Here's where I ended up yesterday:
Breakfast- BPC, 3 eggs scrambled in 1/2 tbsp each butter and bacon drippings, 2 slices of crispy bacon
Lunch- 1 serving home-made coleslaw, 10 green olives, 2 slices deli ham spread with 1/2 tsp each mustard and rolled with 1 slice each cheddar
Dinner- 1 "bagel" dog, 1/4 c roasted almonds, 1 square 85% chocolate
Water count- 135.2 fl oz
Day 2 of snacklessness went well. I'm trying to follow my friend Mary's advice and eat only when I'm hungry instead of by the clock. I ignored the clock completely when it came to myself yesterday, although I still tried to feed the kiddos at their normal times. I got up, hung out with my girlie, and didn't fix my breakfast and coffee until about 10 because I wasn't hungry. Same for lunch. We did our thing and then ran some errands, didn't get home until 2:30 and I wasn't hungry until after 3, so I didn't eat anything until then. Didn't have dinner until 9:30 at night because I wasn't hungry until then. That's a very substantial change in my routine and, believe it or not, it was kinda hard.
The crazy thing is we don't realize how much we rely on the clock to tell us when we're supposed to eat; not when we're hungry, which is a completely different thing. When we're hungry our bodies are telling us to stop and fill up the tank. But that's not what we do, is it? The social rule is thus: We are supposed to eat breakfast in the morning, lunch around noon, and dinner between six and eight in the evening. And so, literally like clockwork, you can go into any foodery in the nation at those times and find them busy, and largely empty otherwise. I worked in a restaurant in my late teens and early twenties, and I can verify from experience this is so.
Like practically everyone else, I've spent a lot of my life eating because "it's time" and not necessarily because my body needed fuel. I'm trying my darndest to break that habit because it's been detrimental to my health. Think about it: if we stop to eat lunch at noon simply because it is noon, and then proceed to stuff ourselves regardless of whether or not we're actually hungry, we are engaging in gluttony. Yes, I said gluttony. That's not a word people like hearing, I know, but it's accurate and the truth can often be unpleasant. So much of our food consumption in the US revolves around promoting a gluttonous mentality ("Have it your way," "Gotta Eat," sound familiar?) and the behavior that follows which, metaphysical implications aside, is incredibly unhealthy. No wonder we're now using terms like 'epidemic' in conjunction with discussions on obesity.
Ah, but I'm ranting. I digress.
As for my mentality right now, I still feel really great. My attitude is remaining positive and I've got some more NSVs to share come Monday (hint: I went shopping).
KOKO, my babies!
Yay!! It makes so much sense doesn't it? Eat when hungry. Simple.
ReplyDeleteThat's the crazy part. It *is* simple! But it's become so complicated because of our societal cues that it takes an actual mental effort to eat that way instead of at certain predetermined times.
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