A Ravaging Tuesday

I woke up this morning to find myself feeling a little strange... Do you ever feel very full but hungry at the same time? I can't explain it! It makes me confused about what to eat for the day.

The 2 little wheat and sugar-free-syrup pancakes that were my breakfast choice didn't hold me over very long this morning... so I picked up a Larabar on sale at Kroger's during one of my stops today. I usually opt for the chocolate or peanut butter flavors of these sorts of things, but today I swapped that out with a lemon bar... AMAZING.




I love the short ingredient list! Somehow there were 22 grams of sugar packed into this baby, but I'm sure it's all natural. We'll let that slide.

Speaking of ingredient lists... Have you ever looked at some of the ingredient labels on products you thought were harmless in your cabinet?

For example, the syrup I ate for breakfast today:

So...water is just about the only natural thing in this crap. Sodium hexametaphosphate? Hmmm... Maybe eating regular syrup or just honey might be better. But it's sooo yummy.

Check out this label... this one is surprising. Bread crumbs?!


Yikes. Lengthy. And why must there be high fructose corn syrup in such things? Might as well just make my own bread crumbs!

I've very excited about my plans to make this tomorrow, thanks to Evan at Food Makes Fun Fuel! DESSERT HUMMUS! It's like a dream come true...

Here's a picture from his blog, and hoping mine is just as beautiful and cookie-dough-looking...

Question of the Day: Do you think it's better to go for sugar-free options (ones that don't have more fat, anyway) or do Splenda/other artificial sweeteners, or just go with a little bit of sugar and avoid all the fake stuff?

Day 7... FAIL

SO I wote in my post this morning that the ultimate test would be today... a cookout with my family.

I told myself I could have a dessert or two, as long as I controlled myself. Well... I had a little bit of the baked apple crumble that was served with our meal, and I was going to only eat 1 piece of chocolate cake (it was a birthday, after all. My Grandma said there was a new law that we have to eat birthday cake on someone's birthday!) if everyone else ate one. Well, at the last second I caved and had that second piece with a small glass of milk...It was just too delicious with its sprinkled nuts and caramel drizzle! I couldn't resist! I was going to have complete control until my one aunt said "Ok, I'm caving! I'm taking a second piece if someone else does!" and, naturally, I was all over that one.

Fail.

Sigh... so close.... but the point is, I did demonstrate self-control the rest of the week. I'm not going to make excuses for today, but I will certainly be good this week! I have actually enjoyed the healthy foods I have eaten. Greg and I will be celebrating our 2 year anniversary next weekend, so I will let myself indulge a little... however, he has lost a good amount of weight and is not going to try to get junk by any means nor will we order a dessert if we go out to eat. At least, that's not the plan.

Damn chocolate cake...

Days 5, 6, and 7!

Well whaddya know!! I did it!

I can't believe how well I controlled myself for 7 days straight. I had those giant, glorious cookies sitting right in front of my very eyes for 2 days in a row and I didn't even drool a little. (ok, a little...) I have an open bag of Betty Crocker chocolate chip cookie mix open in my cabinet that I didn't even glance at twice during the week.

So that means, aside from the very obscure amount of sugar that I had this week, I have met my goal. Again, I did have a tiny amount in certain things such as my Tic-Tacs, Cheerios (they have less than a gram!), and I had a pinch in my coffee this morning while experimenting with making milk froth for coffee. Yeah, that was a fail anyway.

Noon will mark the grand finale... a cookout at my Aunt and Uncle's house for my Uncle's birthday. My Aunt is quite the cook and is always whipping up something new and yummy. I think I should allow myself one or two sweets, because the test will be seeing if I can control myself from that downward spiral that is normally inevitable. If I exemplify that self-control that I have had all week, then I will know that there is hope for me!

For the most part, I felt like refusing sugar allowed me to figure out when I was truly hungry this week without many cravings. I did seem to turn a bit towards salty foods, but luckly it's easier to eat healthful meals that are salty rather than sugar-laden. For example, Tostitos and hummus, homemade vegetable soup (wow...yum!), and my end-of-the-week indulgence: a Hot Head Burrito Bowl with guac (think Chipotle, but locally-owned).

I feel bloated today, but that's probably because those burrito things have like a bajillion milligrams of sodium. That's besides the point right now. Let's hope that it's the key to keeping me from stuffing my face at the cookout today!

Days 3 and 4

I'm doing it I'm doing it!!

Like I said, the true test would be getting through these 7-hour meetings without gorging on the junk food provided. I am AWFUL when it comes to free food, especially when combined with the boredom of paying attention that entire time.

I cannot express how proud of myself I am for getting through both days without touching one of the giant Panera cookies that were catered in or the fudge-topped brownies. Hershey's chocolates were passed around constantly for anyone who answered questions or won a game, and there were bowls of Swedish Fish and Sour Patch Kids all around the room to munch on during the presentations. I am in absolute disbelief that I was able to contain myself for the first time in months and I think that the happiness that arises from that self-control and rejection tastes sweeter than sweets!

I feel like I have been far less interested in food after eliminating sugar (mostly.... I haven't counted tiny things like Tic-Tacs, miniscule amounts of sugar in Cheerios, etc.) this week. Normally by week end I'm psychotic and gorge myself, but we'll see. Tomorrow is my Friday for work, and I've already got some healthy stuff packed.

I'm going to my Aunt and Uncle's this weekend, who always have mass amounts of food for the very small amount of family. Most are junk and sweets. Yikes. We'll see where this goes... I feel like it's the ultimate of tests, minus Christmas or Thanksgiving!

Day 2... success-ish!

Day 2 went well also. Only a couple of flaws with my plan.... EVERYTHING HAS SUGAR! I realized that even my dad, who is the MODEL diabetic, still has a little bit of sugar in his diet. I had Crystal Light and whole wheat pancakes, both of which had some sugar. My peanut butter had a little also, but since these things aren't "sweets" I let that slide. My normal peanut butter is just plain peanuts, so I know that's not a habit I need to kick.

I had 2 days in a row of great eating and great workouts, so let's hope tomorrow doesn't break me... I'll be at a 7-hour workshop for work where food is provided. If you know anything about my company, you know that nothing at all that we make is remotely good for you. Hmm...

I still feel great! I'm not ravaging yet and actually got some pleasure out of eating peppers and hummus. Yes, vegetables!

Day 1

Day 1 is always easiest... I feel like every Sunday is "Day 1" of eating healthy, but this time I'm writing it down.

No sugar today. In fact, I was so stuffed from the past 2 days of eating that I didn't need much of anything. I felt great up until dinner--well rested, I'd worked out for an hour, and hadn't eaten too much-- but then I went to dinner with my dad since we were supposed to have plans tonight. I tried to be healthy by getting chicken fajitas at Friday's, but I'm pretty sure they were fried and coated in oil. I've never ordered them before... Oh well. I tried.

My sugar cravings are bound to return tomorrow. They like to make appearances after hibernating for a whopping 24 hours.

So here it is.... I'm not eating sugar for one week. ONE WEEK.

....so now that it's out there, I have to stick to it with motivation from blogs like this:

http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=2132908656488658042

The Little Arm That Lives in my Stomach...

Ok, so this has been the least consistent blog that I, or anyone, has ever written. I know that I need to write and I know I have a gazillion ideas that have to do with money, food, etc. that I want to share. For now though, I need to stop trying to narrow down the topic of it and just use it as MY blog. Not define it as a money-saving blog or a recipe blog, or a motivational blog to keep me running and working out. No. This will be whatever I want it to be that day... maybe I'll even just find a blog entry of someone else's one day and just post a link to say "hey, I enjoyed this, and this was my inspiration for the day!"

Today though, I've just gotta vent. I am so disgusted by my roller-coaster eating habits and wonder why I tell people I eat healthy. There is this little arm that lives inside of my stomach that just reaches out without notice and grabs whatever it wants to eat. It's not me or my brain; it is this invisible hand. I swear. Last night was my mom's 50th birthday celebration (if that's what you call the 2 of us eating cake and drinking wine....) After dinner, I was just stuffed but had to have the chocolate cake that I baked, of course. We had 1 piece and I could not stop thinking about this cake until I had another trans-fatty filled piece. I wasn't even hungry for it!

So this morning, I made the long drive to my friend's bridal shower while telling myself that I would not, could not, eat any cake or sweets of any kind. I would almost throw up I was still so full and bloated from the night before. On top of that, I didn't get to run this morning to at least make myself feel better about it.

So 2 hours later, I'm sitting there with a second plate of desserts at this shower because they were so fabulous. "Better-Than-Sex" cake?! YUM. But of course, here I sit at home, looking up vegetable recipes.

I hate vegetables.

HATE.

I bet anything tomorrow I will eat super-clean and then Monday will spiral downwards again.

Thank you sweet Jesus for a physical job and a high metabolism.

Redefining "The Monthly Goal"

I'm still trying to find the right subject for this blog. I have so many interests but need to find something that will keep the attention of both you and myself. I'm an extremely scatter-brained human being, (much like one of my favorite bloggers who writes the positively hysterical Hyperbole and a Half)

This past year, I have taken a ridiculous liking to food that far exceeds my past interest. Documentaries such as "Food, Inc." have changed the way I view meat, and an assortment of books have taught me the good, bad, and ugly of every other food that we cross paths with.

I do a great deal of Googling to discover all that I can about food. Forget reports about what causes cancer today and will cure it tomorrow; all of those studies simply make me roll my eyes. Sometimes I will explore the hype about High Fructose Corn Syrup or other corn products in our foods. Today I researched about the source of Chipotle's meat (good news: it's semi-humane!)

I'm also an avid coupon-clipper and money-saver. My job, if you have read several entries before, is a sales rep for a major food company. This means that I am in and out of grocery stores all day, 5 days a week. It's a fascinating and scarring place to be on the other side of the curtain.

(One thing I am afraid to research? My own company. They are simply too big to do all good things!)

So, to define this blog, I will narrow it down to these things:

1) Nutrition and need-to-know facts
2) Any recipes that I try or come up with that may produce pretty pictures! (This is rare.)
3) Money-saving tips and stories for the grocery store (or other useful money tips)
4) Occasionally fitness, because reading/writing about it motivates me to accomplish my goals!

It would make sense to change the name of the blog, but maybe I will still try to incorporate goals into this, such as introducing a new food into my diet or saving a certain amount on my grocery bill (like past goals... I'm still doing $100/month!)