Health & Fitness

Category: Terry Foster's battle with diabetes

I am having an affair with Mrs. Dash

The first plan of attack for becoming healthy was hitting the kitchen and getting rid of everything with high sodium. That meant tossing Montreal steak seasoning, Lawrys seasoning salt and some of the marinades that make your chicken and pork taste so good.

In addition to being diagnosed with diabetes my doctor said my blood pressure was high as was my cholesterol. So salt was a no-no also.

Now I have a new woman in my life and my wife actually approves. Her name is Ms. Dash.

No sodium and the taste is just as good. I now buy Ms. Dash by the barrel and season my food with it. There is even a Ms. Dash marinade that I enjoy. Accent is not bad either. It only has 80 mg of sodium as opposed to 360 for Lawry's.

So step one is eliminating as much salt from your diet as possible. Step two was throwing out all soda and replacing it with water. Pop has tons of sugar. You must get rid of it. I now drink two liters of water minimum a day. If you need taste with your beverage I recommend flavored water from Wal-Mart and Meijer. There is no sugar, no calories and no sodium.

Doc said to have one steak or burger a week. OK. I have two a week. Rome was not built in a day but the bottom line is I have cut down on red meat. I can still have burgers and steak but everything must be done in moderation. If you must have a big T-bone steak four times a week, try this trick. Cut it in half, fill out the rest of your meal with salad and vegetables and lots of water. Then have the second half of the steak at a later meal or the following day.

My outdoor grill will be running all winter and I will be grilling boneless chicken breasts and fish. Those are the main staples of my diet. Boneless chicken breasts, fish, my new girl Ms. Dash and lemon. It is healthy but also delicious. I don't care how cold it gets. I am sticking with the game plan. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices to remain on a diet.

My next blog will center on why I eat more often to lose weight.

If you have questions I can be reached at Terry.Foster@detnews.com or 313-222-1494. You can follow me on twitter.com/bigscoop.