100 Days Challenge - Day 16 - Continued

I will be moving on to Day 17 later this week, but for now I am still mulling over in my mind the topic I started in Day 16.   The actual topic was "The Nurturing Power of Food".  I modified it to "My Relationship With Food". To be honest, I've not yet come to terms with what that really is.  I know I enjoy eating some foods, and I do have "trigger foods" - foods that I enjoy so much that I do have to restrict the amount I take to a healthy amount.   But I'm not sure if I have an emotional attachment to food or if I simply do not always stay focused on what I need to do to be healthy.   I've actually been practicing healthy eating for the last several years which is why I was able to maintain my initial loss of 40 pounds for several years.  However, I gained several pounds between October - December for a number of reasons which I discussed earlier.  I also experienced considerable knee pain which is why I retired in the "middle" of the school year rather than wait for the end of the school year (not a "biggie" in high school since we have a whole new roster each semester).

Since I started this Challenge about three weeks ago, I've lost 3.5 pounds - about a pound per week- and lost inches as my clothes are fitting better.  I'm also feeling much stronger since I've started exercising regularly - a combination of swimming laps and walking.  My knee pain has not been completely eliminated yet but it has been greatly reduced.  I'm making good food choices and rarely going over my "points"  (another way of counting calories) and following a "clean eating" program - lots of veggies and fruit and mostly seafood and chicken.   I eat what's described as "healthy carbs"  and "healthy oils".    For example, my food plan today consisted of:   Breakfast - oatmeal;   Lunch - slice of ham and mushrooms quiche and a spinach salad;   Dinner - tuna mixed with cucumbers and salsa on a large veggie salad w/dried cranberries and walnuts w/light balsamic dressing.  I've also eaten lots of mixed fruit.  My snack consisted of:  Greek yogurt (plain) with honey and berries, and two pieces of dark chocolate.  This is a fairly typical menu for me so I can say that I've greatly tempered whatever my "relationship" with food has been by practicing healthy eating habits.

I've also taken on a "Do It Anyway!' attitude with exercise as it has often been my downfall.  Eating healthy needs to be combined with MOVEMENT.   That is something I've not always adhered to.   I think that has been the number one reason I've not lost weight.  I know some people lose weight without exercising - I'm not one of them.   I have to add exercise to my repertoire.  In any case, it's not negotiable since I'm also trying to strengthen my legs.     Today, I got in the most laps I ever have - a total of 54 lengths of the pool  (27 laps).  My goal is about 32 laps which is a mile, and I'm not that far from reaching it.

Tomorrow we leave on a road trip to Central Texas.  We will be eating out - breakfast will be a low calorie one at Denny's before we leave;  lunch will be a 6 inch Subway sandwich and fruit and dinner - I'm not sure yet as we'll be in Fredericksburg.   By Friday afternoon, we'll be at our final destination - my daughter's home in San Antonio.  There, staying on my program will be easy as she usually cooks very healthy meals.

I will need to take a couple days off from blogging since we'll be traveling but I expect to  get back to it by the weekend.   Hopefully with mindful eating, I'll not venture too far off from my program while eating out.   I'm also going to do an exercise from Day 17 which should work out fine since most restaurants serve way too much food anyway.

Here it is:

The clean-your-plate rule is one of the hardest ones for most people to break. Here’s a new way to look at those old rules around cleaning your plate: Every time you eat food your body doesn’t need, you are wasting it!

ASSIGNMENT:   

Throw some food away. It can be a tiny amount or a large amount. Remember, by wasting it into the garbage, you’re not wasting it into yourself. Write down what you threw away.     


Note:  I will take a small notebook with me and write down what I eat and don't eat from my plate for each meal during our road trip.  This should help keep me focused.

Since I have already answered the question in my blog on how I demonstrated my total commitment, I will end my blog here for tonight.   For those of you reading this who are traveling on this journey with me -   Happy Traveling!   I'll be back on my journey with all of you in a few days!