Tell Me What You Eat...

“Tell me what you eat and I will tell you who you are.” Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, The Physiology of Taste, 1825.  

I eat vegetables and nuts. What does that say about me? At least I don’t eat fruitcake. I once saw a sign that said, “If you are what you eat then I’m fast, cheap and easy.”  Seriously though, I will often eat things I don’t want my children to eat because I love them and want them to be healthy. Or at least I don’t want them to eat the food in the same unreasonable quantities that I do. Maybe I should treat MYSELF the way I would want someone to treat my treasured loved ones. Just a thought.

Day 4   Thursday, 3/17/11 

     I woke up weighing 149 pounds, about the same as yesterday. For the record, I think weighing yourself every day is a really bad idea. Weight fluctuates with many factors and is not a reliable indicator of overall health or body composition. It can be discouraging when the number refused to go down as you expect it to. Especially when you’ve been working hard and gained muscle. It’s just a number on the scale. Sounds pretty good, huh? 

     Now comes the confession: I have weighed myself almost daily since I was 10. When I moved to Hong Kong bringing only luggage, my scale used up valuable suitcase real estate. I once purchased a second scale when I thought (hoped) mine had gone inaccurate. One time I gave my scale to a friend and told her to not give it back to me until the following Monday morning. Twenty-four hours later, after I begged and pleaded, she resigned as scale police. I have stopped short of bringing one with me on vacations but I’ve considered it once or twice.  

     After my morning weigh-in I record it on graph paper. Once I had a long chart (three pieces of horizontal graph paper taped together ) and used it to record every weight movement throughout my first pregnancy. I used the same chart for all four children using four different colored inks. It was pretty. My weight fluctuations make the graph paper resemble modern art and I now have enough of these sheets to wall paper the dining room. Hey, that might be a good idea... 

     Don’t follow in my footsteps. It’s not a peaceful place to be. If you must weigh, do it once a week. I’ll get there one day.

What I ate today:

9:00  apple (slept in and had to run out the door to catch the my ride to the trailhead.)

10:30 cashews and dried goji berries and blueberries while hiking

1:00  Salad with tomatoes and oil and vinegar. (after hike restaurant with the ladies) it was a little sad because their lunches looked better than mine. I guess I still have a ways to go. The bread and butter was calling my name. If I had been alone I would have inhaled the entire basket.

3:00  pineapple, banana, coconut, protein powder and almond milk shake

6:00 salad and three of Zoe’s french fries. We were in McDonalds. So much for feeding my treasured loved ones healthy food.

The sadness I felt at lunch never left me. I was feeling deprived and craved some comfort food all afternoon. Makai helped me to stay on my diet by refusing me a single chicken nugget. By the time I got home I had worked up a few good excuses for myself (the hike, the need to not be too strict, etc) and caved. I had a bowl of mashed potatoes and three meatballs. Mighty tasty.