Lessons in nutrition

I had an appointment last week with another one of my goal achieving army. I did a nutritional analysis and spoke with the nutritionist to see what changes I could make to lose weight, but keep or increase muscle mass. Big surprise....I'm not getting enough protein. Overall she was quite happy with most of my eating habits and where my nutrient levels were at. All except the protein. And of course if you up one thing, you have to reduce another to keep the calorie count the same, right? So, a little less carbs and a little more protein. Like I said....big surprise. Pleasantly surprised tho that she doesn't have anything against a little treat....a couple of cookies, a piece of candy....as long as it's not all day, every day. I *can* have something every day. Just can't have dessert at lunch AND dinner. *sigh*

I like her approach in general, that we're not really restricting anything. It's small changes. And her goal is that I'll say "piece of cake (not literally), I can do this forever" and not feel like I'm starving.

We discussed weight and weight loss history and how every body is different. And how bodies tend to have a set point where they're happy, and it can get to be too much of a hassle or get too frustrating to try to kick them out of their happy place. And from my history, it's quite possible that my body is at it's happy place. And it will be tough to evict it.

We talked about likes (quite a few), dislikes (also, quite a few), and various ways to get more protein into my diet. My biggest goals are to increase variety and make sure I get at least 2, preferably 3, food groups per meal. So instead of snacks that are carb/fruit or veggies I need snacks that are protein/fruit or veggies/small carbs.

This week begins my diet modification. And yes, I realize I picked the *perfect* time of year to give this a whirl. But if it doesn't work out.........next year is right around the corner.