100 Days Challenge - Day 13 and 14 - Foods and Flavors

The more you eat, the less flavor; the less you eat, the more flavor.  

~Chinese Proverb

The topics of Day 13  (basically, don't skip meals!) and Day 14 (never skip breakfast) are not problems I can relate to, so I'm going to discuss other food-related topics.    Okay,  maybe Day 13's topic IS a problem once in a while - when I get very involved in a project, I sometimes forget the time, and before I know it, I'm two or three hours past the lunch hour.   However,  I've become more conscientious of spacing out my meals since Day 11 when I started writing down the times of my meals.  I actually decided to do this on my own as I realized that I was eating my mid-day meal haphazardly.   This has more to do with setting up a personal routine as a recent retiree  as in the past, my lunch schedule was "dictated" to me via my teaching schedule.    Breakfast and dinner, however, are two meals I never skip!   

One problem that has cropped up has more to do with figuring out the quantity I should eat as I've added a significant amount of aerobic exercise to my day.  Last night I felt hungry right before bedtime - even though I had eaten what I thought was a hearty dinner - beef and barley soup filled with veggies and a spinach salad.   However, I had gotten in a full hour of swimming - nearly non-stop!   I now need to decide not only how much to eat but also what to eat on the days I swim -  adding more protein and carbs on those days may be the solution.  I don't think I will need to modify my eating habits when I alternate my days with walking as it doesn't require as much exertion as swimming.  

Tonight, we are going to our favorite Chinese restaurant - which is why I chose today's quote.   Another reason is because I am beginning a  "two-bite experiment" which is actually the topic for Day 15 (tomorrow).   What this entails is the following:   With any food that you love, eat the first two bites very slowly, noticing details such as the cinnamon in the apple pie or the soft caramel swirl in the cheesecake. Allow yourself to completely absorb the texture and flavor of the food. After you finish those two bites, decide if you truly need more.    The theory here is we receive the gratification of whichever food we view as "trigger foods"  within the first two bites; then we need to ask ourselves whether we truly NEED to eat the rest of it.   

Tonight, I will begin this experiment at the Chinese restaurant.  This is not a buffet - it is a sit-down restaurant - and generally what people do is order something different so that all dishes can be shared.   I'm not sure which food item I will be using to do the "two-bite experiment" - it depends on what is ordered.    Tomorrow I will do the same - but with some of my true "trigger foods" - ice cream and chocolate!  I will evaluate my "two bite" exercise in tomorrow's blog.

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What did I do Thursday and today (Friday) to demonstrate my TOTAL COMMITMENT?


I've stayed under my points (calories) each day so I've done well on my food plan.  


I also got in a full hour of lap swimming on  Thursday, and have gone up to 5/6 of a mile.    Today (Friday)  I took the day off from exercise - after going for four days straight.  I've averaged an hour of exercise each day which for me is a huge change from the past.  This week I will get in five or six days of exercise which is easily double what my weekly exercise routines used to be.