Good: No junky snacks. Bad: McDonalds for lunch yesterday, fries included.
Good: Did my three laps around the block Monday. Bad: Didn't do any yesterday.
Good: Used our new air popper for a healthy snack last night. Bad: Added butter.
Good: Down a pound since Monday morning, now weighing 125.6. Bad: Still above 125.
So there you have it. I'm not doing awful but I haven't found that special groove yet. I'm about to head out for my walk, going to do 2 laps and try for 2 more later. Have a healthy lunch planned but dinner, well, it's one of those busy nights where the kiddo and I both have somewhere to be around dinner time, so I'm making something not super-great but I'll work on portion sizes at the very least.
Pressing on!
I think one of the most confusing things about trying to be healthy is figuring out what to eat and what not to. You can find "experts" to support just about any eating philosophy, it seems.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with butter. Or tortillas -- I make my own that are half whole wheat and half regular flour, and the only other ingredients are salt, olive oil, and water.
I agree with you about junky snacks and McD's, though, and about exercise.
My philosophy is not completely formed, but I find myself feeling most aligned with Michael Pollan and the Weston Price foundation. I eat more animal products than Pollan would care for, and not enough fermented things to please all the WP people, but... overall I just believe in eating things that are as natural as possible, minimally processed, using moderation for portion sizes and for frequency of treats.
Sugar is a much bigger problem for me than fat. I theoretically would rather have rare treats with real sugar than more frequent treats with artificial sweeteners -- better yet, I try to use maple syrup or honey when I can. And I have found that, while I definitely still have a sweet tooth, I like things far less sweet than most commercial treats are.
One of my best strategies against too much dessert or too much carbs was to eat fruit for dessert -- plain raw fruit. I've gotten out of that habit.
Anyway, all that is basically just to say I'm reading and supporting regardless of differing eating values.
I think the major difference in our diet strategies may be that I'm focusing on calories...therefore butter, tortillas, cheese, things like that are on my watch list. Not necessarily BAD foods, just added calories I don't need.
ReplyDeleteFor whatever reason, the only thing that has really worked for me in my pursuit to lose weight has been cutting calories...that's it! So when I'm only trying to maintain my weight I tend to allow those things, but when I'm actively trying to drop pounds I try to cut (or at least limit) them. :-)
I'm with ya, re: raw fruit for dessert. You don't feel much like eating a piece of cake if you're full of nice juicy apple:0) Pineapple and some grapes are almost TOO sweet for me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I've mentioned this before, but here's something that has really helped me with bedtime snacking. Immediately after tucking the kiddo into bed at night, I go into the bathroom and floss and brush my teeth (most nights). I don't feel much like snacking after that, because I'd have to go brush again! (Hurray for laziness!)
n8swife, how that does bring back the memory -- of the time when I was rather deep in the pit of a depression, and at my mom's for Christmas, where the cookies were out all day and night and replenished often, and I tried the brush-my-teeth thing and ate some more anyway and then cried...
ReplyDeleteBut yes, sometimes it works! One thing is that toothpaste has some sweetness to it, and that's often enough.
As for cake and apples, depends on the cake -- and the apple!
And Missy, yes, fewer calories pretty automatically seems to mean less weight.
Oh, and Mark likes his popcorn with Tabasco. I like mine with butter, parmesan, and pepper -- talk about calories.
There were always Christmas tins full of chocolate chip cookies at my hubby's grandma's house. She and I used to walk together in the mornings, then we'd sit and drink coffee and eat cookies afterward. No wonder I didn't lose any weight that year!
ReplyDeleteI had an apple yesterday, sliced and sprinkled with cinnamon, that would rival any cookie I have ever eaten...it was just super delicious! If only I could remember that as I'm passing a tin of chocolate chip cookies...
ReplyDeleteOh and now I'm curious about hot sauce on my popcorn! That really sounds GOOD. :)
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