Vegetables

I hated vegetables. Before I started losing weight, the only way I would eat veggies was smothered in cheese or butter or something else fabulously tasty to hide the inherent vegetable-ness of the veggies I was consuming. Candied carrots, cheesy broccoli, green bean casserole (green beans smothered in cream of mushroom soup and topped with fried shoestring onions - Yummy!). I did not eat vegetables (sans creamy, cheesy awesomeness )often - I would choke them down once in a while....and I almost never ate raw vegetables. I hated them.

Now, I have developed a taste for veggies, subsisting on shakes for five meals a day for several weeks tends to change your pallet quite a bit. Actually, I think that was probably the biggest benefit of the medically supervised shake diet I was on for the first several weeks of my weight loss. The weight loss was obviously a great benefit, but I found myself craving some variety and since the only option I had within the bounds of the particular diet I had chosen was to add veggies to my shakes (and not so great entrees) - I added vegetables. And they tasted wonderful!  I added vegetables about 6 weeks into my weight loss, they were the first real food I had eaten in six weeks and they were fabulous! The shakes and entrees were more like a nutrient delivery system than food. The vegetables were a beautiful and welcome addition, and they stayed.  The benefit of vegetables, in addition to all of the healthy vitamins they provide, is that they are very low in calories and they fill me up. So, when I have a meal, I load up on the vegetables and then I can have my chicken and my bread or rice or whatever. Since the largest part of my meal is vegetables, I don't need much of the higher calorie foods to get full. Thus, I can enjoy my fish, chicken, etc. in healthy moderation and not feel like I am totally depriving myself. It works beautifully and I feel great. Now, I love vegetables - and I have those horrible shakes to thank for it.

I still quite like the creamy, cheesy stuff, but I reserve it for the Holidays and then I plan for it and enjoy it in moderation.