Diet anyone?

I am following a good diet while I am home. Type 2 diabetes got me off the road. Gotta be very careful when gaining the weight. It doesn't take much for T2 to set in. 

In my explorations of diet and how food works on the body, I have noticed that there is no real easy way for a driver to follow a real good diet on the road. This is due to restauraunts using cheap mass produced foods instead of fresh made unmodified ingredients. About the only healthy thing you can get in a truckstop resauraunt is a salad. Literally! Everything else they have comes out of a can. That means it's been processed, chemicals and salts added, sugar added and who knows what else. This stuff, while it may taste good, is very bad for you. Especially the sugars and enhanced carbs. 

there is very little processed food that has no sugar in it or is low in carbohydrates. Some carbs can be just as bad as sugars as once digested, Heavy carbs act as sugar and push the sugar level up the blood. I test my sugar and to eat 2 slices of white bread pumps my sugar level way up too high. Bread is high in bad carbs and high in sugars. 

If you want to eat healthy bread for sandwiches, go to Walmart or whatever store you like, and find the bread section. Look for the whole breads. Stay away from the white. Look at the ingredients on the bread. The first ingredient will always be some sort of flour. If it says Enriched or Enhanced Flour, then its very bad for you. Enhanced or enriched flour means it has been processed to the point that the flour has sooo many carbs in it, it's like eating pure sugar, even though there may be no sugar listed in the ingredients. Look for Stone Ground flours or wheats as the first ingredient. NON enhanced and NON enriched. Thats one of the first steps in eating healthy. Cut down on the breads. Very important.

Eat FRESH REAL vegetables. Don't buy canned veggies. Canned veggies have been cooked and have added salts and preservatives. In the cooking process, any vitamins have literally been cooked out of the vegetable. This goes for veggies you will find on a salad bar. CHick Peas, green peas, green beans, etc. They may taste good but they have little nutritional value after the canning process. 

Fresh lettuce is good. Any veggie that is fresh is good. If you use a salad dressing, put it on the side or in a small soup bowl. DONT slather it on! That was one of the things that done me in. Eating a salad was good for me but the creamy dressings are very high in sugar and carbs. Try the vinagrette or light oil based salads. Stay away from the heavy thick dressings. Or at least, use a very small amount for dipping.

If you eat in the truckstop, don't bodyslam the buffet. Buy a single meal. If it's possible, get any topping, such as gravy or sauces, on the side. That way you can control how much of it you eat. Sauces are good as is most foods but if too much is eaten, it's bad for you. When the meal comes out and you can't see the main course due to the sauces on top, then thats a bad thing. 

Potatoes? NO!...lol Well maybe a small scoop of mashed potatoes. Potatoes are high in starch and carbohydrates. They act just like sugar. I good substitute for white pottoes are Yams or Sweet Potatoes. Sweet potatoes are sweet but not very high in sugars or carbs. DOnt pig out on them however. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

Don't be afraid to NOT clean your plate as well. This was one of my other problems. Even after I felt full, I'd finish up EVERYTHING on the plate. I always felt a bit concerned about leaving anything behind. After all, I paid for it, why should I not finish it? It takes a bit of getting used to to do that if money is an important thing. Getting the best bang for your buck can kill you! Or at least cost you your job due to health problems.

Desserts are OK if your not diabetic. Fresh fruit is always the best. Once again, not the canned fruits in heavy syrup. there is nothing but processed sugars and a minimum of fruit juice in the syrups. Cakes and pies are OK as well. In moderation. Too much of any cakes and pies are bad for you. once again, because of sugars. Fresh fruit is good if you are diabetic. Just not too much. Once again, moderation is the key

I am rambling on a bit here. I guess the basics of what I am trying to say is, Watch what you eat. Stay away from Enriched breads. Use moderation in deciding how much to eat. Stay away from canned foods if you can. Eat fresh veggies. Dont be afraid to walk away from a half eaten meal if you are full. 

Eating a good healthy meal in a truckstop or reastauraunt is possible. Just a bit more difficult. It can be done if you THINK about what you are doing and eating. Dont go into the restauraunt on autopilot. Keep your wits about you and eat what you want. Just make sure you know WHAT you're eating before you eat it. 

Look around on the web for diabteic diets. Even if you are not diabetic, that type of diet will still be healthy for you. The food is good and you will lose wieght and get healthy. Even if you don't follow the diet, You will still be exposed to good knowledge on how to eat healthy. No diet is set in stone. DONT be afraid to modify any diet you want to try. Just keep in mind that you cant substitute sugars for vegetables and things like that.Ya gotta find whats good for you and make sure it's something you WANT to do and dont feel like your FORCED to do it.