My Diet Staples

One of the most frequent questions I am asked regarding my weight loss is: What do you eat? This is part of the reason why I started a blog: to give me a way to talk about what I'm eating and doing at the gym since it's always changing. However, there are quite a few foods that I consider "staples" in the Berg Diet and I thought I would share them.


A couple of things to note first:

• I use the term "diet" to refer to my eating regimen, NOT a calorie-restricting meal plan (those never work for me).
• I don't eat these foods just to "lose weight." This is how I eat on a regular basis regardless of my goals related to the scale; it's my lifestyle. When I keep my portion sizes appropriate, eat only when I'm hungry, keep cheat meals and treats to a minimum, and exercise daily, I lose weight. When I indulge in treats more frequently, eat a little more at meals, but still work my butt off at the gym, I generally maintain my weight. When I eat way more than I should (healthy foods or not), I put on weight. Simple as that.

Alright, here we go!

The Staples of the Berg Diet: Part 1

Cereal

Cereal has ALWAYS been a staple in my diet, no matter how heavy I was. I usually eat it for breakfast (either with a piece of whole wheat toast or some egg whites) but sometimes I eat it for dinner or as a snack. Currently, I'm loving these:

Side note: I know a lot of you bloggers like to mix yogurt, fruit, and all kinds of other things in your cereal. I have no doubts that it tastes good like that, but I prefer mine the old fashioned way with just plain milk :)


Oatmeal

I used to think the only way you could make oatmeal taste somewhat decent was to drown it in brown sugar, but after I discovered healthy living blogs I learned that I could not have been more wrong. Here is my favorite way to prepare it:

• 1/2 c oats
• 1/2 c almond milk
• 1/2 c water
• Small handful of dried cherries
• Small handful of nuts (walnuts, pecans, whatever)
• Cinnamon
• A big GOB of nut butter

Spinach Salads

As much as I hate to admit it, I am not a huge fan of vegetables. In fact, I'm lucky if I get in more than one serving a day. Fortunately, I am totally obsessed with spinach salads; I probably get 90% of my veggie intake from them. My favorite toppings include dried cherries, walnuts, sunflower seeds, feta, avocado, and blueberries.

Favorite dressing:

Nuts

Almonds, pecans, walnuts, peanuts, cashews, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds..the list goes on. In addition to tasting yummy, they are a great source of protein and healthy fat, and healthy fat helps you burn fat ;)

Natural Nut Butters

This should come as no surprise. I try to limit myself to one serving (2 tbsp) a day, but that never works out too well. Naturally Nutty is my favorite brand, and if you haven't tried it you're missing out!

Yogurt

I love it plain or mixed with fruit, raw oats, granola, nuts, whatever! Yogurt is also one of those foods that I could eat with any meal at any time of the day.

Bars

My favorite brands include Clif, Larabar, Cascadian Farms, Kashi, and Nature Valley. My cupboards are always well stocked with these!

Fruit

Contrary to my attitude towards veggies, I pretty much love every type of fruit. My favorites are apples, bananas, berries, and oranges.

Apples and bananas are even better dipped in nut butter ;)


Amy's Frozen Pizzas

I used to eat one of these at least once a week, and while I don't eat them quite as frequently anymore I always have one in my freezer for when I need a quick and easy meal. These pizzas are seriously AMAZING! My favorites are spinach, cheese, mushroom and olive, and the white pizza.

I also love Amy's spinach and feta pockets and cheddar cheese burritos.

That's all I got for now!


What foods are staples in  your diets? Are there any foods that you eat every single day?