I have to say this is hard for me! I sit there like... um... I don't know... I have no idea what to write. So, I'm trying. I guess I am pretty out of touch with this stuff, but that's the whole point right, to get more in tune with my body's true needs. It's just hard trying to think of something to say about every food choice. But I am working on it.
Here is my day yesterday as an example.
11:15am
Two eggs scrambled with ham, cheese and onions
3 strips bacon
Water, small cup apple juice
Before breakfast I felt hungry, but not starving... I wanted to have some bacon because it's been a while... and wanted to eat the same sort of high protein breakfast that worked for me last time. When we normally make Sunday breakfast I would have had two eggs over easy on two pieces of toast along with the bacon and potatoes. I experimented by eliminating those carbs from the breakfast. I also decided to have 3 strips of bacon and we only cooked what we decided to eat. Normally we just make half the package and I might eat 4-5 strips of bacon. I don't need that many to be satisfied.
After breakfast I felt extremely satisfied. I could not tell right away if I was full, but about an hour later I could feel it. I was not overstuffed but maybe slightly more full than comfortable. It's so hard to tell when I don't feel it for that length of time.
2:00pm Starbucks- Grande peppermint mocha frappucino
My decision to get Starbucks was half due to desire and half due to the headache I was sporting, and knowing how much it would help. I think getting a grande was a mistake because I had a very upset stomach after I finished it. It wasn't because of fullness but maybe just too much coffee, or too much sugar? I'm not sure. Will stick to talls (smalls) from now on, unless it's iced tea.
I definitely enjoyed my drink, took my time with it and appreciated it... very delicious.
6:00pm - TGI Friday's
1/2 fried green beans appetizer
grilled chicken breast and shrimp (5 shrimp, small)
mashed potatoes
part of an ice cream/cookie dessert
berry mojito (probably 20 oz)
2 waters
Before dinner I was very hungry and I should have had a snack but I knew we were meeting our friends for dinner so I waited. However I feel like I did great with dinner. They had the three-for-all where you get appetizer, entree, dessert for 12.99 ... In the past we would both order that but this time only he did and we split the appetizer and dessert, so I had about half his appetizer, my own entree, and less than half of the dessert when I got full. I also had an alcoholic drink which is pretty rare for me, but since our friends did I went ahead and did too and I really enjoyed the one I ordered. It made me tired after which it usually does so I wish I hadn't drank it, but I did enjoy it. I stopped when I was full, despite how tasty the dessert was... and I felt very satisfied by the meal and glad that I wasn't overstuffed.
11:00pm
crackers and dip
ginger ale
We had gone to a movie after dinner and by the time we got home I felt hungry again. The dip is something left over from a Christmas party on friday and I don't know what it is exactly but it's a thick hearty dip that's really good. I had a couple tablespoons of it on some crackers. It satisfied my hunger really well. I stayed up another couple of hours before I went to bed .
I emailed this to Dr. Kate this morning to see if I was doing what she thought I should be doing... I feel like I am grasping at straws when I'm trying to figure out what to put down. This was her response:
Hi Christie!
The question is, is your food journal giving you insights about how food is making you feel? Are you learning more about the type and amount of food that makes you feel your best? Are you discovering the reasons why you eat? Are you starting to make "healthier choices"? It seems that way to me:-) I'd suggest that you keep this up the rest of the week, and I look forward to talking with you Thursday morning about it!
The question is, is your food journal giving you insights about how food is making you feel? Are you learning more about the type and amount of food that makes you feel your best? Are you discovering the reasons why you eat? Are you starting to make "healthier choices"? It seems that way to me:-) I'd suggest that you keep this up the rest of the week, and I look forward to talking with you Thursday morning about it!
Dr. Kate
That made me feel a bit better that I guess I AM "getting it". I just didn't want to be missing the point and not doing what would help me. So I will just keep at it and see what happens.
In this last session we talked more about nutritional choices and how they affect the body. While by no means does she expect me to eliminate carbs, after all she is against diets and wants me to eat what I truly want. However I am supposed to be noticing how foods affect me and I have noticed something major when it comes to carbs.
A couple of days last week I had a breakfast that was high in protein, and had a good amount of fat also... and much lower in carbs. This was an omlette with cheese, ham, and onions, with some vegetarian sausage patties made mostly from soy product.
It kept me full for an extremely long time for me, about 7 hours, which is unheard of. I tend to be hungry every 2-3 hours. I "could have eaten" sooner than that but didn't feel hungry enough to need to.
This is a stark contrast to when we typically do our weekend breakfast with eggs, bacon, toast and potatoes, which adds up to a bigger plate of food but doesn't keep me full usually any more than 3 hours.
On Sunday we made breakfast and this time it included bacon (yummm) but I told Ian I didn't want any toast or potatoes. So I made my eggs with the ham, cheese, and onion, and had 3 strips of bacon. Dinner was 7 hours later, with only a coffee drink in between.
Now I'm not saying it is my goal to go 7 hours between meals. I know eating frequently is a good thing... but not when you are eating good sized meals frequently! They need to be smaller.
We talked a lot about how the body uses carbs versus how it uses proteins. I told her I've always known protein kept me more full and satisfied but it didn't seem to always work. Here's what I found out - fat is the key to that. High protein, low carb, with FATS... keeps me full... but high protein, low carb, low fat does NOT. She said eating the fats with the protein, it is much more likely my body will use the fat instead of storing it, whereas with carbs, the fat gets stored quickly, and it also triggers you to want to eat more.
I have to say I found that this is true. When I snack on crackers, pretzels, chips, I just want to keep eating forever. If I snack with more protein, I get a lot more satisfaction.
I am not sure how I will apply all of this without it being a diet plan. I guess it is just a matter of working toward that intuitive state. Making the choice because it will satisfy me on a deeper level. So while I may think "i want chips, that will make me happy, and that's ok so I'll eat chips"... that's not the same true satisfaction as "that high protein option felt so satisfying, and I'm truly full now." So it's just a matter of working toward that.
This is going to take some time. Oh yes...
With the holidays this week and my dear friend Raina AKA Marshy visiting from New Zealand next week, we have broken down our next therapy appointment into two half-hour phone sessions. One will be this Thursday morning (Christmas Eve), and one the following week on the 30th (as Raina arrives the 31st.)
Will do my best to update right away next time!! Eventually I will start posting in between therapy sessions also... I'm working at trying to be more proactive about this!
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