So, it has been a while since I have written but I have been eating very well and drinking in moderation – defined as some weeks I don’t drink at all, sometimes I have a glass of wine … and then there are those nights when we are out with friends celebrating something and… ughhh headache city! My eating habits are the same. I wouldn’t say I am a 1% or a 99%… ha! I just know I want to be better tomorrow than where I am today, LITERALLY!
So yesterday, I was talking with my mom and her boyfriend about their eating excuses. Perfect example: ”well, this week is shot because we went out for so and so’s birthday and then this and that and next week we are going on vacation so that is shot too!” Yes that’s right, giving in before you even give yourself a chance! So I give them both this great lecture about my thoughts and ways to improve on things today. Fast forward to today and I just crumbled!
Out of no where! Partly because G wasn’t home so I didn’t have a need for a structured meal at all, which meant I could snack all day. I ate like 15 apricots, dried mango, 20 crackers, 2 handfuls of nuts, 12 pretzels dipped in any type of cheese I could find in my fridge including some nice pimento cheese and some boursin, I had some toast and jelly, I had ground beef with salsa and cheese (2 helpings), an apple, a half a pear and about 5 cups of tea and a 4 glasses of water. I had all of this and there was not one point in the day where I felt hungry. I always tell people I rarely feel full, today I felt full, but I kept eating. Right now my stomach is so bloated I just want to sleep – awesome combination!
So, I know what you are thinking, most everything on the list is decent for you – yes, but in moderation! Polishing off a tub of cheese is ridiculous! Besides the fact that it has absolutely no nutritional value, it really sticks to your A*s and doesn’t digest.
Back to me never feeling full, I was talking to a friend of mine who was sharing her experience with me about how she went to one of her friends Italian grandparents house in college to learn to make pasta. She was describing the hours of cooking and eating that went on and that pretty much after the first round of food she tried to tap out, but her friends wouldn’t let her and teased her for it. She said she had never experienced anything like it. She is a healthy eater, a good cook and has a good relationship with food, she just looks at it differently than I do. You eat to feed your body and it can be enjoyable and delicious and creative; I eat for pleasure and experience. Luckily for me my body naturally enjoys healthy foods so nutrition just happens for me but it is not the primary reason that I eat or cook for that matter.
It got me thinking about what I can do about it, the typical stuff we learn:
- eat slower
- eat on a plate
- don’t eat in front of anything with a screen (including your phone) not even a book/magazine
- fill over half your plate with vegetables
- use a smaller plate
- snack when you are hungry*******
- have a glass of water before you eat and at the first sign of hunger
- people are typically hungry 3-4 hours
So I started digging around online and wanted to share some good sites that I recommend you visit so be sure and click on the links in this post (I don’t know them personally, I just found what they wrote helpful to me). The best was the snack when you are hungry: THAT MEANS YOU SHOULD EAT LESS AT YOUR MEAL… REALLY??? Yes, I am sure that this is common sense… that NEVER occurred to me! Yes, I will admit it, it never even entered the realm of possibility. That and just because it is noon or 6 doesn’t mean we have to eat… STUMPED AGAIN! Which makes me realize, I do need to start to listen to my body which is the only real reason I am not sure if I am hungry or if I am ever full so check out the link below.
Emotional Hunger Pangs vs True Hunger Pangs? – another day! Bored, Lonely, Sad, Afraid, Mad, … if you had a bad day, sing that American Idol song and drink a glass of hot tea! and read from this woman who seems to have a good relationship with food.
The hunger scale is a nutritionist’s tool that can help you learn how to eat only when you’re actually hungry and stop as soon as you start to feel full. (Taken from Calorie Lab)vHere’s how it works: When you want to eat, first figure out where you are on a scale of one to ten, with one being ravenously hungry and ten being painfully overstuffed.
- Insatiably hungry
- Seriously hungry
- Stomach growling hungry
- Slightly hungry
- No longer hungry but not yet satisfied
- Comfortably satisfied
- Starting to feel full
- Feeling full
- Starting to get a stomach ache from so much food
- In actual pain from overeating
(From me again: They say you should always want to be between 3-7)
Eat only when you’re hungry. (taken from WikiHow) Modern Western culture seems to think that people get hungry at about 9 AM, 12 noon, and again at 6 PM. While this may be a generally good schedule for eating, remember that (usually) you don’t have to eat at meal time if you’re not hungry yet. Also, if you are hungry between meals, go ahead and have a healthy snack. It’s not good to starve yourself between meals; if you allow yourself to become too hungry, yyou’ll just overeat when the meal comes. It’s all about listening to your body. You cannot follow this suggestion, however, until you have mastered Step 2, knowing when you’re hungry. Another thing to remember is that by eating a little bit whenever you’re hungry throughout the day, you shouldn’t be eating so much at meal times, because you won’t be as hungry and because you haven’t waited and starved yourself. If you follow the suggestion of eating between meals if you’re hungry, but continue to eat the same amount as if you had not snacked at meal times, you’ll only end up gaining weight.
Awesome artical I got such a giggle. We are all human and make mistakes in our everyday food choices and always realize them once we’ve made our choice, but of course too late. The little words of advise are ones we all are familiar with especialy if you’ve dieted in the past, but some great reminders if your ready to challenge your eating habits yet once again.
I hope we are both successful, I started yesterday and have two good days in a row even though I did eat that baked potato! Keep us updated I enjoy hearing your progress.
Posted by Nancy Powers | January 27, 2012, 4:02 amThanks! Like I said the potato is fine, just cut it in half and put the other half away for the next day!
Posted by americandreamrevised | January 27, 2012, 1:28 pm