“How do you maintain your weight?” This is a question I’m often asked. As a mother of 5, it seems that people want to know my secret for keeping the weight off. And keeping it off is what I have to do. On my mother’s side of the family, the women are tall and thick. In my early college days as I grieved the loss of my mother, I too got quite thick. But by educating myself, being disciplined in my eating, exercising, praying and obeying God in honoring my temple, I have been able to maintain my weight.

So I answer the question of how I maintain my weight as follows “I obey God, exercise and eat right”. One time after I said this I thought to myself “what does that mean? I eat right.” Based on one’s background that can mean different things. I was talking to someone once about getting children to eat right and she mentioned that she had switched to Capri Sun Roaring Water, Go-gurt yogurt and granola bars as a means of eating right. Now the items she mentioned are laden with sugar but based on her experiences this was an improvement and she believed she had the children eating right.

With the New Year approaching, many people begin to examine their health and make resolutions to eat right, get in shape, quit certain behaviors and the like. To give you a head start here are my 10 Keys To Eating Right.

1. Eat Food That Closely Resembles Its Original Form

    

    

   Does this  

    

    

    

    

    

    

   Look like this

   

Sticking with food that closely resembles its original form is a good way to ensure you are giving your body food it can recognize and proper utilize. Your body doesn’t naturally recognize certain foreign substances and the body can become confused with how to process these foreign substances. And sometimes we see the body react to foreign substances as allergies, bloating, fatigue and more.

2. Eat More Raw Food

In addition to eating food in its most recognizable, natural state, it is also advisable that you consume more raw foods. Cooking food generally leads to loss of minerals, vitamins and enzymes (though there are a few foods that have increased benefit after cooking). In addition to maximum mineral, vitamin and enzyme consumption, you have the benefit of the fiber to keep your plumbing from getting clogged.

3. Rethink Your Plate

As a child I was taught that a plate was divided into fourths: 1/4 vegetables (albeit canned and soggy), 1/4 starch (Uncle Ben’s rice) and the other half meat. It’s time we rethink the plate. I know, I know years of seeing it that way have been implanted in your subconscious but we will retrain the brain to see it differently. Gone is the picture of the Hungry Man TV dinner. Who said you can’t eat 2-3servings of veggies, no starch and a piece of meat the size of a deck of cards? The next time you make your plate, double the veggies and reduce the starch and meat portions. I triple dog dare ya.

4. Read Labels

The 1^st 5 ingredients tell the story. When you read the 1^st five, ask yourself “Is this improving or detracting from my health?” The next time you go to eat food that came out of a package, wrapper or box, flip it over and read the label. It’s very telling. The label may say 100 calories and only 2 grams of fat so you may think it’s okay but it has 0 nutritional value and the amount of sugar in there is certain to stick to your body.

5. Portion Control

What is a portion? As a country we’ve come to expect more and more and food portions are no exception. When I was a child, there were only 2 sizes of bags of chips that I remember, small and family size. Today, I see at least 4 different sized bags and many of the medium sized bags containing 4-8 servings are usually consumed in one sitting. Putting a heaping pile of rice on your plate? Next time take a measuring cup and measure out a ½ cup of your cooked rice so that you can see what the serving size looks like.

6. Simple Swaps

Click here then print the list so that the next time you go to the grocery store you can swap out some of your old choices for healthier new ones.

7. Choose Good Fats

Not all fat is created equal. The body needs fat it’s just a matter of choosing the right kind. Good fats include: avocado, olive oil, flaxseed, salmon and nuts to name a few.

8. Eliminate Bad Fats

As my children would sing “Let it go, let it go”. Seek to eliminate bad fats such as processed meat, cheese, commercially baked goods, fried chicken, donuts and shortening.

9. Cut Down the Sugar

It’s lurking everywhere. This is again where reading labels proves to be essential. From ketchup to non-fat half and half to peanut butter, too often it rears its ugly head.

How many different types of sugar are in here? So while this is a low calorie snack, all this sugar will stick right around your belly and make its home there.

Enriched Flour (Wheat Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate {Vitamin B1}, Riboflavin, {Vitamin B2}, Folic Acid), Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, High Oleic Canola Oil, Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Cornstarch, Leavening (Baking Soda, Calcium Phosphate), Artificial Color, Salt, Powdered Sugar, Artificial Flavor.

Those are the 100-calorie snacks I referred to above.

We are being pre-disposed to crave sugar. Here we go again. Look at this.

Corn Syrup, Milk Protein Isolate, High Oleic Safflower Oil, Sugar, Soy Oil, Coconut Oil, Galactooligosaccharides. Less than 2% of the Following: C. Cohnii Oil, M. Alpina Oil, Beta-Carotene, Lutein, Lycopene, Calcium Phosphate, Potassium Chloride, Potassium Citrate, Sodium Citrate, Magnesium Phosphate, Ascorbic Acid, Choline Chloride, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Chloride, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Ferrous Sulfate, Choline Bitartrate, Taurine, m-Inositol, Zinc Sulfate, L-Carnitine, Mixed Tocopherols, Niacinamide, d-Alpha-Tocopheryl Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Vitamin A Palmitate, Cupric Sulfate, Thiamine Chloride Hydrochloride, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Manganese Sulfate, Potassium Iodide, Phylloquinone, Biotin, Sodium Selenate, Vitamin D3, Cyanocobalamin, Potassium Hydroxide, and Nucleotides (Adenosine 5’-Monophosphate, Cytidine 5’-Monophosphate, Disodium Guanosine 5’-Monophosphate, Disodium Uridine 5’-Monophosphate)

In that baby formula the most prevalent ingredient is sugar.

10. Do Not Skip Meals

Really, this is so true. if you are skipping meals you are doing the opposite of eating right and maintaining weight. When you skip meals the body will think it’s being starved and go into preservation mode and store fat. I know a fit fitness professionals and they actually eat at least 6 times a day (small meals that is).

And just because I couldn’t leave this one off…

Don’t Bring The Stuff In Your House

If I buy a Reese Cup, chances are I’m going to eat it. But if I don’t buy it, I won’t eat it. If it isn’t stocked in the house, personally I will not make a special trip to go to the store for something I may want on a whim. With Christmas approaching, people may try to send you home with extra goodies. Find a way to perhaps take one small piece and decline the rest without offending the giver.  You can also check out my tips for maintaining weight over the holidays by clicking here.

It is my prayer that you would be in health and prosper. I’m sure some of this information isn’t even new to you. The KEY is application. What good is a key if you don’t use it? If you want to enter your home, you have to take your keys out of your bag, pocket or purse, find the correct key, insert it into the lock and turn it the right way for the door to open.

The same is true if you want to improve your health. You must be committed and disciplined to consume what’s good for you and reduce or eliminate what’s bad for you.  So please use your 10 keys to eating right.

BTW – I am a work in progress. One of my favorite snacks since I was a kid up until now is Jax Cheese Curls. Man I just love those things. But with genetically modified corn, artificial food coloring and monosodium glutamate I need to just leave them alone. I have to make good choices that honor my temple. But I love them. My decision is to just eat them 2-3 times a year. I get my fix then I’m over it. For me it’s moderation in all things. You may be an all or nothing type. Just do what you know you can commit to.

May you be rewarded for your discipline and diligence in honoring your temple.

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired to Live Fully!