So here's the rundown... tracking my food is going well at daily plate but I can tell even at this early stage I'm going to need more help and guidance than just a food-tracker. I'm having a hard time planning and arranging meals to meet but not exceed my needs in various nutritional arenas.
Now... although I've blanked out the actual # info (look, I'm honest but I'm not ready for that much sharing yet...) you can see what I mean... I'm doing (mostly) well on my caloric intake...
Ok, there are admittedly, 2 blips over the line, the biggest being on Mother's Day (hey, I'm a Texan ... steak is like-- a sacred meal ok, maybe not but my fat girl got a little loud on that one).
Anyway, I'm not as concerned about the caloric intake since, as a general rule, I'm actually doing pretty well meeting and staying under the target for the amount of weight I want to lose. Where I'm really struggling is getting the balances right on other intakes...
As I write this, it is late thursday night, and you can see that I have already had 100% (or more) of the recommended fat, cholesterol, sodium, and protein.
But, to my surprise, I'm only at 41% of my weekly carbs (I've been trying to watch those especially) and I need to boost my fiber a LOT. The protein I think is primarily because of the steak on Sunday night, and the cholesterol is probably because of the hard-boiled eggs I've snacked on this week.
So I am re-organizing my shopping plan for this week (at least a little bit). I want to look into a fiber supplement to add to my daily routine, and apparently I don't need to be quite as stingy with the carbs as I originally thought. Cholesterol, Fat, and Sodium particularly will be on watch (I don't think the protein will be an issue next week as I don't have any plans for giant steak in my schedule this week).
Here is my shopping list for the week:
Kiwi,
Bananas,
Fiber Supplement,
a new chillable lunch container
A paring knife (for the kiwi mostly)
I've been doing some research about good foods. Things that taste good and are good for you... Imagine my delight to read the following about Kiwi fruit (my undeniably favorite snack fruit!)
"Kiwifruit
This tiny, nutrient-dense fruit packs an amazing amount of vitamin C (double the amount found in oranges), has more fiber than apples, and beats bananas as a high-potassium food. The unique blend of phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals found in kiwifruit helps protect against heart disease, stroke, cancer, and respiratory disease. Kiwifruit's natural blood-thinning properties work without the side effects of aspirin and support vascular health by reducing the formation of spontaneous blood clots, lowering LDL cholesterol, and reducing blood pressure. Multiple studies have shown that kiwifruit not only reduce oxidative stress and damage to DNA but also prompt damaged cells to repair themselves.
Kiwifruit are often prescribed as part of a dietary regimen to battle cancer and heart disease, and in Chinese medicine they are used to accelerate the healing of wounds and sores.
How much: Aim to eat one to two kiwifruit a day while they're in season, for the best taste and nutrition. California-grown kiwifruit are in season from October through May, and New Zealand kiwifruit are available between April and November.
Tips: Kiwifruit contain enzymes that activate once you cut the fruit, causing the flesh to tenderize. So if you're making a fruit salad, cut the kiwifruit last.
The riper the kiwifruit, the greater the antioxidant power, so let them ripen before you dig in."
Now, that last part makes me a bit sad, as I like my kiwi just a smidge unripe (I love the tartness!), but I'll learn to eat them a little bit softer I suppose. Broccoli apparently is a bit amazing as well, which is fine as I enjoy it in just about everything really.
--Friday--
Of course there's more to this little revolution that just what went in my body. So here's some of the philosophical things I've come up against this week.
I was talking to Libby again this week, and we were once again discussing the disconnect between mind and body, about feeling fat vs. being fat etc. Another friend of hers who was heavier like I am said she had never felt fat, had not really felt the size she knew logically that she was. She found herself misjudging the space that her body required. She would run into things, bump into people-- because her mind perceived her body to be smaller than it actually was.
It may sound weird for someone who is used to being in their body, who has felt in tune with it for years-- if not their whole life... but it made complete sense to me. If for no other reason than I've recently become so aware of it myself. I've said time and time again that (until recently) I have always felt fat. And for years now my body has matched that. I've been acutely aware of how much space my body takes up. I have always tried to leave extra space between myself and others, have resisted spaces I felt were too small for me even if they may have actually been big enough.
But right around the time I had my great revelation about myself, I started to run into things. A lot. Now, I'm definitely a klutz... anyone that knows me could tell you that. I trip on my own feet, on carpet, on tile, on pretty much nothing at all. And I do tend to run into things on my left side as I'm blind in that eye.
But right now both arms sport some unusual bruises, and I've a few more bumps on my thighs and hips, and even my stomach is sporting some new scrapes and bumps. And it wasn't until Libby and I were talking about her friend not recognizing the space her body occupied that I realized-- the way I perceive myself has changed. Completely. I no longer have a connection to how large I am. I am frustrated repeatedly by the space my stomach alone occupies, and if I run into the cubicle wall around John's desk on my way back from the copier one more time I might scream!
These are not problems the "fat" me had. If I ran into something, it's because it was on the left and I didn't see it... or because I was forced to be in a space that really was too close and small for my body. ... Or because I was having a klutzy moment.
But in general... "fat" me was pretty good about getting around, in and out, being in her own space and knowing the boundaries of that. The me that is fat but doesn't feel fat-- not so much. I'll admit, that's where the pace of this whole revolution gets a little frustrating. I know that what I'm doing will take time-- quite a bit probably. My expectations for my actual weight loss I think are pretty reasonable. I also know that if I lose this weight slowly and steadily instead of all at once with many plateaus, I'm more likely to keep it off because I'll have to change my lifestyle and habits to make it happen. But because it will take time it means most likely, I'm going to have to get used to running into things.
On the plus side... I've got concrete proof that this whole change has really taken hold. A brief stop for dinner supplies last night brought home an ice cream treat. I decided it had been a long week and I wanted some ice cream. I also bought an apple tray. 2 kinds of apple slices and a container of low-fat caramel sauce. When dinner was done and I wanted a treat... I chose the apples. Not out of a desire to have a healthier dessert... but because they sounded tastier than the ice cream.
Once again, a week of pluses and minuses. But that's to be expected. This isn't an overnight success story, nor something I've started that I'll give up at the first hint of difficulty. This is just the beginning of a long haul that will end with me once again feeling like me... and looking like me too!
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