Mea culpa, food police

Last night, healthful eating took a back seat. After my workout I realized I was really hungry and wasn’t feeling good, so I decided to eat some extra carbs. Dinner was a small baked chicken breast and a can of Chef Boyardee 99% fat free ravioli. My evening snack was a beer (a real one!) and 2 low fat string cheeses. Veggies? I’ll eat extra today. Wednesday night is frequently a mid week “cheat” so I don’t go ballistic – its more mental than anything else, but it helps get me through that mid week slump.

I feel better this morning. I also experimented with my protein shakes – the banana was NASTY. Sorry, I just am not a banana fan. My chocolate shake has half a cup of milk, half a cup of coffee, and a packet of stevia (an all natural sweetener I highly recommend). I added a peach alongside the breakfast shake. The vanilla has orange/mango juice. I know it’s better to eat your fruit, but it’s at least all natural not from concentrate juice. I have a tomato/ okra medley and steamed broccoli to go with lunch. Dinner is chicken adobo in the crock pot (for the record, this is my 5th night in a row of chicken), roasted red potatoes and steamed broccoli. It’s back to the N/A “beer” tonight.

Here is a link to an interesting article on processed foods from MSN:
http://health.msn.com/dietfitness/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100164969&GT1=10109

I recently purchased a cookbook from Amazon called “Dee’s Mighty Cookbook”. To learn more about the book or the author, check out her website: http://www.centerforprocessedfreeliving.org/ In a nutshell, her recipes use no sugar or flour, and focus on eating minimally processed foods. I am making a couple of recipes next week – they sound excellent! While I’m not sure I could completely eliminate these foods from our diet (see last night’s rendezvous with Chef B.), these meal ideas certainly seem a good way to start. If I could get to 85% I’m sure it would help protect out health. I’m probably at 70% already, but I’m always on the lookout for new ideas & recipes to keep it fresh.

Someone posted a comment to the effect of “no way I could do that!”. For me, it’s not truly difficult. I’m not really hungry (although my tummy is growling when it’s time for my next shake!) and since I’m having a dinner I enjoy, I don’t feel deprived. And honestly, sometimes this whole pre-planning pre-packing gets old, and shakes make that whole thing a lot easier. Laziness occasionally outweighs my need for variety. ;-)

Having said all that, I’m going back to food next week so I don’t go insane. I’m thinking something like this:

B: 6 chopped almonds, ½ cup cottage cheese, and frozen mixed berries.
S: half a grilled chicken breast and vegetables
L: baked salmon and veggies
S: half a grilled chicken breast and a piece of fruit
D: misc, but this is where I will have a carb since I work out in the afternoon
S: ?

I can live with that for 6 days!

This Saturday is the last one we will be going anywhere until Pensic. I am looking forward to being home for a month, even if I will be busy getting ready.

And believe it or not, I’m looking forward to getting the family truckster back this weekend. I must be getting old if I’m looking forward to swapping a sporty convertible for my minivan. The key word in that sentence is “my”, for I am truly a creature of habit.

I went to the gym after work yesterday and did an interval workout. I’m feeling a lot better, but my energy is still kinda low. I walked again this morning and I’m lifting weights this afternoon. I’ll only get in 2 interval workouts this week I’m thinking, but I did add a couple of walks. Hopefully next week I’ll be 100% again.

Tomorrow I will give a scale report. I’m really hoping to see some change for the good!