What Does a Dietitian Eat? (Day 1)

I just finished reading Bethenny Frankel's new book Naturally Thin (you know...she's the girl from Real Housewives NYC).  About a month ago I read an article she wrote for Health.com and LOVED her philosophy...honestly, if I wrote a book about healthy eating, this would be it!

She talks about your diet being like a bank account...

"Just as you balance your spending and savings, you must balance your food choices. Don’t eat too much of any one thing, balance starches with proteins, vegetables and fruits with sweets, and always balance a splurge with a save. This balancing is approximate—but it works, without counting, measuring, or obsessing."

I agree with this 100% and it's how I eat everyday...oatmeal for breakfast and sandwich for lunch?  Then no starches at dinner!  Yogurt and fruit for breakfast and a salad with chicken for lunch?  Then pasta with marinara and veggies for dinner will be just fine!

She continues...

"Most of the time, make smart investments in healthful foods that fill you up. Then, when you really want to splurge, go ahead. You aren’t dieting, remember. You are living. However, a splurge comes with a price. You have to balance that splurge by cutting back a little afterward, until your accounts are in order again."

Again...my thoughts exactly!  Saturday we celebrated Hil's birthday and I had cake...2 pieces!  There were 2 different kinds and I wanted to try both, so I did.  And they were really good, so I'm glad I did!  Yesterday I was busy teaching/judging Saintsation auditions and really didn't have time to balance my splurge (I ate out all three meals).  So today I'm doing just that!  Back to my healthful, everyday way of eating...minus any extra sweet treats to restore the balance.

Monday May 4th

• 3 mile jog
• Breakfast - Low-fat vanilla yogurt and 2% cottage cheese (1/2 cup total)
• Lunch - Turkey sandwich on wheat bun with avocado, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and MAYO!*
• Snack - Strawberries with a little Greek/vanilla yogurt
• Teach dance from 4:30 - 9 pm
• Dinner - Salmon spinach salad from La Madeleine with red bell pepper, strawberries, mushrooms, and dressing on the side 
• Dessert - Chocolate soy milk mixed with skim milk (1/2 cup of each)

I slept in late today (10:00!) and was on my way out the door for a jog when I got invited to lunch...at noon!  So after a quick run it was around 11:15 and I hadn't eaten anything, so I had a very light breakfast/snack while I was getting ready to hold me over (I was starving).  Normally this wouldn't be enough, but because I was about to have lunch it was just right.

My lunch, from Counter Culture, was delish...I'm on a real avocado kick right now and I loved it on my sandwich.  It was a just a thin slice,  but it really made the sandwich.  I asked for no mayo* because there were already 2 fats (cheese and avocado), but they got it wrong!  Oh well!

I have 3 pints of strawberries in my fridge from the farmer's market, so they were an obvious choice for snack.

The spinach salad is my favorite thing to order from La Madeleine.  I added salmon to it when I got home and left the bacon and pecans off...I had enough fat at lunch!  If I eat at the restaurant I usually add chicken and ask for no bacon.

Chocolate soy milk is really good and low-fat...I like to cut the sugar by adding some skim milk.  It's a really good dessert especially after dance when I want something cold (I always drink milk over ice).

I'm not including calorie info this week; I'm going to focus on "balancing my account" and I would say today is well balanced!  I'm also going to include my physical activity so you can get an idea of how active I am in relation to how much I eat.