Man oh man it’s late. I am tired and definitely not following my own advice from yesterday!
Today I tried a different workout, drank my 64 oz+ of water, did not over eat and followed my diet, had 1 alcoholic beverage (it’s Friday!) and clearly am not getting to bed on time! Tomorrow I have a 3 or 4 hour workshop at the studio where I take Tang Soo Do. I also had my twice a week class last night. I am definitely finding that the more I workout and move, the more I WANT to workout and move! I believe that is called MOMENTUM!
How are YOU doing? If you have been following along and incorporating some of the ideas I have proposed, how is it going? What hurdles are you finding?? My biggest hurdle is snacking in front of the computer. Believe it or not, I get very antsy when I have to sit down in front of the computer to do work and write notes. My automatic response is to eat while I sit there. This resulted in my gaining 10 pounds that I had lost previously. I am fairly certain that at least half my extra weight was made up of peanut M&M’s and the other red wine and snickers.
One thing that I think we need to consider eliminating from our lives are snacks especially of the liquid kind. Many of use don’t even realize that we are snacking when we hit the coffee shop. It’s not. “Just” coffee you are consuming!! Many of those yummy drinks are hundreds of calories and your body doesn’t recognize it as food because it’s liquid. What??? Sad fact: if you don’t have to chew your food, your body probably won’t register whatever you drank as sufficient to satisfy your hunger. Chewing food and taking at least 20 minutes to eat is the best way to let your body know that it has eaten and have that acknowledged by your brain so it can tell you to stop eating. When we sip our calories it doesn’t quite do the same thing. Oh no! Not the PSL!!!
Since I am working on an extended fast each day, I drink black coffee every morning until noon. The only thing I add are essential oils (and only essential oils that are labeled for ingesting). Then, I have a protein shake to which I add fiber (filling) and cinnamon (lowers blood sugar) and maybe peanut powder. I think because of the thicker consistency and fiber content in my shakes, this is satisfying. However, I have also been having a green apple and maybe another 100 calorie or so item in order to make it more like a meal. Then, I try to go 4-5 hours before eating again. I drink water and black Oolong tea or herbal tea in between. If I am starving I will have a handful of nuts in a 5oz cup of yogurt as a mini meal and then I have dinner. If I am working out I eat a little more during the day and then I have been having a protein shake afterward.
So one of the biggest reasons for not snacking is avoiding calories you forget about. We have amnesia when it comes to what we eat when we don’t pay any attention to it. Oh, I’m hungry you think, then you’re driving past McDonalds and you grab a cheap cheeseburger because its “small” and then you go through the Starbucks drive through and get a PSL. An hour later you are back home cooking dinner and completely forget to count those calories as part of your daily intake. Then you have a glass or two of wine with dinner and lose any willpower you had and eat a bag of cookies or half a cheesecake (because it sooo good!) or a bag of chips. you fall asleep and by tomorrow afternoon you can’t recall half of what you ate the day before and it starts all over again. By forcing yourself to sit down and eat a meal instead of snacking you are training your brain to slow down and pay attention. You are giving your stomach time to tell your brain that it has eaten sufficiently and that you are no longer hungry. This also contributes to a less stressful atmosphere in which to eat which in turn aids digestion. It is also believed that this less rushed, pleasurable way of eating helps explain why the French can eat so much bread and drink wine at each meal and traditionally have stayed thin with less heart disease than we have here in the US. It’s not just the red wine!
Consider cutting out snacking and instead, drink water and if you are truly hungry just have your next meal. Planning out your day so you know when you can eat and what you will eat is also helpful in curbing snacking. You aren’t going to starve to death! I promise!!
French women don’t snack. Keep that in mind. (I am admittedly fascinated by the French.)
Ok, that’s it for tonight. Tomorrow I am going to tackle gut health by request 🙂
Have a groovy night!
Liz