Friday, February 5, 2016

What Am I Doing?

I don't know how many times I have said that I want to live my life eating healthy, but still be able to enjoy the treats that aren't defined as healthy.

I have been reading a series on binge eating by Katie at Runs for Cookies. Something that stood out to me is that denial sets up a binge. I have been doing very well on my eating in the past few weeks. But the truth is I have not been tracking calories because I don't want to decide every time I put something in my mouth if I can "afford" the calories or I will need them later in the day. It had been stressing me out.

I think I might be a person who does better with set meals and not allowing snacks in between. I have had success this month in thinking about my daily calories in blocks, instead of a running total. I have basically been targeting meals between 300-600 calories each (with the majority being between 400-500 calories.) I haven't felt deprived at the meals. If I add in snacks, I would have to deduct that from my meal calories. The truth is, I think I enjoy a nice meal more than I enjoy or need the snacks.  I truly enjoy that process of making and eating a meal - it is the whole food experience for me. This can come as no surprise, given how I have been bombarding you with pictures of new recipes/meals lately.

Not to mention there is something very freeing to me about structure. I eat enjoyable, yet reasonable. meals. I don't have to negotiate the "cost" of every snack along the way. It is a similar concept to if I don't keep Oreos in the house I have zero concerns about  constantly talking myself out of them or agonizing over how many I can "afford" or beating myself up because I gave in. That is all stuff I can do without.

However, I also very much like treats - sweet or savory. I am considering trying the method Katie described - she eats three meals and a deliberate treat. Perhaps that would keep me more focused on things I truly enjoy - the perfect chocolate/walnut cookie from a local bakery vs. a few mini snickers (that are just okay) throughout the day. The tricky part will be choosing amazing and satisfying treats that don't break the calorie bank. Also, I need to figure out a way for the treats to be singular - I am not the person who can live with a pan of brownies and only eat one a day. Also, things like daily DQ Blizzards are probably NOT fooling anyone!

Something else that Katie mentioned that resonated with me is the idea of a target calorie range. If I say 1500 is my limit and I end up eating 1514 I feel like I failed. And if I eat 1450 I think "oh I can eat one more piece of candy" even though I really don't want it that much. Maybe I am just playing games with myself, but a target seems to give me the wiggle room I want and feels like a greater target for success.

I am a little hesitant in committing to this plan because let's face it I want to lose the weight fast. My slightly nutty self is thinking "no, I just need to buckle down and lose this weight fast - then I can work out the details of keeping it off."  That's great, but when in my life have I done that? Overall, this may sound more like starting out on a maintenance plan, but at my current weight this "maintenance plan" would create a calorie deficit that should help me continue to lose weight, even if it is a little more slowly than I would like.

I have basically been doing this since the beginning of January and I have lost a total of 12 pounds. I think as long as I am consistently averaging about a pound lost per week I will continue this basic plan. If losses stall I can always go back and do some tweaking.

And on that note...my weigh-in this morning - 2.6 pounds lost. I am taking that as confirmation I am currently doing something right :)

Choices like this one are part of what is working right now. The other day I got all my supplies together and planned to make the baked eggs in marinara for lunch at work. As I started to assemble the dish I realized I had forgotten to bring eggs...oops!  I was disappointed and even considered running out to grab lunch. But...I had a couple of emergency things in the freezer at work, including this Lean Cuisine meal. Was it my favorite thing ever? No, but it was pretty good and the feeling that I had about staying on track was even better :)
I haven't made too many new recipes this week, but I took some bits and pieces of other meals and put together this dinner. I mentioned that I was going to make potatoes and my husband specifically asked if I could make "the kind with turnips and apples". He has decided that below his mom's special holiday mashed potatoes they are his favorite.  (I blogged about them here.)
I made a mustard sauce for the pork loin chop. I used this recipe Pork Chops with Mustard Sauce from Taste of Home. I thought it was delicious.
 I love cooking in my cast iron skillet.
When you don't read the recipe carefully you end up cooking the sauce after the pork chops are finished. I threw them back in the pan and let them cook in the sauce for a minute before serving. It worked out fine...honestly, probably a little easier than trying to build the sauce around the pork chops.
 Then yesterday I finally remembered the eggs and made the baked eggs at work.
I tried a different marinara - a spicy one. I was determined to not overcook the eggs this time.
It worked out perfectly!  To me this felt more like a lunch dish than breakfast.  I confess I wanted more bread. I had sliced the bread and put them in the freezer on the advice of one of our Lovely Ladies. I only took out two slices to toast. I probably could have had another slice and kept in my range, but I wanted to keep a pair of slices for next time. I would have been tempted to eat the last slice too since it would have not been enough for another serving. I did get hungry again a little more quickly than I would have liked.

Are you ready for the weekend?  It is another busy one for us. Tonight is game night, tomorrow wrestling regional tournament and Super Bowl on Sunday.


14 comments:

  1. Good job on the loss! I love baked eggs in tomato sauce. I've been doing a calorie range too, instead of a precise target. I aim for 850-1000 during the day and then I don't measure my dinner too precisely (I try to stay around 500 cal but it's estimating, I don't weigh vegetables or lean protein). It helps me so much more - I like MFP but you're right, if I go even one calorie over, I feel guilty!

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    1. I think as long as we find what works for us and are willing to change things up if it starts to not work we are on the right track :)

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  2. I also read Katie's blog. The limiting your calories was also what prompted me to stop weight watchers years ago. I was constantly focusing on how many points I had. If I ate this how many points would I have left? How many points do I need to save for dinner? It was so unhealthy. I think a calorie range is a good idea!

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    1. I definitely think you have to keep an eye on total calories, but I just didn't want to stress about each one :)

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  3. 12 pounds!! Go You!! That is awesome :) I think it's important to do what works for you. It's hard to cut out snacks and sweets altogether. I rejoined WW again in January, after having a pep talk with myself that I would NOT get obsessed with tracking points and activity level, etc. I think I've had a better experience this time... I think it actually could be a "lifestyle". I love your recipes...that pork chop recipe looks wonderful! Happy Friday... Have a great weekend :)

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    1. Thanks, Deb. I am so glad your WW experience is more positive this time. It definitely works if you follow the program and I think you can learn lots of valuable skills to use for years to come.

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  4. I found Katie's series interesting and I agree, I have found that having snacks actually makes me more prone to overeating than if I didn't. I think calorie counting is all about taking the basic principle of calories in/calories out and making it work for you. Some people don't eat breakfast at all and prefer to eat a light lunch/huge dinner (going against what you're "supposed" to do), and some people need snacks, some like a huge breakfast and eating light the rest of the day. One thing that helped me is taking emotion out of it and putting a scientist hat on and saying "okay that didn't work, so what's the next thing I can test that will." I pretty much have it down to a science of what works for me (High protein breakfasts, larger lunches and dinner promptly at 5). I think the way to approach it isn't from a place of guilt, but just a place of "I'm figuring it out, and it will probably take a few misfires to figure out truly what works, and no matter what happens, I'm awesome for figuring out my health."

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    1. Absolutely - different things work for different people and you have to be willing to do the work to figure out exactly what works for you. I feel like I am on a positive path to finding that out. I am willing to make changes as I go along, but I needed a positive place to start (which I think I have found.)

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  5. As someone who lost their weight relatively quickly, I don't know that I would recommend. I think more time in the trenches would have helped me figure out how to keep it off better. I don't know since I can't really try it both ways - it may be that maintenance just sucks however you get there.

    12 pounds since January is great progress and you're making so many better choices during the day even if they aren't "perfect" days. They're real life days and that's probably the best kind for the long run. I'm the same with that extra 50 calories or points at the end of the day - I feel like I must eat them whether I'm hungry or not, which I know isn't a good thing.

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    1. Yeah, I am pretty sure maintenance is a bear no matter how you arrive there. I think I tell myself some things to keep me positive and that is okay :)

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  6. For me I have to have a plan and stick with it in terms of my eating. Snacking between meals is a really bad slippery slope for me!!!!! It's too easy to keep going!

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    1. The slippery slope for me is the after work/pre-dinner time frame. Ugh! When I solve that I am sure I will be svelte in no time :)

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  7. Wow, you're doing great! I've found that I'm actually not much of a snacker, and tend to eat 3 meals and a treat per day. I've also found that if I bring a snack to work, I'll eat it because I brought it--however, when I don't bring a snack, I don't miss it. It certainly saves a little money by not having to worry about snacks so much.

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  8. Thanks Christina! Snacks seem to get me started on grazing...probably don't need them.

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