ReCommit
When I was in college, something a professor wrote on one of my projects was "I love how you jump in with both feet!"
It's something I took to heart and remember to this day, twenty- nine years later. Oy... when did that happen?
Maybe it was a self fulfilling prophecy, maybe I just needed that encouragement to make a quote sampler for my wall, but to this day, I make it a point to jump in with both feet.
I can exercise quite a bit. I'm not a teenager, but I get on the track or trail and walk/run three mornings a week. I can't move very fast, but I can keep going for a long time.
I am proud to say that I have stamina.
But why don't I have willpower?
I am the only girl in the house. Well, there's my cat Duchess, but you know what I mean.
My guys all work out, so they eat whatever, whenever, however much they want.
This means I can't allow my Hero to put food on a plate for me, because he gives me the same amount he gives himself. And guess what? I can put it away with the three of them!
I've had to make some changes around here. I eat salad first. Actually,I eat it all day long if there's a surplus of tomatoes and lettuces around here, just to get more veggies in my diet.
I use an even smaller plate. We're used to a luncheon sized plate for our meals here, but I've gone down from that size to something smaller than luncheon, but still bigger than a saucer.
I stretch out the meat with veggies. First, it's healthier to add grated carrots in with ground meat for spaghetti sauce. But an added bonus is extending the meat gives me a cost savings - important with these guys' appetites and the rising cost of groceries!
I've become much pickier about cuts of beef, opting for grass fed, locally raised beef, or at least the organic type in the stores.
I've become more attuned to what foods do to my body and its energy levels. Cereal in the morning for breakfast doesn't work for me. Maybe it elevates my blood sugar, because an hour later I'm hungry again. I've learned that greek yogurt and high fiber toast and a piece of fruit holds me all the way to lunchtime.
Now if I could just find the magical lunch combo that will hold me til dinner....
I crave water. I give myself bonus points if I get up in the middle of the night because of all the water I drank during the day.
I still need to get a handle on my sugar intake, because it's a craving I just can't seem to escape.
My number was the lowest for my team, because I actually put back on the weight I'd lost. It's a frustrating seesaw: commit and sink, lose focus and fly back up again, recommit, sink again.
But I won't keep kicking myself this time. I have a goal to make and a dress to wear.
Got any more tips and techniques for me, or answers to my sugar cravings?
I totally understand the seesaw effect. I do well one week and not so much the next. But I keep trying and I think that is what counts. :)
ReplyDeleteI have major sugar cravings too. It's so hard to not give in, but lately I've been trying to eat apples when I feel the need for chocolate. I still get something sweet with sugar, but it's not bad for me at least.
I hope you can find some other ways to curb the suger cravings.
Heh. I could have written this. As a post-menopausal female sharing a home with my husband and teenaged son, my food needs are TOTALLY different from theirs. I do many of the same things you do. Still, it has been a huge adjustment, especially when it comes to portion sizes. When I stick to appropriate food choices AND appropriate portion sizes, I lose. So easy to say, so hard to do.
ReplyDeleteI have no easy answers to sugar cravings. But my last A1c, while still "normal," was high enough that I'm trying to stay as low carb as possible. A small handful of nuts with just a few raisins thrown in tend to be a filling, satisfying snack. Key words are "small" and "few." :-)
I hear you about the boys in the house! Mine are athletes too. They work out a LOT and they eat a LOT. And it can be difficult to be the 'different' one. But there are corners I can cut.
ReplyDeleteLast night I made them baked potatoes with their meal. For my metabolism, I might as well eat sugar from the bowl as eat a baked potato. So I didn't make myself one, and subbed cauliflower instead )which they don't like). More work. But hopefully worth it!