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How I Lost 18 Pounds plus a Salmon and Arugula With Tomato Salad Recipe

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Salmon and Arugala Salad with Tomato

Weight lose diet

Yeah yeah, I know what you are thinking: salad in December? Shawna, have you gone mad? In actuality I have gone healthy. Nearly every day since December of 2012 I have eaten salad, in one form or another, for lunch. After seeing myself in the TEDx speech video, I realized I had gained too many pounds because of lots of travel and poor eating habits while I was on the road. I needed help to get myself back into the habit of healthy eating and signed up for MyFitnessPal.com (MFP) so I could easily track my food consumption using my cell phone. MFP recently posted the nutrition graphic at the bottom of this post on their blog site and I wanted to share it with you as it gives some great ideas about carbohydrates and healthy eating.

What I discovered in my personal food journey is that I was eating a lot of beef, pork, and fried foods. Changing my approach, I began consuming more fish, chicken, and vegetables and found I could stick to a 1,200 to 1,400 calorie per day diet and still feel full and happy. I lost 18 pounds in about 3 to 4 months and relearned some great habits so have been able to keep the weight off. While I occasionally fall off the good eating habit, I always return to it as a permanent choice for eating because healthy eating is not about “dieting”, but about learning positive habits and sticking with them. It is a “way of life” change and I feel better than ever because of it.

Below is one of my favorite low-carb recipes for lunch, it would be even healthier without the mayo, but I love a little mayo once in a while so treat myself. I hope you enjoy this salad as much as I do, the marjoram adds a little surprising flavor kick. Enjoy!

Salmon and Arugala Salad with Tomato Ingredients

Salmon and Arugula With Tomato Salad Recipe

  • Salmon and Mayo1 can skinless & boneless pink salmon, drained and flaked
  • 1 tablespoon light mayo
  • 2 cups organic baby arugula
  • 1 medium tomato, sliced
  • 1 teaspoon fresh sweet marjoram
  • salt and pepper

Mix the salmon and mayo together.

Place arugula on plate, add salmon mixture, sliced tomatoes, and top with marjoram.

Salt and pepper to taste.

~ ~ ~

If you want to lose weight and stay healthy, please check with your doctor first before going on any diet and consider utilizing an online tracking tool. It really helped me to learn how to eat healthier. My goal was not to lose inordinate amounts of weight but to relearn my eating and cooking habits so that I would build a better understanding of food and what it meant for me. Healthy salads, chicken and fish, lots of veggies, and regular exercise all helped. With holiday food slapping us in the face this season, it is a great time to consider better habits.

Below is a handy-dandy guide to good carbs. Good luck with your new eating habits – I know you can do it!

Salmon and Arugala Salad with Tomato 2

Special thanks to the Hello Healthy | The MyFitnessPal Blog for this graphic —

MyFitnessPal Nutrition 101: Carbohydrates

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10 Comments

  1. Way to go Shawna! You are completely right. It is not about “dieting”, it is about eating healthy and changing your lifestyle.
    I’m doing exactly that. I’ve changed my lifestyle and eat healthy. I too keep track of everything I eat and drink, but with FatSecret.com instead (which is pretty much the same thing as MyFitnessPal.com). One of the things I also changed, was eating more of the proper portion size.
    Two things spurred me to do make the change. One was seeing a picture of myself and having my first thought be “Who is that person?” and the second thing was having an allergist tell me that I’d have to cut certain things out of my diet to help my allergies. I never realized how much I ate of certain items and that I was eating 3-5 times the proper portion size until I started to keep track of everything.
    It’s been almost 2 years since I changed my lifestyle and started eating healthier. I’ve lost a total of 30 pounds. Crazy, right?! And all without doing anything drastic like starve myself. =)

  2. Hey Shawna,

    Love the Salmon Arugual salad idea. Quick and simple and inexpensive too. Have you ever tried Vegenaise as opposed to mayonaise? I converted and have not gone back. Funny thing is it really does taste like mayo but in my opinion better.

    Check it out:

    http://followyourheart.com/products/reduced-fat-3#product-top

    I like the Grapeseed Oil version but they have reduced fat as well.

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