Hi Tammy,
Grazing is not a healthy way to eat. You may put more calories in because you never really sit down to a meal. It's not a good diet plan for your husband either.
Here's my suggestions:
- Make your health and your husband's health a priority. We all have busy lives, but make time to sit down and have 3 meals per day. It's so important.
- Remove the snacky foods from your home. Don't buy them.
- Cook lean meats, eat plenty of vegetables and salad, and use fruit for dessert.
- When eating rice or noodles, choose brown rice or whole wheat noodles. Also buy whole wheat bread.
- Exercise, Exercise, Exercise. I don't know if you already have an exercise program, but you need to exercise at least 3 times per week for 30 minutes.
- My calculation of your calorie intake should be somewhere between 1300-1500 calories per day. If you are exercising a lot, you can increase the calories. But this is a good startign point.
- Start a journal. Journal the things you eat and how you feel. For example, "I ate some ice cream for a snack tonight. I had one scoop and it tasted good. I don't feel guilty about it because I controlled my portion size and ate it as a treat. I don't eat ice cream everyday." Or, it could be something like this: "I ate a salad for dinner. It was all vegetables with some chicken and almonds. I don't feel satisfied. I feel hungry and I want to eat more. I have a craving for ..." Or, "I ate a few slices of turkey on whole wheat bread with one tablespoon of mayo and tomatoes. I also had a yogurt, carrot sticks, and an apple with crystal light lemonade. I feel good about what I ate. I am not hungry and I feel I nourished my body. I had a craving for something sweet so I chewed a slice of gum. I feel very good about myself."
----- this way you are journaling what you ate and how you felt. You can easily remind yourself how good you feel when you eat a balanced meal.
- Keep posting - let us know how it's going - we can support you and come up with new ideas as you go through this. You are NOT going to gain your weight back. You WILL get back on track and get control.
Sara Nejat-Bina, RD, CNSD, CDE
eNutritionCare.com