Substitutes for Mac and Cheese

I know what you're thinking. A blog that writes about Mac & Cheese is suggesting something other than what it's constantly showcasing? Sacrilege! There must be some explanation for this insolence!

Nahh, there's nothing wrong with trying other foods. It speaks volumes to your taste palette to have a wide assortment of possible sides to include with your meal. Not just pasta related, but anything that you can pair up with dishes. In fact, I've found that the more you space out the times you eat Mac & Cheese between one another, the greater appreciation you have when you do sit down to devour a plate. This is especially true when you're dieting.

Recently, I had gain some weight over the first couple months of the year, in part because of being out due to some sicknesses I've had, but also due to the combination of my not-so-great eating habits along with what I had already ingested the months prior. Holidays are particularly susceptible to allowing people to binge eat and grab larger portions of meals, if not for the sake of keeping up with everyone on Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners.

What this has to do with Mac and Cheese is that when I did sit down to eat some, it just added to what all I already been putting in me, and began seeming like less of a treat and more of a quick fix to satiate my overeating. I felt guilty diving into my favorite Mac and Cheese dishes. Even if most aren't good for you, I just wasn't able to get past this new feeling. This will not do.

So I stopped eating Mac and Cheese. *gasp!*

...But thankfully I returned with a solution to how to approach my meals when I desire some!

Now these "substitutes" (as mentioned in the title) aren't just literally related to food substitutes themselves, but in a more figurative sense they are techniques for keeping yourself in shape and/or ways to go about eating Mac and Cheese so that you get the most enjoyment out of it whenever you decide do sit down and scarf on a bowl.

Deep, no? Well I'm about to get a little deeper... all the while keeping this practical. All this information is available out there, but I'm going to give you my personal account on what I ended up doing:

• Walk at least 30 minutes every day for 30 days. At the time I temporarily put a halt to eating excessive Mac and Cheese, I was knee deep into doing strength & conditioning workouts as a way to burn off the food I was eating. My workout was complex and required quite a bit of time a couple days a week. Not exactly ideal, but if you're in "gotta workout-mode", then this can get you results... at first.
  
  But like all workouts if you do them enough, you'll begin to hit a plateau point if you're not able to vary them enough. I didn't do this, so my workout I had turned from bulking up and burning fat into maintaining the status quo. It works until for whatever reason you stop...
  
  One day after a brief conversation with the security guard at my workplace, we were discussing what are considered the best workouts for you, and one of the ones that came up was walking. Not casual walking, and definitely not as high impact as jogging, but fast-paced brisk walking for extended time periods.
  
  So I made a goal to myself to walk for at least 30 minutes every single day. As it turns out, this is one of the single best things you can do for yourself. Seriously, as long as you walk fast and continuous, you'll be burning off fat in no time. I dropped about 15 lbs. in that time frame and it continues to descend.
  
• At the start of each day, drink a warm glass of water with some lemon juice. Before breakfast, go grab a glass of warm water and either squeeze a lemon or pour a couple tablespoons of lemon juice into your water and drink it quickly. (I prefer the lemon juice because it's easier to use, and only costs a couple bucks.) If it tastes too acidic for you, you can add some sweetener (Truvia works best) if you need to sweeten it up a bit, or just use less lemon juice.
  
  What this does is jump starts your metabolism so that it begins digesting what you end up eating faster. As you go about the day eating different foods, this will aid in burning whatever you eat and turning it into energy. Combine this with the brisk walking above and you'll start seeing results fairly quickly.
  
• When you snack, portion out bags of your favorite Trail Mix. Now this one you want to be careful on because it's really easy to buy a package of trail mix and devour all of it in one sitting, which ends up being over 1000 calories if you crab more than a few handfuls!
  
  What you want to do is find a generic store-brand package of trail mix (not the big name stuff... they're usually packed with hydrogenated oils and extra sodium!). I tend to grab ones with peanuts, cashews, dark and light raisins, dried cranberries and sunflower seeds. If there's chocolate, make sure it's dark chocolate. And if that combination isn't available, you can always get them separate and mix them together.
  
  What usually ends up working out best is to go by the package's serving (1/4 cup typically). Where you can foolproof this is by getting some snack-size zip-lock bags and filling them with the 1/4 cup of trail mix. That way you're keeping yourself from taking too much.
  
  Now you're thinking why trail mix? Doesn't it have a lot of fat? Yes, but it's the fats you need to burn more fat. As long as you eat the right amount and combine it with exercise, it'll work in your favor. Combine this step with the 30-minute to hour long walks and starting off the day with warm water lemon juice above, and you'll be burning weight in no time.

Now these things I listed aren't a cure all or get-slim-quick-scheme or anything like that. This is all just what worked for me to lose weight, burn fat, and feel better. Figure out exactly what your body needs to maintain, eat plenty of healthy foods and ask your doctor or trainer about anything first and then act accordingly. If you're like me and you're approaching your 30s and getting older by the day, then I can say from experience that these techniques work wonders for getting my body to feel like it's 21 again.

But before I go, what all does this aid in getting me to enjoy Mac and Cheese?
What it all comes down to is this:

• When you eat Mac and Cheese, make sure you enjoy it without feeling any guilt!
  After doing the above things for a month or so, my body began to handle my food intake much better than it had months prior, and so when I sat down to eat a dish again, through what I had done to prepare myself, I was able to fully let go of the guilt I had of eating it. I'd let some time pass between the last time I had some and now, but I'll tell you... when I finally had it again it was exceptional. The mac and cheese was no longer adding to my overweight, but it became a treat again. And like all things, in moderation it's quite good :)

I hope this helps anyone out there who finds themselves torn between eating and ditching one of their favorite dishes. When applied in the right way, you'll find a way to keep your favorite foods in your life without having to give it up completely. Life is too short not to enjoy it :D