Changing Your Eating Habits - Dave's Be Fit Survivor Perspective

Hi there! It's Dave again. I thought I would write about my struggle to change my eating habits and how tough it can be, especially during the holiday season.

When I started Be Fit, I think the hardest part for me was changing my eating habits. It was tough to give up all that good food I SO enjoyed at the time. Before I started Be Fit, I would either eat a Bacon cheeseburger and fries, or a couple slices of pizza, daily. I would also eat some fattening desserts, especially Tapioca.

My 1st 2 weeks in Be Fit, I held on to my desserts and an occasional couple of slices of pizza. I soon realized that, although I was losing weight, it could be better if I started to eat the right way.

In week 3, I started eating healthier and started using new vocabulary such as: calories, saturated fat, fiber both soluble and insoluble etc. I noticed a difference in weight loss and energy levels when I started to eat properly. As the weeks went by I noticed more and more energy and I felt tired a lot less than before. My cholesterol levels dropped and raised, bad and good respectively.

Every week I would keep meticulous records of what I had eaten and sent them to the nutritionist, who would make recommendations as to how I could improve my eating habits. Soon www.calking.com became one of my favorite web sites and McDonald's drifted out of my life.

Now I try to cook once a week and cook several meals to freeze, that way when I want "fast food" all I have to do is take it from freezer to microwave to table.

Do I still eat "naughty" foods?? Of course I do, I'm not perfect. Now, though, I will sample my partner's dessert or have a fraction of what I used to have just to try something sweet.

Avoiding the bad stuff is very difficult at my house, as I live with a junk food junkie and that's all he ever eats. Whenever I get in the mood to join him and go on a binge I just remember where I was 7 months ago and where I want to be in 6 months and usually that's enough to keep me honest.

Holidays, though, are tough. I just had my Christmas party last week. I knew that there would be tons of food that I should not be eating. I went to the gym after working 7-3 and then went to the cafeteria for a Be Fit meal. By the time I got to the party, I was too full to even think of making poor choices.

At family affairs I always make sure to make something that I can enjoy. I'll make some veggies and dip (light dip) of course, some fruit etc. I will always try the "naughty" foods, but mainly I am eating stuff that is good for me and filling up on water in the mean time. I also go for a walk if it becomes too much to handle. There is always someone to walk with at any given moment.

Food is one of the hardest things I'll change in my lifetime. I am a serious food addict and have to be very careful, because that one bite could easily turn into having the whole thing in one sitting. Food is also something we need to survive, so I can't just avoid it altogether.

Another thing to avoid is too much alcohol. Alcohol just turns into sugars, which turn into fat :-(

I know, it’s sad huh. I'm not saying to never drink again, but to limit it to a couple of drinks and try to stick to red wine - after all red wine is supposed to be good for us - for the time being any way.

I know how difficult all this Be Fit stuff can be, changing your activity level(s), your eating habits, finding time for the meetings and rally's etc... Trust me though, as someone who has gone through it and struggled with some of it, if you work it right it will work for you. The changes are amazing and you'll soon realize that you are not on a diet, but that you have changed your way of life and how you live it. It is, after all, a way of life not a diet.