Friday, December 29, 2006

fast food vs. healthy food

I was really tempted to get fast food for lunch today. Of course, being a veggie my "fast food" is usually a cheese sandwich at a sub shop and chips. It's not bad, but it's exactly healthy either.

But, in favor of saving a few bucks (and remembering all the dollar signs I dropped at the grocery store the other day) I instead came home. I fixed myself a cup of canned soup and a chick-pea and cheese sandwich on wheat bread.

While I still had cheese -- which I would have eaten anyway -- overall I believe I made a healthier choice. The soup was low sodium and fat free, and hopefully that will keep me feeling full through dinner. And wheat bread is always better than white. And the chick-pea pattie means more protein than cheese alone.

It's a small decision, and I doubt I saved calories. But I believe I chose better calories -- ones that are better for me, and will keep me full longer, so I don't get plagued with the munchies!

And the cup of soup? Well, I read about that in a magazine. Supposively a cup of soup or a salad before a meal makes you fuller and eat less overall. It's worth a try! :-)

Thursday, December 28, 2006

a light dinner

My tofu-smoothy and toast dinner was so yummy! Sometimes a non-dinner dinner is the best one.

Surprisingly, I'm amazingly full. Probably because 1) my tummy pains and 2) I had a smallish snack of crackers and cheese right before.

The best part? I made enough for tomorrow morning, so I can have a healthy boost of fruit, yogurt and tofu with toast as I rush off to work the early shift tomorrow. :-)

tummy pains

My tummy hurts!

It's sore and bloated and snug against my pants. It hurts!

Two days after Christmas and the three-days of drinking, merriment and enjoying good food has caught up with me. It's funny, because I never feel it the day after ... I was actually surpised how well my clothes fit on Christmas, the last day of this holiday bender. But now my tummy is in pain!

Part of me is thankful that my tummy hurts -- it's my body's warning signal, telling me that all the treats and lack of exercise should not be sustained. It's forcing me to drink more water, eat smaller meals and basically wait for it to get better.

But at the same time, I've never heard of anyone else's tummy hurting after a food splurge. I wonder how normal it is. I also wonder if it's because I eat so healthfully normally that when I stray to the other extreme -- unhealthy and large proportions -- my body reacts so negatively.

But regardless, my tummy hurts!

tummy pains

My tummy hurts!

It's sore and bloated and snug against my pants. It hurts!

Two days after Christmas and the three-days of drinking, merriment and enjoying good food has caught up with me. It's funny, because I never feel it the day after ... I was actually surpised how well my clothes fit on Christmas, the last day of this holiday bender. But now my tummy is in pain!

Part of me is thankful that my tummy hurts -- it's my body's warning signal, telling me that all the treats and lack of exercise should not be sustained. It's forcing me to drink more water, eat smaller meals and basically wait for it to get better.

But at the same time, I've never heard of anyone else's tummy hurting after a food splurge. I wonder how normal it is. I also wonder if it's because I eat so healthfully normally that when I stray to the other extreme -- unhealthy and large proportions -- my body reacts so negatively.

But regardless, my tummy hurts!

Sunday, December 17, 2006

the munchies

I had a case of the munchies tonight.

Nothing seemed to satisfy, although I tried. As you can see, it went from well-intentioned dinner to not-so-well intentioned: An apple, a veggie corn dog, a glass of soy milk, a handful of M&Ms, a teaspoon of chocolate sauce (yes, sad I know). But finally, I found the cure ... a bag of 100-calorie popcorn.

My hands are swelling from the salt now, but boy it was nice to eat a whole bag of popcorn!! I was eating emotionally, I know, but I didn't care. So what if D is coming home in less than three days. So what if I ate well yesterday and (mostly) well Friday. So what if I ran both days this weekend and was on track to loose a pound.

I was in a horrible mood all day, at least half of it trying to fight back tears. I ran two miles and that helped a bit (yay for new stress-fighting strategies!) but still snapped at my sister and ended up crying in front of my Mom right before I left. Wednesday cannot get here fast enough.

But looking back, even though I was emotionally eating, I think I did okay. Two years ago I would have eaten a whole carton of ice cream -- but a handful (seriously, that's it, although it was a large handful) of candy and chocolate sauce? Probably 300 calories compared to would have been 1,000 callories a few years ago.

Not bad when you look at it that way.

Friday, December 15, 2006

feeling better

My pants were looser today, my stomach wasn't bloated. It goes to show what a few days of action -- possibly considered inaction -- can do! I feel better than I did all week.

But as I write this, I'm still on the verge of over eating tonight. Already I've been snacking on slices of low-fat cheese as I make dinner. It's Friday, I rationalize, why can't I splurge? Why not, after eating so well today and for the past few days?

I know why -- weight maintenance is as simple as "calories in, calories out." I'm still compensating from all those Christmas cookies I ate earlier this week!

Not to mention I want to look -- but mostly feel -- good when D comes home for leave on Wednesday.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

today

I managed my hunger well today, I feel.

Egg whites with one egg and toast this morning; carrot and peanut soup with a slice of bread for lunch (and I didn't even finish the whole bowl like usual!), a power bar for snack, and a homemade broccoli and walnut salad, yogurt and veggie corn dog for dinner.

It's almost 10 p.m. and I feel good, proud that I ate well. While I can't take back how unhealthy I ate a few days ago, I can do something about how well I eat today.

And that's a good feeling.

Wednesday, December 13, 2006

a healthier me

Two years ago I lost 45 lbs, and now I'm struggling with the last 5-10 lbs I want to loose. I'm hoping this blog will keep me on track in my weight maintenance.

I recently completed a 5k in 33 minutes, something I'm very proud of. I've been exercising 3-4 times a week and eating relatively well until recently. The holiday season is throwing me -- I must have eaten 2-5 Christmas cookies a day for the last two weeks! And with D coming home from Guard duty in less than a week, all a sudden I'm panicking.

I told myself I would loose those last few pounds while D was on deployment the last two months. His leaving during Christmas will mean one-third of his deployment is behind us, so (technically) I have until April to get into the shape I want to be in.

But instead I've gained about 3 lbs since he last saw me! I know he won't care, and I may be the only person who notices, but it's disappointing. I want him to look at me at the airport and say, damn! My girlfriend's hot!

I don't know why those last few pounds mean so much, but they do. Despite my fitness goals -- the 5k one being a large accomplishment -- I really want to be 125 lbs. Okay, 120 lbs. Even better if I'm 115 lbs. Mostly because I want to be a size six. I've even put off buying new clothes!

The largest thing I need to focus on is the moment. How hungry am I? Am I eating because the cookies are there, or because I'm actually hungry? Am I eating because I'm sad or anxious or nervous?

I good trick that's so hard to implement is the 1-10 scale of hunger. If you're at 10, you're too full and it hurts. if you're at 1, you're starving and will eat a whole pizza. At 5, you're full but satisfied. The trick is to never eat above a 6, or below a 3.

In college this helped a lot ... now the trick is to follow my own advice!