Day 28: Eat Vegetables, Lose Weight | 30-Day Weight Loss-athon
It’s time for Day 28 of the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon.
All tasks in the 30-Day Weight Loss-athon are adapted from my 52 Weight Loss Missions program.
Read the steps first, then take 10 minutes to think about and complete them. Ready?
What You Need:
- Willingness to see vegetables differently.
Step 1
Our first step today is to remind ourselves why vegetables and legumes are such an asset on the weight-loss journey:
- They contain lots of fiber – which helps to fill you up, so you’re less likely to overeat
- They’re packed with nutrients – so you’re less likely to have cravings for something you’re not getting
- They help your skin look good – and when you look good it can motivate you to take better care of your diet and exercise
- They help you feel good – so you have plenty of energy to perform well
- Perhaps best of all, they can crowd out other foods – people tend to eat the same weight of food most days, so eating lots of nutrient-dense vegetables and legumes simply leaves less room for poorer choices.
Okay, so it makes sense to eat heaps of them. So how do we get ourselves to do that?
Step 2
You may not love vegetables, but you can talk yourself into liking them more. Yes you can. I think a little self-deception is a small price to pay for looking and feeling great.
- Choose the vegetables you do like and eat more of them. Become aware of enjoying them so you’re more inclined to eat them more often.
- Try vegetables you’re not sure about and be open to discovering things you like about them. Maybe the crunch of capsicum or sweetness of carrot is rather pleasant after all.
- Don’t make a big deal about the ones you hate. If you really hate them, then don’t eat them.
- Experiment with different ways of eating vegetables – perhaps you dislike salads but enjoy roasted vegetables, or hate well-cooked vegetables but like them with plenty of crunch.
Choose what you can like about vegetables.
Step 3
Next, with your vegetable-friendly mindset from Step 2, choose ways to eat more vegetables and legumes. Here are some ideas:
- Start a habit of having salad as a starter before dinner
- Add vegetables as a side to any meat, fish or poultry dish
- Swap half your pasta or rice portion for vegetables
- Swap half your meat portion for vegetables
- Add salad to ham, tuna, cheese or chicken sandwiches
- Keep canned or frozen vegetables so you always have some on hand when you prepare meals
- Experiment with new recipes that have plenty of vegetables
- Pre-cut vegetables and store in sealed containers in the fridge for quick snacks
- When cooking, add more vegetables than the recipe calls for
- Add a range of vegetable colors (orange, green, red) to make dishes look appealing
- When you’re busy, distracted, in a rush or don’t care much what you eat, choose something with lots of vegetables
- Serve yourself more of the vegetables you like; don’t feel you have to eat the ones you don’t like
- Revisit Day 21: Set Up A Weight-Loss-Friendly Recipe System and tweak your recipes to include more vegetables and legumes
- Create a self-perpetuating habit: eat more vegetables and you’ll start to like them more. It’s true! Ask anyone who’s lost weight.
How will be be upping your vegetable intake?
Bonus Step For 52 Weight Loss Missions Members
- Review Mission 20: Create A Smart Pantry System so that your pantry is always well stocked with vegetables.
- Review Mission 27: Eat More Vegetables And Legumes for the additional hints.
Check in!
And you’re done!
Be sure to leave your comment below to check in and stay accountable. If you’re reading this by email or in a reader then please click here to leave your comment.
See you tomorrow!
I’ve been working on ways to include more veggies, so I should be able to continue. Any casseroles I make, I add veggies such as mushrooms or spinach and sometimes both. One day at lunch I indulged in a cookie, but added several cucumbers to go with it. 🙂
This is not so easy for me. I don’t care for veggies. I am a plain eater. This last week I have started eating more broccoli and corn. We bought salad stuff so that will be added tonight! I am aiming for 3 times a week and then increasing from there!
Hello to everyone: You’re on the home stretch. Make a list of vegetables you like and make sure you eat vegetables every day. I know I don’t care for spinach – only Popeye eats spinach. When I was growing up I would ask for green trees = broccoli. Keep up the good work and post daily to stay accountable. Good Luck.
A couple days late– no in house internet! :>) I do love veggies and have increased my intake over this last month. Even enjoy salads without dressing. Sometimes I add a 1/4 or 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese instead of dressing. My freezer is sporting LOTS of good frozen vegetables too. We’ll go to South Africa in June for 10 months– am curious what different vegetables might be available there.
Years ago, I went on Weight Watchers to good effect. An unexpected effect was an actual craving for veggies once my body got used to eating a lot of them. I haven’t gotten there yet this time, but I do miss my low sodium V8 if I skip it. (do add some salt free spice mix to the bottle and leave overnight or it’s really, really bland!)
I <3 vegetables! This will be easy 🙂
I’m vegetarian, so this one is a no-brainer for me!
Check! Already it’s the main component of my diet!
I love veggies, raw, cooked, broiled, grilled, they are the best!
I have learned to like a lot of vegetables. Baby carrots are my go-to snack.
I LOVE my Veggies, but I don’t eat them, as often as I should. But I shall work on that! : )
Good thing I love Veggies! Got a great idea from P.F. Changs lettuce wraps to use lettuce instead of buns and wraps 🙂
This one is a little more difficult for me, but I am in it to win it so I will try more of the few I do like. My taste for them has greatly improve over the years.
I love eating vegetables, especially in the summer when I can get fresh vegies from the Farmer’s Market.
DH and I love stir fries so I’ll serve more veg & less noodles/rice. Half of our diet plates are reserved for vegs, so it will be easy to get the proportions right in our meals 🙂
It’s almost time for summer veggies! The warm weather also helps the instinctual desire for carbs and comfort food to subside.
Love the crunch of fresh veggies….makes you feel good when you crave carrot sticks rather than chocolate.
I lovvvvvvvvvvvvvv veggies. My hubby shares with everyone who knows us “My wife hasn’t met a vegetable she doesn’t like’ 🙂
I am glad I like veggies. Sometimes I sneak more veggies into meals–the kids don’t even know. Thankfully, most of them like veggies too.
I’ve got this one nailed already. I’ve been cooking up extra veggies (mostly squash and peppers) and adding them to lunch and dinner! Yummy!