Challenges with Journaling!

Okay so yesterday I was all keen on my food journaling and thinking about menus and food. And that got me to thinking about food ALL DAY LONG!! It was like the food in the house was the last food on earth and if I didn't eat it then ... This morning while I was laying in bed I spent a bunch of time analyzing what happened, deciding whether I would admit it or not, and thinking about how to avoid this type of thing in the future as it is exactly this that sabotages me so often.

So here we go - Analysis time.

1. When I think about the fact that I need to write my food down and then I think about the fact that that probably means that I shouldn't eat certain stuff and that since it is Little John reading the list that it really has to be good stuff I immediately start to crave EVERYTHING! The adage that "energy flows where focus goes" is very true. To help avoid this "scarcity" feeling that triggers desire I must ensure that I menu plan weekly so that there is no question what I will be eating so that I can then forget about eating.
2. When I create a menu it has to be for every meal and snack of the day in order to be most effective and to ensure that I am getting the right combination of hi-low glycemic foods, the right "food pyramid" foods, enough variety to please me, enough food to fill me up but not make me fat, and have enough "fun" food included so that I don't feel panicked about never eating yummy, fun food again :)
3. Yesterday I ate breakfast but then I didn't eat again (even a snack) until almost 2pm when the contractors left. When I did I ate cauliflower with low-fat cheese on top. By 3:30pm I was hungry again probably because I hadn't eaten any carbs with it. So at 3:30om I inhaled an avocado, then some peanuts, and then some more peanuts. At about 6pm I had more cauliflower and cheese with a little salmon. Still wanting to chomp down food I ate 2 Fudgesicles (left over from the kids) and then, and this is the truly embarrassing part, even though I was full I ate the last Fudgesicle with the excuse that it was the last one and then I wouldn't be tempted any more. This could all have been solved if I had had a menu plan in place. Big lesson there. I just signed up at http://www.everydayhealth.com/ in order to use their free calorie counter. I think that this will help me also.
4. If I am going to make a success of this I have to put it out there warts and all. There is no use in me hiding my Fudgesicle eating or other "bad" things and still expect this blog to serve its purpose or for me to see any improvement. In fact, the reason that I am writing this blog is to almost force myself to take a good look at the reality of what it going on and why. So expect to see a lot of warts in this blog :)
5. I just signed up at http://www.everydayhealth.com/ in order to use their free calorie counter. I think that this will help me also as it is important to have a clear understanding of the number of calories that I am taking in especially since, without exercise, I only burn 1200 per day. Based on the food that I ate yesterday (1577 calories) I am happier than I have a right to be because I thought that it was going to be WAY worse, excited about using this new tool, and sad because I don't think that I burned an extra 377 calories at the gym yesterday (between Little John and the Elliptical trainer I don't think that I burned more than 300). This means that I had a deficit yesterday of 77 calories and that is the road to gaining rather than losing.

I have a client in a minute and I still haven't eaten yet so I am going to post this (so that I don't lose it ... I still haven't figured out how to get a post out of "draft") and then edit it later to add my To Do list and my Menu plan.

More to come ...

Bad news! I forgot to add the avocado and my calorie count jumped to 1899! That means that I have a 399 calorie deficit instead of the more reasonable 77 calorie one. I am so glad that I am using this calorie counter!!

My lunch today was really good. It was a sweet potato with avocado, green onions, and cheddar on top. Tonight, in following with my menu I am going to make Bean and Vegetable Quesadillas from the Canyon Ranch Cooking (CRC) recipe book.

And that leads into my menu for the next few days. I noticed that this blog was extra long so I am going to only include the dinner items:

• Thursday: CRC Shrimp Gumbo and salad for dinner
• Friday: CRC Chicken w/ Potatoes and Oven-roasted Vegetables
• Saturday: CRC Bulgur Lentil Salad
• Sunday: CRC Barley Risotto with Shredded Chicken

And my To Dos for today:

• Clean and organize pantry
• Organize tupperware cupboard
• Chop veggies to have available for salads
• Put away kid-left items
• Organize book cupboard
• Clear basement entry shelf

I don't know if I will get through all this but I will give it a shot!

Have a wonderful day!

Ella