3/16/2013: Let's Talk About Food

I haven't blogged for a couple of days for a couple of reasons.  First, I didn't have a lot to say.  It seemed like many of the struggles that I have been dealing with the last couple of days were the same struggles I had been dealing with all week, BORING, and I was pretty rushed yesterday morning with a 7:45AM meeting scheduled with a vendor.  Now it is Saturday morning, the budgeting is caught up for the week, Jack is still all sleepy in bed, and I have a nice quiet time to blog a little.

Food.  How do I manage food for the rest of my life?  To me, that is the biggest single question to which I need a real and lasting answer.

I have thought a lot about the 'Younger Next Year' book and why it changed my life.  After glancing at the newest "stay thin" book out there by a popular author at the bookstore last night, I know the answer.  'Younger Next Year' explains why I need to exercise.  That book cemented in my head, forever, why I need to exercise an hour a day six days a week for the rest of my life.  It wasn't a bag full of tricks saying do this and do that.  It didn't offer easy tips and tricks for being healthy.  It wasn't a collection of cute ideas for manipulating myself into doing what was good for me.  The book explained to me, in a straightforward and simple fashion, why I need to exercise every day.  That knowledge motivates me to get up every day and do something that does not come at all naturally, exercise hard for about an hour.

Before reading the book I would have told you that, "I knew I needed to exercise."  Well, I guess, "I thought I should exercise," would be a better way of putting it.  After reading the book I no longer have a choice.  I exercise every day and will continue to do so for the rest of my life.

I need that same conviction regarding Dead Food.  'Thinner This Year' calls all food that is worthless as far as nutrients go, Dead Food.  She's talking about candy, chips, cookies, cakes, white bread, french fries, pop, alcohol, etc...  I like that expression, Dead Food.  I am now using it as my word to describe any food that does not pack a decent nutrition per calorie punch.

'Thinner This Year' is helping me get there, intellectually.  I have been thinking more about Dead Foods, lately, and the impact that they have on my organs, blood, bones, brain, etc...  I have not finished the book yet.  I think it is likely that when I am done reading the book, I will re-read it and blog about it, similar to how I blogged about 'Younger Next Year.'  That process really helped cement the knowledge in YNY into my brain.

In addition to reading 'Thinner' I have been listening to a lot of people talk about food and I've been paying particular attention to people that are fit.  As I am developing my Food Plan for Life (Oh, I like the sound of that!), I know it has to be simple and sustainable.  It also needs to be clear cut.  It can't be fancy.  There need to be clear guidelines.  On Thursday morning, this is what I decided:

As part of my day-to-day diet, I will eat no Dead Foods.  None.  Nada.  Nil.  Zero.  As in, no tootsie pops, no butter scotches, no peppermints, no cookies, no ice cream, no french fries, no chips.  If the food lacks essential nutrients, I just won't eat it as part of my daily "this is what I eat to stay alive" regimen.  I'm talking about my daily habit of food.  Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, etc...  Day-in-day-out, my eating will be about consuming nutritionally rich food and avoiding Dead Foods.

But, and this is a real and true but, and this is the but that makes this plan doable in the long term, I will allow myself the luxury of eating and drinking whatever I want on special occasions.  Now, I do need to be judicious in what I consider a special occasion.  Jack's birthday dinner is a special occasion.  Going out to dinner on a Thursday night because I am tired and don't feel like cooking is not.  A co-worker bringing cookies in for St. Pattie's day is not a special occasion.  A BBQ at work is not a special occasion.  A child or grandchild's wedding, birthday or graduation party is a special occasion, as is a sibling's or parent's.  A date is not a special occasion, unless it is for an anniversary or celebrating a promotion or something awesome like that.  Going to a ball game is not a special occasion.  Having lunch with friends at a restaurant is not a special occasion.  Vacations are not special occasions.  Going to dinner with Carla at her fancy restaurant in Vail will be a special occasion.  In a nut shell, special occasions must be special.  There is something to celebrate.  It's not just daily life, it's a moment that is meant to commemorate something that is important to me and those close to me.  These events will happen every now and then, not every week.

I have lived this plan for two days, so far, and I like it.  The hardest part is afternoons at work.  I get intense sugar cravings in the afternoons.  I think I am just looking for a pick-me-up, since I can't take a nap.  I have decided I may try a small cup of coffee at about 2:00, to see if that will help.  I will have to pay special attention to whether or not that affects my ability to fall and stay asleep at night.

I like this plan because it is cut and dry.  I know what is good for me and what's not.  I am beginning to understand how damaging it is to my body to consume Dead Foods.  It's getting easier and easier for me to look at a cookie and see it as a "yuck" instead of as treat, reward, or a crutch to get through the day.  Yet, I know if I am exercising everyday and my daily food habit is healthy and nutrient rich, my body can process away occasional bouts of junk.  The thing is, I have to avoid rationalizing that it is OK to eat a little junk everyday, because that little becomes some, and that some become some more, and that some more becomes a lot.  This is my Food Plan for Life:  I will consume no Dead Foods except for on truly special occasions.   On special occasions, I can eat and drink whatever I want.

Speaking of special occasions, we did have a special occasion yesterday.  It was Jack's birthday!!!  We had such a lovely evening.  First of all, Jack really liked his presents.  I bought him three new shirts and three pairs of shorts and a set of Briton soldiers, the West Point Cadet Color Guard.  He was pleased with the new clothes but he loved the soldiers.  They are pretty cool.  

Last night we went out to dinner to a little restaurant just off the Plaza called Cafe Trio.  We had been there once before, so we knew we would like it.  We like the atmosphere.  The food is good.  The service is great.  They have a piano player in the corner.  It feels special, and it was a special day, so it was the perfect place to go.  This was definitely a special occasion, so I knew I would eat what I wanted to eat, but it was interesting, when I looked at the menu I automatically rejected anything that was ridiculously calorie intense.  For example, I like scallops.  They taste good, they are low in calories, I tend to look for them on the menu when we go to nice restaurants.  Cafe Trio had scallops on the menu; yep, they were coated in candied pecans (yes, I said candied) and were served in a frangelica cream sauce.  Really?  Come on.  Let's take an innocent 75 calorie protein and convert it into a 1000 calorie mess, why don't we?  Yeah, I skipped the scallops.  They weren't even tempting.  We split an appetizer, toasted ravioli.  They were nutritionally worthless, I know, except for the tomato sauce, but they were light and tasty.  A nice treat, nothing more, nothing less.  For dinner I chose a beet salad with an add on of a few ounces of Ahi tuna.  It was perfect, delicious and just the right amount of food.  Even though we were enjoying a special occasion, I didn't gravitate toward the high calorie, heavy options on the menu.  Just the opposite, I gravitated away from them.  I did enjoy a couple of drinks, though.  The restaurant has some fun specialty cocktails.  And I shared Jack's birthday desert with him.  They even brought it out with a candle in it and I sang him happy birthday.  I really enjoyed treating Jack to this special meal and celebrating my husband on his birthday.  I find it interesting that even though I could eat whatever I wanted according to my Food Plan for Life, what I really wanted to eat for dinner was a salad with beets and Ahi tuna.

Something that is worthy of a note and that I need to consider for future celebrations; the alcohol made it difficult for me to sleep last night.  I was tired and fell asleep hard by 10:30 or so, but around midnight I woke up and could not fall back asleep for a couple of hours.  This was caused by a combination of two things, the alcohol and stressing about work.  I am pretty sure if I had not drank alcohol last night, I would not have woken up, but when I drink, I tend to wake up in the middle of the night, after the alcohol as "worn off."  Then the stress kept me up.  My sleep is important to me.  I don't drink very often, but it is quite likely that I will tend to drink even less when I remember that it keeps me from sleeping well.  I think it is worth paying attention to, at the very least.

I guess that's it for now.  Life carries on.  It's a new day, I need to exercise, go bowling, and make my husband a special birthday dinner.  He gets his Swiss steak today.  Lucky man!!