58 THE QUEENS COURIER • HEALTH • MAY 7, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com health EATING HEALTHY IS HARD WORK BY KERRI HOFFMAN My entire life I have been a picky eater, disliking all fi sh, seafood, vegetables and chicken. I have always lost weight by exercising and counting calories, even if my daily food intake consisted of popcorn and candy bars. I knew this was not a healthy way of eating yet I could not bring myself to eat salads with grilled chicken. When it came to drastically changing my eating habits, I have my son to thank. A few years ago, my then-16-year-old son and I were eating dinner at a restaurant. I was careful not to let my kids know about all the foods that I didn’t like yet somehow he was a naturally fi nicky eater. Being a competitive hockey player, my son realized that he had to eat certain foods in order to be healthy, grow and build muscle. My son ordered a steak, grilled chicken and a salad. I ordered barbecue ribs with fries. As he was eating his chicken, I asked him how he does it. How can he force himself to eat grilled chicken if he really doesn’t like it? He replied, “I have to eat chicken and vegetables and other foods that I don’t like if I want to gain muscle and have the body that I want.” I said that I really don’t like grilled chicken so it’s hard for me to eat it. He said, “I like my body the way it is when I eat healthy, so eating tons of carbs and sugar isn’t worth it.” Listening to my son talk about why he changed his eating habits just blew me away. After dinner, I swore to myself that if he can change, so could I. The next day, I embarked on a campaign of healthy eating, shunning carbs and sugar 80 percent of the time. I cooked chicken, lean hamburgers, vegetables and low-fat chicken meatballs (recipe below). Every Sunday I made my menu for the week consisting of three meals and two snacks, consuming no more than 1,200 calories each day. For snacks, I prepared small bags of almonds, sliced berries and grapefruit. Sticking to the diet was time consuming: buying and cooking the food, packaging the meals to take to work. I followed this diet religiously adding one cheat day each week when I could eat whatever I wanted. With consistent exercise, I lost 16 pounds and looked the best I have since high school. Unfortunately, the weight started to creep on when I had more cheat days than healthy days. Presently, I am trying hard once again to be committed to eating healthy — most of the time. Low-fat chicken meatballs 1 pound 99 percent fat-free ground chicken breast 1 cup breadcrumbs (regular or whole wheat) 1 tbsp crushed or minced garlic 1/4 tsp ground pepper 1 large egg 1 small jar of spaghetti sauce In a large bowl, mix all ingredients well (I use my clean hands). Form into balls (14 average size or 56 small meatballs) and brown in a frying pan. Add spaghetti sauce and simmer until fully cooked through, about 30 minutes. Each of the 14 meatballs has approximately 55 calories, 0.5g of fat, 4.3g carbohydrates and 8g protein. For more information, visit Hoffman’s blog, www.mindbodyhealthytips. com. BRAIN A MATCH MADE IN HEARING INTERCEREBRAL F. SUPERFRONTAL POSTCENTRAL PRECENTRAL MEDIFRONTAL G. E.A.S. PARIETAL G. PREMIUM TECHNOLOGY. TOTAL BRAIN SUPPORT. FROM YOUR LOCAL AUDIGYCERTIFIED™ PRACTICE. $500 Apple® gift card with the purchase of an AGX® level 9 hearing system Expires 5/29/15. PLLC 107 Northern Blvd, Suite 309 Great Neck 516.708.4844 gbaudiology.com Gloria Boms, Au.D. Doctor of Audiology NOT ABLE TO GO TO OUTPATIENT PHYSICAL THERAPY? AGEWELL CAN HELP. In addition to our highly regarded outpatient physical therapy, AgeWell now offers quality senior focused physical therapy programs in the comfort of your home. For information or an appointment at our outpatient facility or at home, please call 516-488-8808 • 347-242-3200 Lake Success location www.AgeWellPT.com • Medicare approved provider
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