IN THE KITCHEN

By cooking your own meals, you can keep a better watch on your calories. There are a lot of hidden calories in food when we eat out. Remember, they want you to keep coming back so they load those foods with all the things that taste good, but help to keep us heavy. The portions are also huge because they want you to feel that you get more than what you pay for. So, if you want to lose weight but you eat out a lot, try restaurants that list calorie amounts on their menus. You could probably get away with just ordering  appetizers also. Remember, stick with the lean proteins, and you can even carry a pocket scale with you to weigh out your portions. I know, but it's the price we big folks must pay if we want to lose.

I work at home, but I also put in a lot of hours, and then go to the gym 4 nights a week. So, I tend to keep my meals very simple during the week. I also like to cook a lot of food at once and then eat leftovers the next few days, so I don't have to cook. My favorite tools in the kitchen are: a cast iron skillet, a sharp knife, and a large pot with a cheap steamer insert. That's it, nothing fancy. If I'm having steak, I just let it set out for an hour (with a rub on it) to let it come down to room temperature, then I heat my cast iron skillet up til it smokes (no oil), then I just sear my steak a couple minutes on each side, then finish it off in the oven, about five minutes. The most important thing is to let it rest for at least two minutes before cutting into it. That keeps it juicy. I cook a lot of lean meats that way. It's fast and it tastes good without adding a lot of calories. I can get four meals out of a 12 ounce steak. So it's acually not that expensive if you watch for the weekly sales at your supermarket. I steam most of my cooked veggies. Again, it's fast and I don't have to add a lot of calories.

Like I've been telling you, you don't have to spend  a lot of money to lose weight. The industry wants you to think that you do, but I'm telling you that you should be saving  money from losing weight, not spending it.