How do you do it

How do you stay on track and workout and eat healthy?

Let me give you a breif story of myself. I was always into sports played football, basketball and baseball all the time while in school and in good shape. Now I landed a good job in the computer field and with lack of exercise, working alot, eating fast food and the wrong things I gained some. People tell me I look better with some "meat" on my bones but I am not happy with the way I look. I tried to start working out and eating better starting this monday and sure enough tuesday night i find myself ordering out and getting a chicken cheese steak with fries just because it a easy meal.

What do you do to keep yourself on track? What plans are good ones to follow never in my life would I think i be at this point of struggling to eat healthy.

Help before I am not able to get in my car!

I find it helps to actually like to cook instead of looking at it as a chore. You might also spend Sunday night doing all your cooking for the week if you don't like to cook. Then you can just microwave your meal during the week, and isn't that easier than ordering out and waiting forever for the food to get there?

Well my best weapon is planning ahead.  I have put Sunday's aside to cook or atleast plan for my food throughout the week.   I grocery shop with my sister in law andmake sure not just to purchase the regular meal foods but Plenty of good snacks... I work at a desk too and the worst is sitting there waiting for somethign to load or whatever and you look for munchies... I bring a smaill container of Planter's Nut-Rition mixes and usually a small apple and an orange that I pre peel at home and carry ina bag (for somereason havign to peel it when I actually am hungry seems too hard and causes me to look for soemthing else often taking more time and effort than just peeling the stupid orange.) I will also air pop pop corn and keep it in a paper bag.  I have a need to crunch things a lot. I always pack a lunch (usually select harvest soupbecause it is easy)soup and sandwich is easiest and if you break up your lunch break and have half early and half later that keeps food goign into you stomach throughout the day and so less hunger pangs.  I also make sure I save one of my favorites daily snack for the ride home or as I am leaving (its usually the popcorn:)) so I am not tempted to go to the drive through just because I am in the car and even though I know It will be time for dinner when I get home. Some nights I end up working late and don't know I will have to on my way in.  So I have an extra can of soup in my drawer at my desk at all times and I have a delivery sheet from a great healthy place called the pita pit.  I have it filled out to the healthiest meal off the menu so all I have to do is fax it if I get into an emergency situation.(delivery always makes me feel like I am cheating even if it is healthy food:))  also those mini boxes of cereal are good  (cherrios or what ever)  as far as working out.  I plan 3 times a day to workout for atleast 20 min each.  If I hit all three I will get a full hour 7 days a week if I get one in I atleast did something.  (most weekdays I only get one 20 min work out in) but then the weekend I make an hour long workout plan and also try to get my friends to meet me at places that involve movement and not just drinking at the bar ... usually Bowling but golfing (no cart) andbaseball when it is warm.  Bowling alley is perfect in the winter during the footballs eason because you can be doing something and still watch the game(atleast at my alley) and they serve alcohol in the bar for my friends that need that to feel like we are having fun.everybody wins.  So thats what I have got.  hope it helps .  good luck

I have to agree with the previous posters....you have to plan ahead! I do most of my meal planning /cooking on Sunday night, too. I have a job that puts me on the road a lot. One of the biggest problems I face is hunger with no good options. So, being faced with the choice of fast food or hunger pangs, I have learned to pack lots of small snacks that I can eat while driving (cheese sticks (fat free), fruit, baggies of turkey or roast beef, box of raisins). It works out pretty good. In the instance I forget-I can stop at a supermarket and pick up 3 oz. of lean meat at the deli. Sounds a little weird but it keeps me away from the chicken cheese steak.

Your will is your key to success. How bad do you really want to change? Each time you are faced with adversity, think about this before you make a move. The food choices can become easy ones after a while. It's the exercise piece that trips me up sometimes....Good luck!

I love all the feedback and I am going to start to prepair myself on sundays for the week. Can someone take me threw one of your weekly meal plans. Like what you made each day and what not. i seriously dont even know where to start.

Well, I eat VERY healthy (focusing on body building, so it's lean proteins, steamed vegetables, oatmeal, sweet potato, natural no-salt-added peanut butter, egg whites, and that's pretty much it) so once or twice a week I cook up a batch of chicken breasts in the oven or on the grill, or maybe salmon or lean pork chops or steak, and bake a pile of small sweet potatoes. Then, during the week, each time I want a meal, I can either fix a salad to go with the potato and protein, or I buy the steam-fresh baggies of frozen vegetables and in five minutes I have fresh-steamed broccoli or veggie medleys or whatever.

I do my eggs and oatmeal in the microwave in the morning, and for lunch I eat similar to what I have for dinner. Snacks are protein shakes or fruit or healthy bread with peanut-butter. I measure out proper portions as much as I can in advance so I don't screw it up later. Good luck!

Unlike all the saints who posted above, I like to eat. I love natural foods, and I also love fat. Fois gras, marrow bones, cheesesteaks, pizza... yum! Unfortunately fat is calorie dense & I can easily outdo my measily bmr of 1550, especially when I add my love of champagne to the mix.

My love of food keeps me exercising. When I slack off exercising (which I always do), I gain some weight & that gives me motivation to exercise again. Exercise = fit = eat more of whatever I want & still feel great = happy.

at this time of year, i make a batch of soup for the week (for my suppers).  split pea, veggies with beans in it, or one with diced up chicken are good and very filling and lean.

for lunch i tend to make myself a bean salad of sorts (with quinoa and veggies and lots of spices/garlic).  or whole grain pasta and spaghetti sauce.  sometimes i do sandwiches with lean proteins and veggies.  i always bring a fat-free yogurt (liberty organic is my fave), some cut up veggies (which i prepare the night before if it's soemthing like cucumber; if it's celery i do the whole stalk and put it to soak in water, which also helps to take away some of the sharp taste), an apple.  i also have a food drawer filled with canned bean salad, low fat granola bars, and teas.

i also buy my lunch 3-4 times a month, usually sushi (love it!), sometimes fancier, but i need those little things...  i do go out for dinner and i do splurge, but when i eat something decadent in a restaurant i always doggie-bag part of it: makes you eat less cals PLUS you get to have the decadence on another day, so you stretch out the pleasure.  yum!

good luck!

I slip every now and then, which sucks because the euphoric feeling of eating good stuff will wear off really quickly! I will bash myself up mentally, feel dumb, then go back to exercising and eating right again. I am still practising self-control!

I don't want to sound like a sales person, but I really like Tom Venuto's Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle, he lays out what you need to do and how to burn fat while keeping your musclulature in easy to understand terms, and unlike some other books, he does not say you need to buy product x or suppliment y (eg Body For Life's pitching of Myoplex nutrition shakes).  Healthy food, and the only "suppliments" he recomends really is fish oil and a multivitamin.

Meals are pretty easy to figure out.  Take some lean protein with a fibrous carb and a starchy carb.  So for example:

Small lean steak with say some asparagus and a baked potato (don't smother it in butter or sour cream!)

Small chicken breast with some broccoli and some brown rice

Egg beaters omlette with a little cheese and some mushrooms, etc with a small bowl of oatmeal

And don't worry about 1 or 2 meals a week, so called "cheat" meals where you have whatever you want, like chicken cheese steak.  Eating over your daily calories won't kill your diet as long as it's not every day, and can actually help keep your metabolism running higher.

I have the same problem....then someone suggested the planning ahead...and here's what I do!

On Fri or Sat, I usually end up in the kitchen cooking dinner anyway. Instead of cooking just ONE, I cook like 3! That way, I still am only spending the hour or so in the kitchen and it dosen't really feel like too much extra work.

I'll Make:

baked chicken w 98% fat free cream of mushroom (or chicken, or broccoli, or onion, whatever you like and you can change the soup to change the flavor). You mix the soup w a can of milk, and some BROWN rice (about a cup to cup and half).....put that on the bottom of the baking dish, lay chicken on top, cook at about 400 for 45 to an hour (depending on chicken). While that's cooking, steam some veggies of choice.

THEN while that is cooking, I've already got some veggies steaming....I'll 'pan fry' with VERY LITTLE extra virgin olive oil some steak or diced chicken (Tyson brand has it in bags, very nice and easy!) with peppers and onions. Then I put on a pot of potatos and sweet potatos to boil.

I make a bunch of all of it.....and when it's all done, I mix and match the veggies and chicken/rice, or the steak w potatos and veggies, or a potato and veggie (for snacks).....all types of combos. Put them in Glad/Ziploc/Rubbermaid containers. I put half in the fridge, half in freezer (depending on how much and how long it'll take me to get through the first bunch).

Now I have a full fridge of 'fast, easy' meals that are portion controlled, healthy, and I can pop in the micro and eat. They travel well (I 'live' in 2 houses haha) to work or wherever.

Also, yogurt cups are great, sugar free pudding, string cheese, protein shakes make great snacks....a newfound fav of mine is either a plain or apple flavored rice cake (eww, I know, but wait!), put on some natural (I use skippy brand) peanut butter alone or pb w no sugar added jelly, and yummy! Or pb and banana, pb n apple, etc. I have found I don't mind the saltier flavors of the rice cakes w some salsa....break apart and eat like chips!

I have anopther tip that came to me after my sister in law came to me with a dilema. She works in an office and she "plans" to go to lunch at 11:45 to eat the lunch that she  "prepared ahead" however her boss decides to have a surprise meeting at 11:30 that is suposed to only last an hour but at 1:15 it lets out just intime for her to run out the door to her next client meeting and seeing at though she is running late and starvign she stops at the drive thru and of course doesn't just get somethign small to tide her over she is famished so she orders half the menu!.  Well I told her to get a mini basket of small apples and bags of roasted almonds or walnuts and also oranges.... these are all items that keep well.  You keep the basket (nice basket) at your desk and then when a surprise meeting happens take the basket in with you!  Tell everone you are happy to share to help with "brian power" for the meeting so close to lunch.  If you are concerned about paying for everyone the key is that you include 3 apples and a bunch of oranges and no napkins. and the nuts are dry roasted and you bring your coffee mug of water... You can have and apple and some nuts and drink your water happily... if anyone else wants some by all means but I bet they won't choose and orange because ti si too messy for a meeting adn if they didn't bring a drink they won't go after the nuts and there are only 3 apples. so basically you ebnd up looking polite and thoughtful but you get to keep it mostly for yoru self and it will hold you off until you do get to eat lunch or you will be able to make a good decision in the drive thru.... just a tip!

I do things completely different...I cook every night and find it enjoyable. I find that cooking with fresh ingrediences makes me feel better. The nights I have items in the oven for long duration (like turkey thighs or butternut squash) I'll do my workout first, if it's a quick meal prep, I'll workout first and then make dinner. Lunch is easy...lettuce roll ups or salad and fruit or hummus and veggies. Breakfast is my differcult time. I hate eating breakfast and will often have just fruit and coffee. So far it's been working for me. I also find that my shopping has has changed...I only shop the outer rim of the market. I also make my own soups with the help of boxed broth that way I can put anything I want in it (mushrooms, spinach, kale, tofu, tomato, summer squash and protien leftovers). Sometimes I have soup for breakfast.

Well, good luck.

Thank you everyone for your answers I am going to give the start planning my meals for the week and throw away all my fast food menus!

Thanks again and wish me luck!

Get back into a sport you love, and use it as a workout.

I play Roller Derby and I LOVE it!!!  Plus it burns major calories (around 1100 in a single hour and a half practice) 

Since I started it has motivated me to eat healthier and train harder.  Since starting derby and all the positive changes I made, I have lost almost 30 pounds!

I am not so much a planner, more just prepared.  I don't like the idea of having all my meals planned out for the week. I like to eat what I feel like. I love to cook and have found a real passion in experimenting and trying new healthy recipes. So with that said you will once or twice a week you will find me at the grocery store on my way home from work picking up items for dinner. But for the most dinners I just keep the following on hand; chicken breast, frozen fish, shrimp, brown basmati rice, whole wheat pasta, broccoli, carrots, all kinds of vegetables - both frozen and fresh, yams, veggie burgers, whole wheat bread, canned beans, and a wide variety of spices.

I always have my lunch and snacks packed for work. I will make my lunch for the following day, the same time I am making dinner. I find it to be a real time saver. I always have yogurt, cheese strings, apples, brown rice thins, nuts,  etc., for snacks throughout the day. Lunches are usually leftovers from dinner, salads, or soups, I'll make a big pot on the weekends and I keep healthy boxed vegetable soups on hand. And for emergencies only, I have one or lean cuisines in the freezer at work. This has kept me from purchasing lunch from one of the several fast food restaurants near by.

I always have breakfast. But breakfast is usually only one of three options that I enjoy and are ready quickly. Soft boiled eggs on whole wheat toast, Kashi cereal, or oatmeal. I am always stocked up and it has been a very long time since I have left the house without breakfast, which I used to do all the time.

A good book to read is Your Body Your Life Yourself.  I personally know the guy who wrote it.  He has a personal weight loss story.  He lost 180 pounds naturally.  It's an inspiring and motivating story.  He's helped me lose 40 pounds so far.  It's a new book but it's online through his publisher, Tate Publishing.

Good luck!

I'm a big fan of Tony Venutos stuff too, he just came out with a new book today.  No BS.

For me, I need to:
1. Plan ahead, including a list of my meals for the week/next couple weeks (I have a hard time finding groceries and am on a limited budget, so this helps with thsoe things too)

2. Cook ahead, meaning twice a week I'll make big batches of stuff for lunches mostly, and with dinners I'll make enough for three nights

3. Stock ahead, keeping good breakfast choices in the house, like yogurt and Fiber 1, eggs and whole wheat bread (yeah, I still eat whole eggs and love them), cottage cheese, I buy veggies and cut them up ahead of time, have some natural PB in the house, some hummus.  Buy salads in bags.

meals - I'll usually make two big dishes for lunch for the week.  This week was Lentil Chili (around 250 calories a cup and a ton of fiber) and Spicy Southwestern Coleslaw (about 40 calories a cup).  Other weeks I make a bean salad (something with multiple types of beans, lemon or lime or vinegar, onions, peppers, and tons of spices) and a soup (maybe a sweet potato, maybe a chicken and rice or lentil and escarole).  I don't intentionally eat vegetarian but it's so much cheaper.  Make a chicken or tuna salad with light mayo, buy some wraps and take that for lunch with some carrot sticks and hummus.

\This week dinners...Monday we had stri fry cabbage and chicken, and had the leftovers on Thursday.  Tuesday we had some of the lunch chili with rice cause it's so good.  Wednesday we had the chickpea dish and we'll have the left overs tomorrow.  Tonight I'm making a lentil loaf (like meat loaf) that we'll have for lunch through the weekend.  Sunday I'm making a bean curry and we'll have the leftovers probably tuesday.  Monday we'll have fish. Bean dishes are really easy to make cause you can buy canned beans, or lentils cook super fast.  If you like meats, cook them ahead of time and then you can chop them up and add them to things.