating and Positive Living. She is a Weight Loss Coach and
Motivational Speaker on positive living solutions for positive results for greater health,
success and quality of life. She hosts How to
Thrive After 35 Internet Talk Radio and is co-author of Death Can Wait: Stories from Cancer Survivors.
Diagnosed
with cancer at age 29, Franken fought back to become a long-term cancer survivor. Then at
age 39, at her heaviest weight ever, and concerned for her health, she decided to fight
back once again, only this time to overcome her battles with food and weight once and for
all.
Roslyn
owns Roslyn Franken Group, committed to helping people lighten up their lives one bite at
a time by reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, balanced lifestyle, and positive
outlook.
For
more information, visit www.roslynfranken.com
or view her video at http://www.roslynfranken.com/highlights.wmv
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