Well, the temperature is spiking up and so is my weight…yuck!

“When I was younger,” pounds came on but not in places that were sooooo obvious and soooo ugly. Now days however, no matter if a size 6 or 14, we older Boomer ladies fight menopudge constantly.

So here is my battle plan to conquer the nasty battle of the bulge…ie tummy roll. Man, I was so not ready to do this battle again and again already!

But off I go getting equipped with a serious arsenal here… and I’m talking serious!

Clean eating, Mediterranean diet, whatever one calls this plan but for me it consists of:

• Only fresh vegetables and lots of them
• Fresh fruits…I’m not paranoid about the sugar in fruit
• And I have discovered that not worrying about amount or intake of olive oil is so good for fighting belly fat.
• Lean poultry and seafood like tuna, salmon etc…no fried shrimp here!
• Limited and I mean limited amount of bread, pasta, etc. and no white anything while waging this battle
• Dairy for me is a puzzle at this stage of life. I really don’t think it likes me so I do very little: more like a heavy condiment than anything else like the feta in beet salad
• but eggs are definitely my friend and prepared in zillion ways
• Sugar…little if any since in clean eating all food is fresh so only sugar is from dear mother nature.
• Aspartame and other synthetic or diet sugars play havoc when on the warpath for downsizing our menopudge including Crystal Lite, Diet soft drinks and so on…bummer!
• So what to drink? TONS OF WATER of course!

 
Now, we all know just doing battle with our foods will not alone take care of winning the battle of the bulge. I am walking almost daily (very early in the heat) or yoga but I know that Pilates would help a ton. My weight bearing is carrying Tessie our Maltese, for most of the walk. 🙂 Seriously, I can tell when I’m not.

Plus and I mean a big plus is taking nutritional supplements out the wazoo for goodness sakes.

This battle plan is in no way complete but it certainly will do serious damage to the enemy and nothing lost by eating and being healthy..right?

Example of a Battle Meal

Lean roasted chicken: I used Rotisserie chicken from Dillons

Steamed broccoli with olive oil and sea salt garlic salt

Beet salad: Cooked beets, I just cook like potatoes and then peel, with rosemary infused olive oil & feta cheese sprinkles before serving to avoid purple cheese.

Then, my secret weapon for sugar craving after dinner, couple pieces of very dark chocolate and I’m a happy camper. I never said I was perfect. 🙂

I believe it was Winston Churchill or General Patton who said, “Never ever will we give up” and that is my battle motto absolutely!