Food For Thought...About Food

As I sat and ate my breakfast this morning I noticed just how MUCH food I had put on my plate. I was alarmed.

It made me think...when did I start eating so much?

I'm not going to go back all the way to when I was a kid in high school. I ate like a horse, but I was exercising a LOT too. Plus, I was a kid. Let's just skip that phase...

On to college. I was exercising fairly regularly, and eating just as I always had. Honestly, I didn't think at all about it. I exercised because I enjoyed it and I ate when I was hungry. Period. I didn't even own a scale!

And then I met my hubby. I started to cook for the two of us...but I made the mistake of serving myself just as much as I was serving my 210 pound boyfriend! Big surprise, I started to feel "bloated". I was convinced that I was retaining water since my pants didn't fit, and that had always been the reason. But then I bought my very first scale and realized I had gained 20 pounds! That ain't water!

I still find myself eating as much as hubby. I just love to eat. I love how it smells. I love how it looks. I love how it tastes. I love the feel of it in my mouth. I love the feeling of a full tummy.

But this morning during breakfast? I had a revelation. There are two thoughts in my head about food that I need to change:

1. Clean my plate
2. Save the best bite for last

The "clean my plate" thing...everyone knows that's no good. And I don't think I clean my plate out of guilt or not wanting to waste. It's more of an excuse for me. I WANT to eat all that food, and "I don't want to waste" is a convenient excuse to convince myself that I should.

Combine that with "saving the best for last", and I have a real problem. Now I have actual, real motivation to eat every last bite!

Does anyone else out there save the best for last? I pick out the most yummy, perfectly done, ooey, gooey bite...and I eat it last. Sort of like the grand finale or something.

But the problem with that is this - by the time I get to that last bite, my mouth has usually HAD IT with what I've been eating. I don't even enjoy that scrumptious bite as much as I should! But leave it on my plate? When I've been saving it? When I've been eating (and eating, and eating..) to get to that last bite? Impossible!

So I'm going to try and change my ways a bit.

First, I'm going to just decide RIGHT NOW...I'm leaving a few bites of food on my plate. There. Done. Decided. If I'm still hungry after a while, I can always go back and have more or finish my plate. But only if I'm hungry.

And I'm going to pick out the very best bite....and eat it FIRST. It will be yummy and perfect and satisfying. I'm going to eat it slowly and really enjoy it. That way, if my body says "I'm getting full here!", I can stop without feeling like I'm missing out on that last bite. After the "best" it's all downhill anyway, right?

Besides - what does "save the best for last" teach my kids? Granted, there are some things in life worth working and saving and planning for. But most things...most are best enjoyed right NOW. Who knows what tomorrow brings anyway?

I don't want to become obsessive about this though - that's not healthy either. So why worry about it? It's not like I have a "weight problem"...I just want to lose a bit. Some reasons to make change:

1. I'm heavier than I should be for optimum health.
2. I'm not pregnant or nursing anymore. Ever. Oh my (sniff). I've been pregnant, trying to be pregnant, or nursing for over 7 YEARS. I can't eat like I did during those times...or I'm gonna start to LOOK pregnant!
3. I want to be a good example for my kids.
4. I want to enjoy food more. Half the time I'm scarfing down my meal trying to get to that last, best bite...or trying to eat quickly so I can take care of someone else. I'll enjoy it more if I truly savor it. I can eat just as long (from a time perspective), but I don't have to eat quite so MUCH.

I'm tired of talking about food. It gives me a crazy craving for chocolate, and I don't have any in the house! Sugar...that's another topic all together!

I'm A Real Runner Now!

Oh, the things I tell myself to get motivated :)

Hubby and I ran a 5K race this past weekend. I had one expectation of myself: run the whole way. Even if I ran at a snail's pace (as running goes), I was NOT going to walk at ALL.

I did it!

And I did it while running at my best pace since high school. In high school I could run a 10 minute mile for 5 miles and barely sweat. Ah, the glory days.

Not really. You couldn't pay me to go back to high school.

A 5K equals 3.1 miles for us backwards folks. And I ran it in 30 minutes, 28 seconds. That translates into an average rate of 9 minutes, 49 seconds. What can I say, I love a good excuse to use my calculator :)

I was going to just make it a slow jog, but my competitiveness got the best of me. Every time someone passed me (which was plenty often), I got a little mad! I found myself kicking pretty hard at the end.

And now...I'm hooked! As we got in the car to go to the race start I was thinking, "This is dumb. We could have just gone for a 5K run and saved our entry fees!" But it was so fun. There is a big difference between going for a run and being in a RACE.

Hubby enjoyed it too. I found him on line searching for training programs for half marathons! I don't know if I'm quite ready for that...but maybe a 10 K :)

Saving Some Fat & Calories

So I've been thinking about oatmeal chocolate chip cookies all morning. I wish I could say I've been thinking about being strong and NOT stuffing my face with them...but mostly it's been just the opposite. The ooey gooey chocolaty goodness of those little nuggets of temptation are evil, I tell you, E.V.I.L. !

Since it seems to be beyond my willpower to avoid eating one (or 6) every time I walk into the kitchen, I've been doing two things. One - avoiding the kitchen...this is evidenced by the breakfast dishes still sitting out with syrup on them (evil...see?!). And two - figuring out how to make them a tad bit better for me.

What if I make them with Smart Balance spread and Egg Beaters instead of real butter and eggs, I wonder?

2 sticks real butter: 1600 calories, 176 g total fat, 112 g saturated fat
2 large real eggs: 108 calories, 7.4 g total fat, 2.2 g saturated fat
Total just from these ingredients: 1708 calories, 183.4 g total fat, 114.2 g sat. fat

Using Smart Balance: 1280 calories, 144 g total fat, 40 g saturated fat
and Egg Beater type eggs: 60 calories, 0 g fat
Total: 1340 calories, 144 g fat, 40 g sat. fat

Difference: 368 calories, 39.4 g fat, 74.2 g sat. fat

As much as I'd love to eat all 4 dozen cookies, even I can usually stop at oh, 2 dozen or so! Let's break it down per cookie:

By using Smart Balance and Egg Beaters instead of the real stuff, I'd save (per cookie):
7.67 calories
.82 g fat
1.55 g saturated fat

Hmmm. I'm not sure if it really makes that much of a difference. I'm not sure that it even made enough difference for me to take the time to fire up my calculator! Well, I guess every little bit helps.

I wonder if they'd taste any good. You know I'm forced to make a new batch, right?

I hate it when the "math" tells me that to really save on fat and calories I should just eat in moderation. I hate moderation. At least when it comes to these cookies...

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

They have oatmeal...does that make it okay to have 3 for breakfast? I hope so.

Sigh. I'm so very weak.

Hittin' The Road

I have a new favorite workout. I NEVER thought I'd say this, but my new favorite? Running.

Just me and my music. And the fresh air. And the rustling leaves in the trees. And the occasional dog that chases me and scares me half to death. And the rather large rock I carry in my left hand to give myself a small amount of peace of mind against said dog. Hey, at least my left bicep will be stronger. Hmm, maybe I should alternate arms?

My hubby is so smart. He knows what makes me tick. Not like that...well, yes, like that...but that's not what I'm talking about! Ahem (blush).

I mean, he knows what motivates me. He signed us up for a local 5K race, and it's this coming weekend. So that's why I've been running. Now, it's for the love of getting on the road. But in the beginning? It was all about the desperate need to not be humiliated this Saturday!

Hubby's doing the race too. I don't know what came over us in the past few months. He looked at me one day and said, "This is not who we are, and we need to do something about it!" He went on to explain how he wants to have a future of fun and activity and full years...not a future of sitting on the couch, feeling and looking old and fat, and lots of doctor visits.

He has a great point. I wanna get old with him. Really, really, old and saggy and wrinkly. We can compare dentures and "regularity". We can go on long walks while I ask him what he thinks about my latest hairstyle (I've come to terms that I'll never be happy with however I've cut my hair, and it's just his lot in life to answer my stupid questions..."do you like it better like this, or this?"). We can visit our kids and grandkids (hey, maybe they can tell me what to do with my hair!). We can travel the world. Lucky him ;)

I hope he doesn't read this. If he suddenly loses his passion for a healthy lifestyle, I'll know he has...