A Do Over

So glad that’s over!  Anyone else feel that way about Halloween?  The influx of candy had been building all week, then big daughter got sick with the flu and my stress/emotional eating spell began.  Friday and Saturday were a blur of chocolate, sugar, cheese, bread, pizza and chips.  There was no semblance of health involved in any of the choices I made.  Actually, there were a few meals that I attempted to pull together something healthy, but ended up eating other things because eating something healthy didn’t even taste good.  I even ditched the exercise.  I have to say that I was scared for a minute.  I thought that I had gone completely off the deep end;  you know, that slippery slope that sends you back to old eating habits and 70 pounds heavier in no time flat.  *insert horror movie scream*.  Terrifying.

Saturday afternoon, I was doing some cleaning of clutter and came across a few pictures of myself.  There aren’t very many of me during the “fat years” which was a span of 10 years.  I was the one usually behind the camera.  I often joke to the husband that he could easily “off me” and there would be no evidence that I existed because most of the pictures of our family vacations and outings with the daughters are just of him and the girls!  I did happen to come across a few while cleaning out a bookcase and I was stunned to see the pictures of myself.  In the pictures, I had a smile on my face, but I knew that I hated the way that I looked…

  I realize while looking at these, that there is no going back for me.  I cannot be that person again.  I won’t do it.  But, when I have gone this far off the deep end this weekend, it is so hard to get back on track.  How do I go back to trying to eat intuitively when I dropped it like a hot potato?  A fried one?  There was only one answer…

Nike knows their stuff :)

That brings me to today.  I am stoked for a new month!  It’s gonna be a busy one and I’m going to think long and hard about how I will manage the eating season.  I know the issue is not the food, it’s how I react to the emotions and stress in my daily life.  I haven’t quite figured that part out yet, but I will keep on keepin’ on:)

First thing on the agenda was to fill up this guy…

I’ve been really slacking on my water which is weird since I’ve always been a huge chugger.

Then, I tackled the first meal of the day –breakfast.  Nothing was appealing to me.  I still had sugar coursing through my veins!  I was going to skip it altogether, but know that usually comes back to haunt me!

I decided on a tasting breakfast plate…

It got better from there!  Lunch was a bowl of black bean soup…

and a good hunk of cornbread…

The afternoon was long and filled with bowls of candy in every room!  I opted for some skim milk and a Ginger Apple Oat Breakfast Cookie…

Dinner was a family favorite – Chicken Cutlets and broccoli.  Instead of offering rustic Italian bread on the side, I decided to try out this Beer Bread mix from Trader Joe’s…

Just calls for a  bottle of this to make it…

I haven’t had much luck with Beer Bread before.  The husband and daughters have not been fans, so I held my beer breath on this one!  It baked up beautifully in only 45 minutes and I didn’t detect much of a beer smell or taste at all.  Everyone loved it!  It was a nice, dense and slightly chewy bread.  I think it would make for a great grilled cheese, too. 

I served myself  a small slice with dinner…

but dug into another slice before putting the remainder of the loaf away! 

JUST DO IT!!!

ONE GOOD THING:  I realized today that I can do this.  I can get back on track.  I can keep the weight off.  I can do it…for life :)

Fast + Slow

I had to keep myself busy this morning to take my mind off food!  I had to fast for an ultrasound appointment (just some stomach troubles getting checked out) and it wasn’t until 11:oo a.m. !Funny, when I’m told I can’t eat, all I want to do IS eat!  Finally, the time came and I raced to get to the appointment.  It was over  pretty quickly and I daydreamed about lunch the whole way home!  Sheesh!  Obviously, one of those “detox” fasts are not in my future!

Lunch had to be quick to appease my growling stomach.  I decided on a wrap made with turkey, a Laughing Cow Light cheese wedge, spinach and Trader Joe’s Roasted Pepper and Artichoke Tapenade.  It was all rolled up in a Joseph’s Lavash Bread and served with a ginormous pear and some Kettle Baked Potato Chips…

This was one of my best wraps, yet!  I loved all the flavors.  I noticed that food tastes extra good when you’re starving!  But, I made a conscious effort to put on the brakes and eat nice and slow:)

The afternoon flew by with errands and the remainder of the evening was spent at little daughter’s religion class – this time big daughter and I both got wrangled to help out!

I wasn’t into a big dinner when we got home, so I heated up some Trader Joe’s Organic Lentil Soup along with some cornbread I had in the freezer.  I took 55 pictures of this, but there is just no way to make lentil soup look pretty!

In the interest of full disclosure, I did steal a few big spoonfuls of the daughters’ mac and cheese, too!  It was too good to let it slip by without a taste :)

Overall, it was a light eating day, but I ate enough filling foods to feel satisfied.  I did manage to end with a little something sweet, though…

Don’t forget to enter to win a coupon for a free half gallon of Silk Heart Health!

ONE GOOD THING:  I took the time to enjoy all the flavors of my lunch.  Sometimes, if I’m overly hungry, I wolf the food done without tasting it!  This time, I savored each bite so that I would be satisfied when I was finished.

Question of the Day:  Have you ever fasted for more than one day?

Not So Corny

Thanks for all your fun and funny comments on treats that tempt you!  I could include many of your items on my “don’ts” list, too!  Thankfully, it was a better day with respect to “the corn”.  Even though the last bits in the bowl tried to beckon me a few times, I was able to resist.  Get lost, corn!

Needless to say, when gobs of candy corn sit in your stomach like the Rock of Gibraltar, hunger comes late to the party.  I was not feeling much like eating breakfast, but experience has told me that if I don’t eat a decent breakfast, it will come back to haunt me in the afternoon.  After much debate, I decided on a Chobani yogurt and a Cranbran Vitatop…

I skipped the gym and decided to tackle some household chores instead.  I knew my time at home was limited today, so I tried to be as efficient as possible in getting stuff done.  I’m easily distracted these days (the result of candy corn induced brain rot –uh huh!) and I’m trying to change that to maximize my “doing stuff” potential!

I finished up the last of my mini list and get ready to meet up with my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law for lunch.  They wanted to try Cosi, which was great for me;  I love it there!  I stayed true to what I always order when I go there – Fire Roasted Veggie Flatbread Sandwich.  It is filled with roasted veggies, shredded lettuce and a tasty creamy feta spread.  I broke out of the mold today and got the Duo – half sandwich and cup of Moroccan Lentil Soup.  Both items did not disappoint…

After lunch, I raced home to pick up the daughters and had a fun package waiting for me – Zevia Natural Diet Soda!  I won this in a giveaway on Missy’s blog and have been excited to try it!

I gave up diet soda quite a few months ago due to stomach troubles coupled with the fact that I wanted to rid myself of artificial sweeteners.  I was a huge Splenda fan.  I didn’t use a ton of it or at least I thought I didn’t.  But, when I started taking a look at the foods that I was buying that contained it (ice creams, baked goods) along with the diet soda and the addition of it in my coffee or tea, I realized it was too much.  I slowly weaned myself.  Out went the diet soda, then the processed stuff and finally…sadly…the coffee and tea, which I had to give up, too since my reflux was flaring up.  So, I was excited to try this O calorie soda that is sweetened with stevia, a natural sweetener.  I will admit, I have tried stevia before and have not been a fan, but I was hearing good things about this soda, so I was more than willing to give it a whirl.  I grabbed the Orange flavor to try first, while running out the door to take little daughter to dance class…

It was good!  I didn’t detect any weird aftertaste.  It tasted very similar to Diet Orange Crush which I used to really like.  Both daughters tasted and liked it.  Actually, big daughter finished it off!  Great, gotta hide my stash!  I’m looking forward to trying the other flavors.  And here’s me sporting the tshirt they sent – size xs!  They have high hopes for me, I guess.  Wasn’t sure the whole shirt would even  fit over half my body;  it stretches…we were cracking up as I struggled to get into it…hence the blurry pic…

 

Okay, enough embarrassing myself.

While little daughter was at dance, I was able to run to the gym for a quick 30 minutes on the elliptical.  Afternoon workouts are harder for me, but I like to trick my body that way sometimes!

Dinner was a heat and eat.  I broke out a container of Big Batch Bulgur Chili and made some cornbread  to go along with it.  Super filling…

And I ended the night, with no candy corn!!!  Whew!

Hope you have a great day!

ONE GOOD THING:  You know what I’m gonna say…NO candy corn!!!

Question of the Day:  Do you use artificial sweeteners, natural, straight up sugar or none?