Pick two reasonable diets. Two because it's always a good idea to have a back-up plan BEFORE the crisis hits. Both must be healthy, include foods I like to eat and prepare, has flexibility and allows me to budget for indulgences.
This is harder than #1. I hate writing everything down and counting calories, so I'll make that my default. I've been doing pretty well with the divided plate approach, so that's my number 1.
1. Divided plate – ½ fruits and/or veggies, ¼ whole grains, ¼ protein
2. Counting calories with the Diet analysis program I have is my second choice if the first one stops working for me.
There are so many diets and eating plans to choose from. Let me know which ones make sense to you.
Sheri asked me to talk a bit about my idea about indulgences. I'm not doing this yet, but I've been talking about it for years. Allow myself to have a special food treat two days a month. The days I pick will be the 11th and the 30th because those are the dates of Vinnie's and my birthdays when we are going to indulge anyway. Isn't it nice how they are spaced out so well.
I'm still at the place that Maggie talked about: Not stopping easily when I eat a "gateway" or trigger food. For me that's definitely chips and cheese curls which have not come into the house for three months now. I feel pretty good about that, and hey I know that's a big part of losing the first 10 pounds. It's also white flour. Luckily, I've never been a pastry fan and I like whole grains. But pasta, Mmmmm, I love pasta. I haven't found a whole grain one I like. Yet. And I'm trying to keep a serving to 1/2 a cup. I said trying, so far, I'm not even close. But isn't that why I'm doing this cognitive therapy approach? To help me find a way to be happy with eating the correct amount of food for my body. YES. I can do this. We can do this.
Thanks for your support.
Debbi- how are you dealing with the busy days? That's when all this eating stuff gets nuts for me. Today I ate a bagel on the run as I left the house this morning. I had a half cup of clam chowder and a salad for lunch (leisurely) and a grilled cheese eaten on the run as I got out the door to a work event tonight. It wasn't enough food and I found a chocolate bar in my bag which I ate in between. Lesson learned: don't leave the chocolate bar handy in the bag. Are there things you carry with you when stopping for a "real meal" isn't a possibility?
ReplyDeleteSheri,
ReplyDeleteI don't have many busy days. Mary Beth convinced me to come up with a good "emergency" meal. I have a pretty metal tin (like an Altoid box) that I fill with nuts and dry fruit. I keep it in the frig and toss it in my purse when I know I'll be running around all day. I bet you can think of something you like to put in a box for yourself. This time of year, the apples are so lovely, but I'd need to include a protein of some sort, too. Hence nuts. Or string cheese. What do other folks do??