THE CHEATING:
To begin with, I got a little three ounce container of Ben & Jerry's peppermint chocolate cookie ice cream. It's one of those tiny containers that only costs a dollar. There are only 210 calories in it, so I figured that no more than I've eaten today, it would be okay. I savored every bite I ate. But here's the thing: I only ate until the craving was gone. About three small spoons of it. Half the container was left, and I threw it away. Imagine that, ME throwing away Ben & Jerry's ice cream! I'm a BIG fan of theirs -- I've even been to Vermont to tour the factory. So my throwing away ANY of it was a big deal. But I didn't feel bad. I had eaten all I wanted, and finishing the container just "because" didn't make sense. I got my dollar's worth, my tastebuds were happy, and all was well with the world.
THE OTHER TRIUMPHS:
For breakfast I had an Egg McMuffin at McDonalds. I haven't eaten there in a few years because their food is so wretched. But we left the little town in Iowa where my parent's live at 7 o'clock this morning, and since my folks were still asleep, we didn't risk waking them up by fixing breakfast. In little-town Iowa, the only thing open that time of day -- heck the ONLY thing open with a drive-through ANY time of day was McD's or Burger King. I've read enough from Eat This, Not That to know that the Egg McMuffin was our best choice. And that's the lesson -- given the options, try to choose what's really the best.
Then for lunch, I discovered my sister was still here in Omaha visiting her daughter (my sister lives in Missouri). So I asked them to join me for lunch at one of my favorite restaurants, Wheatfields. (If you're ever in Omaha, this is an outstanding place to eat. We have several world-class eateries-- ask me and I'll steer you to the best ones.) My sister and I have been battling the bulge for a few years now. She's always been slim and trim, and even now, she's not huge like I am. But still, we both need to lose weight. So rather than order what I used to get -- something rich and wonderful with hollandaise sauce, for instance -- my sister and I ordered a half portion of salad with chicken breast, almonds, strawberries, and romaine lettuce. And NO dessert -- which was a first for me at Wheatfields since they have excellent desserts. I felt really good about it! My niece went ahead and ordered a more substantial entree since that was going to be all she ate today, but she chose something with meat and veggies and not a lot of sauce. We did well!
And tonight when Adam got off work, he was eager for us to go walking. We didn't have anything to get at WalMart, but he knows I can get a good amount of walking done there. So that's where he wanted us to go. It was great. I think all the shoppers were out yesterday because the store seemed nearly empty of people. I got about a mile in. So it's been a good day!
TODAY'S TIP:
During lunch I told my sister and my niece about the two books I've been reading (and I think I've mentioned them here before) -- In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto
and Twinkie, Deconstructed
I love those books! Really the past couple of weeks they have changed my whole view of food. Like processed food, by and large, isn't...it just isn't food anymore. Too many dyes, preservatives, and other additives to emulsify, stabilize, thicken, unthicken, enhance the flavor, and any number of other purposes until the "food" just doesn't even faintly resemble it's original on-the-farm condition. And if it's not food, don't eat it! That's the thing about Ho-hos and Twinkies and honey buns and packaged brownie mixes and lots of breakfast cereals and Hamburger Helper, and so many things that are soooo tempting. They're not food anymore. So why eat them? It's better to eat the package they come in! Wow -- it really is a life-changer! I'm getting a copy of those books for my son and his wife, my sister, and my niece. And they're all excited about it because what little I've been able to relate to them over this Thanksgiving holiday just makes so much sense. Isn't it great when you have those ah-ha moments in life where nothing is the same anymore? :) If I had enough money, I'd buy everyone a copy of each book. But since I don't, the best I can do is really strongly recommend that you either get it from your library or buy a copy. But beware -- once you know the truth, you'll want to get copies for your family!
NOTE: I did some checking on the price of these books. I got my copies originally at Barnes and Noble. I've seen since then that there's about a 60 percent savings by getting them at Amazon. Here are the links:
No comments:
Post a Comment