cindylynnwho's Journal, 21 Jan 08

Well, yesterday I was planning on lunch with the family and dinner at a potluck, so I thought I'd experiment with my intuition and go without my food diary for the day. (At the end of the day I did go into my food diary and make wild guesses, but there was no measurement involved.) It was a bad idea, because I had heartburn much of the day and insomnia all night (two problems that seem related to my diet but that I haven't had since I've been on here). You live and you learn. Back to measuring and more purposeful balancing.

Today is going much better. I've been reading this interesting book called the fat fallacy that has some good information on how to get yourself to eat less gradually over time. Although I can come up with a number of resources that say I am eating at a good level for a person of my size and activity level, other diet programs would have me eating a lot less. I'd like to fall somewhere in the middle, especially given that in the past week I've gained .4 pounds. I really do eat more than I did when I was skinny, because way back when I was gaining weight I was making myself eat more in an effort to combat hypoglycemia (to some degree it worked, but I overdid it, and to combat the hypoglycemia I needed to make other changes). Now I really want to start eating less again, and less often. In the past when I have tried this I have had very negative results, but I have new ideas now thanks to this author. This book recommends really savoring your food, taking tiny bites, using smaller plates, putting your fork down, relaxing, eating slowly, focusing on the food and the tv or other things, and eating rich food like the (skinny) French eat so that you're more satisfied on less. Some of this is old hat and some of it I've tried with no success. But he explains it in a way that I haven't tried, exactly, and says that it takes 1-3 weeks to adjust. I think I've been wanting to change my calorie intake too quickly in the past. I'm trying his advice today and the jury is still out-- it seems to be working but it is a psychological adjustment. Like I am not hungry but my mouth wants food sometimes! Ultimately I think I can get myself to be completely nourished on less food and that is my present goal. I won't starve myself, though. I'm listening very closely to my body's signals. I'm abstaining from weighing for a little bit until I feel like I'm making more progress again.

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2332 kcal

Fat: 115.66g | Prot: 106.57g | Carbs: 227.85g.   Breakfast: orange juice, scallion, corn, eggs, feta, olive oil. Lunch: whole wheat bunnies, flaxseed oil, tomato, avocado, bok choy, tlc cookie, tuna. Dinner: pine nuts, feta, tomatoes, olive oil, chickpeas, Spelt Soba. Snacks/Other: whole wheat bunnies, cheese, organic peanut butter, tlc cookie, Maple Buckwheat Flakes Cereal, pecans. more...

3354 kcal

Exercise: Sitting - 9 hours and 20 minutes, Stretching (yoga) - 10 minutes, Calisthenics (light, e.g. home exercise) - 10 minutes, Housework - 2 hours, Desk Work - 2 hours, Sleeping - 8 hours, Resting - 1 hour, Walking (moderate) - 5/kph - 1 hour and 10 minutes, Standing - 10 minutes. more...