28 Days - I Did It!!

I did it! I have kept the food journal for 28 days. I can’t believe how fast the time went. And I can’t believe how much I hated keeping the journal. But I did find out a few things, and some were surprising.

I discovered I don’t eat as much as I think I did, but I do snack as much as I think I did. Mostly late at night while watching TV. Darn those commercials. Also late at night it is the most difficult time for me to manage the pain. It seems that night time makes things seem worse. Maybe because it is so quiet, everyone else is asleep, and it is just you and the pain demons. I can’t really get up and move around because I don’t want to wake up mom. So I lay in bed watching TV – and those darn commercials. Even though I know that the food they are showing don’t even come close to looking or tasting like the real thing!! Darn those food stylists!

So the solution for that is to save my netflix movies for later at night when I can’t sleep…no commercials. And, if I really can’t get to sleep to get up and write or journal at my desk (when I can sit long enough). But the netflix rentals are the best so far. I am in the middle of a wonderful TV series from Australia called “McLeod’s Daughters” What a wonderful series…makes me want to saddle up and take off for the Aussie Outback…only problem I am terrified of horses – ever since one took off across a field when I was about 10 years old…my first time on one of those beasts at a riding farm. But still….how much fun to be outdoors all day, and all that wonderful scenery…chaps, cowboy hats, cowboy boots…have you ever noticed that cowboys just walk more sexy than city guys??? Oh yeah, the nature scenery is amazing too.

Another thing I noticed is that when I don’t eat breakfast I fight hunger and munchies all day. Solution: Get out of bed early enough to eat breakfast! DOH!!

One of the surprising things I discovered is that as I am becoming better at stopping when I am satiated instead of overly full I am finding it a weird sensation to deal with. I am not hungry, but it is hard to not want to eat more because I don’t have that feeling, that kind of pain that tells you that you have absolutely eaten enough…you are miserable. I like that feeling of not hurting from eating so much, but it is a new feeling that I need to get used to. Kinda like letting go of an old friend and getting acquainted with a new one. I am not explaining it well, but it is there. And I want to get used to this. A new kind of normal. Just gotta keep up that inner dialogue telling myself that this is normal and good.

Now food journaling….I hate it. I always feel like someone is sitting on my shoulder and is going to grade me or judge me by what I am or am not eating. I struggle with not censoring my entries, wanting it to be right. I only show my journal to myself, and I really don’t pass judgment on what I eat anymore. I use the journaling as a way to reinforce good choices and change destructive choices. But just the act of writing it down feels like I am showing it to someone who will criticize what I eat. But I am going to keep up the journaling for a bit more. It has been good to be accountable to myself. And I find that I am much more selective in what I eat, especially when I munch. I don’t eat as much during the munching/snacking than when I am not journaling. I also find that it is easier to recognize when I am satisfied and stop.

Progress. New discoveries. That is what it is all about. Learning to eat in the real world, real life food, not diet food, not giving up things I like. It is about learning to eat to feed my body and my soul. It has taken many years, but slowly it is happening I think. And it feels good. I may not ever loose the amount of weight of my dreams, but it is wonderful to be feeling that I am progressing on the journey to making peace with food and with my body…as it is, where I am at.

Monday Menus

MONDAY

LUNCH:
Tuna and crackers
Grapes

DINNER:
Tomato Sauced Pork Chops in Crockpot
Rice
Salad
Bread

TUESDAY

LUNCH
Greekish Orzo Tomato Salad

DINNER
Leftovers

WEDNESDAY

LUNCH
Leftover Orzo Salad

SUPPER
Layered Steak in crockpot
Salad
Bread

THURSDAY

LUNCH
falafel

Fixins

SUPPER
Crock pot Bar-b-qued Shrimp
Salad
Bread

FRIDAY

LUNCH
leftover falafel

SUPPER
Hosin Chicken
Vegs
Rice

SATURDAY

LUNCH
leftovers

SUPPER
mahi mahi w/ Aspargus, Broccioli, & Spinach in crock pot
Couscous

SUNDAY

LUNCH
tuna and crackers

SUPPER
cool cucumber noodle salad

Wednesday Web Finds: A Veggie Venture

Affirmation:

I choose to view this journey to health not as a diet but as an opportunity to grow in knowledge and trust of God

On Wednesdays, more or less I want to share food and health related websites that I like or have found helpful for me. Today’s website is A Veggie Venture. I love Alanna’s recipes. I don’t think that any recipe I have tried of hers has not worked for me. This website, chocked full of veggie recipes is a go to website for inspiration for meals.

Alanna is a second generation food columnist, following in the footsteps of her mother. She also continues the food column her mother started called Kitchen Parade. Check it out too, lots of good recipes and information. My favorites are the ones on how to save money on groceries.

Alanna also includes WW information with her recipes and has several zero points soups in her recipe database. Those of you following the WW plan will love this website and mine a bunch of great tasting recipes there.

Make sure to read her about me section. She is one fascinating woman. This bog is a bookmarker for sure; one you will return to frequently. Also you can subscribe to receive her daily posts via email…which of course I do.
Thanks Alanna for such fun and yummy recipes and information and your dedication to share with all of us so generously.

Tuesday Tips, Traps, and Truths: Food Journaling

Affirmation:

I choose to view this journey to health not as a diet but as an opportunity to grow in knowledge and trust of God

A friend sent me this article about food journaling. Since I am in the middle of a personal challenge to keep a food journal for 28 days I thought this would be a great article to share. Personally I still hate keeping a record of all I eat. Even though I keep the journal with in reach, I still forget to record things, I still play games with myself about not putting every single bite down, (like someone is reading over my shoulder???), and I just find it a nuisance.

But on the positive side, I do find myself more aware of how much I eat for other reasons than hunger. It does point out patterns to me that help me to change. I think the most important is that it help me to see that sometimes I get lazy with my food choices and choose easy rather than healthy.

Journaling can be as simple as just writing down the food you eat each day or as complicated as measuring, tracking cal/fat/carb/etc for everything you put into your mouth, and some even take pictures of what is on your plate.

For me the least complicated is the best. I have tried several ways of journaling and tracking my food. The simple writing down of your eating was by far the easiest. But there came a time that I needed to record and remember more about why and when I was eating so that I could look back periodically to see patterns and habits and find ways to break them.

That is why I wrote my own journal. It combines just listing what you eat at each meal and adding a few one – two word observations about what is happening with me and what my triggers to eat are. It is working for me now and has in the past. But I have to be careful that it doesn’t trigger that “diet mentality” in me which sends me spiraling into an eating frenzy out of rebellion. No not a binge, just days of eating what I want, when I want, and how much I want.

I usually don’t keep my journal for more that a month. I usually try to keep one about every 6 months or so. Or if I am feeling like I am using food for more than just fuel. Just as a check to see how I am doing. Sometimes it only takes a week or so to help me see where I am and get back to a better place. But the thing about doing it for a month is that it takes you beyond the “good behavior” phase of keeping a journal. You always do good that first week!
How about you, do you journal? What kind of journal do you keep? Is it working for you?

What's for Supper

This was unbelievably good! Unfortunately the beans were the last of my crop and were tough as shoe leather. Maybe if I would have zapped steamed them a bit in the microwave it may have helped, but I doubt it. I followed Stephanie’s (over at A Year of CrockPotting) recipe as she wrote it. I cooked it in my mini pot – think it is about 1 ½ quarts – and it doesn’t have settings. It cooked in 2 ½ hours and could have come out a bit sooner. I used oranges for the citrus and sliced one up and put it on top of the beans, laid the salmon over it and then placed more slices over the top of the salmon. The sauce is so good, next time I won’t let mom talk me out of cooking rice or couscous to soak it up with. This one is a keeper!

Monday Menus

On Mondays I am going to try to post my menu for the week. I am trying something new this month in an effort to save money at the grocery and to keep unwanted foods out of the house. It seems the more I go to the grocery, the more unwanted food I buy....and eat. Also with my back problems grocery shopping is a real challenge, so I want to do it as little as possible.

For breakfasts I usually have a bagel and low fat cream cheese and coffee, an egg with a piece of whole grain toast, or a slice of whole grain toast with some peanut butter on it. Add a cup of coffee and depending on how hungry I am in the mornings a piece of fruit. In the winter I have hot oatmeal frequently too. What can I say, I am a creature of habit. Also not too awake in the mornings and usually starved, so it is better to keep breakfasts simple and quick.
I use the Internet a lot to find recipes. This next month I am trying out planning a lot of CrockPot recipes. I am in a mood again where I don't want to cook or mess with food. Also by the end of the day I never seem to want to fix dinner anymore. So putting on the CrockPot in the mornings when I have more energy makes sense.

I will link back to the food blog or website where I got the recipe. Most likely I will change it or tweak it to make it healthier, fit what I have on hand or like, or just because. I will try to post my version of the recipe along with pictures and a review of how it tastes daily, or not, depending on the demands of the day.

MONDAY
Lunch: Chicken salad & crackers Peach
Dinner: Salmon & Green Beans

TUESAY
Lunch: Beef & roasted red pepper wrap Fruit
Dinner: Chicken Crock Pot Nachos Tortilla Chips - baked

WEDNESDAY
Lunch: Chicken & Roasted red pepper wrap Fruit
Dinner: Chinese Lemon Chicken in Crock Pot Vegies or salad

THURSDAY
Lunch: Chicken Salad & crackers Fruit
Dinner: Leftover Lemon Chicken

FRIDAY
Lunch: Beef & Roasted red pepper wrap Fruit
Dinner: Steak, baked potato, corn on cob

SATURDAY
Lunch: Chicken Wraps Fruit
Dinner: Chicken Teriyaki Wings Salad

SUNDAY
Lunch: Tuna & Crackers Fruit
Dinner: Leftover Chicken Teriyaki Salad