Committed

Tonight I had school so I packed up what I thought would be enough grub to get me through the day.  Even though I went to school fed, I ended up buying a “yogurt parfait” from the campus cafe.  I only at about 1/2 of it because it upset my stomach.  I swear I think I have a dairy intolerance or something.

Pic of my lunch bag contents….

• Breakfast:  Joe’s HF O’s with Oat Milk; DanActive; 2 capps
• Lunch:  Amy’s Shepherd’s Pie
• Snacks:  red pepper strips and applesauce (ended up not eating the crackers in the pic)
• Dinner:  Amy’s black bean & veg burrito
• Dessert:  Yogurt Parfait
• Late evening snack: popcorn cakes

Day 17 of my 100 Days Challenge had me throw away food to see how it feels.  I tossed the yogurt and it was definitely the right choice because it was giving me a tummy ache.

I really like the lesson in Day 17.  The concept of not wanting to “waste” food is so deeply ingrained.  Spangle says eating food you don’t want or need is just as wasteful as throwing it out, except you’re wasting it into yourself.  Dude, that is totally profound.

I know, I’ve been really bad about staying on track with my 100 Days Challenge.  But I want to really do the exercises so I don’t move forward unless I really do each task.

Today my 100 Days of Weight Loss assignment was to eat 2 bites of one of my favorite foods.

DAY 15

“Choose one of your favorite foods such as carrot cake, and then focus on all the details and tastes of the first two bites. Let yourself appreciate the flavors. Write down the food you choose for this exercise.”

SNICKERS BAR:  crunchy, melty, sweet, salty

“After the first two bites, stop eating and get rid of the rest of the food. In the space below, describe your response to this experience.”

This was tough!!  I am not used to putting something so delicious away.

“With each food you eat today, pay close attention to the first two bites. Notice how they taste in comparison to the rest of the food. Write a few notes below.”

This is something I completely forgot to do.  Having done this with the snickers bar I see the value in doing this with every meal.  I think it promotes mindfulness and sincere appreciation for the food.  But, its tough to get into the habit.  But I will try!!!

Check out these cupcakes…..

I couldn’t say no.  So instead I said “YES PLEASE” to 2 of the minis instead of one large.  You can’t really tell by the pic, but the 2 small ones were definitely no more than half the size of the full size ones.

Challenge #1 - mission accomplished!!

Day 11 of my 100 day challenge asked that I track the time every time I eat.  The purpose of this exercise was to remember that food is largely for fuel, and that we need to eat at the right times for the best results.  Doing this did make me more cognizant of what I was eating and when; however it also felt a little bit obsessive.  It interfered with a routine that has been working well for me.  So, I probably won’t do it again.

But, since I did it I might as well share.

• 6:20am:  1st cup of espresso with 1/4 cup milk
• 8:50am:  Joe’s O’s with soymilk and DanActive
• 10:00am: 2nd cup of espresso with half & half
• 12:10pm:  handful of yellow grape tomatoes
• 12:50pm:  pasta lunch and applesauce
• 2:10pm:  celery
• 6:30pm:  teeny tiny slice of pizza and salad with 2 tablespoons thousand island
• 7:00pm:  2 teeny tiny cupcakes

2nd day in a row that I brought strawberries (all washed and cut up and ready to go) and did not eat them.  Maybe I’ll put them on my cereal tomorrow.  I think I am harboring a secret anger toward the strawberries. I bought a huge container full of strawberries at Costco this weekend, only to discover that half were so overripe that they were inedible.  :-(  So, apparently now I’m taking my anger out on the good strawberries.

Fitday Summary is Below….

Grams Calories %-Cals Calories 1,414 Fat 42.2 377 27 % Saturated 14.1 126 9 % Polyunsaturated 3.3 29 2 % Monounsaturated 5.9 52 4 % Carbohydrate 222.4 876 62 % Dietary Fiber 26.0 Protein 43.3 167 12 % Alcohol 0.0 0 0 %

Fat ( 27 %) Carbs ( 62 %) Protein ( 12 %) Alcohol ( 0 %)

I haven’t been great about doing the challenge every single day.  I want to get better about it but Thursdays and Fridays are really tough for me.

Anyway….  Here is my challenge for today:  to let my support people know what I want from them.  For example, if I fall off the wagon, do I want their help getting back on?  Or, would I rather they compliment me?  Or, do I want them to just ignore it?

For me, the answers to these kinds of questions are usually going to be ignore it.  Since I haven’t really told anyone but my husband and my therapist that I’m on a new healthy eating program I don’t see a need to discuss it with anyone.

I have been trying to think of ways to explain my weight loss to people (work, friends, family) once they start noticing.  From past experience I’ve learned that once people learn you’re on a diet, they have all kinds of things to say.  Like they want to give their opinion on your plan, or they want to criticize you if you eat dessert, or they make a comment about how terrible you looked before you lost the weight.

I really prefer that people just ignore it but I don’t think that is going to happen.

Anyone got any ideas?